The Delphi Murder Case

The Delphi Murder Case- case against Richard Allen

Charges: 2 counts of murder and 2 counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit a kidnapping of Abby Williams and Libby German on February 13, 2017 in Delphi IN.

 Manner of death:  Homicide, neck wounds caused by a sharp object.

Facts of the case: The case was not televised as the judge banned cameras in the courtroom. Information about the case came from news anchors and podcasters who attended the trial and 0reported on the case.

Abby and Libby were dropped off at the Monon high bridge in Delphi, IN and did not return to the spot where they were going to be picked up. They were reported missing and were found brutally murdered on Ron Logan’s property the next day. While collecting evidence the police found a recording on Libby’s phone that showed Abby, Libby and a man that was behind them telling them to “go down the hill.” This video was just recently released to the public and has been in great contention. The grainy video makes it difficult to identify who the man is or what he looks like. It also makes it difficult to clearly hear what the girls were saying to one another or what the circumstances were when the video was taken.

Arrest: Richard Allen was arrested 5 yrs later of the murders pleading not guilty. And the trial began 2 yrs later in October 2024.

Evidence against Richard Allen:

 1. Richard Allen put himself at the crime scene. He went for a walk that day on the trails and Monon high bridge.

2. Witnesses stated they saw “bridge guy”

3. A bullet found in Richard Allen’s home matched an unspent casing at the crime scene

4. His confessions of guilt

The Timeline:

Abby and Libby were dropped off at the trails at 1:49 pm, 2:13 pm, there is a video on Libby’s phone that shows the girls on the Monon High bridge when they encountered a man. Libby’s phone stopped moving at 2:32 pm. Crime took around 19 minutes.

In police interviews before he was arrested, Richard Allen stated he was at the trails from 1-3:30. He saw 3 girls. He doesn’t identify Abby and Libby as the girls he saw. He states he has a gun but only carries his gun with him in a hip holster when he is hunting or fishing. He didn’t have his gun with him at the trails. He stated he went to his mother’s house earlier that morning. They wanted to go out to lunch and he didn’t. He went to the store to buy some beer. He went home and drank 3, drank the other 3 at a later time. He drove to the trails and went for a walk. He states he wore a black or blue jacket. He usually wore a cap and tennis shoes. After he walked the trails he went home. He did some trading and looked at the stock market.

He was very cooperative during the police interviews. He denied killing the girls multiple times. They wanted to search his phone and home. He had no problem with them searching his phone. He had to talk to his wife first before agreeing to them searching his home. He stated he understood this was a high profile case and the police wanted to solve the case but didn’t want to be their fall guy. He told police that they ruined his life. The police had talked to his neighbors and now they think he is a killer.  He agreed to the search of his car and home.

When police searched his home they found a bullet in a keepsake box that matched an unspent casing at the crime scene. The unspent casing at the crime scene was found 6 inches from Abby’s foot.  Richard Allen told them that the unspent round found at the crime scene didn’t come from his gun. And he wasn’t going to admit to something he didn’t do.

Witnesses: stated they saw “bridge guy” All described him as a younger man with curly or puffy brown hair. They never identified Richard Allen as the “bridge guy” in court and were never asked. Witnesses described “bridge guy” as acting strange, overdressed for the weather, walking strange, wearing black, tan or blue jacket.

While Richard Allen was in prison after he was arrested he apparently made 61 confessions to the crime. Some of these confessions were written down by the guards that were watching him since he was on a safekeeping watch. Some were told to the psychiatrist that he was seeing in the prison, Dr Wala and some were made to his wife over the phone.

The Verdict and Sentence: Richard Allen was found guilty on all counts of the murder of Abby and Libby. He was sentenced to 130 yrs in prison.

Did Justice Prevail? Unfortunately, I don’t think it did. I would love to say that the jury got it right and justice was served. I want the right person to be put away for killing Abby and Libby. I want justice for the girls and their families. When the verdict came in I even put a news article about it on my Facebook page celebrating that Richard Allen was guilty and justice had been done. But that was before I actually dove into the case and now I feel differently. After hearing about all the evidence, I believe that there is reasonable doubt and they might have the wrong person in prison. I really want justice in this case, but there is no justice with the wrong person in prison.

Reasonable Doubt: Richard Allen was at the trails that day. But that doesn’t mean he committed the crime. A lot of people were at the trails that day. The witnesses that stated they saw “bridge guy” saw someone but it doesn’t exactly describe Richard Allen. Even though Richard Allen was at the trails that day, there was no physical evidence connecting him to the crime. His DNA was not found on the girls or girls’ clothing, or at crime scene. No physical evidence in his car, on his clothes or in his home.


The Unspent Casing: The prosecutions’ witness stated she could not state it was a match to the bullet at the crime scene but there was sufficient agreement.  Furthermore, she was only able to replicate the tool markings by firing the round. But the casing found at the scene had not been fired.  So in my mind, whatever result you obtain by firing the gun is invalid because the bullet at the crime scene had not been fired through the gun. It was an unspent casing.

The Confessions:  Most of the confessions were very vague, such as “I did it” I killed Abby and Libby”, “I think I did it”, “ I want to apologize to the families of Abby and Libby for molesting them.” I don’t really consider these vague statements to be confessions. However, there was 1 “confession” that had more detail. Apparently Richard Allen went to his parents’ house, and they were going to go out to lunch. He didn’t want to. Instead he went to the store to buy a 6 pack of beer, he drank 3, and then later drank the other 3. He went to the trails, saw the 2 girls, did something with his gun, told them to go down the hill, He was going to molest the 2 girls but then saw a white van that spooked him and so he decided to kill the girls instead.

First of all the confessions were made when Richard Allen was going through psychosis and his mind was deteriorating. He was in solitary confinement for 13 months! He was taunted by guards some who wore patches representing the religious group of Odinism.  He would bang his head against the walls and eat his own feces. He was not in his right mind. According to the United Nations “Mandela Rules” which were adopted in 2015 established the minimum standard for the treatment to prisons, prohibit placements in solitary beyond 15 consecutive days! And he was in solitary for 13 months before the trial even started. He was deemed innocent at the time. Why did this go on for so long?

I think about how I would survive in solitary confinement. I am an introvert and I like my time alone, peace and quiet. I could go days without talking to someone enjoying my solitude. But even I think spending 13 mos in solitary confinement in conditions that wasn’t my home and only had a little space which was unsanitary what that would do to my mind. Being in a place like that even before you were found guilty of a crime I think would make you go crazy. In conditions like this I think your mind would play tricks on you and you would start wondering on what you did to deserve this kind of treatment and whether or not you committed this crime. I think in that amount of time your mind could convince you that you did commit the crime even though you really didn’t. I think the mind is a very powerful thing and once you have a thought that maybe you did this terrible thing you start believing it. And possibly you would say anything to get out of the situation you are in even if it is not true. That is how false confessions begin.

Also the 1 confession that had some sort of detail still didn’t have much detail. I would expect a confession to be very detailed stating how he did things, why he did things. He states he did something with the gun. What? That is not specific. He didn’t state specifically where he saw the girls, what he said to them, where he took them. What he did to them. What weapons he used, why. It was so unspecific. Magically after his “confession”, Richard Allen was released from solitary confinement and was transferred to Westville Correctional Center which was a lesser harsh place.

Based on the evidence presented at trial I find that there is reasonable doubt of Richard Allen’s guilt. His attorneys have filed motions for appeals. None of them have been granted so far. I believe there are many legal issues in this case of how evidence was presented, how the confessions were obtained and that some evidence has just seemingly disappeared. I think there were many mistakes and rulings in this case. The defense was not allowed to bring in 3rd party suspects. Which I believe the jury had a right to hear about. From what I have learned about other suspects, there was more likelihood that one of those suspects committed the crime not Richard Allen. Which I have often wondered why Richard Allen? What made him more likely than not to commit this crime than the others? It just doesn’t make sense to me. This case has been very interesting to learn about. Some issues that have been brought out in this case solidify my belief that our justice system is flawed. And what justice looks like to one person might not seem justice for another. This case is very devastating for Abby and Libby and their families and to the public. It’s also devastating for Richard Allen who I think did not receive a fair trial. Even though I want someone to pay for the crime, I don’t want an innocent man in prison either. So this case really pulls on my heart strings. It’s just so sad anyway you look at it!

The Victims:

Abby Williams– She was 13 yrs old and in 8th grade. She loved to play the saxophone and volleyball. She enjoyed art and photography. She enjoyed, camping, swimming and playing outdoors

Libby German – She was 14 yrs old and in 8th grade. She enjoyed playing volleyball, softball, soccer and swimming. She loved crafts, painting and going on vacations.

They were best friends who on a normal day were doing a normal thing, walking the trails together. And sadly they were taken from this life together. Peace to the girls and their families.

                               
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Update on Sarah Boone

Sentence Hearing:

A sentence hearing is where the judge sentences the guilty party for the crime they committed.  The judge has sentencing guidelines provided by the law in that state and has discretion on making a sentence within that guideline. The judge can give the minimum, maximum or a sentence in between. In a sentence hearing the victim’s family members or friends can make an impact statement and give the judge a recommendation of what they would like the sentence to be. The defendant can also choose or not to choose to make a statement. Usually if the defendant makes a statement it is to express how remorseful they are and try to convince the judge to give the minimum sentence required. However, that is not what happened in this case.

Victim Impact Statements:

Bianca Torres, Jorge’s Mother: Jorge’s mother makes a statement through her tears that she doesn’t hate Sarah Boone. The last time she talked to him was on New Year’s Eve, when Jorge woke her up to tell her Happy New Year and that he loves her. She often looks out the window for him to come home and tell her he loves her yet again. She misses him and her family misses him. She states she was blessed because she got to raise Jorge and he was a good son. Sarah is not blessed like her and will never have what she had with Jorge

Victoria Torres, Jorge’s Sister:  She states her brother deserves justice and that Sarah deserves to rot in jail. Sarah has inflicted a lifetime of pain and horrible images of her brother begging for his life in the suitcase. She has turned her life upside down.

Anna Torres, Jorge’s Daughter: Jorge’s daughter states that she wakes up screaming thinking about what happened to her father. Since this has happened, she has nightmares, chronic depression and anxiety. She has had to seek therapy in order to avoid a random breakdown. Her siblings are also different. Jorge was her father and best friend. He deserved to be treated like a human being. His light on this Earth has been dimmed by evilness. She wants Sarah to see his face everyday especially at night when she is trying to sleep.

Sarah Boone’s Statement:

Sarah Boone took the stand once again and first read from a statement that she had written. She indicated that she was reading an edited version of the statement as there was so much more that she needed to say. Then she addressed Jorge’s family directly. She was on the stand for about ½ hr.

Her statement started off about the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery and glassware with gold called kintsugi. It is based on the Zen Buddhist ideal of wabi-sabi which encourages people to appreciate imperfection and find beauty in aged and worn objects. Each piece of art which has cracks becomes more beautiful due to its brokenness. She states that God has been her Artisan and all of her gold has been forgiveness. She explains that forgiveness is like the gold used to repair the cracks in ceramics. If you forgive it makes you brighter, more beautiful and free from sorrow. “When you forgive, you heal and when you heal, you move forward.”  This has made her shine brighter and recover all the damage caused by Jorge Torres, his family, the correctional center, the justice system, social media, scoundrel detectives, defamation, ongoing constitutional rights violations, forced being pro se and 2nd degree murder.  

Then she goes on to state that her gold begins with Jorge Torres and states specific examples of ways that he apparently abused her. She forgives him for everything he did to her including giving her the “M  Scarlett letter” for murder. She then forgives Jorge’s family including his mother, father, 2 ex-wives and Jorge’s daughters for all know who Jorge was and what he was capable of doing. She states they knew Jorge’s history of abuse and turned a blind eye when she asked them for help. They allowed and enabled the abuse and cared too late. She also wants the family to ask themselves what they could have done to prevent this from happening.

She then blames social media for greed and deception and calls social media organized crime. Social media has condemned her and she has become a pariah. She states that they were manipulating her case online so her case could not come to a fair conclusion. She blamed media tycoons who have no life of their own and has taken blood money.

She then forgives herself for not choosing herself and getting out of the situation sooner. She stated she fell in love with a monster and tried to break the spell so he wouldn’t be a monster anymore. She states that he was her greatest lesson and she still loves and misses him.

Finally at 14 minutes in, she apologizes to Jorge’s family and asks for their forgiveness. She thinks of him everyday especially when she looks at her stab wound from him. She states she didn’t mean for this to happen. She asks the family and the judge for forgiveness instead of judgment. She asks for understanding and repentance. She ends her written statement stating she is a survivor and everyone needs to protect the abused.

For her statement to the family she states that they know Jorge and her had good days and loved one another. This has changed her forever and she will have Jorge in her heart and soul. She again states she is sorry and that words do not describe her shame. She asks for forgiveness.

The Judge sentenced Sarah Boone to life in prison.

Did Justice Prevail?  Yes, I believe she deserved the maximum sentence. First of all I just have to say WOW! I have never heard a defendant speak that way at a sentence hearing. Usually a statement is very short and either showing remorse to the victim’s family or telling the judge why they should be sentenced to the minimum. Not a long statement about her being the victim and everyone else is to blame for her situation and not getting a just verdict! I do believe she was a victim of domestic violence. I believe Jorge did abuse her as well as her to him. However, let us remember that Jorge was murdered in a horrific way and that was her doing and her fault. Why is she saying that she forgives everyone for their wrong doing? She is the one that murdered Jorge and He is in the wrong and his family is in the wrong and social media and the whole justice system is in the wrong?  What about her? She did apologize, however it seemed an afterthought. I was blown away by these statements.  

Then after her sentencing which of course she didn’t approve of, she sent the letter she read from during her sentencing to the judge. A 28 page letter! Including in that letter she sent the judge a note stating that she was hoping for a better outcome and to be met with understanding and forgiveness. She then called him ignorant for making up his mind about her sentence before hearing her speak. She states she is not a murderer but a survivor. She thinks that the judge was biased and that he got his wish in her spending the rest of her life in prison. She is happy that she is no longer in his corrupt court. However, she forgives him.

WOW again! Jaw dropped!  She has definitely shown us who she is through these letters and statements.  She seems to be willing to hand out the forgiveness but unwilling to take responsibility for what she has done. I just don’t understand the mentality of a person who cannot take accountability for what they have done and saying it is everyone else’s fault. The nerve of her to blame the family! And there is no remorse or emotion. Nothing. This only solidifies her being in prison for the rest of her life.

I hope and pray that Jorge’s family can feel some peace in the sentence. And do not bear any weight on her blaming them for this horrible, horrendous act against their loved one. She may have been a victim of domestic violence but she is not a victim in this murder or trial or sentencing. There was a better way of getting out of the situation than murder. These domestic violence cases are difficult and very emotional. However, in this case I don’t believe that suffocating Jorge Torres in a suitcase was the only way.

To hear her full statement at her sentencing hearing, you can watch it on Court TV.

What are your thoughts on Sarah Boone’s sentencing and statements?

FL v Sarah Boone

Charged with:  2nd degree murder for the death of her boyfriend Jorge Torres Jr in February 2020.

 Manner of death:  Homicide, by Asphyxiation in a suitcase after a night of drinking and playing hide and seek. The suitcase was the murder weapon.

The case was delayed for 4yrs after 8 public defenders withdrew from the case after finding it impossible to deal with the defendant for not complying with their legal advice.  I believe she was trying to delay the case as long as she could and take control of the legal process. The judge then revoked her right to legal counsel after so many delays and going through so many attorneys. So now, she had to represent herself, which she did in a few pretrial hearings. However, she was still allowed to retain private counsel.  After making a handwritten flyer to obtain legal counsel, an attorney named James Owens responded and became her 9th and final lawyer.  He only had 45 days to prepare for the trial.     

 The case started out with multiple pretrial hearings as they usually do. One of the most interesting pretrial hearings was when the defendant wanted certain snacks to eat during the court proceedings including chips, candy, Pop-Tarts, peppermints and juice.  I have never seen a request like this before. The judge denied the request claiming that she is provided with sufficient meals like all other inmates and did not have a medical condition that required such snacks. Once again, the defendant was trying to control the direction the trial would go, and the judge wasn’t having it.

Defense: Battered spouse syndrome. Even though they were not married, the defendant claimed that Jorge was abusing her, and she was in fear for her life.  Evidence in the trial from police cameras from previous arrests, pictures and interviews both parties were abusive to each other, and it was a very toxic relationship.

Sarah Boone took the stand in her own defense.

Her Story:  She and Jorge were together all day drinking and doing a various amount of activities such as art and calling family members.  She was planning all the activities they did that day as a way to keep him occupied. Apparently, Jorge tapped her on the shoulder and stated “You’re it”.  This meant that they were going to play hide and seek, and she went to go upstairs to hide.  She was waiting a long time for him to come find her and when he didn’t, she went back downstairs to see what he was doing. When she went downstairs, she saw Jorge getting into a suitcase. He was only 5’2” and weighed 103 pounds. He was able to fit himself entirely in the suitcase. She then zipped up the suitcase, both laughing that he could actually fit in there. She flipped the suitcase over, so the zipper was then on the bottom. Then she grabbed her phone and started videotaping the incident. She stated since he was now in the suitcase and couldn’t get out, she felt safe enough to talk to him and tell him how she felt when he would do hurtful things to her. She videotaped it so he could watch it at a later time and remember what he had told her. However, this was not a heartfelt conversation.

Most Shocking Evidence: The video tape showed Jorge stating he couldn’t breathe. She stated that this is what he deserved for everything he did to her including cheating on her. Whenever he would say her name, she would say “That’s my name. Don’t wear it out” laughing and taunting him aggressively with profanity. He would again say “I can’t breathe” and her saying “that’s on you”.

She stated she didn’t remember videotaping him. She stated that they started arguing and Jorge tried to get out of the suitcase and his hands were coming out of the suitcase. She was fearful of him getting out of the suitcase and coming after her. So she grabbed a bat and started poking at his hands so they would go back in, which they did.  Then she flipped the suitcase back right side up and went upstairs and fell asleep. As long as Jorge was in the suitcase, she felt safe and he couldn’t come after her to kill her. She stated she never thought he couldn’t breathe in the suitcase or that he could die in the suitcase.

The next morning she woke up and went downstairs and found that Jorge was still in the suitcase. She called her ex-husband and asked him to come over and he told her to call the police. She attempted CPR on Jorge and didn’t call police until her ex-husband showed up and told her again to contact the police.

Verdict:  Guilty of 2nd degree murder. It only took the jury about 90 minutes to convict her. Sentencing is scheduled for Dec.2, 2024. She previously rejected a plea deal for manslaughter which would have sent her to prison for 15 yrs. With a guilty verdict to 2nd degree murder, she is facing from 22 ½ yrs to life in prison.  She is currently appealing her case and asking for a new trial.

Did Justice Prevail?    Yes! I believe that justice did prevail. Even though their relationship was toxic and might have been mutually abusive, Jorge did not deserve to die. I don’t believe they were playing hide and seek. I have never heard of adults playing that by themselves. I also don’t believe a person would get into a suitcase to see if they could fit in it. However, being under the influence I guess you never know. However, in the video and in her testimony, she did not seem afraid of Jorge. She seemed very much in control. She didn’t even show any fear when she was retelling her story on the stand. She was emotionless.

 As far as the video, it was horrible to watch, and I cringed every time they would show it. It was the crux of the case, and I still hear Jorge’s voice in my head saying he couldn’t breathe. So heartbreaking and terrifying!  And even if Jorge would have been able to get out of the suitcase, I doubt he would have gone after her. He would have been struggling to breathe and probably wouldn’t have had the strength to go after her. He probably would have tried to get as far away from her as possible. He didn’t have a weapon. She had a bat. But we will never know. He was left in there to suffocate and die.

Jorge Torres Jr: He was 42 yrs old.  He had 3 children. His ex-wife and 2 daughters state he was a very loving man, and he was the real victim in this abusive relationship. His children would talk to him at least 3 times a week on the phone for as long as they could before Sarah would get agitated and he would then get off the phone.

RIP Jorge Torres Jr. Praying for peace for his family.

For more information you can watch the entire case on Court TV

Do you think Justice Prevailed?

Stay tuned for my next case The Delphi murder case.

Did Justice Prevail?

Welcome to Did Justice Prevail?  I will be blogging about current true crime cases that I watch on Court TV, as well as crime documentaries and current legal issues.

I am a licensed attorney and even though I’m not practicing law I am well versed in legal topics and issues. I have been interested in criminal law since I was younger and enjoy watching trials as they happen from beginning to end. I believe there are flaws in the legal system and justice doesn’t always prevail. I hope in time that laws and procedures change to prevent some innocent people from going to prison and possibly being executed if sentenced to death. I believe and always have believed that the truth comes out eventually in every situation and what goes around comes around. Hopefully the legal system will catch up to that. So in every case I analyze I will be asking did justice prevail. I hope to find it does in more cases than not.

To the victims and victim’s families of all crimes, you are never forgotten and we fight for you!