Delphi murders - live update: Indiana police to hold news conference after Richard Allen arrested

Police in Indiana will soon announce what is being described as a “major development” in the 2017 Delphi murder case – more than five years after the double slaying of best friends Libby German and Abby Williams.

Officials from multiple law enforcement agencies – including Indiana State Police, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Carroll County Prosecutor’s Office and the US Marshal Service – as well as members of the victims’ families will speak at a press conference at 10am ET.

This comes after local Delphi man Richard Allen, 50, was arrested in connection to the murders on Friday.

Mr Allen – whose name has never before been publicly tied to the case – is a married father who works at the local CVS in the heart of the tight-knit community.

His arrest comes more than five years after Libby, 14, and Abby, 13, were brutally murdered after setting off on a hike along the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi on 13 February 2017. Their bodies were found in a wooded area around half a mile off the trail the next day.

Until now, no arrests have ever been made and no one has ever been charged.

Delphi murders

• Local man Richard Allen, 50, arrested in connection to murders

• Libby German’s family commemorates first arrest in case: ‘Today is the day'

• Indiana State Police to hold press conference about case

• Richard Allen posed for smiling selfie in front of police sketch of suspect

• Man arrested worked at local CVS store in heart of Delphi

What happened to Libby German and Abby Williams?

12:20 , Rachel Sharp

Libby German, 14, and Abby Wiliams, 13, went missing on 13 February 2017 after they set off on a hike along the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Indiana.

During the walk, Libby posted a photo of her best friend walking along the Monon High Bridge. It was the last known photo of Abby before she was killed.

Later that day, the teenagers were reported missing when they failed to return to a spot where a family member was picking them up.

The next day – Valentine’s Day 2017 – their bodies were discovered in a wooded area around half a mile off the trail.

For the last five years, no arrests were made and police remained tightlipped about the crime scene and how the girls died.

However, shocking new details about the murders came to light in a 2017 search warrant application obtained by podcast The Murder Sheet and shared with The Independent back in May of this year.

The warrant revealed that the girls had lost “a lot” of blood during their deaths and that their killer is believed to have moved and staged their bodies, before taking some sort of souvenir from the scene.

For the first time, the warrant also revealed that the teenagers had been killed by some type of weapon. The word for the weapon was redacted in the document.

The murderer would have been covered in the victims’ blood in the aftermath of the slayings due to the “large amount of blood was lost by the victims at the crime scene”, it reads.

Libby German’s sister thanks people for support

12:00 , Rachel Sharp

Libby German’s sister tweeted on Sunday night thanking everyone for their support over the last few days – after Richard Allen was arrested in connection to her sister’s death.

Kelsi German said that she “appreciate[s]” the messages from people and would respond on Monday – when she is expected to join police at a press conference about the case.

“Press conference Monday, October 31st 10am EST,” she wrote.

“Thankful for everyone who has given me space and allowed me to process quietly for a couple of days. I see your messages, replies, posts, etc.

“They haven’t gone unnoticed. I appreciate all of you. I will respond tomorrow.”

Police to provide details in conference

11:30 , Shweta Sharma

Indiana State Police and members of the victims’ families are slated to hold a press conference on Monday morning to provide an update on the case.

Officials are remaining tightlipped about the arrest and did not say what new information will be released.

The conference will be given by officials from the Indiana State Police, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Carroll County Prosecutor’s Office and the US Marshal Service.

The news conference will take place at 10am on Monday at the Delphi United Methodist Church.

Killer staged bodies and may have taken souvenir

10:45 , Shweta Sharma

The killer in the unsolved Delphi murders is believed to have moved and staged the victim’s bodies and taken a souvenir from their 2017 slayings, police documents revealed in May.

Best friends Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, lost a lot of blood during their murders with an unspecified weapon and were not killed in the same location where their bodies were discovered close to a trail where they had set off on a fun day out together just hours earlier.

The shocking new details about the murders that have rocked the community of Delphi, Indiana, for more than five years came to light in a search warrant obtained by podcast The Murder Sheet and shared with The Independent.

The warrant, filed by an FBI agent investigating the murders back in 2017, was to carry out a search on the home of Ronald Logan.

Delphi murderer may have moved, staged bodies and taken souvenir from 2017 killing

Everything we know about deaths of Libby German and Abby Williams

10:00 , Shweta Sharma

It’s been more than five years since best friends Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, set off on a walk in their hometown of Delphi, Indiana – never to be seen alive again.

Since then, several local men have fallen under suspicion for their murders.

But no arrests were made, no suspects formally named and one promising lead after the next went cold. Until now.

For the first time, a man has been arrested in connection to the 2017 murders of the teenagers.

Read our detailed report.

Everything we know about the Delphi murders and arrest of Richard Allen

Catfishing profile may be linked to killing of Abigail Williams and Liberty German, police say

09:15 , Shweta Sharma

Police last year had believed the unsolved murders of two Indiana teenagers were related to a fake social media profile used to lure in young girls.

“While investigating the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German, detectives with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana State Police have uncovered an online profile named anthony_shots,” Indiana State Police had said in a 2021 statement.

“The creator of the fictitious profile used this information while communicating with juvenile females to solicit nude images, obtain their addresses, and attempt to meet them.”

Read Nathan Place’s report from last year.

Catfishing profile may be connected to Delphi murders, police say

Everything we know about suspect Richard Allen as he is pictured for first time since arrest

08:30 , Shweta Sharma

The 50-year-old married man arrested on Friday in connection with the 2017 Delphi murders has now been pictured for the first time – more than five years on from the double slaying of teenage best friends Libby German and Abby Williams.

Richard Matthew Allen, from Delphi, Indiana, was taken into custody at around midnight and booked into Carroll County Jail. He has since been moved to a state facility for his own safety.

Local outlet FOX59 has now obtained a state-issued photo of Mr Allen, with a government source confirming that it depicts the man now behind bars.

Read more here.

Who is Richard Allen – the man arrested over the 2017 Delphi murders?

Grandmother of Delphi murder victim speaks out after arrest of Richard Allen: ‘Where do we go from here?’

07:45 , Shweta Sharma

The grandmother of one of the Delphi murder victims has spoken out after a 50-year-old local man was finally arrested more than five years on from the 2017 killings.

Becky Patty, the grandmother of Libby German, shared a heartbreaking Facebook post on Saturday where she said that her family now has a “very difficult path” ahead of them and questioned: “Where do we go from here?”

“I guess I am kind of at a loss. Every morning I get up - get my coffee - and start looking for which photo will be the today is the day post,” she said.

Read Rachel Sharp’s report.

Grandmother of Delphi murder victim speaks out after arrest of Richard Allen

Who is suspect Richard Allen arrested in the case?

06:51 , Shweta Sharma

The 50-year-old married man arrested on Friday in connection with the 2017 Delphi murders has now been pictured for the first time.

Richard Matthew Allen, from Delphi, Indiana, was taken into custody at around midnight on Friday and booked into Carroll County Jail. He has since been moved to a state facility for his own safety.

The 50-year-old is a local resident of Delphi, where the teenage girls, Libby German and Abby Williams, lived with their families.

According to online records, Mr Allen has lived in Delphi since at least 2006, and in Indiana his whole adult life.

He is married and works as a pharmacy technician, receiving his most recent pharmaceutical licence in February 2018 – one year on from the murders.

A local resident told Fox59 that Mr Allen currently works at the local CVS store – coming into contact with members of the community as part of his job.

“When I will go into CVS as a customer myself, he would say ‘do you need any help?’ I would be like ‘no’,” said Chandler Underhill, the manager of the local Brick & Mortar Pub, where he said Mr Allen was a regular.

“Just like a normal guy that I’ve seen for the last couple years, not really thinking anything.”

Mr Underhill said that Mr Allen always seemed “normal” when he would come into the pub where he works.

“I would talk; he wouldn’t say much. He seems like a normal guy,” he said.

“One of my servers was telling me that he wouldn’t speak much.”

Mr Allen appears to have no prior criminal record.

Photo shows man arrested over Delphi murders with police sketch of suspected killer in background

05:30 , Shweta Sharma

A photo has revealed how the local man arrested in connection to the 2017 Delphi murders posed for a smiling selfie in front of a police sketch of the suspected killer.

The photo shows Richard Allen, 50, smiling alongside his wife Kathy in a local bar in Delphi, Indiana – the small, closeknit community where he has lived for more than 15 years and where victims Libby German and Abby Williams lived with their families before their brutal killings.

On the wall behind him is a police sketch released by Indiana State Police in 2019 of the man suspected of murdering the teenage best friends. Mr Allen bears some likeness to the drawing.

Read our report.

Man arrested over Delphi murders pictured with police sketch of suspect in background

More details expected in press conference

05:13 , Shweta Sharma

Indiana State Police and members of the victims’ families are slated to hold a press conference on Monday morning to provide an update on the case.

Officials are remaining tightlipped about the arrest and did not say what new information will be released.

The conference will be given by officials from the Indiana State Police, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office as well as the Carroll County Prosecutor’s Office and the US Marshal Service.

The news conference is scheduled for 10 am on Monday at the Delphi United Methodist Church.

‘Today is the day’: Family of Libby German react following arrest

04:43 , Shweta Sharma

The grandmother and sister of one of the Delphi murder victims reacted after a 50-year-old local man was finally arrested more than five years on from the 2017 killings.

Libby’s sister Kelsi German posted online that “today is the day” as it emerged that a man had been arrested in connection to the murders.

Becky Patty, the grandmother of Libby German, shared a heartbreaking Facebook post on Saturday where she said that her family now has a “very difficult path” ahead of them and questioned: “Where do we go from here?”

“I guess I am kind of at a loss. Every morning I get up - get my coffee - and start looking for which photo will be the today is the day post,” she said.

“Now I sit here not needing to do it because at long last we have a face to go with our monster. I sit here wondering - now what. Where do we go from here? I realize our lives have again made a big change - we have a very difficult path to start down.

“It is a path we will gladly face as we know each step taken is one step closer to our monster being convicted. Knowing that makes that walk so much easier.”

Everything we know about deaths of Libby German and Abby Williams and arrest of Richard Allen

04:22 , Shweta Sharma

It’s been more than five years since best friends Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, set off on a walk in their hometown of Delphi, Indiana – never to be seen alive again.

Since then, several local men have fallen under suspicion for their murders.

But no arrests were made, no suspects formally named and one promising lead after the next went cold. Until now.

For the first time, a man has been arrested in connection to the 2017 murders of the teenagers.

Read Rachel Sharp’s report.

Everything we know about the Delphi murders and arrest of Richard Allen

04:17 , Shweta Sharma

Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the latest developments in the Delphi murders.