An unspent bullet found near the bodies of two teenage girls is a key piece of evidence against the man accused of their murders, according to newly released court documents. A partly redacted probable cause affidavit released Tuesday states that an ejected .40-caliber shell has tool marks matching a pistol owned by Richard Allen, the Indianapolis Star reports. The 50-year-old Delphi, Indiana resident was arrested last month and charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13. The girls, referred to in court documents as Victim 1 and Victim 2, were killed after going for a hike. Authorities have not disclosed how they died. Last week, news organization urged Special Judge Fran Gull to unseal the affidavit and other documents in the case.
The affidavit states Allen told investigators he had never let anybody else use or borrow his Sig Sauer P226 pistol, which was seized during a search of his home last month. He said he had owned the weapon since 2001. "When asked about the unspent bullet, he did not have an explanation of why the bullet was found between the bodies of Victim 1 and Victim 2," the affidavit states. According to court documents, Allen was among the people interviewed early in the investigation and he said he had been in the area where the girls were last seen, Fox 59 reports. When he was asked about the bullet, "he again admitted that he was on the trail but denied knowing Victim 1 or Victim 2 and denied any involvement in their murders," the affidavit states.
Other evidence includes statements from witnesses who said they saw a man investigators believe was Allen on the Monon High Bridge in Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017, the day the girls disappeared, reports WRTV. Their bodies were found on a trail near the bridge the next day. The Lafayette Journal & Courier reports that the affidavit states one witness said she passed a man on a trail wearing a blue jacket and blue jeans, clothes Allen said he was wearing that day, and he "was muddy and bloody. She further stated that it appeared he had gotten into a fight." A photo found on one of the girl's phones shows a man in a blue jacket and jeans. Allen is being held without bond. His next court date is a Feb. 17 bail hearing. (More Delphi stories.)