DELPHI, Ind. (WXIN) – Richard Allen, the man convicted in the Delphi murders, learned his punishment Friday.
Special Judge Fran Gull sentenced Allen to 130 years for the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German, whose bodies were found in February 2017. Friday’s proceedings also included victim impact statements.
Allen had faced between 45 years and 130 years in prison. He was given two 65-year sentences to be served consecutively, for a total of 130 years.
The sentencing hearing comes more than a month after a jury found Allen guilty on four counts of murder. The verdict followed 17 days of testimony in the high-profile case.
Prosecutors said Allen put himself on the Monon High Bridge — near where the girls’ bodies were found — on Feb. 13, 2017, the day of the murders. They also said they linked him to the murders through an unspent cartridge found at the crime scene. A forensic firearms expert testified the cartridge had been cycled through Allen’s Sig Sauer P226, a firearm recovered by police during an October 2022 search of Allen’s home.
While in custody, Allen confessed to the murders dozens of times. Gull allowed the confessions — and the bullet evidence — to be admitted at trial over the objections of Allen’s defense lawyers, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi. The attorneys argued Allen’s confessions were the result of mental duress he suffered while being held in isolation for months.
The special judge, appointed to the case by the Indiana Supreme Court after the original judge recused himself, stymied the defense’s efforts to present its alternative murder theory in court. Allen’s attorneys blamed Odinists, members of a Norse pagan group, for killing the girls as part of a ritual.
Allen’s attorneys filed a motion this week maintaining his innocence and saying they would not present evidence at Friday’s sentencing hearing. They plan to move forward with an appeal.
The trial began with jury selection in Fort Wayne on Oct. 14 before the proceedings shifted to Delphi on Oct. 18. The state and defense delivered closing arguments on Nov. 7, putting the case in the jury’s hands. Jurors delivered their verdict on Nov. 11.
During the sentencing hearing, Allen responded to a handful of questions from Gull. It was the first time he’d spoken in court. He provided his name, answered a few questions and declined to speak on his own behalf. Gull advised him he had the right to appeal.
Six family members described the impact of the girls’ murders on their lives and admonished the defense for its handling of the case. They were upset about the release of crime scene photos that stemmed from an evidence leak in 2023.
Indiana State Police, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland and the victims’ families were expected to hold a news conference after the sentencing.
This is a developing story.
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