Transcript of Delphi double murder trial begins nearly 8 years after teenage girls were found dead

It's the shocking and twisted saga that consumed the nation.

The Delphi murder case of Abby and Libby had all the makings of a massive national, if not international case. There were so many twists and turns.

A community tormented for almost eight years, but now could be one step closer to justice, as jury selection began today in the trial of Richard Allen, a local resident accused of murdering two young girls in the small town of Delphi, Indiana.

Having someone so close to this case, so close to the allegations in such a horrific way, really sends a shiver down the spines of a community like this. I believe in a God of justice and righteousness.

Today, I believe that same God has provided us with justice for Abby and Libby. Alan has been behind bars since his arrest two years ago, charged with killing 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German while they were on a hike in 2017. His attorneys have always maintained his innocence. He is innocent. He has told us that. The 52-year-old has been on an investigator's radar since 2017 after admitting that he was in the area the girls disappeared. But prosecutors believe they now have indisputable evidence to keep him behind bars, including, they say, more than 60 alleged confessions from prison where Alan admits to killing Abby and Libby.

The case Richard Allen is largely circumstantial. And so law enforcement, as well as the prosecutors, are going to heavily rely on those 60, yeah, 6-0 plus confessions that Richard Allen allegedly made to inmates, guards, wardens, a psychiatrist, as well as family members while incarcerated.

His lawyer's attributing those confessions to a decline in his mental health and have argued that the girls were possibly killed by a cult performing a ritual. The judge ruled the jurors will not be not allowed to hear the defense's theory, but is allowing the recorded confessions to be used in court.

In many ways, the defense doesn't have a lot of the tools that they wanted to use in a case to try to defend Richard Allen.

Are there things that they can attack, like the way something was collected, the way it was examined? That's where you go as a defense attorney if you have really no really solid directions to go.

Jurors are being selected from Allen County, Indiana, about 100 miles from where the crime took place, but the trial itself will take place in Carroll County, where both the victim's families live. For years, the case paralyzed the tight-knit town of Delphi.

This isn't something that happens in Delphi. I couldn't go outside of the house without having a panic attack. There's still a killer out there potentially walking amongst us.

Investigators are sifting through multiple leads and more than 70,000 tips. We believe you are hiding in plain sight. The friends disappeared after hiking the Monon High Bridge Trail. Their bodies were discovered the next day on Valentine's Day, 2017.

This case immediately got national attention. Two kids, early teens, living in a rural part of Indiana, out just to play for a day. You just have to scratch your head saying, Why did this take so long?

Some of the most crucial evidence provided by the victims themselves, including this picture Libby Snapchatted of Abby near the trail, and this video from Libby's phone that police believe shows a suspect, along with this chilling audio clip. Libby's family speaking to Nightline in 2022. That's Libby.

That's something she would do. I think that she realized that something wasn't right with this guy out on the trails.

According to court documents, Allen was first interviewed by officers in 2017, where he confirmed that he was in the area on February 13th, from 1:30 PM to 2:30 PM, around the same time Abby and Libby were dropped off. Court documents say authorities interviewed him again in 2022, where he said he was at the Monanhai Bridge Trail. He also allegedly told investigators that he owned guns in his home. Shortly after, investigators executed a search warrant and arrested Allen after allegedly linking a bullet at the crime scene to his gun. Today is not a day to celebrate, but the arrest of Richard M..

Allen of Delphi on two counts of murder is sure a major step in leading to the conclusion of this long term and complex investigation.

His home, less than two miles from the trail where the young girls vanished.

It's hard. How can somebody do that and then just go on living life like nothing happened? I don't understand. Probably never will understand that.

Alan appeared to be like everyone else. This photo showing him at a local bar where he was a regular. Behind him, a sketch of the suspect. Libby's family telling us her aunt knew Alan from the CVS where he worked and that he didn't charge her when she came in to print photos for Libby's funeral. Any of you or all of you still I still talk to Libby about everything that's going on? I know with loved ones, I do the same. Sometimes I still talk to them.

Yesterday, I made it a point to go out to her grave and make sure she had a new sweet tea from McDonald's to be prepared for today. I just sat out there with her, and it just was a little bit more peace sitting out there knowing that she knew, too.

Since Richard Allen's arrest, families, friends, and authorities have all remained tight-lipped. A strict gag order in place, and very little has been released about how the girls were killed. Their families frustrated when we spoke to them before Alan's arrest.

It's always, why us?

Why them?

Why that day? Why knowing our answers after five years?

And when? When will we not have those questions?

But details are all expected to revealed soon. Opening arguments could take place later this week, and the trial is expected to last six weeks.

Trials of this nature are extremely painful for victims. It's like ripping a scab away that you have to re-hear and maybe hear in detail information you've never heard before as to what happened to these two girls.

I had so much faith that our detectives would keep working on this until they got our answers, injustice for the girls. Until the conviction is here, I'll still remain that way, too.