{"id":2666958,"date":"2026-09-21T22:53:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T02:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-convicted-of-murdering-two-teenage-girls-blames-pagan-ritual-in-new-appeal\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T22:59:53","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T02:59:53","slug":"man-convicted-of-murdering-two-teenage-girls-blames-pagan-ritual-in-new-appeal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/man-convicted-of-murdering-two-teenage-girls-blames-pagan-ritual-in-new-appeal\/","title":{"rendered":"Man Convicted of Murdering Two Teenage Girls Blames &#8216;Pagan Ritual&#8217; in New Appeal"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fman-convicted-of-murdering-two-teenage-girls-blames-pagan-ritual-in-new-appeal%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2666958&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>An Indiana man convicted of murdering two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, is appealing his convictions. He argues that his confessions were made during a psychological crisis and that he was prevented from presenting evidence suggesting teh killings might have been part of a pagan ritual involving Odin, which could point to an option suspect. His attorneys contend that his statements were involuntary due to prior solitary confinement-induced psychosis and that the court wrongly barred evidence supporting the ritual theory. The prosecution maintains that his confessions happened before his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/parents-report-childs-mental-health-deteriorated-considerably-after-transitioning-study\/\" title=\"Parents Report Child\u2019s \u2018Mental Health Deteriorated Considerably\u2019 After Transitioning: Study\">mental health deteriorated<\/a> and that sufficient evidence supported his conviction, which followed a four-day jury deliberation and a sentencing in 2024. the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/pam-bondi-drops-death-penalty-bomb-on-luigi-mangione-after-careful-consideration\/\" title=\"Pam Bondi Drops Death Penalty Bomb on Luigi Mangione &#039;After Careful Consideration&#039;\">case garnered national attention<\/a>, with the bodies of the victims found in nearby woods after their disappearance from a trail. The appeals court has scheduled oral arguments but has not yet announced a ruling.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>An Indiana man serving 130 years for killing two teenage girls is asking an appeals court to throw out his convictions, arguing he confessed during a psychological crisis and was blocked from telling jurors the deaths were a pagan ritual carried out by someone else.<\/p>\n<p>Richard Allen was <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/teens-killed-delphi-indiana-richard-allen-32be9158eda7ddc770d0697a52a6823e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">convicted<\/a> in 2024 of murdering Abigail \u201cAbby\u201d Williams, 13, and Liberty \u201cLibby\u201d German, 14, on a hiking trail near Delphi, Indiana, in February 2017.<\/p>\n<p>The case went unsolved for more than five years before his arrest and drew a national true-crime following.<\/p>\n<p>The Indiana Court of Appeals scheduled an hour of oral arguments Monday in Indianapolis. Judges Nancy Vaidik, Elaine Brown, and Robert Altice are on the panel.<\/p>\n<p>Allen\u2019s attorneys say his incriminating statements came after prolonged solitary confinement left him in psychosis and should not have been treated as voluntary.<\/p>\n<p>Allen\u2019s attorneys also argue the trial judge wrongly kept out an alternative-suspect theory: that unknown people killed the girls as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/crime\/richard-allen-delphi-murders-appeal-b3053410.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ritual sacrifice tied to worship of Odin<\/a>, the chief god in Norse mythology.<\/p>\n<p>Defense lawyers at trial wanted an expert to testify that the scene could match ritual practice the girls\u2019 bodies positioned outdoors, branches placed over them, and knife wounds.<\/p>\n<p>The defense has argued the ritual theory was not invented after the fact and that investigators themselves pursued similar ideas early on.<\/p>\n<p>Prosecutors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jconline.com\/story\/news\/crime\/2026\/03\/26\/states-brief-argues-that-delphi-murders-appeal-fails-on-it-merits\/89330045007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">say<\/a> some of Allen\u2019s statements came before he displayed signs of mental illness and continued after he improved. Even without the confessions, they argue, the jury had enough evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Allen acknowledged being on the trail near the time of the killings. One of the girls recorded a brief video of a man nearby. A male voice on the clip says, \u201cDown the hill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The state has defended the decision to keep the Odin testimony out. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita\u2019s office wrote that third-party motive evidence needs more than a speculative link.<\/p>\n<p>The brief called the ritual idea \u201ca motive in search of a suspect\u201d and said letting an expert debate \u201cOdinic symbology\u201d would have turned the trial into a sideshow.<\/p>\n<p>Allen\u2019s team has also challenged a search of his home and what they call stacked inferences and disputed firearms analysis. The state has asked the court to affirm the verdict.<\/p>\n<p>A jury from Allen County deliberated four days before convicting Allen in November 2024. He was sentenced that December. He is serving the term in Oklahoma.<\/p>\n<p>The girls were found in the woods the day after they disappeared from the Monon High Bridge trail. Libby\u2019s phone held the video that police later used to seek the public\u2019s help identifying the man on the path.<\/p>\n<p>No ruling was announced with the argument date. The appeals court will issue a written decision later.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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