A longtime family friend who murdered two Indiana teenagers saw their lifeless bodies nearly eight years ago during heart-wrenching testimony on the second day of Richard Allen's murder trial. I tearfully recalled the terrifying moment of my discovery.
Patrick Brown told jurors on Saturday that he participated in the search for Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, on February 14, 2017, the day after they disappeared, according to local news reports. He said he did.
After learning German's shirt had been found along Deer Creek, he went to search the north side of the river, where he tragically came across the girls' bodies.
“At first I thought it was a mannequin,” Brown said, becoming emotional and taking a moment to compose herself. According to Journal & Courier.
“I turned around and yelled that I had found them.”
According to the paper, Brown recalled that when she called the police chief to report the gruesome discovery, she turned away from the body and never came within five feet.
Allen, 52, is currently on trial on charges of two counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping and murder in the February 13, 2017 murder.
Prosecutors told jurors on Friday that Allen had a gun when he encountered the victims near a hiking trail in Delphi, then chased them off the road and slit their throats, prosecutors told jurors on Friday. he testified.
Two teenage boys who had been dropped off at a trail earlier in the day were reported missing by their families after they failed to show up for a scheduled pick-up in the afternoon and missed several phone calls, leaving the entire area unattended. A search was started.
Prosecutors said German's body was found naked and covered in blood, while Williams was wearing German's sweatshirt and jeans, and other clothing had been dumped in a creek, according to the Associated Press.
“The last thing these girls saw was Richard Allen's face,” Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McClelland told jurors in his opening statement.
And they heard his “chilling words. “Girls, come down the hill,While Allen brandished the gun, McCleland said, adding that the girls complied out of fear.
The case remained unsolved for years until Pharmacy Technician Allen was arrested by Indiana State Police in October 2022, more than five years after his tragic death.
McClelland said an unspent .40 caliber shell casing from a gun belonging to Allen was found at the “grisly” scene among the girls' bodies, and that grainy images and audio of Allen were captured by German. He said the photo was taken with a cell phone.
A short video released in 2019 also came from Jarman's cell phone, and prosecutors said showed Allen walking across the Monon High Bridge.
Allen's attorney argued there was reasonable doubt in the case and challenged the state's timeline, saying his client was not tracking the girls at the same time, according to the Associated Press.
The trial resumes on Monday.
