Richard Allen, the man convicted of the Delphi murders, will spend the rest of his life in prison after judge Fran Gull gave him a 130-year sentence Friday.
Allen received the maximum sentence of 65 years for two counts of murder in the killings of teenagers Abigail Williams and Liberty German in 2017.
The other two counts were dropped due to double jeopardy. Sentencing in Carroll County Court lasted just over an hour.
During the sentencing hearing, Carrie Timmons, Liberty German’s mother, , told Allen, “I’ll never understand how you were able to get away with this for so long.”
Judge Gull scolded Allen at the hearing for rolling his eyes during the trial and during her comments.
The judge lifted a gag order Friday, meaning the victim’s families and investigators were able to speak publicly about the case for the first time in two years.
Liberty German’s grandfather, Mike Patty, thanked the city of Delphi.
“This community has embraced our families from day one and continues to lift us up and supports (us). And again, for that, I’ll always be grateful,” Patty said.
Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter served as the public face of the investigation for years. Carter said police may have made some mistakes, but they arrested the right man.
“Any notion of a cover-up, any notion of us deciding the outcome of this, any notion of any connection to anything else is not correct. It’s not correct,” Carter said.
Allen has thirty-days to appeal his conviction. His attorneys made clear in Thursday’s sentencing memorandum that they do intend to appeal.