The Delphi Murders: Everything We Know About Richard Allen

Richard Allen, 50, is being held in connection with the 2017 murders of two teens – Abby Williams, 13, and Liberty "Libby" German, 14, according to WTHR — a crime commonly known as the Delphi murders. The girls went missing on Feb. 13, 2017, and their bodies were found near Monon High Bridge in the Deer Creek area. Indiana State Police arrested Allen on Oct. 26, 2022, after seizing his car and searching his home and a fire pit in his yard, per WXIN. He appeared before a judge on Oct. 28, 2022, where he was booked into the Carroll County jail before being transferred to another facility for his own safety. Allen has pleaded not guilty, according to The Independent.

WXIN also reports that it is not clear how long officials may have been investigating Allen because he was never publicly named as a suspect. It is also unclear if Allen was connected to Ron Logan, owner of the property where the girls were found. Logan, who died in January 2022, reportedly gave a false alibi to police about where he was the day of the murders.

Richard Allen seemed to live what appeared to be a regular life — he was married with a child and worked a steady job. Records show that Richard Allen is a licensed pharmacy technician and that he worked in a CVS in Delphi (via WRTV). Allen's wife is Kathy Allen, and they have a daughter, Brittany, 28, according to the Daily Mail. The family lives in a residential neighborhood, just half a mile from Delphi Community Middle School where Williams and German attended classes, and 2.5 miles from Monon High Bridge.   

In 2018, Kathy shared a photo of Brittany on the Monon Bridge on Facebook, although it is unclear when the photo was taken or who took it. A more recent and somewhat disturbing photo from December 2021 emerged online that showed Richard and Kathy in an unknown location with what appears to be a police sketch of the suspected killer tacked to a wall behind them.

Many residents were surprised to know that Allen worked and lived around them for years, and they never knew — or even suspected — that he could have a criminal past. Officials said that Allen was essentially "hiding in plain sight," and while the Willaims and German family didn't know him personally, they probably came into contact with him at one time or another, per The Independent. Some residents reportedly saw Richard and Kathy around town, sometimes dining out (via WXIN). Brick & Mortar Pub manager, Chandler Underhill, told WXIN that Allen had contact with Delphi residents and that he even recognized Allen as a frequent customer in his pub. "I would talk; he wouldn't say much. He seems like a normal guy," Underhill explained. Underhill also said that one of his servers said Allen "wouldn't speak much."  

Underhill also explained that when he went into the CVS where Allen worked, Allen would ask him if he needed help. He added that Allen was "... just like a normal guy that I've seen for the last couple years, not really thinking anything." In a statement, Delphi CVS said that as members of the community, they were "... shocked and saddened to learn that one of their employees was arrested," according to WRTV.

Prior to his arrest on Monday, Allen has what WRTV refers to as a "limited criminal history" that consists of two speeding tickets (one from 2005 and another from 2011) and a seatbelt violation from 2003. He reportedly moved to the small community of Delphi in 2006, and he has been a resident of Indiana his entire life (via The Independent). Interestingly, according to records, the Carroll County jail states that Allen used the alias Craigh Ross Rentfrow, but no further information about this aspect of the investigation was known at the time of this report, per The Independent.

Along with Ron Logan, police also investigated another man, Kegan Anthony Kline, 27, with the murders. Kline was arrested on charges of child sexual abuse images and child exploitation in 2020, but he was not linked with their deaths. It is not known if Kline knew Allen or if they worked together. Investigators have not released any information about what led them to Allen nor have they explained any more details about how the girls were murdered, per The Independent.