A man currently serving a 130-year prison sentence for the 2017 murders of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, is asking a court to overturn his convictions. Richard Allen was found guilty in 2024 of killing Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14. The girls’ bodies were discovered on February 14, 2017, near an abandoned railroad bridge along a hiking trail. Both had been stabbed in the throat, and branches were placed over their bodies. One was found nude, while the other wore the first girl’s clothing. There was no evidence of sexual assault. Prosecutors argued that Allen used a gun to force the girls off the trail and later confessed to planning to rape them. However, he claimed he abandoned the plan when a van passed by, prompting him to kill the girls. A forensic expert testified that an unspent bullet found between the girls’ bodies had been fired from Allen’s handgun. Allen’s defense team challenged this evidence, pointing out that no witness directly identified him as the man seen near the trail that day. Additionally, no fingerprints, DNA, or other forensic evidence linked Allen to the crime scene. Allen was held in solitary confinement before his trial and initially denied involvement in the murders. His attorneys claim that prolonged isolation severely worsened his mental health, leading him to believe he was responsible and confess repeatedly. They described how he lost weight, struggled with self-care, and was subjected to harsh treatment while in custody, including being tased and exposed to unsanitary conditions. Prosecutors countered that his incriminating statements aligned with the timing of him being shown evidence from the investigation, including details about the girls’ bodies. The Indiana Court of Appeals is set to hear arguments in Allen’s case. His attorneys argue that his confessions were made during a mental health crisis and that the trial judge unfairly blocked the defense from suggesting the girls might have been killed as part of a pagan ritual. Prosecutors dispute this, stating that some of Allen’s statements were made before his mental health declined and that he continued to confess even after his condition improved. They also argue that the evidence against him was strong enough to secure a conviction without his confessions. Allen admitted to being near the trail around the time one of the girls recorded a video showing a suspicious man nearby. A male voice on the recording is heard saying, “Down the hill.” Prosecutors defended the trial judge’s decision to prevent testimony about a theory that the murders were part of a pagan ritual, arguing that allowing such testimony would have distracted from the main issue. Allen’s defense team sought to present an expert who believed the murders could be linked to Odin, a figure from Norse mythology. The expert suggested that the placement of the bodies, the use of branches, and the knife wounds might align with ritual practices. Prosecutors opposed this, saying the theory lacked sufficient evidence and should not be considered without more support. Allen’s attorneys are also expected to challenge other aspects of the trial, including witness accounts of the suspicious man seen near the trail. They pointed to a police sketch of a potential suspect that did not match Allen’s appearance. They are also contesting the trial judge’s decision to block a defense expert from questioning whether the markings on the unspent bullet could be reliably linked to a specific gun.