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Dateline: A Walk Through The Woods, which aired on NBC on February 21, 2025, covered the shocking murders of teenage girls Liberty German and Abigail Williams. The girls were murdered in February 2017, and their case was finally solved after seven years.
The official synopsis of the episode reads as follows:
“The murders of teenagers Abby and Libby in their close-knit hometown of Delphi, Indiana spark worldwide headlines. The high-profile case takes a stunning twist after detectives reveal Libby captured a video of the killer shortly before her death — a crucial piece of evidence that helps police track down the murderer.”
Here is a timeline of the murders of Liberty German and Abigail Williams.
A timeline of Dateline victims' Liberty German and Abigail Williams murder
Dateline victims went hiking on February 13, 2017
On February 13, 2017, at 1:30 pm, Dateline victims Liberty and Abigail were dropped by Liberty's sister on a hiking trail on the Monon High Bridge over Deer Creek.
At around 2 pm, Liberty posted a short video of Abigail on Snapchat, the last time the girls were seen alive.
Their grandmother, Becky Patty, told on Dateline:
“We saw a Snapchat photo of Abby that Libby had taken, so we knew that they had been on the bridge,”
Their bodies were discovered on February 14, 2017
After they were reported missing on the day of their hiking, the police started a search, after which their bodies were found 0.5 miles east of the Monon High Bridge the following day at noon.
While the police did not release many details, it was revealed that the Dateline victims were murdered by slashing their throats.
Also Read: Dateline: What happened to Theresa Insana?
The police released key information about Dateline victim's murders in 2019
The police found Liberty's mobile phone, which had a grainy image of a man and muffled audio, in the video she had captured before her death. The police released the grainy photograph and the audio to the public in July 2017 and requested the people to send in tips regarding the murders.
On April 22, 2019, the police circulated a new sketch and urged the Delphi public to send in tips regarding the man, who might be from their community.
A volunteer found a lead in September 2022
The police made a breakthrough in September 2022, when they found a tip regarding Richard Allen, registered under the wrong last name. While the police had cleared Richard originally, this new discovery shifted the police's attention in his direction, and he was further investigated.
After matching him with the video found on Liberty's phone, he was arrested by the police.
Richard Allen was tried for the Dateline victim's murders between October and December 2024
Allen's trial began in October 2024, and the police found evidence suggesting the .40 caliber bullet found near the victims was fired from Allen's gun. The police were also able to trace the grainy image and the muffled voice to that of Allen based on the clothes he was wearing that day.
Allen was finally found guilty on December 20, 2024, and was sentenced to 130 years in prison on counts of two murders. He later confessed multiple times to the murder after a clinical psychologist diagnosed him with a serious mental ailment.
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