Source: Investigators have known for years that the Delphi suspect was on the Monon High Bridge the day Abby and Libby were killed
DELPHI, Ind. (WISH) — Richard Allen, the man arrested in the 2017 double murder of Abigail Williams and Liberty German near Delphi, told a state conservation officer he was in the area on the day of the killings, but his report may have been considered unfounded, a police source tells I-Team 8.
Allen, a 50-year-old resident of Delphi, went to the conservation officer right after the teens’ murders on Feb. 13, 2017, and said he was on the Monon High Bridge that afternoon but didn’t see the two girls, the source says.
Williams and German were dropped off near the bridge on the day of the murders. Their bodies were found the next day.
Allen’s statement was forgotten until recently when Indiana State Police became frustrated with the status of the Delphi investigation and asked a group of investigators to look over files related to the case.
Investigators believe Allen is the man on the bridge in the cellphone video and in sketches released by police, the source tells I-Team 8.
Police arrested Allen on Oct. 28 for the deaths of Williams and German, and announced his arrest Oct. 31. He faces two counts of murder in the case.
Allen was recently moved from the White County Jail to a state-run facility for his own safety. Last week, Allen submitted a handwritten letter asking a Carroll County Judge for a public defender. On Monday, court records say, Andrew Joseph Baldwin from a Franklin, Indiana, law firm and Bradley Anthony Rozzi of Logansport was added as public defenders for Allen. Rozzi will be the lead attorney, and Baldwin will be co-counsel.
Although Allen was arrested, the probable cause affidavit is sealed. A hearing set for Nov. 22 will determine if the document will be made public.
Search of Wabash River linked to Delphi investigation, source says
The police source also confirms that the recent five-week state police search of the Wabash River in Peru was connected to the Delphi investigation.
It was initiated after Kegan Kline told police they would find a cell phone and weapon in the river, the source tells I-Team 8.
Kline, 28, a figure linked to the Delphi murders who has not been charged in the case, revealed that information while being questioned about the deaths of Libby and Abby.
That evidence was never found and Kline is known for lying to investigators.
Kline faces 25 child-porn-related charges in a separate case tied to the use of a social media profile called “anthony_shots.”
Investigators believe Kline used the “anthony_shots” social media profile to solicit at least 100 sexually explicit photos and videos from at least 15 underage girls. Police say Liberty German was one of the girls Kline communicated with while using the fake identity.
His trial is set to begin in May.
