DELPHI, Ind. (AP) — Jurors heard opening statements Friday in the trial of a man accused of killing two teen girls in a small Indiana community, horrific deaths that went unsolved for five years before investigators arrested a pharmacy employee who lived in the same town. Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland told jurors they would see photos of the crime scene: a rugged, wooded area near the Monon High Bridge Trail in Carroll County.
He said 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German had their throats cut. Richard Allen, 52, who lived and worked in Delphi, population 3,000, is charged with two counts of murder as well as two additional murder counts while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping. If convicted, he could face up to 130 years in prison.
McLeland said incriminating statements by Allen will be part of the evidence against him. Jurors were picked this week in Fort Wayne, nearly 100 miles away, and brought to Carroll County. They’ll be sequestered for what could be a monthlong trial, banned from watching the news and allowed only limited use of their phones to call relatives while monitored by bailiffs.
During his turn, defense attorney Andrew Baldwin told the jury there’s plenty of reasonable doubt about the case against Allen. He raised questions about hair evidence and said he believes the girls may have gotten into a vehicle at one point. The case has drawn outsized attention from true-crime enthusiasts.
It has seen repeated delays, some surr.