An Indiana man convicted of killing two teenage girls in 2017 was sentenced to 130 years in prison, the maximum sentence the trial judge could impose.

Richard Allen, 52, was convicted last month of murdering his best friends Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in the town of Delphi, nearly eight years after the children’s bodies were found near a hiking trail.

The murders shocked America and for a long time it was not possible to find the murderer. State police arrested Allen in October 2022 after what authorities described as a “long-term and complex investigation” that determined Allen had met the girls on a trail and armed with a gun, he forced them down a hill and cut their throats.

After Allen received the maximum sentence, Judge Frances Gull told him that the sentence ranked “at the top of the list of the most heinous crimes.”

“These families will forever struggle with your carnage,” the judge added.

Allen, who worked at the local CVS pharmacy, had pleaded not guilty to the murders and his lawyers claimed the killings were part of a ritual sacrifice. In a sentencing memorandum, his defense said Allen had a long history of mental illness.

Allen was not suspected of the murders until 2022, when a caseworker organizing thousands of tips discovered a “tip sheet” showing that Allen had contacted investigators shortly after the murders and said he was on the day of the murder had been on the hiking trail. The murders were incorrectly labeled as “clear”.

But a trail of evidence had long pointed to Allen. One of the victims had filmed a man that day, who prosecutors say was Allen.

An unspent .40-caliber cartridge from Allen’s gun was found at the scene, and a black 2016 Ford Focus was seen on security video nearby. Allen owned the only car of its kind registered in the county at the time of the murders.

In court, prosecutors played a phone recording from Allen to his wife that they said amounted to a confession. In it, Allen said: “I did it, I killed Abby. I killed Abby and Libby.”

However, his wife didn’t seem to believe him and said his medication must be messing with his mind. A prison psychologist also testified in court that Allen admitted to her that he killed the girls.