Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen had his initial bail set at $20 million after he was arrested for the 2017 killing of two teenage girls.
Allen, 50, was arrested last week in a shock development by authorities who had never publicly linked him to the case before.
Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, were killed while hiking together along the Delphi Historic Trail near the Monon High Bridge in Indiana on February 13.
The culprit behind the murders remained a mystery for five years because police didn’t talk about how the girls were killed.
Authorities continue to keep the details of the murders under wraps, and District Attorney Nicholas McLeland has sealed Allen’s indictment documents.
Judge Benjamin Diener today gave permission to release some details about the case, with a hearing scheduled for November 22 to determine whether the documents remain classified.
A list of the crimes revealed that Allen was charged under a specific subsection of Indiana’s law that includes at least one underlying offense — although it’s unclear which.
Richard Allen, 50, was charged with the 2017 killings of Libby, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, in Delphi, Indiana
Abigail Williams (left) and Liberty German (right) were murdered in February 2017 after walking the Delphi Historic Trail near Monon High Bridge
However, under Indiana law, they could kill another person while committing or attempting to commit: arson, burglary, child molestation, consumer product tampering, criminal deviant conduct, kidnapping, rape, robbery, human trafficking, promoting human trafficking, promoting the Trafficking in human beings sex trafficking, promoting the sex trafficking of children, promoting the sex trafficking of a younger child, child sex trafficking, or carjacking.
Indiana law requires that the probable cause affidavit be released once a suspect is arrested, but McLeland requested that they be sealed under Rule 6 of the Indiana Rules on Access to Court Records.
It states that the document can be barred from being made available to the public by a court in “extraordinary circumstances” – although it is unclear why McLeland made that request.
The document would reveal in more detail why officials linked Allen to the heinous crime, with multiple media outlets objecting to the sealing.
Currently, the only released details are that Allen’s initial bail was set at $20 million following his arrest, although he is now reportedly being held without bail.
A case summary showing previous and upcoming court dates is now available, as is a case number so the public can follow new details and events in the case.
Judge Diener also claimed that his court staff was “overwhelmed” by the “storm” of inquiries regarding the public records.
One photo shows Richard Allen, 50, smiling with his wife – while over his shoulder a police sketch bearing a close resemblance to him is pinned to the wall at Bob Matlock’s bar
Libby German was filmed by her friend and fellow victim Abigail Williams in February 2017 just before they were murdered
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Office has requested that Allen be transferred from the county jail to a state prison for “safekeeping” and he will be transferred to the Indiana Department of Justice.
Police reports viewed by Fox 59 revealed officers were dispatched to Allen’s home around 3:30 a.m. on June 18, 2015 for reports of a “domestic” incident.
A composite sketch was released in 2017 showing a possible suspect in the case
Sheriff Tobe Leazenby said Allen, a father of one and a CVS technician, was allegedly intoxicated and his wife took him to a hospital for a medical.
Authorities confirmed their role was to “keep the peace” during the incident and no arrests or charges were made.
Indiana police officers released Snapchat footage documented by the girls of a man – dubbed “Bridge Guy” – who followed them on a bridge shortly before their deaths.
Libby and Abigail walked the Delphi Historic Trail near Monon High Bridge together on February 13, but were reported missing when they failed to show up to meet their parents.
Their bodies were found near the bridge the day after they disappeared, with several suspects linked to the case over the years but no arrests made until last week.
It’s unclear if Allen is the man in the footage or the voice that uttered the phrase “down the hill” recorded by Libby’s cell phone just before the crime.
Allen is pictured here with his wife Kathy in an undated picture. They live just a few kilometers from the bridge from which the two teenagers disappeared in 2017
Carroll County Attorney Nicholas McLeland said Allen’s arrest was a “step in the right direction.”
The bridge where the girls were last seen is just a few miles from Allen’s home — and also just a half-mile from the middle school the two teenagers attended.
Libby had shared a “snapshot” of herself on Snapchat walking the railroad tracks on the day of her murder, with the social media updates creating a sensation that made the case one of the most notorious unsolved homicides in the United States.
After news of Allen’s arrest broke, a disturbing photo emerged showing his own daughter posing in the same spot where the teenage victims were last seen alive.
Brittany Zapanta, 28, poses on the Monon High Bridge.
The photo was posted to Facebook by Allen’s wife Kathy, 50, in 2018 – just over a year after the girls went missing in February 2017.
It’s unclear when the photo was taken, and no indication of who took the snap on the Monon High Bridge Trail.
Allen’s arrest could mark the end of a years-long investigation during which numerous possible leads went nowhere and police remained silent on the details of the case.
An unidentified man – now believed to be Allen – was filmed approaching Libby and Abby before their deaths
Indiana State Police announced Monday that Allen has been charged with the murders of the two girls
Libby German and Abigail Williams’ family members listened intently during the press conference
Exactly how the girls died remains unknown to the public, and the condition in which their bodies were discovered also remains shrouded in mystery.
Over the summer, the details of a search warrant revealed that Libby and Abigail were found covered in blood and that their killer appeared to have taken some sort of souvenir from the crime scene.
The search warrant gave no further details as to what the souvenir was – although it said that “the rest of [the girls’] Clothing was found,” suggesting that the killer took something they were wearing.
The killer also reportedly “staged” the girls’ bodies after killing them – although exactly how he did it remains unclear.
Investigators believed photos or video were likely taken of the grotesque arrangement to “commemorate” the crime scene.
Numerous people have been identified as possible suspects in the case over the years.
Ron Logan, who died in 2020, was long considered the prime suspect.
Allen was photographed near this sketch. It is one of several released after the February 2017 killings
Allen is seen with his wife Kathy in an undated photo. He appears to have no criminal history and was known locally for working at the local CVS
The photo of Allen’s daughter, 28-year-old Brittany, was posted to Facebook by his wife Kathy, 50, in 2018 – just over a year after the girls went missing in February 2017
The girls’ bodies were discovered on his property – just 1,400 feet from his home – and over the summer it was revealed that his alibi for the day of the murder was not in order.
His home was ransacked and he was arrested shortly after the murders, but he was released and never charged.
The voice in the clip was described as “not inconsistent” with Logan’s, according to the FBI investigation.
Another man, Kegan Kline, 27, of Peru, Indiana, was also previously named as a suspect in the murders.
He reportedly admitted to talking to Libby German about a fake Instagram profile called Anthony_shots.
Kline – who is stocky and has a doughy face – used the image of a fit and muscular young man to get underage girls to talk to him.
He is said to have arranged to meet Libby the day before she was murdered on the Delphi High Bridge as she was walking on it.
But he is also said to have shared his Anthony_shots password with others – including his father – and said his father could be a prime suspect in the murders.
Kline is being held in prison after being arrested on separate child porn charges in 2020
The Indiana State Police Department hotline can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 765-822-3535.