PLACEHOLDER PAGE – Check back on 12/20/24 for real-time transcription
2024 Delphi Murders Press Conference Announced: On December 20, 2024, a press conference will be held after Richard Allen’s sentencing. Speakers are expected to include Doug Carter & Jerry Holeman (Indiana State Police), Nick McLeland (Carroll County Prosecutor) and the families of Liberty German and Abigail Williams.
A live transcript will be prepared and posted on CrimeLights. This is a placeholder page, and will be actively updated during the press conference.
Attorney for Accused Delphi Killer: “Our client is the wrong guy.”
Lawyers for Richard Allen speak to the media following Delphi court hearing, touching on: Emotions of client & his wife, Kegan Kline, “flimsy” probable cause & shock at prosecutor’s claim more people may be involved (“that’s new news [not reflected in evidence]“).
Full Video & Transcript Below
What Happened at the Delphi Court Hearing?
On November 22, 2022 newly appointed attorneys for the accused Delphi killer, Richard Allen, appeared alongside their client for the first time at the Carroll County Courthouse.
Two issues were on the agenda*:
1. The State of the Probable Cause Affidavit: The PCA (a sworn document presented to the court via law enforcement outlining the investigation & providing supporting facts to justify an arrest and/or search) in this case was sealed by the prior judge at the prosecutor’s behest. This is highly unusual, as PCA’s become public record once the case is filed. Several media organizations joined together, requesting release of the documents.
Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland held firm on the position a doc-disclosure could jeopardize the case, even suggesting there may be other person(s) involved. He expressed additional concern over names of witnesses listed in PCA becoming public, stating some are juveniles and young adults entitled to privacy.
Bradley Rozzi (Allen’s attorney) pushed for a release on behalf of his client, insisting “transparency” was crucial & the secrecy surrounding the case was harmful. He agreed with McLeland that young witnesses should be protected, and simply redacting their names prior to publication would accomplish this. Keeping the documents sealed could also cause procedural hangups: at upcoming public hearings, it would be difficult for attorneys to properly advocate for their client if certain aspects of the case …
ISP Superintendent Doug Carter warns the killer “…we know a lot about you. Sleep well.”
On February 10, 2022 Good Morning America featured a segment on the Delphi Murders titled ‘Indiana police issues warning to killer still at large for murder of Delphi teens’. Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter was featured along with Libby German’s grandparents Becky and Mike Patty, and Abby Williams’ mother Anna Williams.
We have transcribed the full GMA interview below and embedded the video clip.
[CLIP: Good Morning America Delphi Murders Video – Police Warning to Killer]
[BEGIN GOOD MORNING AMERICA DELPHI MURDERS TRANSCRIPT]
MICHAEL STRAHAN: With the latest on the Delphi murder case, nearly five years after the killing of two Indiana teenage girls, police say they may be closing in on the killer. Amy is here with the latest on the investigation and what the families are saying now. Good morning, Amy.
AMY ROBACH: And good morning to you, Michael. This is the murder case of two young girls who managed to record the suspect with a phone. But five years later, he has still not been caught. While the case remains unsolved, Indiana State Police say they still receive 25 to 30 tips a week from all over the world, and they say this case is far from cold.
[NARRATION] Nearly five years since 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German were murdered on this Indiana hiking trail, their killer still at large. And this morning, Indiana State Police issuing a new warning to the culprit.
DOUG CARTER [SUPERINTENDENT, INDIANA STATE POLICE]: My resolve to catch him is as strong now as it was day one. But the difference now – between now and day one – is we know about you. A lot about you. Today …
FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Jim Abbott discusses his role in the Delphi Murders investigation – Transcript.
[BEGIN FBI AGENT JIM ABBOTT INTERVIEW TRANSCRIPT]
JAY ABBOTT (FBI SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE): The FBI doesn’t necessarily have jurisdiction for murder cases. This was clearly a case that was within the jurisdiction of the State Police. And Doug Carter, Superintendent of Indiana State Police, is a good friend and a great colleague during that time, and continues to be a great friend. He came and asked for our assistance. As the special agent in charge of the FBI’s Indianapolis Division, I had, during my tenure, the option… the authority to provide whatever assistance he might want to the level that I thought was appropriate. I was absolutely enthused to unleash every FBI asset, technical ability… anything that we had to try to help him solve this case. Indiana State Police stayed the forefront in charge of the case. But, I will tell you that there were those days when the FBI certainly had more personnel in and around Delphi than anyone else in law enforcement. Some days I think we were over a hundred personnel that I was trying to keep track of, all doing various things in different capacities. Whether it was with the command post, videography type things, voice type analysis, crime scene experts, behavioral analysis experts, and then of course just numerous agents of pounding the pavement and running down leads that we had from thousands and thousands of tips.
REPORTER: When you’re out there… week one, week two, month two, month five, year one… what goes through your guys’s mind when you are still no arrests?
JAY ABBOTT: Each day that went by, we just felt like we were gonna be closer, and closer, and closer. And the investigators that …
In February 2021, former Carroll County Prosecutor Robert Ives appeared on The Dr. Oz Show to discuss the Delphi Murders. Though the interview was brief, Ives again mentioned the “three or four signatures” left by the killer and described the crime scene as “very unusual”.
Below is the video of the show, as well as a transcript of Robert Ives’ interview.
https://youtu.be/FEnAN4WSjIY
[Begin Robert Ives Dr. Oz Show Transcript]
DR. OZ: Let me bring in Robert Ives who was the Chief Prosecutor in Carroll County, Indiana at the time of these murders, and who can shed a little light in how unique this crime scene was. Thank you for being here, sir. The girls’ cause of death is still protected, which I understand, but what can you tell us about the actual crime scene, with what you’re allowed to share? Could this have been the work of a serial killer?
ROBERT IVES: Well, I think like most people because the trail is not well known… it’s not a big tourist spot, and because the bridge itself is something you wouldn’t cross unless you were familiar with the area. The bridge was abandoned 30 years ago, and when you see the person walking across with his head down, it’s because it’s not safe to cross that bridge. The bridge was not part of the trail. The trail terminated at the bridge. And so most people I believe, and most people law enforcement thought “It must be a local person” because why would anybody be there? Why would you be familiar with that trail? But on the other hand, the crime is so… it’s impossible to think of a motivation for the crime. Generally [in the past] when you have a murder in rural Indiana, this is Carroll County, the motive was …
A female high school student on the trails prior to Abby and Libby’s arrival may have spoken to the suspect known as ‘Bridge Guy’.
Unreleased portion of Libby’s video is short & does NOT contain additional audio or video of the killer.
Criminologist does not believe killer knew the girls and agrees with investigators that he is local & follows the case.
Contrary to social media speculation, there is no indication that police have narrowed in on a specific person of interest & still hope for ‘the’ tip.
To accompany HLN Down The Hill – The Delphi Murders television special, viewers were encouraged to submit questions about the case which were answered during a round table discussion on YouTube.
True Crime Live host Mike Galanos sat down with HLN documentary producers Barbara MacDonald and Drew Iden, along with criminologist Dr. Casey Jordan, to respond to viewer’s queries and share their insight into the Delphi Murder investigation.
In an ongoing effort to document interviews and newsworthy material related to the unsolved Delphi Murders, we have transcribed the panel discussion (titled Who Killed Abby and Libby? HLN Investigates Your Questions about “Down the Hill) below.
Viewer questions will be highlighted in yellow. There are some interesting bits of information included within the discussion. Over the past year and a half, Barbara MacDonald and Drew Iden have been dedicated to investigating the Delphi Murders case (including spending time on the ground in Delphi for the “Down the Hill Podcast” / two-part documentary), and have developed solid relationships with both family and police.
