The trial of a man accused of killing two middle school girls in the Indiana woods began Monday with jury selection. Richard Allen, 52, faces two counts of murder in the deaths of Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German in Delphi, Ind., about 60 miles north of Indianapolis. Abby and Libby were walking on hiking trails in the town on Feb. 13, 2017, when they were killed. A relative had dropped them off in the afternoon and reported them missing in the evening; their bodies were found the next day. In October 2022, Allen was arrested and charged with the killings. Judge Fran Gull issued a gag order in the case at prosecutors’ request two months later, limiting public information ahead of trial. Allen has confessed to the killings multiple times while behind bars and in a phone call with his wife, according to prosecutors. However, Allen’s defense attorneys have claimed that his mental state has deteriorated and he was not of sound mind when he confessed. Additionally, police said they found an unused .40-caliber bullet near the girls’ bodies, which matched a .40-caliber pistol that Allen owned. As police investigated the case, they released audio and video from Libby’s cellphone, including a video in which a man can be heard saying “down the hill” and a video that apparently shows the suspect. The information sparked interest among online sleuths, and the case became well-known among “true crime” enthusiasts. Defense attorneys filed a motion last year in which they claimed Abby and Libby were killed in a ritualistic ceremony by a pagan cult. They said evidence pointed to a pagan/white nationalist group known as Odinists and further claimed many guards at the local prison where Allen was held were members of the group. However, Judge Gull ruled ahead of trial that Allen’s defense team couldn’t introduce any Odinist arguments at trial. “The probative value of such evidence is greatly outweighed by confusion of the issues and its potential to mislead the jury,” Gull said, while prosecutors called the theory “fanciful.” The jury will be selected from outside Delphi, but the trial will take place in the 3,000-person city. It is expected to last one month. With News Wire Services