The Delphi Murders: Bridge Guy, Richard Allen and the Appeal

Three days after Abby Williams and Libby German were killed near Delphi, Indiana, Richard Allen told investigators he had been on the trail that afternoon. The tip sheet listed him as "Richard Allen Whiteman," was marked cleared, and sat misfiled for more than five years. A volunteer clerk found it on September 21, 2022. Five weeks later, Allen was in custody.

A jury convicted Allen of both murders in November 2024, and he was sentenced to 130 years. His appeal was argued on September 21, 2026, and the Indiana Court of Appeals has not yet ruled. Here is the record, in order.

The Disappearance on the Monon High Bridge

At 1:30 p.m. on February 13, 2017, 13-year-old Abigail "Abby" Williams and 14-year-old Liberty "Libby" German were dropped off by Libby's older sister, Kelsi German, on County Road 300 North, east of the Hoosier Heartland Highway. They planned to hike out to the Monon High Bridge over Deer Creek.

At 2:07 p.m., Libby posted a photo of Abby walking on the bridge to social media. Nobody heard from either girl after that. They did not meet Libby's father at 3:15 p.m. as planned, and they were reported missing at 5:30 p.m.

Around noon the next day, searchers found their bodies on the north bank of Deer Creek, about half a mile east of the bridge.

What Libby's Phone Captured

Libby's phone held the most important evidence in the case. By February 15, 2017, Indiana State Police were circulating a still image from it of a man walking on the bridge toward the girls. He became known as "Bridge Guy." On February 22, police released audio from the same video, a man's voice saying, "Down the hill." They held back the rest to protect a future trial.

Investigators also found an unspent .40-caliber round within two feet of one of the bodies. At trial, state police digital examiner Christopher Cecil testified that the Bridge Guy video was recorded at 2:13 p.m. and that the phone's last recorded movement came at 2:32 p.m. The phone was found underneath Abby's body.

The Misfiled Tip

Kathy Shank, a retired child protective services investigator, spent years as a volunteer organizing the thousands of tips that came in. On September 21, 2022, she found a tip sheet dated February 16, 2017. It said a "Richard Allen Whiteman" had been on the trails between 1:30 and 3:30 p.m. on the day of the murders and had seen three girls. It was marked clear.

Shank knew a Richard Allen lived on Whiteman Drive and concluded the street had been recorded as a surname. She took the file to Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett. Liggett later acknowledged that Allen, who came forward on his own and never left town, had "fell in the cracks."

Allen was taken into custody on October 26, 2022. On October 31, Indiana State Police announced he had been charged with two counts of murder. He pleaded not guilty.

The Probable Cause Affidavit

Judge Frances Gull unsealed the probable cause affidavit on November 29, 2022. Investigators said they believed Allen was the man in the video. A lab had determined that the unspent round found near the bodies had been cycled through a Sig Sauer P226 pistol that Allen owned.

The affidavit also described witnesses. One said she saw a man walking away from the area "wearing a blue colored jacket and blue jeans and was muddy and bloody." Others saw a car parked behind a nearby building in a way that appeared to conceal its license plate. Investigators said it resembled the 2016 Ford Focus Allen owned.

When police interviewed Allen again in October 2022, he said he had gone to the bridge to watch the fish and had worn blue jeans and a blue or black Carhartt jacket that day.

The Trial

The trial began on October 18, 2024, in Delphi. Prosecutors said both girls' throats were cut. Abby was found clothed in some of Libby's clothes; Libby was found nude.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Roland Kohr testified that both girls died of sharp force injuries to the neck and that he found no evidence of sexual assault. A state firearms examiner linked the unspent round to Allen's pistol. The defense called its own expert to dispute that comparison.

The core of the state's case was Allen's own words. Prosecutors said he admitted to the murders more than 60 times while jailed, to his wife, his mother, other family members, the prison warden, a prison psychologist and other inmates. Master Trooper Brian Harshman, who reviewed more than 700 of Allen's recorded prison calls, testified that the voice saying "Down the hill" was Allen's. In an April 2023 call played for the jury, Allen told his wife, "I did it. I killed Abby and Libby." She answered that he had not and that he was not feeling well.

Prison psychologist Monica Wala testified about what Allen told her. According to her clinical notes, he described following the girls across the bridge, ordering them down a hill and across the creek, wanting to sexually assault them, and instead cutting their throats and covering their bodies with branches. She diagnosed him with a brief psychotic disorder in May 2023.

The Defense and the Verdict

The defense argued that the confessions were not reliable. Allen had spent 13 months in solitary confinement before trial, and his lawyers said his mental health collapsed there and that he was psychotic when he made the statements. Defense witnesses described his deterioration in custody.

On November 11, 2024, the jury convicted Allen on all counts. On December 20, 2024, Judge Gull sentenced him to 65 years for the murder of Libby and 65 years for the murder of Abby, to be served consecutively, for a total of 130 years.

Where It Stands, October 2026

On April 9, 2025, the interrogation and prison confession videos shown at trial were released to the public. On July 18, 2025, Indiana moved Allen out of state, to the Lexington Assessment and Reception Center in Oklahoma, where he remains while the appeal is pending.

His appellate brief, filed in December 2025, raises three main issues. First, that the detective who got the search warrant for his home mischaracterized witness descriptions to tie him to Bridge Guy. Second, that his confessions should have been excluded because they came out of solitary confinement, suicide watch and psychosis. Third, that he could not present a complete defense, because the judge kept out evidence pointing to other people and expert testimony about his confessions. The Indiana Attorney General's office has asked the court to uphold the convictions.

A three-judge panel, Nancy Vaidik, Robert Altice and Elaine Brown, heard oral argument in Indianapolis on September 21, 2026. Deputy Attorney General Ellen Meilaender told the court the restrictive housing was for Allen's protection and that the timeline, the eyewitness evidence and his own statements proved he was Bridge Guy. One judge pushed back on that, telling the state, "You protected him into psychosis." The court will issue a written decision, which could take months. Until it does, the convictions and the 130-year sentence stand.

In Delphi, the L & A Park Foundation was formed to build a park in the girls' memory, and Delphi Community Middle School, which both attended, renamed its library the Abby and Libby Memorial Library.

Sources

1. Murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German (Wikipedia)
2. Delphi suspect went to police 3 days after the murders, but he 'fell in the cracks' for years: Sheriff (ABC News)
3. Newly released probable cause affidavit shines light on Delphi murder arrest (Oxygen)
4. Abigail Williams and Liberty German's final moments detailed in Delphi murders trial (Oxygen)
5. Delphi Murders Trial: Day 12, jury hears jail phone calls from Richard Allen (WRTV)
6. Delphi murders trial: Richard Allen's mental health, cartridge evidence analyzed (ABC11)
7. Delphi murders trial, week 2: Richard Allen's confessions (NBC News)
8. Delphi Murders Trial: Richard Allen appeals conviction (ABC57)
9. Indiana court hears appeal in Richard Allen Delphi murders case (WNDU)
10. Delphi murders appeal: Judge tells State 'you protected him into psychosis' (21Alive)

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