(Delphi, IN) - Jury deliberations continued Saturday morning down in Delphi in the high-profile double murder trial there.

 

The jury of seven men and five women did not reach a verdict by the end of Friday, their first full day of deliberations. By mid-afternoon Saturday, there was still no decision. The jury will reconvene on Monday morning at 9:00 local time.

 

52-year-old Richard Allen and an anxious Delphi community await the outcome, following an 18-day trial, with some 60 witnesses and hundreds of pieces of evidence.

 

Teenagers Abby Williams and Libby German were found dead near a pedestrian bridge northeast of Delphi in 2017. It took over five years to compile evidence implicating Allen in the crime. Staff from Westville Correctional Facility here in La Porte County testified to Allen’s numerous confessions while imprisoned there.

 

His defense attorneys have argued that a botched investigation lacked eyewitnesses or DNA evidence, and that only a “magic bullet” supposedly placed Allen at the crime scene. They alleged other possible explanations for the gruesome act, including involvement by a pagan cult.

 

If convicted, Allen could be sentenced to up to 130 years in prison.