After days of deliberations, a jury in Indiana found Richard Allen guilty of murdering two young girls on a hiking trail in 2017, putting an end to the high-profile four-week trial.
The jury—composed of seven women and five men—found Allen guilty on two counts of murder and two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping related to the deaths of 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German, multiple outlets reported Monday.
The jury began deliberating last Thursday and announced its verdict Monday afternoon.
Allen, 52, was arrested for the killings in 2022 and pleaded not guilty.
Prosecutors focused largely on confessions Allen made to his wife, a prison psychologist and correctional officers while in jail, ABC News reported, and an unspent round from a .40-caliber gun that was found near the girls’ bodies they said was from Allen’s gun.
Allen’s defense team attempted to cast doubt on the confessions by arguing he was experiencing a mental health crisis after being in solitary confinement, NBC News reported.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
- That’s how many years in prison Allen could face, the Associated Press reported. ABC News reported his sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 20.