DELPHI, Ind. – Now that the jury has delivered its verdict and the judge has rendered her sentence, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland urged everyone to take a sigh of relief. McLeland joined several others for a news conference to discuss the Delphi murders trial and Friday’s sentencing. Special Judge Fran Gull, assigned by the Indiana Supreme Court to oversee the case after the original judge recused himself, sentenced 52-year-old Richard Allen to 130 years for killing 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German on Feb. 13, 2017, near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. Richard Allen sentenced to 130 years for Delphi murders The sentencing came more than a month after a jury from Allen County found Allen guilty of four counts of murder. At the conclusion of Friday’s hearing, which included impact statements from six members of the victims’ families, Gull lifted the gag order that had been in place since December 2022. The gag order prevented the girls’ families, investigators and prosecutors from responding to various developments. It was in effect for more than two years. Mike Patty, Libby’s grandfather, served as a spokesman for both families throughout the investigation. He had the opportunity to speak first. Patty also delivered an impact statement in court on Friday. Delphi murders: Prosecutor wants crime scene and autopsy photos, Allen’s mental health records sealed “I wanted to send out my appreciation that justice has been served for the girls,” Patty said. He thanked investigators, the prosecutor’s office and the jury for their hard work. He acknowledged the jurors had a tough job and were sequestered for nearly a month. “And to the judge, I want to thank her, as well, for her steadfast [nature], staying on course, staying on track, and helping us get through this,” Patty said. Liggett: Allen is a 'lowlife coward' Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett was a lead investigator for the sheriff’s office and was later elected sheriff. His interview with Allen in October 2022 convinced the original judge, Benjamin Diener, to authorize a search warrant for Allen’s home. The search led to the discovery of a handgun that a firearms expert linked to an unspent cartridge found at the murder scene. He said there would never be closure in the case for the girls’ families, although he was satisfied with the trial and sentence. “They’re missing milestones because of a lowlife coward who decided to take their innocent lives,” Liggett said. Sheriff Tony Liggett on Dec. 20, 2024 Liggett said 36 outside agencies helped with security for the trial. During the investigation, due to the scope of the case and the amount of leads to pursue, he understood the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office wouldn’t have the manpower and resources it needed to properly investigate. He said Indiana State Police stood with the department and provided his investigators with expertise and resources. Liggett singled out Kathy Shank, a volunteer who helped organize tips for investigators. In September 2022, she found the initial interview Allen did with a Department of Natural Resources investigator just days after the murders in February 2017. She wondered if anyone had followed up on the interview. The discovery led to a brand-new phase in the investigation. “The reason justice was served was due to one person,” Liggett said. “That person only knows how to give, she has given herself literally to this investigation for free in different ways since 2017. Kathy Shank while filing, scanning and organizing, found a tip that led us to be here today.” Shank wasn’t assisting with the investigation in the early days of the case. As a result, she often brought information forward and asked if investigators had followed up. “When she came across something she didn't know, she brought it to an investigator and asked, ‘Did you know this?’ And we [usually] did, until she brought us the tip that brought us here today.” Her discovery led investigators to take a closer look at Allen. He was arrested nearly six years after the murders. “There is zero doubt that justice has been served and today is the day,” Liggett said. Carter: 'We lived by that gag order' For many, Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter was the face of the Delphi murders case. He often served as the spokesman for updates on the investigation. Carter prepared remarks for the news conference but decided to set them aside. He told reporters there were “many investigative strategies” related to the Delphi case. For years, investigators were stymied in solving the murders. “Any notion of a coverup, any notion of us deciding the outcome, any notion of any connection to anything else is not correct. It’s not correct,” he said. He railed against Allen’s defense attorneys for failing to adhere to the gag order, being involved in an evidence leak and using a legal memorandum to outline its alternative murder theory to the public. The defense argued a group of Odinists, members of a Norse pagan religious group, killed the girls in a ritualistic fashion. “We lived by that gag order,” he said. “The defense did not, and it cost a human life.” The statement referred to a man who died by suicide while Indiana State Police investigated his role in the dissemination of crime scene photos that ended up in the public sphere as fodder for podcasters and YouTubers. ISP Superintendent Doug Carter on Dec. 20, 2024 “Anybody that shares those photographs of those two little girls should be held accountable,” Carter said. “I’ll never forgive that. I will never, ever forgive that. We lived by the gag order.” Carter desperately wanted to say something about the release of the photos and the defense’s theory. But he was bound by a court order to hold his tongue. “Damn it, I wish I could have responded, but I was not going to violate what Judge Gull said,” he told reporters. The defense’s filing allowed the theory to spread far and wide. Local and national media reported on it. "[Defense attorneys Andrew] Baldwin and [Bradley] Rozzi are responsible for that. Not this team.” Carter said it struck him during the trial that, despite all the attention on the case, the twelve jurors from Allen County mattered the most. Their opinion on Allen’s guilt or innocence drove the proceedings. He criticized social media for threatening to turn the case into a circus. “This is an opportunity for us to all learn about what social media is and isn’t,” Carter said. “What we should do and what we shouldn’t and understand that their words have consequences to other human beings.” He acknowledged the investigation wasn’t perfect. “We are human beings and there were mistakes made,” Carter said. “But there was never a mistake made that we knew was wrong when we did it.” Carter said he’d crawl across “shards of hot glass” for Lt. Jerry Holeman, a key investigator in the Delphi murders case. “Jerry Holeman is not a liar,” he said. “Jerry Holeman gave the last eight years of his life to something much greater than himself.” He admitted he and Holeman argued with each other. Carter argued with other investigators at times. “There was no ‘group think,’” Carter said. “We debated each other, as you should expect us to. But then the defense spins that into incompetence. It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous nonsense for Baldwin and Rozzi to have done that.” He said the entire case was about the girls’ families and the community. He believed police and prosecutors served them well. “Words cannot possibly explain what we all feel,” Carter said. “How about we start to heal now? How about we hit that reset button and understand that justice in this country was served, and if you don’t like justice in this country, go to another one.” He appealed for cooler heads. “Tone down the rhetoric. Stop all the politics and all the nonsense and all the conspiracy theories,” he said. “Understand that we all tried the best we could. That should be the message.” McLeland: 'Abby and Libby, thank you' McLeland closed out the news conference with his call for a sigh of relief. He recognized the trial was finally over and that prosecutors obtained a meaningful sentence. He mentioned the internet attacks against investigators and prosecutors, and the hours of effort spent tracking down the leaked crime scene photos and attempting to scrub them from online sources to shield the girls’ families from them. Deputy prosecutors James Luttrull and Stacy Diener spent countless hours preparing for trial and no one will truly understand the “heart they poured into this case,” the prosecutor said. Prosecutor Nick McLeland on Dec. 20, 2024 Like Liggett, he thanked Kathy Shank. “Without her, we would not be here,” he said. “Without her, we would not have an arrest, a conviction and a sentence. She was the key part to this investigation. The needle in the haystack, if you will, that brought this investigation to a close to where we could make an arrest.” McLeland thanked the families for their patience and for putting their faith in him. He understood how difficult it was for them to abide by the gag order despite every fiber of their being pleading for them to respond to one situation or another. “You endured. Without your help, we wouldn’t have gotten the conviction,” he said. His thoughts turned to the girls. Libby’s video was the key piece of evidence throughout the investigation. She had the wherewithal to sense something was wrong and recorded video of “Bridge Guy” as he approached. Abby hid the phone from the killer, he said, so investigators could find it. “Without the efforts from those two little girls, we wouldn’t be here today,” McLeland said. “Abby and Libby, thank you.” (Courtesy: Family) McLeland was happy with the verdict and the sentencing. He conceded it was often difficult to abide by the gag order and said Allen had 30 days to file an appeal. He pledged his office would help the Indiana Attorney General’s Office in whatever capacity it needed. As the news conference concluded, McLeland took a few questions. He said his office had no evidence indicating anyone else was involved in the murders. If such evidence comes to light, he said he’ll pursue charges. When asked specifically about Allen, McLeland said he didn’t pay much attention to him during the trial. He did, however, note that Allen displayed no emotion or reaction to the autopsy and crime scene photos, something that certainly struck him and showed he had no remorse. Victim Impact Statements FOX59/CBS4 obtained a victim impact statement from the family of Libby German following Friday's sentencing of Richard Allen. The full statement can be read below: To Honorable Judge Gull .......Where does one start? How does one explain the effect of how one choice a person makes has on an entire family for generations to come? I don't think one can really explain and do it justice. There are not enough words in our language that begins to paint the picture of the grief we live with each and every day. Richard Allen was an adult, and he should be held accountable for the choices he made on February 13, 2017. He chose not to go to lunch with his mom and sister - instead chose to drink beer for liquid courage. He chose to lay in wait for his victims, to order them down the hill. He had the opportunity to let Libby and Abby go when that white van drove by - but he chose not to do so. Instead, he chose to take them across the creek where he viciously murdered them, making sure they were dead before he went home and continued his life. Richard Allen viciously and heartlessly stole the choice to live from Abby and Libby that day! He was a coward and didn't want to be held accountable for his heinous choices and actions - so he just killed them and went home. I guess in his eyes he was nice enough to make sure they were dead before leaving so they wouldn't suffer. A few days later he developed photos for the family that would be used at Libby's funeral. He stood there watching the family members as they struggled to keep their composure while dealing with insurmountable grief and preparing for the unthinkable that lay ahead - not blinking an eye - with no remorse. I wonder what he was thinking?Our lives turned upside down that day, never to be the same again. Abby and Libby - two young teens with their entire futures ahead of them. They never got the opportunity to make their marks in the world - he stole that from them. Libby never got to go to prom, graduate, go on dates, go to college, get married, or start a family. She never got to be the best aunt ever. He robbed us all - the world was robbed of what could have been. All the while - he went on living his life. He was able to walk his daughter down the aisle and give her away at her wedding - I wonder, did he think of the girls at all while walking her down the aisle? Our families will never get the privilege of watching Libby or Abby walk down that aisle. He took that away from us.The impact of Richard Allen's choices made that day has haunted our families for almost eight years and continues even now. Because of choices he made and subsequent arrest - he was appointed two lawyers to defend him. Those lawyers have done nothing but twist the knife around and around in our wounds Richard caused that day. Because of one lawyer's sloppiness - sealed crime scene photos of Libby's naked and mutilated body were left unattended - allowing images to be taken and spread around to people on the internet. As recent as this week - those crime scene photos were still being shared on the internet for no good reason or entertainment by many. Sharing those photos changes nothing! It doesn't solve the crime; it doesn't bring the girls back! So now - because of Richard Allen's choices that day and his lawyer's sloppiness - the impact has now become generational for us. One day when Libby's nieces or nephews decide they want to learn more about their Aunt Libby - they may be faced with those horrible crime scene photos that were so carelessly taken care of. I wonder if his lawyer would have been so careless with those photos if they were photos of one of his children? Would he still have felt no accountability because he was "snookered"? And then you have the other lawyer who sat in the Judge's chambers and stating he really didn't care that the photos had been leaked. I wonder if he would have been so callous and uncaring if those were photos of his child's naked and mutilated body being shared. Would he still not care? No - these professionals are allowed to claim no accountability for their actions and move on to the next case - disrespecting and devaluing the next victim and their families. Meanwhile, our families are left picking up the pieces because of their choices and actions. In the end - all these choices made by the defense team - the fallout our families now have to live with falls directly on the head of Richard Allen because of the choices he made on February 13, 2017.I could go on and on about what we lost that day, but it would change nothing. The deafening silence in the house, the milestones missed, the grandbabies never to sit on our laps, the impact Libby and Abby would have had on so many lives. Talking about it won't bring them back to us. Nothing in this world can change the outcome of that horrific day. No matter how hard we wish or pray them back - they are gone forever. Only Richard Allen making a different choice that day could have changed it. Their lives were in the balance - He chose - to kill Abby and Libby. Their Lives Mattered!!HE is the one responsible for all of this. All I can hope for now is that Richard Allen will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law for what he did that day. His sentence needs to reflect not only of murdering the girls, but also serving time for each day of life those girls still had in front of them, for every feat they may have accomplished. I feel he should serve one day behind bars for each future day he robbed from those girls. I hope he is not held in a single occupancy cell since his attorneys feels it would be detrimental to his health. I hope he is ordered to reside in general population so he can have the human interaction he so craves and needs. Last of all - I hope he lives each day of the rest of his life living with the same fear he bestowed on Abby and Libby the last hour of their lives. I hope the choices he made on February 13, 2017 come back to haunt him - giving him no peace. I realize I should not feel this way - but I can't stop these feelings! I hope God can see my heart and can forgive me.I hope Richard Allen's new relationship with God will finally compel him to do the right thing and to stop this nightmare from continuing any longer. Not only for our families - but his as well. He needs to do what he knows God would want him to do. I hope he finally gives the girl's the respect they deserve - give them back the dignity he so callously took from them.Richard Allen took so much from our families and the world that day - but what he will never take from us is the memories we have of Libby and Abby. We will forever keep them alive - even if it can only be in our hearts.I live every day with the burden of the choice I made that fateful day - I can never change the results of my choice of letting the girls go to the trails - and I take responsibility for that. What about you Richard Allen? Will you ever own up and take responsibility for the choices you made that day? Only you can stop this nightmare for all the families - you - can make that choice. When does it ever stop - as recent as yesterday the defense continued playing their games. They know law enforcement investigated their 3rd party theories with never being able to place any of those people at the trails that day. They continue their charades at the expense of Abby + Libby we don even want to go there talking about hardships caused to family - Richard Allen is not the victim. Libby German's mother, Carrie Timmons, provided the following victim impact statement with FOX59/CBS4: Your Honor,I've struggled for weeks over writing this. Because, I honestly am not sure how to explain the path of destruction left in the wake of the decisions made by Richard Allen on February 13, 2017. That day changed all of our lives, in so many ways, forever. Libby was always my go to for advice. She somehow would have known exactly what to say in this situation. And I have no doubt that she is currently holding my pen.I had no problem getting the word out when he was just "bridge guy" and had not been identified. But I honestly don't know how to process the fact that a husband and father is capable of the horrendous acts of brutality inflicted upon our beautiful children! I was totally blind to the fact that such evil actually existed. I don't know which is worse, knowing or not knowing.The last 2,867 days (as of 12/20) have been absolute hell for Libby and Abby's friends and family! Next week, we should be celebrating our birthdays together (12/25 and 12/27). Libby would be 22. She should be here! I quit celebrating after her 14th and my 39th. I can't help but to see her grin at that. Understanding the anxiety that she knew I had about turning the dreaded 40…As Libby's mom, I am left with so many what ifs? I'm left without memories of her growing up. Getting her driver's license and first car. Her first job. She didn't get to graduate and go on to college. We were cheated out of seeing her be the best auntie. She doesn't get to fall in love, get married and have babies! She was robbed of the opportunity to experience life and fulfill all of the dreams and aspirations she already had at such a young age.I can't even put into words what it feels like to see other parents and their children get those things. For their lives to go on, makes no sense to me. I shouldn't be jealous of them, but I am. I can't understand how life managed to go on for everyone else, while mine stopped.Instead of those memories and milestones, I am left with this massive grief. A literal hole in my soul. Broken relationships, shattered hearts and broken dreams. I struggle daily with guilt, crippling anxiety, complex PTSD and severe depression. But, I have continued to persevere in a world that I don't want to live in without her.My daughters were robbed of their big sister, their childhood, their innocence and life as they knew it. They had to grow up through so much turmoil. Alexis turned 11 just three days after her sister's body was found, on my grandmother's birthday, Birthdays are hard around here.I'll never understand how he was able to get away with it for so long. How can such evil hide in plain sight? Continuing to walk down streets lined with his picture. Making a mockery of law enforcement, the families, the community and especially Libby and Abby for nearly six years!! Diane Erskin, the grandmother of Abby Williams, said the following in a victim impact statement Friday afternoon. I find it impossible to share how this crime has impacted my life without talking about Abigail, my first child’s first and only child. She brought so much Joy to our family and held so much promise in her short life. She was especially kind to young children and elderly people and was often surrounded by both in our home. Her favorite phrase was “Do you need any help?”. Yes, Abby, I sure could use your help right now. There first word that comes to mind whenever I think about February 13, 2017 is “TERRIFIED”. Abigail was not bold or brave, especially when it came to strangers …or the dark. This is the word that wakes me up in the middle of the night, knowing now what she faced, what she felt, what she suffered, and what she saw in the final moments of her life. The next word that enters my mind, especially since the trial, humiliated. Abby was a shy girl, who blushed easily. She never dressed in a way that was revealing or drew attention to her figure. She would have been devastated by the number of people who have seen her in this most vulnerable state. I cringe every time I think about the photos that were not only shown for the purpose of the trial but have been shared as some sort of sick propaganda. Every detail of her final moments reveals a nightmare, one that we will relive involuntarily for the rest of our lives. Mutilated. Our sweet Abigail suffered first at the hands of a murderer, and then to the process of an autopsy. I understand the medical and legal necessity for an autopsy, but until this trial I was naïve to how invasive this procedure was. How will I ever erase the mental images I now live with? I could have left during this or any portion of the trial that was so graphically horrific. But Abby didn’t get that choice. Her last words that I heard recorded on Libby’s phone were, “Don’t leave me up here.” Libby didn’t leave. So, I didn’t leave. The last time I saw Abigail, she and Libby were laughing and walking out the back door, her arms full of the craft supplies they planned to use. I was washing dishes, and called “Have fun.” To this day, I have so much sadness for not stopping to hug her. The anxiety I feel every time one of my grandchildren leaves, or I leave them is a lasting reminder of losing Abigail. Every day since the day Abby was murdered starts the same. I wake up, make the bed and look at the clock to calculate how many hours I have until I may return it. I pray, breathe, and make the most of the time that I have, knowing that I have now lived almost 5 times Abby’s lifetime on earth. Every night, I climb back into bed, look at the clock, and calculate how many hours I have left to sleep. Unfortunately, sleep is not an escape, but more often a task. I pray for a good dream, a visit with my loved ones who are waiting for me with Abigail in Heaven. Nightmares come anyway and I seldom sleep through the night without waking at least once. Then begin the “What ifs?” of “If only”. As I watch Abby’s friends grow up, graduate from college, choose careers, and even begin having children, I can’t help but wonder who she would have become if her life hadn’t been taken. How many great-grandchildren were murdered that day as well? How do we keep living and loving without her? I will never be the same person I was before Abigail’s murder. I grieve the life I used to have. I feel sometimes that my own family has been cheated out of the version of me that existed before this crime, and the “me” that many people will never know. I am grateful for my life. I owe my survival to my Faith in God. Richard Allen took Abby’s life on earth, but she had already given her heart to God. Believe that.