New details revealed in trial of suspected Delphi murderer Richard Allen

The man accused of killing 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German in a small Indiana town in 2017 forced them off a hiking trail before slitting their throats, prosecutors said in the opening statement of his trial on Friday and bloody events revealed new details in the murder case.

Officials had not yet released details about the murders, to which 52-year-old Richard Allen has pleaded not guilty. But a prosecutor told jurors (who will be barred from the media during the month-long trial) that their case will include evidence that includes images and audio from one of the victim’s phones. the Associated Press reported.

In his opening statement, prosecutor Nicholas McLeland said Allen was filmed on a grainy video shot on Liberty’s phone following the girls on a trail outside Delphi – a town of about 3,000 people.

In this footage, a man who prosecutors say is Allen can be heard telling the victims to get off the trail and go “down the hill.” (Their bodies were found a day later in nearby woods.) McLeland claimed Allen was brandishing a gun as he approached them. “The girls obeyed out of fear.”

McLeland said an unused bullet found at the scene came from a gun Allen owned. He also claimed that after his arrest, Allen shared incriminating details of his wife’s crimes – and later to correctional officers, inmates and law enforcement.

Allen’s defense attorney, Andrew Baldwin, claimed in his opening statement that there was reasonable doubt that his client committed the murders.

Allen’s incriminating statements in prison were made under the stress of his incarceration, Baldwin said, noting that one of the details Allen shared at the time was that the girls were shot in the back – which didn’t happen.

“Richard Allen is innocent,” he said. “He’s really innocent.”

All are charged with two counts of murder and two additional counts of murder “during the commission or attempt to commit kidnapping.” According to the AP, he could face up to 130 years in prison if found guilty.