Prosecutors file additional charges against Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Carroll County Prosecutor’s Office filed murder charges against Richard Allen in the Delphi murder case.
Allen was previously charged with two counts of felony murder, but will now have two additional murder charges and two kidnapping charges.
The felony murder charges were filed in 2022. Felony murder charges differ from murder charges because the prosecutor’s office only needs to prove the person charged committed a felony that led to a murder, not that the person is the murderer.
Prosecutors originally said Allen kidnapped Libby German and Abby Williams, and in the process of committing that felony, the girls were murdered.
Now, these updated charges accuse Allen of murdering both the victims.
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“It’s definitely a surprising move to see so many new charges added to the case against Richard Allen today, and what we’re seeing is not necessarily new information,” said Áine Cain, a host of the Murder Sheet podcast. “We’re seeing, in addition to what is essentially felony murder, he’s being charged with murder and kidnapping. Before, he was charged with kidnapping that led to a murder. So, all they had to prove was the kidnapping.”
Cain is a journalist. she hosts the Murder Sheet podcast alongside Kevin Greenlee, an attorney. The two are familiar with the Delphi case after years of doing investigative reporting on the topic.
Greenlee uses his knowledge as an attorney to shed light on the legal proceedings surrounding this case. He said these additional murder charges mean the prosecutors now have to prove Allen is the killer, not just someone who participated in the kidnapping.
“For a felony murder charge, you don’t have to prove the person actually committed the murder themselves or intended anyone to die,” Greenlee said. “You just have to prove they committed the felony that led to the death. Murder is more intentional. You have to prove this is the person who did it. This is the person who took these people’s lives.”
The documents said Allen used a handgun to force Abby and Libby from the Monon High Bridge to a wooded area.
“The key thing about the gun is that they were not murdered with the gun,” Cain said. “The gun though was discussed by the girls, apparently, on tape. So, they mentioned the man approaching us has a gun.”
Greenlee and Cain said it is unclear why the additional charges came now, and speculated it could be a strategic move or something that has been the works for a while.
This trial is scheduled for October.