Dateline: A Walk Through the Woods - 5 harrowing details about the 2017 double murder, explored

The latest case covered in Dateline follows the murders of Abby Williams and Libby, who went out for a walk and disappeared. The two teenagers did not have school that day. They were together when the unfortunate incident happened. Their disappearance marked the beginning of a long-running investigation, ultimately leading to the culprit being caught.

The official synopsis of the episode titled A Walk Through the Woods reads,

“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.”

The latest Dateline episode aired on NBC on February 21 at 9/8c p.m.

Let us now explore the gruesome details of the crime that had shaken an entire nation.

Abby Williams and Libby disappeared one afternoon without a trace as shown in Dateline

On the perfectly normal afternoon of February 13, 2017, best friends Abby Williams and Libby decided to go on a hike just outside Delphi. Libby’s elder sister dropped them off near the hiking trail. Unfortunately, this would be the last time the teenagers were seen.

Things got tense when they did not come back home on time. As Andrea Canning told the team in the Dateline episode,

“Two girls set out for a walk through the woods. A trail that ends here, the Monon High Bridge, a relic from a past century. Trains once used it to cross Deer Creek more than 60 feet below.”

It was only because of a picture that the two friends had taken on Snapchat that proved their presence on that very bridge.

Abby and Libby’s dead bodies were found the next day

A day after their disappearance, Abby and Libby were found dead, about half a mile away from the aforementioned bridge.

While initially it was feared that the two girls, in search of adventure, might have taken a jump into the water below the bridge, it was ultimately proven that something far worse than that had happened.

The girls, aged 13 and 14 years, were murdered. Libby's Snapchat video later confirmed that a man hiding in the shadows behind them was responsible for it.

Libby’s video shot moments before her death revealed the culprit

While it almost took a year for the police to nab the culprit, the video shot by Libby proved to be a key piece of evidence. In the video, a man in a dark jacket, jeans, and a hat could be seen behind the girls, seemingly following them.

Mike Patty told Dateline what his first thoughts were when the video emerged. He said,

“They had to be scared out of their minds.”

Seeing an unknown man in such attire would naturally scare anybody and Libby and Abby, given their age were even easier targets. As Mike mentioned, the man must have scared them and they would have simply obliged by doing whatever he asked them to do before eventually killing them.

Also Read: Dateline: A Novel Defense - What happened to Paul Duncsak? Details of the 2006 murder, explored

Richard Allen, Libby’s grandfather turned out to be the killer

Based on the video evidence found on Libby’s phone, the police were ultimately able to catch the culprit behind the horrific murder of the teenage girls. In a shocking turn of events it turned out that the killer was not a stranger but the grandfather of Libby, Richard Allen.

The case spanned 8 years, and it wasn't until December 2024 that Richard Allen was given a prison sentence of 130 years. His trial ran for almost four weeks and ultimately justice was served.

While this did not bring back the girls, still the verdict meant a lot for the victims’ families. As Becky Patty told Dateline,

“Do you say there’s winners? We got our verdict, but that didn’t bring the girls back. It doesn’t give us closure. It gives us a little bit of peace to know that he can never hurt another person again. And that’s where he should be.”

However, she also mentioned that this does not make her happy but since this is the only thing that could offer them some solace, they will have to make do with it.

Richard Allen had initially denied the killings

Richard initially denied the charges despite the video evidence. While he agreed that he was indeed on that hiking trail on the day that the girls were murdered, he denied having anything to do with that.

His defense lawyers also tried to bring forth several theories, one involving the Odinist sacrifice of the girls, but none of them could be proven. Ultimately, the police successfully convicted Richard, the real culprit who slit the throat of those innocent girls and killed them.

Dateline can be streamed on NBC.