Bullet from Delphi murder crime scene matches suspect's gun, prosecutors say
CHICAGO (CBS) – A bullet found at the scene where two girls were found killed in Delphi, Indiana in 2017 match marks made by a gun owned by the man police say committed the crime, according to prosecutors.
Carroll County, Indiana prosecutors laid out the case in a probable cause affidavit against Richard Allen, 50, who was charged last month in the murders of Abigail J. "Abby" Williams, 13, and Liberty Rose Lynn "Libby" German, 14. Allen has pleaded not guilty. As CBS 4 in Indianapolis reported, a judge denied prosecutors' request to keep the document sealed on Tuesday.
In the document, prosecutors said there was an unspent round found between the bodies of Williams and German in a wooded area near a hiking trail. The unspent round had extraction marks on it. Clothes were also found in a nearby creek belonging to both girls south of where their bodies were located.
On Oct. 13 of this year, police executed a search warrant on Allen's residence in Delphi. Among other items, they found firearms, including a pistol which the Indiana State Police Laboratory analyzed. The laboratory determined the unspent round located at the crime scene "had been cycled through Richard M. Allen's" pistol.
Prosecutors said Allen purchased the gun in 2001. Allen spoke to Indiana State Police on Oct. 26, 2022 and said he never allowed anyone to use or borrow the pistol. When asked about the unspent bullet, "he did not have an explanation of why the bullet was found between the bodies" of the victims.
Allen told investigators he was on the trail near where the girls were found, but denied knowing them or any involvement in their killings.
Prosecutors also said multiple witnesses were at the trail near the crime scene on Feb. 13, 2017, when the alleged murders took place.
Investigators spoke with three juveniles who said they were walking on the trail when they encountered a man whom they described as "kind of creepy. Through the witness's description of the man's appearance and clothing, prosecutors said they believe Allen was the man they encountered.
Another witness told investigators they saw a man walking along a road near the trail who appeared "muddy and bloody" as though he had been in a fight. Prosecutors said they believe this witness saw Allen walking back to his car.
Prosecutors also said the clothing Allen said he was wearing that day matched the clothing worn by a person seen in video taken by one of the victims. The video shows Williams and German encountered a man by a bridge who ordered the girls "guys, down the hill." Prosecutors also said one of the girls mentioned the word "gun" in the video.
Prosecutors also said video from a machine repair shop near the trail captured footage of a vehicle matching the description of Allen's 2016 black Ford Focus. According to the document, investigators first interviewed Allen in 2017 but weren't have to get a search warrant and obtain the gun until last month.
Authorities have never said how the two girls were killed. The witnesses referenced in the probable cause document did not say whether they heard any gunshots that day.
Allen lived in Delphi the whole time the case was under investigation before being charged.
We've learned Allen worked at a CVS drugstore on West Main Street.
Anyone with information that could help the ongoing investigation can email abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com, or call (765) 822-3535.