DELPHI, Ind. — Testimony into Richard Allen’s hotly disputed confessions began on Tuesday afternoon as the warden of Westville Correctional Facility and several correctional officers took the witness stand and told jurors about how Allen confessed to killing Abby Williams and Libby German while in prison.

Allen is charged in the brutal murder of the two young girls after they vanished from the Monon High Bridge on Feb. 13, 2017. He was arrested five years later after a misfiled report led police back to Allen, who told a DNR officer he was on the trails the day the girls went missing.

Day 10 of testimony began with jurors listening to the first interviews police conducted with Richard Allen shortly before his arrest in late October 2022. In the interviews, Allen vehemently denied killing the girls despite police not only lying to Allen but attempting to leverage his family against him.

“I didn’t murder two little girls. I wasn’t involved in killing two little girls,” Allen told police in the interviews.

But correctional officers at Westville Correctional Facility told jurors that Allen changed his tune in prison.

The so-called “confessions” of Richard Allen have long been known with prosecutors previously detailing how Allen made more than 60 confessions during his long stint behind bars. The defense has repeatedly claimed Allen was suffering from mental anguish and made the “confessions” due to the stress, strain and mental breakdowns he suffered while being kept in terrible conditions.

The defense pointed out how Allen’s mental state was unstable and pressed on this by pointing out how numerous confessions made by Allen weren’t even factually accurate or were to crimes that never happened, such as claiming to have murdered his grandchildren. Allen’s mental instability also extended to strange acts, such as smearing feces on the walls of his cell, his attorneys said.

In opening arguments, the prosecution stated that Allen made confessions that included information “only the killer would know.”

Tuesday afternoon was the first testimony into any of these numerous confessions.

Former prison warden takes stand

John Galipeau, the former warden of Westville prison, took the stand. He told jurors about Allen’s time in prison and how he was in an observation cell. Allen also spent time on suicide watch during his stay at Westville.

Allen was housed in Westville Correctional Facility for 13 months. His attorneys have repeatedly argued that he was treated poorly and called a “baby killer” during his stay, which led to his mental decline. A judge once disagreed, however, and found Allen was “treated more favorably” than other inmates.

Galipeau said Allen was allowed to shower three times a week, provided three sets of clothing, had access to tablets and was allowed recreation time five days a week in an indoor rec room. While on suicide watch he would get a medical check daily.

The former warden told jurors about how on March 5, 2023, Allen wrote a request for an interview that included him stating he wanted to confess to killing Abby and Libby.

FOX59/CBS4 previously recreated this document which includes no additional insights into the murders. In the interview request, Allen simply states he is “ready to officially for confess killing Abby and Libby (sic).”

He added, “I hope I get opportunity to tell the families I’m sorry.”

Galipeau also told jurors that Allen confessed to disposing of a box cutter in the dumpster behind the CVS where he once worked in Delphi. During the trial, a pathologist suggested one of the weapons that could have been used to kill both girls was a box cutter. Box cutters were also found in Allen’s home during the police search five years after the girls’ deaths.

Galipeau was asked about Allen’s mental state while at Westville. The warden said Allen was quiet for the first month. He claimed Allen only began acting “erratic” after he got mail from his attorneys. This is when Allen began washing his face in the toilet, pooping in his cell, tearing up mail, eating paper and more.

The prosecution has previously argued that Allen’s acts of acting unstable and confessing to impossible crimes only began after his initial confessions. The defense has remained stalwart that Allen’s mental state of anguish led to false confessions.

Correctional officers testify

Multiple Westville correctional officers followed their former warden and repeated accounts of Allen confessing to killing the girls.

Correction Officer Michael Clemons told jurors he was a “suicide companion” assigned to record everything Allen said while in prison.

According to Clemons, on April 6, 2023, Allen confessed to killing the girls. He quoted Allen as saying, “God I’m so glad no one gave up on me after I killed Abby and Libby.”

“I killed Abby and Libby all by myself, nobody helped me,” Allen is also accused of saying.

Clemons also told jurors that Allen shouted to other inmates, “I’m not crazy, I’m only acting like I’m crazy.”

During cross-examination, Clemons told Allen’s attorneys that he never felt Allen’s crazed behavior was genuine.

“Can prison get to a man?” Clemons was asked.

“Yes it can,” he admitted.

Correction Officer Ethan Drang also took the stand and told jurors that Allen confessed to him on April 5, 2023, that he killed the girls and wanted to apologize to their families.

Drang added that Allen said, “I think coming to prison cured me of my depression and anxiety.”

Michael Roberts, another correctional officer, said Allen confessed to him multiple times about killing the girls.

On April 7, 2023, Allen allegedly confessed to molesting the girls. Pathologist testimony said there wasn’t any obvious sign of sexual trauma on the girls bodies but couldn’t rule out that sexual assault had occurred.

On April 23, Allen again allegedly confessed to killing the girls. The next day, Roberts said Allen asked, “How do I prove that I’m insane?”

Roberts was asked about Allen’s mental state and said he was trained to notice signs of mental health disorders. He claimed Allen did “more outrageous things” when guards were watching and claimed Allen “only acted up when lawyers came.”

Some of the ways Allen “acted up” included: rubbing feces on the walls and on himself, hitting his face against the wall until it swelled up and rolling around on the floor. Allen told guards he was called a “baby killer” by other inmates and would be told to kill himself.

Several more Westville correctional officers testified into the evening, telling jurors that Allen confessed to killing the girls throughout April and into May. They told jurors about Allen’s strange behavior including drinking hot sauce, peeing on his mat and masturbating while singing.

“Kathy, I did it. I’m guilty,” Allen allegedly said on April 16, 2023, while Correctional Officer Raymond Smith was watching over him. “Run, Kathy, Run.”

According to Correctional Officer John Miller, Allen expressed his desire to “burn in hell” while confessing to the killings.

“I got what I deserve for what I did,” Allen allegedly said to Miller.

“I’m sorry I killed those kids.”

Box cutter confession

Westville Correctional Officer Brandon Fisher detailed perhaps the most potentially damning of the alleged confessions.

According to Fisher, on April 29, 2023, at approximately 6 p.m. Richard Allen not only confessed to killing the girls yet again but provided some details into the killings.

Allen reportedly said that he intended to rape the girls but said that he panicked and ended up killing them instead. Allen told Fisher that he killed the girls with a box cutter and threw it into a dumpster behind CVS.

This echoes the testimony given by Galipeau.

In May, Fisher said Allen was banging his head on the wall and again spoke of killing the girls. He talked about how they were screaming when he killed them and talked about stealing the box cutter from CVS.

When Fisher was asked by Allen’s attorneys if he believed his mental distress was genuine, Fisher said he did not and thought that Allen was acting.

Fisher claimed Allen even said, “I won’t be doing that again” after smearing feces on his face.

But Allen’s attorney implied that Allen did do it again.

Wabash Valley Correctional Facility

Jason Bedwell, a correctional officer from Wabash Valley Correctional, was among the guards who took the stand on Tuesday evening. Bedwell was the only guard from Wabash Valley, which is where Allen was transferred after being held for 13 months at Westville prison.

Bedwell stated that on Feb. 4, 2024 — nine months after the previous confessions — Allen again confessed to the killings while lying down and crying/talking to himself.

“I am sorry for what I did,” Allen said, according to Bedwell. “Sorry for killing them.”

Court ended around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday and will resume for Day 11 of testimony on Wednesday morning.