Witness Calls Delphi Murders 'Textbook' Ritual Killings, Suspect Claims Innocence Despite Alleged Confession
Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, were found slain near an Indiana creek in 2017
An Indiana man accused of murdering two teenage girls in 2017 has claimed innocence, despite the assertion of authorities that he confessed. A defense expert recently testified at a pre-trial hearing that the killings resembled ritualistic murders, which the defense says bolsters its theory that the girls were actually killed as part of a Pagan sacrifice.
Richard Allen was first arrested in 2022, five years after Liberty “Libby” German, 14, and Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, were found slain near a creek in Delphi, Ind., in February 2017.
Allen was charged with four counts of murder, according to court records. He was arrested after police searched his home in 2022, the Associated Press reported. Police reportedly claimed they found a gun linked to a bullet found at the crime scene, as well as several knives.
The AP, CNN and ABC all reported that authorities said Allen confessed to the killings in a jailhouse phone call with his wife. His attorneys have since sought to throw out his confession, claiming Allen was in a declining mental state at the time.
Related: Delphi Suspect Claims White Nationalist Pagans Killed 2 Teens — Despite Allegedly Confessing to Wife
Allen’s attorneys have since argued that the girls were murdered by Odinists, who practice a form of Norse paganism and are linked to White nationalism.
At a pre-trial hearing on Thursday, Aug. 1, Dawn Perlmutter, an expert on ritualistic murders, testified, saying the killings were “textbook” examples of the practice, according to reports from The Indianapolis Star, WTHR and WANE.
“It has all the elements listed there,” Perlmutter testified, according to WANE.
The Star reported that Perlmutter had reviewed crime scene photos, autopsies and social media posts made by suspected Odinists.
Citing a court filing made in September 2023 by Allen’s attorneys, Fox 59 reported that the girls’ bodies were found posed with tree branches “intentionally placed in a very specific and arranged pattern.”
Related: Suspect Arrested in 2017 Delphi Killings of Indiana Teens Liberty German and Abigail Williams
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Allen’s attorneys also reportedly claimed that blood matching one of the girls was found painted on trees in a symbol resembling the letter “F,” a symbol associated with Odinism.
At the hearing on Aug. 1, prosecutors pushed back on Perlmutter’s findings, the outlets reported, claiming that she had already reached her conclusion before seeing any evidence, citing her previous appearance on CourtTV.
WTHR reported that at the conclusion of the hearing, a judge ruled that Allen can be transferred out of a maximum-security prison, where he has been for nearly two years since his arrest, and will instead be held in a county jail as he awaits trial.
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