As the trial enters week two, Delphi is reliving the moment that everything went dark
The first week of the trial against Richard Allen began with jury selection, opening statements and the state’s first several witnesses including family and members of law enforcement. During week two the state will continue calling witnesses as trial watchers and reporters line up at 3:00 a.m. in an attempt to witness the long awaited trial.
Richard Allen is accused of murdering Abigail Williams and Liberty German in Delphi, Indiana over seven years ago. The teen girls were close friends and decided to take advantage of their day off school by taking a walk at the Monon High Bridge in Carroll County, Indiana. Initially they were reported missing when no one could reach them on the phone or find them at the bridge. The case quickly became international news when the investigation seemed to reach a halt and investigators released footage of a man the public calls “Bridge Guy” approaching Abby and Libby on the bridge.
The state of Indiana alleges that Richard Allen is “Bridge Guy.” The man seen in a short clip released by law enforcement that showed a blurry video of a man walking towards Abby and Libby on the Monon High Bridge the day they were murdered. Shortly after Allen was appointed two public defenders, new faces began to report about the case through independent platforms.
Newfound interest in the case is nothing new to Delphi veterans who have watched waves of new interest over the years anytime it appears in the headlines. And things have always been heated when it comes to public discussions about the investigation and possible theories over the years. Five years of Reddit feeds and Facebook Groups dedicated to the murders of Abby and Libby became exhausting over time. What began as a community who instantly joined forces to find two missing teens lost in the woods, eventually turned into a living nightmare of harassment towards the family, false confessions, a grab bag of theories on public forums, and fraud. Lots of fraud.
In October of 2022 the charges were filed and Richard Allen was arrested. A new wave of old theories began to circulate after Allen was appointed legal counsel. The harassment also made a return, and the fraud. All of it came with a new twist, a gag order. For the last two years not only the legal counsel but also those closest to Abby and Libby are unable to speak about the case. It seems like a blessing and a curse. While it protects the ongoing court case, it also allows narratives to grow like mold.
The public discussions about theories of what might have happened to Abby and Libby are understandable to a certain degree. The five years prior to Allen’s arrest were filled with twists and turns from the moment the teen friends were reported missing. No one anticipated anything sinister happened to them. Until they were found and everything became very dark, very quickly. The woods were filled with residents searching for the girls, no one knew they were walking a crime scene that needed to be preserved.
Theories range from pagan rituals to lone wolf suspects. Just before Allen’s arrest there was another controversy online when a man began sharing concerning videos of himself in Delphi while talking about the murders. Several individuals online decided that he was the suspect. And he was not the first to falsely claim that he had something to do with the crime or possibly knew something about the crime. The investigation has taken many turns to ensure that they looked into anyone who fit the description of someone who may be responsible for the crimes, both in past criminal behavior and in appearance.
Back to the heart of the matter. The town of Delphi and the families of Abby and Libby experienced something extremely dark in February of 2017. An unshakable torment that some of them personally witnessed when they discovered Abby and Libby in the woods of Carroll County. Others only heard about the discovery, but that was enough to terrify them of the possibility something very dark could be walking among them on a daily basis.
The families were given a baptism by fire into the world of what some call “true crime.” It’s a genre for some, and a reality for others. Those closest to Abby and Libby became an object of obsession and rumor. As the trial enters week two, Delphi is reliving the very moment that everything went dark. Whichever side of the courtroom you sit on, the weight of their pain is crushing. Yet it seems that theories and narratives have silenced their voice. With every new detail that this trial reveals, send positive thoughts to everyone involved who has memories of Abby and Libby from a different time, a time before everything went dark in Delphi. The community has lit the way for the family during the most difficult time in their lives, it’s time for the broader community that has followed this case to luminate the path for Delphi rather than critique the effort each person made to show up for Abby and Libby during what became an unforgettable nightmare in February of 2017.