On February 13, 2017, 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German set out for an afternoon hike along the Delphi Historic Trails in Indiana. They posted a selfie at 2:07 p.m., then vanished. When they failed to meet Libby’s father at the designated pick up point that evening, a frantic search began. The following day, their bodies were found beneath the Monon High Bridge, half a mile north of where they’d been dropped off.

Investigators quickly zeroed in on evidence Libby had captured on her smartphone. A still photograph showed a shadowy figure, dubbed “Bridge Guy”, following them. Libby’s phone recorded a distorted male voice ordering, “Guys, down the hill” just before the clip ended. Law enforcement circulated both the image and the recording across electronic billboards in 46 states, generating over 18,000 tips within weeks.

At the crime scene, forensic teams documented multiple sharp-force wounds: both girls had their throats slashed. Libby was found nude beside a tree. Experts believe she was leaning against the tree when she was attacked. Her own tears were mixed with her blood in a large stain on the bark. Abby was discovered clothed in her friend’s jacket, suggesting Libby’s garments had been removed post-mortem. An unspent .40-caliber cartridge lay between the bodies, a critical link to the later arrest.

Despite the high volume of leads, the case stalled for five years. In October 2022, court‐file clerk Kathy Shank unearthed a misfiled tip in which Richard Matthew Allen himself reported being on the trail that day, finally directing investigators to him. Investigators matched the .40-caliber round from the scene to Allen’s Glock 22. Voice-analysis experts testified that the muffled “Guys, down the hill” voice on Libby’s recording matched Allen’s voice from jailhouse calls. 

Allen was formally charged with two counts of felony murder and two counts of intentional murder on October 31, 2022. Prosecutors presented a coherent chain of evidence: the phone recordings, ballistic matches, and witness statements describing a man in jeans and dark jacket stalking the trail and later seen with muddy, blood-tinged clothing.

The trial opened on October 18, 2024, in Carroll County, Indiana. Over four days, the state laid out graphic crime-scene photographs, ballistic-forensics reports, and expert testimony linking Allen to every piece of physical evidence. A state police instructor affirmed the voice match, and a firearms examiner confirmed the cartridge’s origin. The defense’s attempt to shift blame onto a fringe Odinist ritual was rejected due to lack of supporting evidence.

On November 11, 2024, a jury found Allen guilty on all counts. Judge Frances Gull, after hearing victim-impact statements, sentenced him on December 20, 2024, to the maximum 65 years for each girl’s murder, to be served consecutively for a total of 130 years in prison. In pronouncing the sentence, Gull said she had seen few crimes as cruel as this one and credited 786 days served toward Allen’s term.

The reward fund, initially seeded with $200,000 from community and celebrity donations, has been awarded to tipsters whose information proved pivotal. Though the legal process continues through appellate courts, the families of Abby Williams and Libby German have, at least, seen the man they dubbed “Bridge Guy” held accountable.