Delphi, Indiana is a tiny town along the Wabash River with a population of only 2,972 people. The town hid in plain sight due to its low crime rate and quietness. This was all true, until February 13th, 2017. Liberty German and Abigail Williams were 14 years old and the best of friends in eighth grade. Abigail played the saxophone and was on her local volleyball team. She loved animals, photography, and art. Liberty played softball and also loved playing the saxophone, photography, and spending time with her friend Abigail. On a cold February morning, the two girls were dropped off by Liberty’s older sister at a trailhead for the two girls to take a walk on Monon High Bridge. On their walk, they posted a photo on Snapchat and took a couple of videos together (as teenage girls do). But when three o’clock rolled around, Liberty’s dad came to pick them up but the girls did not return. A dozen missed calls and a couple of hours later, the dad filed the two teenagers missing.
Only two days after the missing person report, the two girls’ bodies were found half a mile away from the bridge. The media did not release their cause of death but in a press conference, they did confirm that it was foul play. After this press conference, they released a video that the two teenagers had taken on Snapchat that shows a man in the background where you can faintly hear him say “down the hill.” The video also helped police capture a photo of him and then eventually a composite sketch. Regardless of the FBI’s involvement, over 18,000 tips, and hours of investigating, the case remained cold until October 28th of this year, when an arrest was made.
Richard Allen in Delphi was arrested and charged with the two murders and is currently being held in jail without bond. Details surrounding his arrest have been kept quiet by local law enforcement due to a court order surrounding probable cause. Richard Allen looks eerily similar to the composite sketch that has been used for the investigation. Other than that, the public has no information on how long he has been a suspect and what led to him being arrested.
So why is this case important?
The loss of two beautiful young girls has touched the hearts of many, crime junkie or not. Two teenage girls who had their whole lives ahead of them were brutally murdered in broad daylight. What makes this case so baffling is the fact that the suspect is recorded on picture and video tape but took five years to arrest him. Not only that, but in a town the size of my high school, you think this would be an easy find. The public has been in the dark about the details surrounding the case which is uncommon because releasing the details can sometimes help the case. But our duty as citizens is not to obsess over the murder of two teenage girls and demand information we do not need. True crime fanatics can lose sight of the lives affected and forget that there are real grieving families who do not want their children’s death broadcasted to the world. So what can we do? Continue to provide information if we know anything and tell the beautiful lives of Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Their death doesn’t define the lives they lived.
Click here to donate to Abby and Libby Memorial Park or to learn more about them.
If you know any information surrounding the deaths of Libby and Abby in Delphi, Indiana on February 13th, 2017, call the Indiana Tip Line at (800) 382-7537.