Opening statement begin trial of 2017 Indiana murder of 2 teenage girls

(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Opening statements begin on Friday in the trial of Richard Allen, charged with the 2017 murders of 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German in Delphi, Indiana.

Allen is on trial in the Carroll County Courthouse, blocks from the pharmacy where he worked in Delphi.

Jurors were brought in from nearly 100 miles away and will be sequestered.

There are only 30 seats for the public inside the courthouse, and people lined up overnight to get in.

“Those are all social media people over there, youtubers, podcasters, etc. And they've been following this case intensely ever since it broke in 2017, in this little town,” Russ McQuaid, with CBS 4 Indianapolis.

Allen had been interviewed by police in 2017. At the time he said he saw the girls on a hiking trail near where their bodies were later found. Their throats were slashed.

Allen was re-interviewed in 2022 and, according to prosecutors, a gun seized from his home was linked to an unfired bullet found at the crime scene.

Jurors will hear evidence that Allen confessed numerous times while locked up. The defense is expected to call into question his mental state at the time.

Listen to WBBM Newsradio now on Audacy!
Sign up and follow WBBM Newsradio
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | TikTok