Tuesday 1 November 2022 12:49 AM CVS pharmacist charged in 2017 Delphi murders posed up for a photo near ... trends now
An Indiana man charged with murdering two teenage girls in 2017, in a case which transfixed the nation, posed for a photograph in front of a 'wanted' poster issued by police searching for the suspect, it has emerged.
Richard Allen, 50, was arrested on Wednesday and charged two days later with killing 13-year-old Abigail Williams and her friend Liberty German, 14, in February 2017.
The two girls had gone for a walk together along a bridge in Delphi, Indiana, but failed to show up to meet their parents. They were documenting their walk on Snapchat, and police released grainy footage of a man walking towards them, and a voice in the distance - footage which intrigued amateur sleuths.
The bodies of the teenage girls were found close to the bridge the day after they vanished, and several suspects were named over the years, but no arrests were made until last week.
The case had haunted Delphi, home to almost 3,000 people, ever since.
On Monday, the owner of the bar in Delphi where Allen, a pharmacist, used to drink with his wife Kathy told of his shock at the arrest.
Bob Matlock, owner of JC's Bar - which closed in December 2021 - said Allen even posed for a photo in front of the 'wanted' picture.
Richard Allen, 50, was charged with two counts of felony murder for the deaths of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13
The photo shows Richard Allen, 50, smiling with his wife - while over his shoulder, a police sketch strongly resembling him is posted on the wall inside Bob Matlock's bar
Allen was photographed sitting close to this sketch. It is one of several released following the February 2017 murders
Abigail Williams, left, and Liberty German, right, were murdered in February 2017 after going for a walk
'I just couldn't believe it when they said they arrested him,' said Matlock.
'I said, 'Well, that can't be the Rick we know.' And then we come to find out it was.
'There wouldn't have been any inkling to anyone that knew him that would expect him to do something like that. He just didn't seem that type of person. But… you never know.'
A composite sketch was released in 2017 showing a possible suspect in the case
Matlock, 75, told The Daily Beast that he saw Allen and his wife as 'good friends', who were active in the community and the bar's pool league.
'We were all sitting at the table there, we were having a pool night, and just having fun - we were snapping pictures and everything,' said Matlock, explaining that Allen posed in front of the 'wanted' sketch.
'Every business in town had those [sketches] up. It just happened to be, he was sitting there at the time.
'But to me, that did not resemble Rick.
'My other patrons around town [would] come in for breakfast or lunch, everybody would say: 'Christ, that don't look like anybody,' or, 'It could be anybody.'
It is unclear when and where the photo of Allen by the sketch was taken.
The version of the suspect sketch in the image was not released until April 2019, so the photo would have been taken at least two years after the murders.
Matlock said they all discussed the case, but did not want to go into detail as they knew the families of the victims.
'He would come in and we would always talk about the girls and everything,' said Matlock.
'We would carry on conversations about it, he would say, you know, it's such a tragedy, and we'd say we felt sorry for the families and all that, but we tried not to talk about it too much because we all knew the families, and were friends with the families.'
Anna Williams, mother of Abigail, told DailyMail.com they did not know Allen.
She said she did not want to discuss his arrest.
Indiana State Police announced on Monday that Allen has been charged in the murders
Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland said Allen's arrest is a 'step in the right direction'
The family members of Libby German and Abigail Williams listened intently during the news conference
Allen is due back in court on January 13, 2023 with a presumptive trial date of March 20, 2023.
He is not cooperating with authorities, according to WISHTV.
He does not appear to have a prior criminal record and previously worked at the local CVS.
Nicholas McLeland, the Carroll County Prosecutor, said of Allen's arrest: 'It's a step in the right direction.'
He told a press conference on Monday it was 'disappointing' that the suspect is a local resident, and said he can now bring the evidence against Allen to court.
Asked whether anyone else may have been involved in the murders, McLeland said: 'We have not closed the door on this case.'
It remains unclear what led police to ultimately arrest Allen. State police will not be releasing evidence in the case, under a court order.
A probable cause document has been temporarily
