DELPHI — Investigators say marks on a single unspent bullet found near the bodies tie Richard Allen to the killings of Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017, according to court documents made public Tuesday.
Special Judge Fran Gull overruled objections from the prosecutor's office and released a redacted version of the probable cause affidavit that details the evidence used to charge Allen with murdering the two young girls in Delphi.
"When asked about the unspent bullet, (Allen) did not have an explanation of why the bullet was found between the bodies of Victim 1 and Victim 2," investigators wrote in the affidavit. "(Allen) again admitted he was on the trail, but denied knowing Victim 1 or Victim 2 and denied any involvement in their murders."
Allen, 50, has been charged with murder in the deaths of Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14. The girls' bodies were found on Valentine's Day 2017 off a trail near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi.
Names of witnesses and detectives on the case are redacted from the public version of the affidavit. The document refers to Abby and Libby as Victim 1 and Victim 2, even though their names and photos have been widely distributed to the public since the day before their bodies were found on Feb. 14, 2017.
The affidavit details the meticulous work by investigators who spent years on the case. The evidence linking Allen to the crime includes:
- Several witnesses who saw a man investigators believe was Richard Allen on the Monon High Bridge about the time the girls disappeared.
- Surveillance video from the Hoosier Harvestore, a farm equipment repair shop in Delphi, that showed what police believe is Allen's Ford Focus in the area near the trail.
- Clothing that belongs to Allen was seized by investigators, including jackets, boots, knives and firearms. Allen told detectives he was on the bridge wearing a blue jacket and other clothing that matched the clothing worn by the killer in images captured on the phone of one of the victims.
- A single .40-caliber bullet was found on the ground between the bodies. Ejection marks on that bullet show it had been "cycled through" a Sig Sauer P226 found in Allen's home. Allen, investigators learned, had purchased the handgun in 2001. He never let anyone borrow it, Allen told detectives.'
In a hearing last week, Allen's attorneys called the information contained in the probable cause "flimsy" when they urged the judge to release the probable cause affidavit.
Allen is scheduled to appear in a Carroll County court for a hearing on Feb . 17.
The documents can be viewed here:
Earlier, attorneys for Allen filed a request to have the trial moved outside Carroll county, arguing that doing so would reduce the likelihood of jury bias.
This is a developing story.
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