GUILTY Abby & Libby - The Delphi Murders - Richard Allen Arrested - #220

[shonyakay]

Reflecting back on this case, a case where many of us were here following from the beginning when LE announced that it was homicide, I am just so thankful that the case eventually got solved and the person responsible is behind bars forever. I accidently saw one of the CS photos and I just wanted to cry at the sadness for the family. It also angers me to no end for the evil person that Richard Allen is.

Thank goodness for Kathy Shank, and her poking around in the "cleared" files to find RA's self-admission of being on the trails about that time.. that eventually solved the case.

She is a hero to me. Someone naturally inquisitive, who didn't just assume that LE knew all about RA and had cleared him.. but that someone needed to look into him deeper. A simple filing error in the midst of thousands of tips and the perpetrator was right in front of them the whole time. Fresh eyes looking at the files. We owe her a great thank you

The conservation officer who did not follow up with the broader investigative team to see details on why his lead/tip was not considered even though he was on the trails... is a lesson in not assuming that other people are doing their job right. Although this is hind site, but I'll bet the CO saw the still shots of BG along with the video and said, "Wow, that sure looks like the guy I talked to"...but did not apparently follow up. This is partially on him.

Regarding the DNR Officer, Dan Dulin. He was asked to follow up on leads, like so many others. The "Bridge Guy" photo was released on February 15, 2017. Richard Allen's self-reported tip is dated February 16, 2017. Dulin followed-up with RA on February 18, 2017. Dulin may have seen the photo of the man before he even questioned RA. For someone who didn't know RA personally I can see how someone wouldn't be able to determine a profound likeness between Bridge Guy and him. Through Dulin's report we know what time RA actually got there which is corroborated by his car going East past Hoosier Harvest Store at 1:27 p.m.
Because Dulin got identifying numbers from RA's phone - we know the phone RA had at the time of the crime is missing.

The lead asked Dulin to follow up with RA to see what he may have seen. RA said he saw three girls by Freedom Bridge. Dulin released all of the information to higher ups to follow-up and somehow the ball got dropped. There was a question by LE regarding three girls - wondering who they were. The lead had the word "cleared" written on it. My belief is the lead was "cleared" when Dulin talked with RA.
Dulin was also on stage with members of LE when they released an audio portion of Bridge Guy on February 22, 2017 just four days after he talked to RA.

I think the fact that RA self-reported may have threw Dulin off. We all know now that RA's wife told him to self-report, but Dulin didn't know that at that time.

I agree, Kathy Shank is a hero and if she wouldn't have brought the lead sheet she found to Liggett's attention that day the girls still would not have justice.

Libby is a hero for recording the man because without her video, we wouldn't know an age range, or even what race to look for in a suspect.

Abby is a hero too - whether she intentionally hid the phone or unintentionally hid it - her body kept it safe until LE could retrieve Libby's video from it.

 

[shonyakay]

Please don’t put too much effort into it. We know it was between the Mears entrance & the cemetery, which is at most ~0.36 miles. I used that location based on news reports during her testimony. It was reported that she said it was near the cemetery but I don’t see a need to split hairs over the precise location - it was likely somewhere along that straightaway, as I just don’t see the troll staying in the road anywhere near Mears with DG shouting for the girls & other people gathering in that area.

"Carbaugh described herself as “local as you can get” and said she went to the trail daily to walk her dogs. As a teenager, she used to walk on the Monon High Bridge—although she stopped when she was an adult.

She testified that she saw “Bridge Guy” walking down County Road 300 North by the cemetery around 4 p.m. on Feb. 13 while she was driving by. He was hunched over and plodding along with his hands in his pockets."

https://fox59.com/delphi-trial/delphi-murders-combative-testimony-from-another-bridge-guy-witness/

I missed the word "Approx." on your map at first. My apologies. SC seen the man at approximately the mid way point in the field to the left of the cemetery but he was across the street - Mears farm side of the street not Mears entrance side.

 

[INfisherman]

I missed the word "Approx." on your map at first. My apologies. SC seen the man at approximately the mid way point in the field to the left of the cemetery but he was across the street - Mears farm side of the street not Mears entrance side.

BBM

Not a problem. I feel his location is of little consequence as long as it’s known he was somewhere between Mears & the cemetery.

 

[Boxer]

How did "party spot guests" usually arrive at that spot? I think, they didn't cross the MHB and wandered back through the creek. RL would have known of it, but maybe he suspected, there would be no party in winter, on a February day at noon? - There are always more questions instead of less.

Btw: Does someone meanwhile know, why the property on BW's side was largely cordoned off by police in 2017, although we don't know, what may have happened on this side of the creek? Or am I the only one, who is missing this info?

Per RA he assaulted the girls on the south side below the road and Webers drive way. Clumps of creek brush every provided cover. Maybe there was some evidence that people had been there. Moved sticks and leaves etc. obviously there was no DNA that they found.

 

[Boxer]

I tend to believe he’d already forced them across the creek by that time as well.

I don’t know about gathering spots off of the main trails but I do know the sandbar on the Weber’s side of the creek is often visited by trespassers who can get there from either the private gravel road or the SE end of MHB & taking a similar path as likely did the troll. I believe there is a tree where visitors have thrown shoes tied together over limbs in the tree. Sandbars & shallow areas often attract people, as I’ve either observed evidence of or ran into people while wade fishing a couple of local rivers with only private property access nearby.

MOO

Yes and from what I read the area has been that kind of popular for a 100 years. Long before the MHB was built the area was a ford.

 

[Boxer]

I missed the word "Approx." on your map at first. My apologies. SC seen the man at approximately the mid way point in the field to the left of the cemetery but he was across the street - Mears farm side of the street not Mears entrance side.

Yes position he was seen is relevant because the families were assembling the the Mears entrance as he RA tried to walk down 300. The people could be seen by a walker but there was still tree cover on angle to prevent them from seeing him. MOO he ditched into the north side field and went around back of the Mears farm buildings to get back to his car.
And the police did search behind Mears for some reason.

Miscellaneous:
There was reportedly one witness that was not going to testify who had left the area from fear that said she saw a man walking west in a field at the right time from her window.
There are buildings here and there that view the back of the Mears Farms.

 

[INfisherman]

Yes position he was seen is relevant because the families were assembling the the Mears entrance as he RA tried to walk down 300. The people could be seen by a walker but there was still tree cover on angle to prevent them from seeing him. MOO he ditched into the north side field and went around back of the Mears farm buildings to get back to his car.
And the police did search behind Mears for some reason.

Miscellaneous:
There was reportedly one witness that was not going to testify who had left the area from fear that said she saw a man walking west in a field at the right time from her window.
There are buildings here and there that view the back of the Mears Farms.

I agree - he most likely circled behind the Mears farm all the way around behind HHS to the next building/area to the west, where a railroad track dead ends (near arrow line for Old CPS Bldg crosses the tracks - approximate area).

For those who are joining now & unfamiliar with the area. Labeled map (North is up) below showing the general trails area with key areas labeled. Blue line represents the approximate MHB span. The yellow curve represents the approximate path the girls were forced to take from SE end of MHB to where they’d have to cross the creek. The NE end of this path is where the sandbar is located. CS area is approximate & not to scale - it was quite small & only intended to indicate the general location where the girls were found.

 

[INfisherman]

Yes and from what I read the area has been that kind of popular for a 100 years. Long before the MHB was built the area was a ford.

I don’t know the history of the area other than the Wabash/Erie canal used to pass through the area providing shipping access from Lake Erie (Toledo) to the Wabash River & down to the Ohio River. The old canal was in a completely different area of Delphi though (over on the NW side by a gravel pit), closer to the Wabash River (2 arrows). There are also trails around the old canal as well. A small stretch of it still exists but much of it is now gone, IIRC. The box shows our typical area of interest.

 

[INfisherman]

Per RA he assaulted the girls on the south side below the road and Webers drive way. Clumps of creek brush every provided cover. Maybe there was some evidence that people had been there. Moved sticks and leaves etc. obviously there was no DNA that they found.

I seem to recall a member of LE finding an area at the SE end of the bridge which had been disturbed, as if someone/some people had slid down the embankment from the end of the bridge down below to where the private gravel road was, generally speaking. There would be a second descent from that level down to the lowland which expands out from under the main section of bridge, extending over to the banks of Deer Creek. Weber’s driveway/private gravel road runs along a fairly good drop down to the lowland/creek area. It’s surprisingly steep ground around the area in some places.

MOO

 

[shonyakay]

I agree - he most likely circled behind the Mears farm all the way around behind HHS to the next building/area to the west, where a railroad track dead ends (near arrow line for Old CPS Bldg crosses the tracks - approximate area).

For those who are joining now & unfamiliar with the area. Labeled map (North is up) below showing the general trails area with key areas labeled. Blue line represents the approximate MHB span. The yellow curve represents the approximate path the girls were forced to take from SE end of MHB to where they’d have to cross the creek. The NE end of this path is where the sandbar is located. CS area is approximate & not to scale - it was quite small & only intended to indicate the general location where the girls were found.

View attachment 630347

You did an awesome job on this map.

 

[shonyakay]

Per RA he assaulted the girls on the south side below the road and Webers drive way. Clumps of creek brush every provided cover. Maybe there was some evidence that people had been there. Moved sticks and leaves etc. obviously there was no DNA that they found.

Apparently a belt was found in the clearing below Weber's drive. I hope they DNA tested it.

 

[shonyakay]

I seem to recall a member of LE finding an area at the SE end of the bridge which had been disturbed, as if someone/some people had slid down the embankment from the end of the bridge down below to where the private gravel road was, generally speaking. There would be a second descent from that level down to the lowland which expands out from under the main section of bridge, extending over to the banks of Deer Creek. Weber’s driveway/private gravel road runs along a fairly good drop down to the lowland/creek area. It’s surprisingly steep ground around the area in some places.

MOO

Have you seen Julie Melvin's videos? She was there less than a month after the crime and her videos show what everything looked like on February 13, 2017. She goes all the way across the bridge and down the hill and then down to the clearing area. She then goes and stands at the edge of the creek and looks towards the crime scene area.

High Bridge

"Down the Hill"

Down another hill to the clearing.

On the clearing looking towards the crime scene area.

- YouTube

I think Julie Melvin took the path RA, Libby and Abby did.

RA and the girls more than likely crossed Weber's driveway and walked beside High Bridge to somewhere between the fifth and fourth platform and descended down another hill by one of the Bridges bases.
It wasn't as steep in that area as opposed to the drop off right after crossing Weber's driveway.

 

[INfisherman]

You did an awesome job on this map.

Thank you - as best as I can do on an iPad using its photo editor. I’m more skilled on a PC.

FYI, will respond to other topics later. Real life calls at the moment.

 

[Justice101]

I agree - he most likely circled behind the Mears farm all the way around behind HHS to the next building/area to the west, where a railroad track dead ends (near arrow line for Old CPS Bldg crosses the tracks - approximate area).

For those who are joining now & unfamiliar with the area. Labeled map (North is up) below showing the general trails area with key areas labeled. Blue line represents the approximate MHB span. The yellow curve represents the approximate path the girls were forced to take from SE end of MHB to where they’d have to cross the creek. The NE end of this path is where the sandbar is located. CS area is approximate & not to scale - it was quite small & only intended to indicate the general location where the girls were found.

View attachment 630347

Nice map!!!

 

[Justice101]

I agree - he most likely circled behind the Mears farm all the way around behind HHS to the next building/area to the west, where a railroad track dead ends (near arrow line for Old CPS Bldg crosses the tracks - approximate area).

For those who are joining now & unfamiliar with the area. Labeled map (North is up) below showing the general trails area with key areas labeled. Blue line represents the approximate MHB span. The yellow curve represents the approximate path the girls were forced to take from SE end of MHB to where they’d have to cross the creek. The NE end of this path is where the sandbar is located. CS area is approximate & not to scale - it was quite small & only intended to indicate the general location where the girls were found.

View attachment 630347

That is one heck of a long walk for RA to get back to his car. It is amazing that only 1 car passed him when he was seen. That had to be about a 5 to 10 minute walk. No other cars drove on that road for that length of time? Or do you think he ducked back into the cover of the trees on the rest of his way back along W 300 N?