The volunteer whose quick thinking and sharp eye solved the Delphi murders case has turned down a $325,000 reward for leading police to the man convicted of the crimes.
DailyMail.com has exclusively learned that volunteer Kathy Shank told the families of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, that funds should be funneled to the memorial softball field and the foundation established in memory of the girls who were murdered by Richard Allen in February 2017.
The revelation was made by Shank’s daughter Jami, who took to X last week to share her mother’s decision.
Jami, 47, a North Carolina-based author who uses the pseudonym Dahlia West, wrote: “My mother has told the families that they should funnel the reward money to the softball field that was built in the name of the girls and the scholarships they received. I’ve set it up so she doesn’t touch a dime.
“As a law enforcement officer, it’s unethical,” added Jami, who describes his books as “cheap, fast, dirty fiction…”
Allen, a 52-year-old local man and married father of one, was found guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder (murder committed during the act of another crime, in this case kidnapping) in November.
On December 20, he returned to Carroll County District Court in Indiana, where Judge Frances Gull sentenced him to a total of 130 years in prison.
That sentence represents two consecutive 65-year sentences, which is the maximum possible time after two of the four charges against him were dismissed under the double jeopardy law, meaning he cannot be found guilty of the two murders. times. He received 786 days credit for time already served.
Volunteer Kathy Shank, 75, who opened the Delphi murder case when she noticed the name of convicted murderer Richard Allen, 52, on the lead sheet and pointed it out to investigators, has turned down the $325,000 reward. dollars, according to his daughter.
Allen was convicted of two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder (murder committed during the act of another crime, in this case kidnapping) in November. He was sentenced to 130 years in prison on December 20.
Shank told the families of Libby German, 14 (left), and Abby Williams, 13, that funds should be funneled to the memorial softball field and the foundation established in memory of the girls who were murdered by Allen in 2017.
While sentencing him, Judge Gull turned to Allen with disdain and said, ‘I have been a criminal judge for about 27 years and have presided over the most gruesome cases in Indiana. You are one of the scariest.
‘You live up to the extraordinary impact on families, the generational impact.
“The families will have to deal with your slaughter for the rest of their lives and you sit there and roll your eyes at me like you have rolled your eyes at me repeatedly during this trial.”
Indiana State Police, the Carrol County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI were involved in the extensive investigation into the brutal murders of the girls, whose mutilated bodies were found on February 14, 2017, hidden in the woods near Monon High. Bridge Trail from where they disappeared the day before.
Shaky cell phone footage, recorded by Libby in the moments before the girls were kidnapped, showed a man, who became infamously known as ‘Bridge Guy’, walking behind Abby as she crossed the rickety High Bridge.
This recording became the focal point of the public appeal for information.
The appeal generated thousands of tips, but if it hadn’t been for Shank, the case may never have been solved.
It was Shank, 75, a volunteer tasked with organizing and filing those leads, who stumbled upon a box of documentation that included a lead sheet related to “Rick Allen Whitehead.”
Shank remembered a girl who was on the trail the day they were murdered and who saw a man and wondered if there was a correlation with Allen.
After Judge Frances Gull lifted the gag order following Allen’s sentencing, Shank’s daughter Jami, 47, posted on X that she was relieved to be able to speak out about her mother’s involvement in the case.
Jami is an author who uses the pen name Dahlia West. She describes her books as “cheap, fast, dirty…fiction.”
Shank testified at Allen’s trial (pictured) saying she found the lead sheet on September 21, 2022 and would never forget the date because it arrived on the same day as her late husband’s birthday.
The girls’ bodies were found on February 14, 2017. They were hidden in the woods near the Monon High Bridge Trail from which they disappeared the day before.
Allen had contacted police three days after the girls were killed and reported that he was on the trail that day between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m.
Allen said he had passed three girls. Shank recalled a girl telling officers she had met a man on the road that day and wondered if there might be a correlation.
When he checked his files, he discovered that Allen had been interviewed briefly and then mistakenly filed under Whitehead’s name and marked as “cleared,” meaning there was no follow-up interview.
She reported this to Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett, who took it to the lead investigator, Indiana State Police Lt. Jerry Holeman. Immediately the men knew they had found their Bridge Guy.
By then, the reward fund for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer amounted to a staggering $325,000; The already generous coffers had been boosted by an anonymous donor who contributed $100,000 in 2021.
Testifying at Allen’s trial, Shank recalled the moment she found the lead sheet on September 21, 2022, a date she would never forget as it was her late husband’s birthday. Allen was arrested the following month.
Speaking after the sentencing last week, prosecutor Nick McLeland made no secret of the central role Shank played in resolving the case.
Shaky cell phone footage recorded by Libby in the moments before the girls were kidnapped showed a man, who became infamously known as ‘Bridge Guy’, walking behind Abby as she crossed the rickety High Bridge.
He said: ‘Can we all breathe a little sigh of relief? I don’t think this conviction will ever bring peace to the families, but I hope they can share this sigh of relief that this part of the trial is over.’
Thanking his team and researchers, McLeland singled out Shank for special praise. He said: ‘Everything we needed, she took care of and without her we wouldn’t be here. Without it we would not have an arrest, a trial and a conviction. Kathy Shank, thank you.’
Judge Gull imposed a strict gag order preventing anyone involved in the case from speaking on the matter, and only lifted it once the sentence was completed.
In the post that same day, Shank’s daughter spoke of her relief at being able to talk about her mother’s involvement.
After Allen’s sentencing, prosecutor Nick McLeland said of Shank, “without her we wouldn’t have an arrest, a trial and a conviction.”
She wrote: ‘It’s over. I can finally talk about it now. My mom caught the Delphi killer. He has lived in Carroll County his entire life. She came out of retirement as a child abuse investigator for more than 40 years to volunteer, without pay, to do whatever she could to help.
“She was tasked with reviewing files and files from years of paperwork and found it through due diligence and her unwavering determination to help the children of Carroll County.”
According to Jami, her mother will never make any public statements about her role, in which she humbly did what she could and “showed up every week for 8 years to do whatever was needed, from sweeping floors to baking cookies for the FBI to putting tips in the database’.
Jami concluded, “She’ll never ask for a ‘thank you,’ but I think she deserves it.”
And, on the day Allen was sentenced to spend the rest of his life behind bars, Prosecutor McLeland made sure he understood.