Court docs: Unspent bullet found near murdered Delphi girls tied back to suspect

DELPHI, Ind. (WXIN) -- Newly unsealed court documents show a single unspent round found by authorities connected the suspect to the murders of two young girls in Indiana five years ago.

In the court documents released Tuesday, the state lays out some of the evidence that led police to arrest Richard Allen last month in connection with the 2017 murders of Abby Williams and Libby German that have captivated people for the last five years.

Williams and German were found dead on Feb. 14, 2017, a day after they were reported missing after going for a hike. Evidence previously released to the public has included a pair of sketches, a grainy photo of the killer and a recording of a man saying, “Down the hill.”

The court document states Allen was among those interviewed by police in the early stages of the investigation. At the time, Allen said he was on the trail between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m.

He was on the Freedom Bridge, he said he saw three females but didn't remember what they looked like or speak with them. The document said he walked from the Freedom Bridge to the High Bridge while on his phone.

Police interviewed three juveniles who said they were on the trail on Feb. 13. They were walking on the trail toward Freedom Bridge to go home when the document said they encountered a man who they described as "kind of creepy." He was wearing blue jeans and a light blue jacket.

When one of the juveniles said "Hi" to the man, he reportedly just glared at them.

This timeline puts Allen in the area where Williams and German went missing. The document said a video from one of the victim's phones shows that at 2:13 p.m., the girls encountered a man on the High Bridge.

Later on, the document said a witness was walking east and saw a man walking west away from the Monon High Bridge. The witness described the man as wearing a blue colored jacket and blue jeans, noting he was muddy and bloody. She told investigators that it looked like he had gotten into a fight.

The document also says police found an unspent .40 caliber round between the girls. The round had extraction marks on it.

During a search of Allen's Delphi home last month, investigators found a .40 caliber pistol. Allen and his wife said he never let anyone else use that weapon. A laboratory performed an analysis and determined that the unspent round had been cycled through Allen's weapon.

Police interviewed Allen again in October 2022. At the time, Allen told investigators he was on the trails on Feb. 13, 2017. He said he went onto the Monon High Bridge to watch the fish and claimed he saw only three girls on the east of the Freedom Bridge.

MORE TOP STORIES:

When investigators asked about the unspent round, the document said Allen had no answers about how it was found between the girls.

Investigators believe Allen was the man seen by the witnesses and in the bridge video. The state believes he was not seen on the trail after 2:13 p.m. because he was in the woods with Williams and German.

The court records were the subject of a hearing to determine if the records would remain sealed. Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland, who pressed for the records to remain sealed, said there was "good reason to believe Allen is not the only one involved."

Allen's attorneys welcomed the unsealing of the documents, commenting that they believed in their client's innocence.