An Indiana jury was presented with emotional testimony on Saturday from a man who discovered the bodies of two missing teenage girls along a creek seven years ago. Pat Brown, a friend of one of the girls’ grandfathers, took the stand in the trial of 52-year-old Richard Allen. Allen is facing charges for the 2017 murders of 14-year-old Libby German and 13-year-old Abby Williams, a case now referred to as the “Delphi murders.”
The two best friends went missing on February 13, 2017, while walking near an abandoned rail bridge called Monon High Bridge, close to Delphi, Indiana. Brown recalled the harrowing moment he found the girls’ bodies the following day while searching along Deer Creek, describing his initial disbelief by saying, “I thought they were mannequins.” He shared his emotional experience in court, his voice cracking as he recounted how he made the grim discovery and called out to others that they had been found.
The search for Libby and Abby began when they didn’t arrive at their designated pickup location, and calls to Libby’s phone went unanswered. The case remained unsolved for years until the arrest of Allen in 2022. Prosecutors allege that Allen, also known as “Bridge Guy,” coerced the girls down a hill before killing them. The court heard how Libby managed to capture a video of a man instructing them to “go down the hill” before the tragic events unfolded.
During the trial, Jake Johns, another member of the search party, testified to observing shoe prints and signs of disturbance near the bridge. He described how they discovered a piece of clothing belonging to one of the girls caught in the foliage along the creek. The trial commenced with the prosecution detailing the gruesome discovery of the victims and the alleged events leading up to their deaths.
Despite pleading not guilty, Allen’s proximity to the crime scene is notable, with his family home located just a short distance away from where the girls’ bodies were found. His defence team suggested an alternative theory, positing that the girls may have been victims of a pagan cult ritual involving Odinists. The defence’s claims of Odinism signatures and ritualistic sacrifice were not admitted as evidence by the presiding judge due to insufficient supporting material.
As the trial continues in Carroll County, the community awaits further testimonies and evidence to shed light on the tragic events of 2017. The proceedings aim to bring justice for Libby German and Abby Williams, whose lives were abruptly cut short in a case that has gripped the nation for years.