IN - Abby & Libby - The Delphi Murders - Richard Allen Arrested - #164

[LadyL]

Exactly what I have wondered since his arrest. It baffles me that he was not recognizable.

to me he looks nothing like the bridge picture

 

[Gemmie]

to me he looks nothing like the bridge picture

To me he looks exactly like "bridge guy". We'll all have our differences and points of views. All that really matters is what LE and a jury thinks after reviewing the evidence. Then we'll have "justice for our girls".

 

[NoSpoonFeeding]

To me he looks exactly like "bridge guy". We'll all have our differences and points of view

"Exactly" isn't possible as his face is not clear enough. However, the proportions and body type/the way his clothes fit, combined with his head/face blurry image, that we now have seen, certainly do look like him. I think that those that were "married" to the idea that BG was KK, TK, RL, BC, and a number of others, wanted it to be them so badly that they ignored the first FBI estimate of BG's height. I remember arguing with other members that KK couldn't be BG due to his large frame/weight and height. I think there are still those that are so invested in KK being involved, that they can't let go of their original theories. To me, this is ignoring that sexually motivated killers almost always have a well-hidden, private (not shared) imagined event that won't go away, even if they have resisted acting on it for years. They act on their own, they watch and wait until the right victim is in the right place at the right time. That is an important part of the build-up. Other times he walked there and looked for an opportunity. That can't be orchestrated by someone else.

 

[Boxer]

To me he looks exactly like "bridge guy". We'll all have our differences and points of views. All that really matters is what LE and a jury thinks after reviewing the evidence. Then we'll have "justice for our girls".

MOO he looks exactly how I thought he would look from the bridge video.

 

[DeDee]

<modsnip - quoted post was removed>

I was one of the original posters in this thread but veered away from WS for over a year or two due the terrifying case activating my ptsd. I'm thrilled there's been an arrest. I expected someone who looked a little more scary, with a little more shade in their background, but he was hiding in plain sight. How nerve wracking the wait must have been for Rick.

I heard on a podcast that RA is still at Westville. I thought he was transferred to Cass Co.

 

[Salah11]

All I see is RA as Bridge guy now. It’s spot on for
Body shape and size .

He has a big gut , short legs and a round head which we can mostly see. The Hat slightly distorted the face and the fact it’s a video from distance but you can’t hide body shape and it matches him.

Mooo

 

[girlhasnoname]

What was he wearing on his head, do we know now? And the brown under his jacket, just a shirt tail? I still find it curious how his family, friends etc didn't recognize him. Or perhaps recognized him but justified the thought away somehow.

This is what I believed may have played a part in his wife's thinking, and maybe others that knew him closely who might have had even a tiny inkling as to any similarities in RA and BG:

Cognitive dissonance is a term for the state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs, or the knowledge that one has behaved in a certain way.

No way this loving family man, courteous, helpful Pharmacy Tech at the local CVS, fun pool playing, beer drinking friend down at the local pub could have done such a monstrous thing.

IANAP, just MOO

 

[Yemelyan]

IMO I'm thinking they had to have recognized him. I'd put a huge sum of money on that and I don't place bets unless I'm pretty darn sure I'll win. I'm thinking they had to be in denial that it COULDN'T be him. It's understandable because family never wants to believe a loved one could ever commit such atrocious murders. So it HAS TO be someone else that looks "sorta" like him.

I think that family members probably did notice the similarities but their failure to act was a combination of denial and perhaps RA telling them "the authorities already talked to me." With the implication that if they had already talked to him, and nothing apparently came of it, clearly he was not involved.

In the November 10th episode of the Murder Sheet (titled "Who is Rick Allen?") the hosts talked to a woman who went to high school with RA and still maintained friends in common with RA's wife. She told the hosts of the Murder Sheet that soon after the murders happened RA's wife was telling their mutual friends that RA had been interviewed by police. But instead of giving the detail that he came forward to a CO on his own, she "played it off as if they were interviewing everyone in the community and that's why he was interviewed right away." The hosts of the Murder Sheet point out that the story the wife was telling wasn't quite true; reporter Russ McQuaid was one of the first to report that Allen went to police on his own and identified himself as being at the trails that day. This information comes in around the 16 minute mark of the podcast episode.

So this is speculation but I think that just like he outed himself to the CO as having been on the trails that day, he probably outed himself to his wife and family members as having talked to LE. He may not have presented it truthfully, however.

He might have told them that all men who lived near the trails had to come in for questioning; he could have even made it sound very official and said that LE asked to take his DNA, give him a lie detector test, and so forth. Or he may have just been nonchalant, as if it was routine for men in the community and he was "cleared."

If this is how he played it off, I think it could have been pretty persuasive to a family member who already didn't want to consider that their loved one was involved in a crime like this.

 

[CrimeDawg123]

All I see is RA as Bridge guy now. It’s spot on for
Body shape and size .

He has a big gut , short legs and a round head which we can mostly see. The Hat slightly distorted the face and the fact it’s a video from distance but you can’t hide body shape and it matches him.

Mooo

And then when you add in the clothes - the jacket, jeans, shirt tail hanging down, hat, shoes - all worn in a combination that this person is known to wear ... blows my mind that he was not identified quickly.

 

[TL4S]

Shirt trail, fanny pack, sweatshirt.... whatever that brown thing was around his waist, did we see anything in the search warrant return that might be indicative of that item?

 

[CGBSpender]

I put the weight on the information in the legal documents.

But the one thing I wonder about with the neighbors, is whether there was a different search warrant (unrelated to the murders of Abby and Libby) executed first that day. I know that sounds weird but I wonder. Or the neighbors could have just been wrong in their observations. Just speculation.

Not weird at all. I've been wondering if there was another search that took place after the one disclosed in the recent documents released. Here's what has me wondering...

In the photos of the house/vehicle search that are online, I don't see any red utility marking flags near the shed out back...however, in the photos of the house that were posted when it went up for sale...you can see a red utility flag in front of the shed, and one behind it. The flags line up in those photos...so it makes me think that the shed may have electrical service to it.

I can't think of a reason why anyone would have had the utility company come out and flag that area after the search...unless it had to do with a secondary search perhaps? Seems like the last thing the homeowners would be concerned with is marking off utilities for a future project or event? (The only times we have had our utilities marked off is when we (or a utility company) are planning on doing work that involves digging...or when I have ordered a tent and/or a bounce house for a party...the rental company I use requires utilities marked off in advance of installing the rental equipment).

And why just flag in front of and behind the shed? Seems odd to me. But...if the shed has underground utilities running to it...and someone needs to dig inside or outside of the shed for something...you'd probably need to get the utility company out first to mark off the lines so you don't hit one.

JMO

 

[Justice101]

I think that family members probably did notice the similarities but their failure to act was a combination of denial and perhaps RA telling them "the authorities already talked to me." With the implication that if they had already talked to him, and nothing apparently came of it, clearly he was not involved.

In the November 10th episode of the Murder Sheet (titled "Who is Rick Allen?") the hosts talked to a woman who went to high school with RA and still maintained friends in common with RA's wife. She told the hosts of the Murder Sheet that soon after the murders happened RA's wife was telling their mutual friends that RA had been interviewed by police. But instead of giving the detail that he came forward to a CO on his own, she "played it off as if they were interviewing everyone in the community and that's why he was interviewed right away." The hosts of the Murder Sheet point out that the story the wife was telling wasn't quite true; reporter Russ McQuaid was one of the first to report that Allen went to police on his own and identified himself as being at the trails that day. This information comes in around the 16 minute mark of the podcast episode.

So this is speculation but I think that just like he outed himself to the CO as having been on the trails that day, he probably outed himself to his wife and family members as having talked to LE. He may not have presented it truthfully, however.

He might have told them that all men who lived near the trails had to come in for questioning; he could have even made it sound very official and said that LE asked to take his DNA, give him a lie detector test, and so forth. Or he may have just been nonchalant, as if it was routine for men in the community and he was "cleared."

If this is how he played it off, I think it could have been pretty persuasive to a family member who already didn't want to consider that their loved one was involved in a crime like this.

Excellent post. (Good) liars tell half-truths that are believable and able to be backed up independently.... but they will lie about the important or damaging part to cover themselves with whatever they are trying to conceal.

 

[arielilane]

This is what I believed may have played a part in his wife's thinking, and maybe others that knew him closely who might have had even a tiny inkling as to any similarities in RA and BG:

Cognitive dissonance is a term for the state of discomfort felt when two or more modes of thought contradict each other. The clashing cognitions may include ideas, beliefs, or the knowledge that one has behaved in a certain way.

No way this loving family man, courteous, helpful Pharmacy Tech at the local CVS, fun pool playing, beer drinking friend down at the local pub could have done such a monstrous thing.

IANAP, just MOO

Excellent post!

To add, sometimes a person won’t recognize something or actions causing pain, until it is directly laid out in front of them and then there’s no escape or denial anymore. Not saying that’s the case here.

All in my opinion only.

 

[Justice101]

What I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around is WHY was Libby's phone found under her body??? You'd think he'd have seen it and taken it "just in case" there was any incriminating evidence on it (and there was). I suppose he could have somehow not seen it but that really surprises me. Especially since he undressed at least one of them (likely both) to remove her panties. If he hadn't seen it before you'd think he'd have seen it then!

That fact is just so odd to me.

I completely agree. Especially if he spent 45 mins to an hour with them before he emerged and was seen muddy and bloody on the road.

I wonder if it was lost in the leaves in any scuffle and he looked everywhere but under her body?

 

[Megnut]

I completely agree. Especially if he spent 45 mins to an hour with them before he emerged and was seen muddy and bloody on the road.

I wonder if it was lost in the leaves in any scuffle and he looked everywhere but under her body?

Or Libby had a second phone, by which RA was tracking her (and not stocks). And he made sure to pocket that phone, unaware she had another.

Maybe that was KAK's side hustle. Arranging trackers. Providing data. Which houses had teens, which teens had sleepovers, which teens would be where. For a price.

jmo

 

[Justice101]

MOO he looks exactly how I thought he would look from the bridge video.

The only thing I got from the bridge photo was he was white, not tall and had a big nose

 

[FromGermany1]

To me, this is ignoring that sexually motivated killers almost always have a well-hidden, private (not shared) imagined event that won't go away, even if they have resisted acting on it for years. They act on their own, they watch and wait until the right victim is in the right place at the right time. That is an important part of the build-up. Other times he walked there and looked for an opportunity. That can't be orchestrated by someone else.

bbm

That is also an important question: Was RA in the area often before Febr 2017, was he seen and recognized by other trail walkers, do citizens of Delphi remember him to have been on the trails and the bridge (now, that they know, who he is)?? - I would like to hear of it.

 

[girlhasnoname]

bbm

That is also an important question: Was RA in the area often before Febr 2017, was he seen and recognized by other trail walkers, do citizens of Delphi remember him to have been on the trails and the bridge (now, that they know, who he is)?? - I would like to hear of it.

Well, we do know he/they was familiar with the bridge because there was a photo of his daughter posing on it. This was even before the murders. It was eerily similar IMO.

ALL MOO

 

[Salah11]

I don’t blame friends for not suspecting him.

Let’s be honest it’s the most heinous crime you can commit so nobody would of believed somebody they knew with their own family would be able to do something so abhorrent.

 

[FrostedGlass]

His car was parked in plain sight for all the time he worked at CVS. Just a couple of blocks away from the police station.