LAFAYETTE, IN — The families of 14-year-old Libby German and 13-year-old Abby Williams, along with Indiana State Police Lt. Jerry Holeman and Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland, were honored last month for the seven-year fight for justice that started after the girls’ killings on Feb. 13, 2017.
“This year, the CLUE Awards honored the families of Delphi teens Abigail Williams and Liberty German with the ‘Crimefighter of the Year’ award,” the CrimeCon website states. “The prestigious honor was presented by veteran crimefighter John Walsh.”
The award is for exceptional contributions to criminal investigation, victim advocacy and excellence in the criminal justice system, according to the website.
Holeman said the actual award will be on display at the Abby and Libby park east of Delphi.
“I think the biggest honor was working with the group of detectives I was able to work with — the state, local and federal agencies — that all came together to help provide justice for the families of Abby and Libby,” Holeman said during a recent interview from his office at the Lafayette Post.
Holeman was in the middle of the investigation from the start, helping to direct the probe that initially started with a small army of law enforcement volunteers from all over the state.
The collaboration of the various agencies and the girls’ families led to the October 2022 arrest of Richard Allen. In turn, the perseverance of McLeland and the team of investigators led to Allen’s Nov. 11, 2024, conviction on two counts of murder and his 130-year prison sentence on Dec. 20.
“I think anybody could have went out there and accepted that on behalf of everybody that worked really hard,” he said. “It was a group award.”
CrimeCon is an online community of ordinary people intrigued by true-crime stories, as well as podcast and YouTube creators, some of whom stymied the Delphi murder investigation during the years that preceded Allen’s arrest.
“I think where it gets a little muddy is when podcasters just report whatever they want,” Holeman said as the conversation turned to the effects of online sleuths and content creators. “But they can be very helpful. They also can be hurtful to an investigation.
“I have no problem with people reporting the facts — good, bad and ugly. But when they overembellish or take things out of context and do it to try to attack your character, I think that’s wrong.”
It isn’t often that police officers, prosecutors or victims’ families receive public adoration, but the CrimeCon convention in Denver welcomed them.
The award was presented during the Saturday, Sept. 6, evening awards banquet in Denver. But starting Friday, the convention featured group discussions led by people tied to various cases, including the Delphi murders and the Fox Hollow serial killings in Hamilton County, Indiana. The panels included investigators, family members, journalists, authors and TV personalities.
Libby’s grandparents, Mike and Becky Patty, her aunt, Tara German, Abby’s mother, Anna Williams, and Delphi family member Josh Lank joined Holeman and McLeland on the trip to Denver, Holeman said.
Holeman, McLeland, Becky Patty, German, Williams and Lank participated in various group discussions about the Delphi murder case.
The Journal & Courier reached out to Mike Patty, Williams and McLeland, but they chose not to respond.
The experience of attending the national award banquet was quite different from Holeman’s days as a trooper.
“I’m used to taking abuse and being criticized and not praised,” he joked. “I’ve never signed autographs before until then. I actually signed probably 50 to 100 autographs.
“Everybody wanted a picture, so it was really awkward in that sense. That just doesn’t happen in our line of work.”
“It was awkward in the sense that you’re out there for a very horrific, tragic event,” he said, “but it was kind of like a celebration, I guess, to get the closure for the family and bring justice to Abby and Libby.”
The award was presented by John Walsh of “America’s Most Wanted.” His introduction and presentation appear on a Facebook video.
Just as the national award was a first in his career, so was the media attention investigators contended with for more than five years. “I’ve never worked any other cases that got the national media and international media coverage,” he said.
“As far as important, like I said, they’re all important,” he elaborated on the energy detectives give to each case. “If somebody reports a crime to you, it’s important to them, it should be important to you, and you should put the same amount of effort into it. That’s what we do. It’s no different in this case.
“Obviously when you have two innocent 13-, 14-year-old girls get brutally murdered, it does become a little more emotional, a little bit more involved,” Holeman said. “If we would have solved it Day 2, would we have got the media coverage? Would we have got the hate and criticism? Probably not.”
It was definitely one of the hardest investigations he’s ever worked.
“I truly believe the true heroes in this case are Abby and Libby,” he said. “Libby for taking that video. Without that video, Bridge Guy, their killer, we wouldn’t have been able to be where we’re at. And Abby for laying on the phone, concealing it. So I think they deserve the true crimefighters of the century” award.
The case took nearly six years before investigators stumbled on the lead that gave them the evidence they believed they needed to arrest Allen.
“My mentality is never quit, and as long as we’re getting information, we’re going to keep following that information,” he said.
“Two innocent young girls were killed. We weren’t going to give up on that,” he said. “Once we got the right tip and were able to follow up on it, it went rather smooth and quick. We were able to get the intel that we needed to establish that probable cause and make an arrest.”
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: ‘CrimeCon’ honors families of the Delphi murder victims, investigators and prosecutor
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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