Bob Matlock, the owner of the now-closed JC’s Bar and Grill, said Richard Matthew Allen and his wife were regular customers who often talked about the 2017 murders of 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German and 13-year-old. the old Abigail “Abby” Williams. “He would come over and we would always talk about girls and everything,” Matlock told the Daily Beast. Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen in front of a police poster with an artist’s sketch of the wanted killer. Facebook / JC’s Bar “We’d keep talking about it, he’d say, you know, ‘It’s such a tragedy,’ and we’d say we’re sorry for the families and all that…” Allen, a 50-year-old married father of two and CVS technician, was taken into custody Friday and charged with two counts of murder in connection with the mysterious Delphi killings. The girls’ bodies were found near a hiking trail on February 14, 2017 — a day after they disappeared while out for a walk during a day off from school. Allen was arrested Friday and charged with two counts of murder in the 2017 murders. ALibby German (left) and Abby Williams were killed in an unknown manner while they were walking together on Feb. 13, 2017. Facebook Matlock, who closed his business in December 2021, said he considered Allen and his wife, Kathy, good friends for nearly 20 years. The couple came to the bar three to four times a week and chatted with other patrons, sometimes about the unsolved murders of the girls. Matlock said some of Libby and Abby’s relatives were also his patrons. The Allens were members of JC’s Bar’s pool league and were active in the community, Matlock said. He stressed that there was “never any indication” that Richard, known to his friends as “Rick”, would be charged with the double murder. Chilling video taken on Libby’s phone shows a man walking across a bridge near where the girls were last seen. Indiana State Police “I just couldn’t believe it when they said he was arrested,” Matlock said. “I said, ‘Well, this can’t be the Rick we know.’ And then we realize that he was … There would be no idea to anyone who knew him that he would be expected to do something like that.” A haunting photo shared by Matlock showed a smiling Allen posing in front of a police poster with an artist’s rendering of the Delphi murder suspect’s face. The former bar owner said he believed the sketch bore no resemblance to Allen. He also didn’t think a man’s voice saying the words “down the hill” in a grainy video recovered from Libby German’s phone sounded like Allen’s. Matlock described Allen as “quiet” and “friendly.” He said his “sweet” wife, Kathy, works as a veterinarian. Libby’s grandmother, Becky Patty, told reporters Monday that Allen had once edited photos for their family at CVS, but was not charged for them. Betty Cummings, a customer at the CVS where Allen worked, told the Indianapolis Star that she occasionally saw him while dining with friends at a nearby McDonald’s. She described him as calm and soft-spoken. Sketch of a suspect wanted for the Delphi murders. Indiana State Police “It just went right in,” he said. “You wouldn’t even suspect the guy.” CVS released a statement after Allen’s arrest, saying the company is “shocked and saddened to learn that one of our store employees has been arrested on suspicion of these crimes. We are ready to cooperate with the police investigation in any way we can.” “We remain devastated by these murders and our hearts go out to the German and Williams families,” the statement continued. More than five years after the murders of Libby and Abby, police have yet to reveal how they were killed or what evidence they had in the case. Liberty Rose Lynn “Libby” German. Indiana State Police Abigail Joyce “Abby” Williams. Indiana State Police flowers are placed on the footpath of the Monon High Bridge in Delphi, Ind., Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, near where Liberty German and Abigail Williams were last seen and where the bodies were discovered. AP Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter announces during a news conference in Delphi, Ind., Monday, Oct. 31, 2022, the arrest of Richard Allen. AP Mike Patty, grandfather of Libby German speaks to the media after a news conference in Delphi, India, Monday. AP At his first court appearance Friday, Allen pleaded not guilty to the murder charges and was ordered held without bail. State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said the investigation is “not over” and urged members of the community to continue to come forward with information. With Post cables
