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Delphi murders trial: Jury reaches verdict for suspect Richard Allen after deliberating for 4 days

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Delphi murders trial: Jury reaches verdict for suspect Richard Allen after deliberating for 4 days

An Indiana jury on Monday afternoon found double-murder suspect Richard Allen guilty on all charges in the February 2017 killings of two teen girls who had been walking on a hiking trial in Delphi, known as the Delphi murders.

The case had been more than seven years in the making since Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14, disappeared during their walk on Feb. 13, 2017, and investigators found them both brutally murdered the next day with sticks covering their bodies in a wooded area near the High Monon Trail.

Allen was convicted of two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder. He will be sentenced on Dec. 20, according to media pool reporting, and faces up to 130 years in prison.

Prosecutors pointed to various evidence that placed Allen at the scene at the time of the crime, including an unspent bullet at the crime scene matching a firearm recovered from Allen’s home in 2022, as well as the dozens of confessions he made in prison, according to FOX 59 Indianapolis.

Allen’s defense leaned largely on expert analysis showing Allen’s unhealthy mental state after his 2022 arrest, which took the Delphi community as a surprise at the time. Allen had been a longtime CVS employee in the small Indiana town when police took him into custody five years after the murders.

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DELPHI MURDERS SUSPECT’S CONFESSIONS TO WIFE, MOTHER SOUNDED ‘CALM,’ EXPERT SAYS: ‘NOT WHAT I EXPECTED’

Officers escort Richard Allen out of the Carroll County courthouse after  a hearing, Nov. 22, 2022, in Delphi, Ind. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Near the conclusion of Allen’s trial, the defense presented testimony from a former FBI forensic expert who said it appeared as though someone plugged headphones into Libby’s phone, which was discovered near the girls’ bodies on Feb. 14, at 5:45 p.m on Feb. 13., hours after they were last seen. 

The headphones were then removed from the phone at 10:32, Stacey Eldridge testified, presenting a possible challenge to the prosecution’s timeline that they were killed around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 13, according to FOX 59.

DELPHI MURDERS SUSPECT CONFESSED TO KILLING 2 GIRLS ON HIKING TRAIL IN SMALL TOWN, PRISON DOC SAYS

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Supt. Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police, right, speaks during a press conference on an update on the Delphi murders investigation, Monday, April 22, 2019 at the Canal Center in Delphi.

Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter gives an update on the Delphi murders investigation, April 22, 2019, at the Canal Center in Delphi. (Nikos Frazier/Journal & Courier/USA TODAY NETWORK)

Carroll County prosecutor Nick McLeland told jurors in his opening statement that when searchers found the two girls in a wooded area near the Monon High Bridge, Libby was naked and covered in blood. Both girls had their throats cut several times, FOX 59 reported.

Other articles of clothing were mismatched or thrown into the nearby Deer Creek, McLeland said. Abby was wearing her own undershirt but Libby’s sweatshirt. She was also wearing jeans and shoes, but her socks were missing. One of Libby’s shoes and Libby’s cellphone were found under Abby’s body.

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Snow covers the water of Deer creek as the Monon High Bridge towers above, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022 in Delphi.

Snow covers the water of Deer Creek below the Monon High Bridge, Feb. 9, 2022, in Delphi, Ind. (Nikos Frazier/Journal & Courier/USA TODAY NETWORK)

One key piece of evidence presented during the trial was a video Libby recorded on her phone at some point before she and Abby were killed.

DELPHI MURDERS TRIAL: ‘BRIDGE GUY’ EMERGES AS NEW CRIME SCENE EVIDENCE PRESENTED

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For the first time since the girls were reported missing, jurors got to watch 43 seconds of the crucial video in court on Oct. 22. The video shows Libby and Abby walking with an unknown man wearing a hat and blue utility jacket who has become known over the last five years as “Bridge Guy.” Libby captured the video at 2:13 p.m., less than 25 minutes after she and Abigail’s family members dropped them off at the trail.

“Guys, down the hill,” the man can be heard saying to the girls in the video.

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In this courtroom sketch, Richard Allen, left, is seated next to one of his defense attorneys, Andrew Baldwin, inside a courtroom at the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi, Ind. on Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024.

In this courtroom sketch, Richard Allen, left, is seated next to one of his defense attorneys, Andrew Baldwin, inside the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi, Ind., on Nov. 2, 2024. (Li Buszka via AP/Pool)

Allen admitted in one jailhouse confession that he did order the girls “down the hill.” He also repeatedly confessed to killing the girls, apparently saying he wanted to rape the girls but was spooked by a van driving nearby, at which point he decided to kill them.

His attorneys said his declining mental stability led him to make false statements behind bars.

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DELPHI MURDERS TRIAL: SUSPECT RICHARD ALLEN’S ATTORNEYS MAKE STUNNING REVELATION ABOUT HAIR AT CRIME SCENE

Libby German and Abby Williams

Delphi police recovered Libby’s cellphone under her body on Feb. 14, 2017. (FOX Nation)

Also, witnesses who testified during Allen’s trial said they saw Allen on or around the High Monon Trail on Feb. 13, around the time the girls disappeared. 

More than five years after their deaths, investigators executed a search warrant of Allen’s home in Delphi on Oct. 13, 2022, and they recovered a blue Carhartt jacket, a SIG Sauer P226 .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun and a .40-caliber S&W cartridge in a “wooden keepsake box” from a dresser between two closets in Allen’s bedroom, according to authorities. 

The handgun recovered at Allen’s home was consistent with a .40-caliber unspent bullet police found at the site of the murders in 2017, police said.

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The defense previously argued in court documents that members of an Odinist cult had killed the girls in a ritualistic sacrifice, but a judge ultimately decided not to allow evidence pertaining to that theory in court during the trial. It is possible that they may get to argue the Odinist theory on appeal, according to attorneys who spoke to Fox News Digital.

Fox News’ Patrick McGovern and Kailey Schuyler contributed to this report.



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Midwest

Former Dem 'super mayor' pleads the Fifth after failing to produce public records in court

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Former Dem 'super mayor' pleads the Fifth after failing to produce public records in court

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A Chicago suburb’s former Democratic “super mayor” is facing yet another legal hurdle after failing to produce public records from her time in office after being held in contempt of court earlier this month.  

In a hearing on Friday, Tiffany Henyard’s attorney Beau Bridley pleaded the Fifth on his client’s behalf after she was ordered to hand over public records from her time in office.

“The smear campaign against Tiffany Henyard, which began while she was in office, continues even now that she is out of office,” Bridley said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

SELF-PROCLAIMED DEMOCRATIC ‘SUPER MAYOR’ ORDERED TO COURT AS SCANDAL-PLAGUED TENURE UNRAVELS

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Tiffany Henyard attends a constituent meeting during her time as mayor.  (FOX 32)

Bridley conceded that the former mayor does not have the requested document, with an Illinois judge allowing Henyard’s legal team to submit an affidavit in its place. 

“The mayor has no document that the plaintiff seeks,” Bridley said. “This matter is going to be resolved with a simple affidavit. The whole hearing was much ado about nothing.”

The hearing stems from a lawsuit filed by the Edgar County Watchdogs Inc., after the organization sued Henyard and the Village of Dolton for failing to produce financial records after the documents were requested under the Freedom of Information Act. 

‘SUPER MAYOR’ TIFFANY HENYARD SKIPS DOLTON MEETINGS AS CONTROVERSIAL TENURE NEARS QUIET END

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Tiffany Henyard

Tiffany Henyard is facing a lawsuit for allegedly failing to hand over public records during her time as Dolton mayor.  (FOX 32)

“We had little doubt Ms. Henyard would use losing the election as an excuse not to produce the documents,” Edward “Coach” Weinhaus, attorney for Edgar County Watchdogs, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Invoking the Fifth Amendment for a criminal investigation was an added wrinkle. The Watchdogs will keep looking for the documents even if the voters might have inadvertently thrown out the documents with the mayor.”

The embattled former mayor was unseated after losing her re-election bid to Jason House, who was sworn in last month. Henyard was also defeated by Illinois state Sen. Napoleon Harris in her attempt to keep her seat as Thornton Township supervisor. 

Henyard was thrust into the national spotlight in April 2024 after officials at Dolton Village Hall were served subpoenas from the FBI following a corruption investigation, FOX 32 Chicago reported. Henyard, however, was not charged with a crime.

FEDS SUBPOENA DOLTON, ILLINOIS RECORDS TIED TO OUSTED ‘SUPER MAYOR’ TIFFANY HENYARD’S BOYFRIEND

Tiffany Henyard attends an event in Chicago

Tiffany Henyard attends the Cinco de Mayo event in South Holland, Illinois.  (Kyle Mazza/SOPA Images/Sipa USA)

In response to the FBI looking into Henyard’s administration, village trustees voted to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to investigate the former mayor’s spending. At the initial vote, supporters of Henyard clashed with her opponents as the meeting spiraled into a screaming match between groups. 

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Lightfoot’s investigation reportedly revealed the village’s fund fell from its initial $5.6 million balance to a $3.6 million deficit, with the local government’s credit card bills accumulating a whopping $779,000 balance in 2023. 

On the day Henyard lost the mayoral primary, the Village of Dolton was reportedly slapped with a federal subpoena as officials demanded records tied to a land development allegedly tied to Henyard’s boyfriend. 

Henyard is required to return for a hearing on June 11, with a judge set to decide if she is to remain in contempt of court while being fined $1,000 per day. 

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.

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Detroit, MI

Detroit NAACP president says Democracy in U.S. at ‘teetering edge’

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Detroit NAACP president says Democracy in U.S. at ‘teetering edge’



Wendell Anthony says ‘freedom on the line’

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  • Rev. Wendell Anthony, president of the NAACP Detroit branch, criticized the Trump administration and called for racial unity.
  • Maryland Gov. Wes Moore highlighted efforts to address the racial wealth gap and praised Detroit’s focus on equity in economic development.

As the NAACP Detroit Branch marked its 70th year hosting its annual Fight for Freedom Fund Dinner, the Rev. Wendell Anthony said the event — happening during what he called a critical time for civil and human rights — was more than a dinner.

“Freedom is on the line. Democracy is at the teetering edge,” Anthony said during the Sunday, June 29, dinner at Huntington Place in Detroit, where speakers highlighted issues both local and national. Wes Moore, governor of Maryland, delivered the keynote address and struck an optimistic chord, invoking the legacy of past civil rights leaders and touting his accomplishments as Maryland’s first Black governor.

Anthony, the longtime president of the NAACP Detroit branch, at a press conference beforehand, called out the actions of the Trump administration and the president’s so-called “big, beautiful bill” that the Senate debated over the weekend.

“At a time when universities are being extorted to comply with the ideology of authoritarianism spewing from the halls of the White House, law firms are being threatened if they do not bend the knee according to the legalese and lawlessness of one man, and judges are threatened with impeachment if they don’t rule to compliment the desires of a President, our nation cries out for the people to stand up. Each of us must be concerned about where America under this current administration is going,” Anthony said in a June 3 statement released ahead of the dinner.

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Anthony called for racial unity for what he referred to as “a tidal wave of disrespect, anti-Americanism, and threat to the very lifeline of each and every American.”

“Now is not the time to stand down. Now is the time to step up,” he said at the dinner.

Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan meanwhile turned to public safety in his remarks, touting the work of community violence intervention groups in decreasing the number of homicides and the need for more funding. Duggan, who is running for governor of Michigan as an independent candidate, said he would not be moving out of Detroit.

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Detroit City Council President Mary Sheffield, campaigning to be the next mayor of Detroit, said the city knows struggle, but also progress. She said it’s a critical time for the nation.

Moore capped off the evening speaking about why he ran for office as someone without a political background. The widening racial wealth gap “shredded the fabric of American excellence” and still persists, hurting the economy and stalling job growth. He spoke of his accomplishments since becoming governor of Maryland, including a $1.3 billion investment in the state’s historically black colleges and universities.

Meanwhile, in Michigan, he said, Detroit is showing what happens when a city centers equity in economic development, he said.

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“What’s happening both in Maryland and Michigan can serve as a blueprint for how we advance the causes of freedom and how we deliver results in the communities that we serve,” he said.

Contact Nushrat Rahman: nrahman@freepress.com. Follow her on X: @NushratR.





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Milwaukee, WI

Critically missing Milwaukee man found safe

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Critically missing Milwaukee man found safe


UPDATE: Henry Goodlow Jr. has been located and is safe.

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Milwaukee police are looking for a critically missing 72-year-old man.

What we know:

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The Milwaukee Police Department said Henry Goodlow Jr. was last seen on Sunday morning, June 29, near 7th and Reservoir.

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Goodlow is described as a Black male, standing around 5’5″ tall and weighing around 140 pounds. He has brown eyes and short black hair. MPD said he should be wearing a dark-colored beanie, gray or white t-shirt with “Adidas” written on the front, blue jeans and dark-colored sneakers, with a watch or bracelet on left wrist.  

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He should be on foot.

What you can do:

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Anyone with any information is asked to call MPD – District 3 at 414-935-7232. 

The Source: The Milwaukee Police Department

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