DELPHI, Ind. — It's been more than seven years since the bodies of Abby Williams and Libby German were found near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. Richard Allen, the man accused of killing the two teenagers, is about to stand trial.
The trial begins Friday, Oct. 18. Opening statements from the prosecution and defense are expected on the first day.
Sixteen Allen County residents were selected earlier this week to serve on the jury. Twelve of those people will begin the trial as jurors and four will serve as alternates.
The jury is made up of eight women and four men. The four alternate jurors are two men and two women.
From opening statements to verdict, 13News will be at the Carroll County courthouse every day of the trial to explain what happened inside the courtroom.
Follow along with the latest updates below:
State's 5th witness: Carrol County Deputy Mitchell Cantron
4:20 p.m. - The next witness is Carrol County Deputy Mitchell Cantron. He is a 12 year veteran of the department.
He took the dispatch call at 5:15 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017 that two girls were missing.
Cantron said he talked to Mike Patty who told him the girls were supposed to be picked up at the freedom bridge and were not there. The families were worried because it was getting dark.
Cantron drove out 625 West. There’s a private drive off that road.
Cantron testifies that he drives down a private drive onto private land and stopped at area under Monon High Bridge. He got out of his car and saw nothing after 5 to 7 minutes of looking.
Cantron said he continued down the drive to house of Brad Webber. Cantron said he knocked on the door. When Webber answers, the deputy told him that two girls were missing and asked to search Webber's property. The man agreed.
Cantron said nothing stuck out to him. He went back down the private drive and back out onto 625. While he was driving, he said he was still looking around but it was dark by the time he left Webber's property.
Cantron says he saw nothing, did not see girls.
State's 4th witness: Anna Williams, Abby's mother
3:50 p.m. - Anna Williams, Abby Williams' mother is the next witness.
She tears up when asked how to describe Abby.
“She was a very kind and helpful girl," Anna said. “Quiet and reserved among strangers. She wouldn’t go out of her way to go up to a complete stranger.”
Anna remembers that Abby loved roller coasters. She was going to play softball in the spring with Libby.
Abby did not have a cell phone; Anna was waiting until Abby was in high school for her to have one.
That Saturday before murders Abby went with her grandfather to Monticello to get softball gear. Anna said picked Abby up on Sunday and met Libby down at the park.
Anna said she brought the girls back to her house, where they asked if Abby could spend the night at Libby’s.
Abby called her mom and asked if she could stay later into the afternoon with Libby. Anna said she would pick up Abby later that day at the Patty’s house.
Anna said she did not know Abby was going to the bridge that day.
She was at work when she noticed she had back-to-back missed called from Becky Patty, Libby's grandmother. When Anna and Becky were finally able to connect, Anna found out the girls were missing.
Anna says she told her boss “I don’t’ know what these girls are up to but it’s probably not that big of a deal.”
State's 3rd witness: Derrik German, Libby's father
3:25 p.m. - Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin begins to cross examine Derrick German, Libby's father.
Derrick said he saw Dave McKain around 3:25 p.m. coming from the High Bridge. He also saw a couple taking pictures.
"Did (McKain) say he heard any screams?" Baldwin asked.
"No," Derrick said.
Derrick said he saw lights on the service road: "They pulled a fire truck down there."
He said there were several people and lots of flashlights.
"You don't know where every flashlight was, but you saw lots of them?" Baldwin asked.
"Yes," Derrick said.
"What was the passcode to the phone?" Baldwin asked.
Derrick answered: "9-1-9-9."
2:50 p.m. - The prosecution calls up Derrick German, Libby's father.
"I did a lot of running for Libby," Derrick said. "She always forgot something."
"What would you run for?" prosecuting attorney Stacey Diener asked.
"Swimsuits, food before games," Derrick said.
He said that he picked up Abby on Sunday to stay the night, and that he made them banana pancakes for breakfast the morning before they disappeared.
He said the girls went to paint a desk in the garage after that. He left the house around 1:20 that afternoon to go to Frankfort.
Derrick said Libby called him when he was about halfway to Frankfort and "asked me to pick them up at High Bridge on my way back from Frankfort."
He told her it would be a couple of hours.
"She said no problem, we'll just do some exploring," Derrick said.
He said he started calling Libby around 3:11 p.m. He said he called again when he got to the entrance of the trailhead. Then he got out of his vehicle to walk the trail.
Derrick says he saw someone and asked him if he had seen two teen girls.
The man said "no."
Derrick then went toward water, using a short trail to Deer Creek. He didn't see anything and headed back to Freedom Bridge. He said he called Libby a couple of times.
Then he said he called Becky Patty.
Derrick called the girls names on the trail and got no response.
He said he sat in the car for 15 minutes then walked to the High Bridge. He said there were kids sitting on the deck. He asked if they had seen the girls and they said "no."
That's when Kelsi came up behind him.
He said Kelsi and her uncle walked across the bridge, then Derrick went back to his car. He ended up getting in his sister Tara's car and "tried to figure out what to do next."
He went back out on the trail, but before he could get to the bridge, law enforcement showed up and told him to go to the sheriff's department.
He said he went out in a car looking for the girls all over town. Then he said he took a flashlight from his car and searched the woods again.
Prosecutors asked him to show the area he searched on a map. Derrick said he left the trail at the High Bridge but didn't go down by the water because it was steep.
"It was pitch black," Derrick said. "It's woods."
He said he was searching the north side of the trail but could see the flashlights of other people searching on the south side.
The next day, he went out with 10 people — who parked at the old CPS building before walking to the trail.
He said his aunt was in one of the search groups. She went down into the ravine.
"How did you learn the girls were found?" Diener asked.
Derrick said his aunt "came running off the trail screaming."
He said he could hear murmurs.
"I saw the coroner go by and saw 12 cop cars go by," Derrick remembered. "So I went to find Kelsi."
Diener said the area was difficult to traverse.
"It was hard," Derrick said.
"You don't remember seeing anyone searching on the north side Monday night?" Diener asked.
"I don't remember seeing anyone over there," Derrick said.
State's 2nd witness: Kelsi Siebert, Libby's older sister
2:34 p.m. - The defense begins to cross-examine Libby's older sister Kelsi Siebert.
Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin asked Kelsi "Was Libby outspoken?"
Kelsi said: "Yes."
Baldwin asked, "Would she stand up for others?"
Kelsi said: "Yes."
Baldwin asked if there was a place on the bridge where a person could fall through. Kelsi said it would be awful to try to run across the bridge.
The defense then brought up the picture Libby took of the bridge with Abby on it. The defense asked how far Abby was on the bridge, and Kelsi estimated about one quarter of the way across.
Kelsi said she saw her friends Mayah and Evan at the bridge when she returned.
Baldwin then asked about the sweatshirt that Libby was wearing. He asked if it was new.
Kelsi said she had washed it.
Baldwin said there was no way Kelsi's hair would be on it.
1:34 p.m. - Libby's older sister Kelsi Siebert takes the stand.
Kelsi had just turned 17 when her sister was killed. She told the court that she and Libby were very close and knew each other's friends.
"She was more my best friend than my sister," Kelsi said.
She said that Abby spent a lot of time at their house. She didn't have her own phone but Libby would let Abby borrow hers.
Kelsi described Libby as "always outgoing" and "very brave."
A year before the murders, Kelsi and Libby both crossed the Monon High Bridge for the first time. Kelsi said she was so scared she "crawled across it."
On the morning of the murders, Kelsi said Libby "asked me to go to high bridge. She wanted me to go with her."
"I told her she had to have a ride home," Kelsi said.
She said Abby and Libby listened to loud music with the windows open on the way to the trail.
Prosecutors showed a satellite map of the path the girls would have used to get to the bridge. Kelsi pointed out the trailhead where she dropped the girls off before driving to her boyfriend's house.
"Where was Libby's phone, usually," prosecuting attorney Stacey Diener asked
"It was always in her hand," Kelsi said.
Kelsi said that sometime after 4 p.m. her grandma called to say that Libby was missing. Kelsi and her boyfriend tried to reach Libby.
The family met up and walked the high bridge. Prosecutors had Kelsi show her route on a satellite map. She crossed down the left side of the trail. They went north off of the bridge where there was a hill to go down then went west to where there is a gate.
Kelsi said there was a tree with shoes on it along the route, but that wasn't concerning. "Lots of kids" put their shoes on the tree, according to Kelsi.
"Did you think something bad happened?" Diener asked.
"No, we thought they were out in the woods somewhere," Kelsi said.
Kelsi said she would text with Libby some, but they mostly talked through Snapchat.
"She would have sent a picture with words on it," Kelsi said. "If you didn't save it, it would disappear in a couple hours."
Kelsi remembered Libby posted a picture of the bridge and then a picture of Abby on the bridge.
Kelsi did not go back to the trail after the initial pass with her family, but said "I was texting and calling her."
When they did go back, Kelsi said "we were divided into groups. My group crossed the High Bridge. We went down and to the right. We were searching under bridge."
Kelsi became emotional on the stand when she said "not long after there was someone that yelled they had found the girls."
State's 1st witness: Becky Patty, Libby German's grandmother
11:22 a.m. - After a 25-minute break, today's proceedings continued with the prosecution presenting its case.
The prosecution's first witness was Becky Patty, Libby's grandmother, who said she and her husband, Mike Patty, raised Libby and Kelsi.
"Libby was very active and very smart," Becky said.
Becky said Abby went on spring break with Libby and Patty. According to Patty, the girls were in volleyball and band together.
Becky said Libby turned 14 years old in December 2016, two months before her death.
According to Becky, the girls did not have school Feb. 13, 2017, because it was a scheduled snow makeup day that wasn't needed.
Becky said Abby stayed at their house Feb. 12, 2017 – the night before the murders – and Derrick made them breakfast that next morning.
According to Becky, Libby asked her sister, Kelsi, "If you're going to go into town, would you take us to the trails?"
Becky said the last thing she said to Libby was to wear a jacket, which Libby responded, "Grandma, I'll be OK." Becky wiped away tears as she recounted this.
Becky said Kelsi took Libby and Abby to the trail around 1:30 p.m.
According to Becky, Libby would've notified her if she was running late.
Becky said Derrick called her around 3:30 p.m. because the girls weren't at the pickup spot, and Libby wasn't answering her cellphone. She also said Abby didn't have a cellphone.
Becky then called her husband, Mike, to say she was worried and wanted to go search the trails for the girls. Becky said she also called AT&T to see if they could ping Libby's cellphone.
Around 5 p.m., Becky told Mike to call police because it was starting to get dark. Becky said she then called Anna Williams, Abby's mom, to tell her the girls were missing.
"We called. We kept calling and calling," Becky said as tears were in her eyes.
Becky said the family members eventually went home and joined the search parties on the morning on Feb. 14, 2017.
During the search, Becky said a friend ran up to her and said they had found the girls, which Becky interpreted as they were safe.
Then, Becky said her younger sister, Melissa, was crying and could only say, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"I couldn't understand why they weren't taking me to her, and then, I saw the coroner's van driving by, and that's when I realized they weren't alive," Becky said. "It never crossed my mind when they told me. I just thought they found them."
During cross-examination, Baldwin asked Becky to reiterate that Libby was vocal and stood up for others.
In the redirect, prosecuting attorney Stacey Deiner asked Becky if Libby had ever been exposed to guns, which Becky replied no. Becky said her husband has a long gun for hunting and a handgun, but Becky said Libby was never around the guns.
Becky's testimony ended after one hour.
Defense's opening statement
9:53 a.m. - Attorney Andrew Baldwin delivered the defense's opening statement, starting with the statement, "Richard Allen is truly innocent" and "there is reasonable doubt."
Baldwin went on to say, "We want the truth to come out in this courtroom for the families."
Baldwin said the state's investigation was "messed up from the beginning."
Baldwin accused the state of losing "interview after interview we will never see."
Baldwin said hair found in Abby's hand had a root with DNA. The DNA seemed to possibly match a female relative of Libby, and not Allen.
"In seven years, they never turned over the mother or sister's hair to be tested for DNA," Baldwin said.
Baldwin also attacked the cellphone evidence in the state's case.
Baldwin held up a phone and said, "forensic data on these phones don't lie."
Baldwin told juror's the prosecution's case "is going to fall apart before your very eyes" when they see the phone data evidence.
Baldwin also reiterated the prosecution's theory that Abby and Libby were dead by 4 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, that their bodies were never moved until they were recovered and that Libby's phone was under Abby's body the entire time. Baldwin said the prosecution's timeline puts Allen in the CPS parking lot at 1:30 p.m. The prosecution says Allen abducted and killed the girls, left Libby's phone at the scene and never returned.
But the defense says Allen and the girls were never on the trail at the same time. They say Allen left by 1:30 p.m. that day.
"His car is gone by 2:15," Baldwin said. "And if his car is gone, Richard is gone."
Baldwin says witness Betsy Blair will testify that when she drove by the lot, she saw a car. But Baldwin says the vehicle looks nothing like Allen's.
"There is reasonable doubt in this case," Baldwin said.
The defense says the man in the video taken by Libby doesn't show his lips moving, so it's unclear he is the one who said "down the hill."
The defense says there's no proof the girls were actually taken down the hill. They believe they may have been taken to a car on a nearby access road.
"There's not going to be strong evidence about what happened from that point in time," Baldwin said.
Baldwin said Libby's phone received signal until 5:44 p.m. on Feb. 13. Then, it was no longer connected until 4:33 a.m. on Feb. 14. Baldwin said evidence will show that someone else handled Libby's phone after the murders.
"Richard Allen was at home and never came back," Baldwin said.
The defense believes the girls were killed somewhere else and their bodies were returned to the crime scene. They said that searchers saw no bodies or girls clothing in the creek on the night of Feb. 13. Witnesses near the crime scene also reported hearing no screams.
The defense also worked to undermine the confessions Allen reportedly made while being held in prison.
"They are going to put up video after video after video, and audio after audio after audio, of confessions of an innocent man," Baldwin said. "He went in there (prison) fragile to begin with."
Baldwin said Allen told his family, "maybe I just confess to all this so you guys don't have to suffer."
The defense also tried to discredit the prosecution's claim that the bullet found near the girls' bodies belonged to Allen. Baldwin said that law enforcement commonly uses the type of bullet found at the crime scene, but police never investigated if an officer was missing a .40 bullet. He also said that the owner of the property where the girls were found owns a .40 weapon, but his gun was never tested to see if it matched the bullet found.
Baldwin said an expert will testify the "markings were insufficient" on the lab's test bullet to match Allen's gun to the bullet at the crime scene.
Baldwin told the jury "you'll see with your own eyes" that the markings on bullets do not match.
Baldwin also said the state's timeline doesn't match when Allen was on the trails. He called out two witnesses who described seeing a man who looks nothing like Allen in the area. Baldwin says that if the timeline and witness accounts don't match the prosecution's, then the case is "blown apart."
Baldwin told the jury none of Allen's DNA was found at the scene, and no other forensic evidence placed him there.
The defense went on to say it was "highly unlikely" one person could commit the crime. Baldwin said even state and local law enforcement thought more than one person was required to commit the murders.
"Please wait," Baldwin said in closing. "Richard Allen is truly innocent."
The defense finished their opening statement at 10:54 a.m.
Prosecution's opening statement
9:37 a.m. - Prosecutor Nick McLeland, on behalf of the state of Indiana, presented their opening statement, which took approximately 15 minutes.
McLeland said the case is about three things: the "bridge guy," the unspent bullet found at the scene and the brutal murders of Libby and Abby.
McLeland then described what happened on the day of the murders.
On an unseasonably warm day on Feb. 13, 2017, Libby and Abby went to the Monon trails. Kelsi German, Libby's sister, gave the girls a ride.
"They were best friends, always together, really more like sisters," McLeland said of the girls.
According to McLeland, Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat while they were crossing over the Monon High Bridge. After the girls crossed the bridge, McLeland said they saw a man behind them, so Libby started a recording on her phone at 2:13 p.m.
McLeland said the man pulled out a gun and ordered the girls "down the hill." The girls complied and then, the video on the cellphone stops recording.
"Imagine the fear you'd feel having a gun pulled on you," McLeland said.
According to McLeland, Derrick German, Libby's father, went to pick up the girls, but they were not there.
"You're going to see the crime scene. It was a gruesome scene. Libby was completely naked. Her throat was cut, blood all over," McLeland said. "Abby's throat was also cut."
McLeland said Libby's phone was found under her body. Also found at the crime scene was an unspent bullet.
McLeland said the jury will hear from three people who were on the trail that day who saw a man "walking on the trail with a purpose but not very friendly." McLeland said all three will testify that the man they saw was the "bridge guy."
According to McLeland, Allen testified that he was on the trail that day. Investigators also found a gun in his house, and testing showed a bullet found at the crime scene cycled through that gun.
McLeland said Allen also admitted he committed the crime to his wife and mother, giving those admissions freely, "admissions that only the killer would know," according to McLeland.
McLeland said for years, Allen "hid in plain sight."
McLeland concluded his opening statement with this: "The last face the girls saw before their throats were slit was Richard Allen's face."
Instructions for the jury
9:22 a.m. - When proceedings started for the day, Gull read the jury their instructions, which took approximately 15 minutes.
"If the state fails to prove each (element) beyond a reasonable doubt, you must find the defendant not guilty," Gull told the jury. "The state has the burden to prove the defendant is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."
Gull reminded the jury that Allen is not required to prove his innocence.
Gull said jurors are allowed to take notes throughout the trial, but those notes cannot be taken out of the courtroom.
"You should keep an open mind," Gull told the jurors, reminding them to wait for all evidence before forming a verdict.
9:11 a.m. - The first day of the trial started approximately 10 minutes late because Special Judge Frances Gull said some media members – not WTHR – violated the decorum order of videotaping the arrival of the jurors at the courthouse. Those media members were banned, and their equipment was confiscated.
Allen, who is wearing a lavender dress shirt and khaki pants with reading glasses on top of his head, bowed his head in prayer before Gull and the jury entered the courtroom.
Gull ruled that composite sketches of the suspect released by Indiana State Police – prior to Allen's arrest – will not be permitted during the trial.
9 a.m. - The first day of the trial has started. There will not be any updates available until the lunch break because the people in the courtroom cannot have cameras, cellphones or any other electronic devices.
8 a.m. - Senior investigative reporter Bob Segall prepares to enter the Carroll County courthouse for the first day of Richard Allen's trial. 13News has one of 12 media seats inside the courtroom for Friday, Oct. 18.
There were more than 60 people in the public line to get inside the courtroom. Only 24 people were allowed in, in addition to the 12 media members, and families of the victims and Allen.
7:50 a.m. - Attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, Richard Allen's defense team, arrived to the Carroll County courthouse ahead of the first day of the trial. Opening statements will begin after Special Judge Frances Gull gives instructions to the jurors.