DELPHI, Ind. (WXIN) – After getting the case on Thursday, jurors in the Delphi murders trial found Richard Allen guilty of murder on Monday.

The decision meant jurors found the state’s evidence—including a bullet an expert matched to Allen’s gun and his prison confessions—compelling enough to convict him.

They were less swayed by the defense assertion that the investigation was sloppy, and Allen’s confessions were false.

Allen had been charged with two counts of murder and two additional counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German near the Monon High Bridge. The jury found Allen guilty on all counts.

As the jurors read the verdict, Allen’s wife and mother began to cry. So, too, did the family of victims Abby Williams and Libby German.

Allen will be sentenced on Dec. 20 at 9 a.m.

During the trial, the state made its case for Allen's guilt: a crime lab technician matched a bullet found at the crime scene to Allen’s gun; a camera captured Allen’s car near the murder scene; he admitted he was on the bridge on the day of the murders; and he has confessed to the crime dozens of times, including in jail phone calls to his wife and mother.

The defense countered, claiming the state had no DNA, social media or digital forensic evidence linking Allen to the crime. They also said his time in solitary confinement warped his mind and led to false confessions.

The state had bungled its investigation from the beginning, the defense further alleged.

The trial started with jury selection on Oct. 14 in Allen County. Due to the high profile of the case and its prominence in central Indiana, Special Judge Fran Gull decided to pull jurors from Allen County. Since the murders happened in Carroll County and a number of key witnesses and investigators lived near or around Delphi, the trial itself was held at the Carroll County Courthouse.

The proceedings........

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