Notorious child killer filmed saying “Down the hill” before the murders of two young girls now claims he was too “MAD” to confess to the crimes.

Richard Allen, the convicted killer in the 2017 Delphi murders, is now arguing that his own confessions should never have been admitted as evidence, claiming he was experiencing a severe psychological crisis when he repeatedly confessed to killing two teenage girls.

Allen, 54, was convicted in 2024 of murdering best friends Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14. Their deaths sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Indiana community and sparked a massive investigation.

He is currently serving a 130-year prison sentence—65 years for each victim.

Now, Allen’s attorneys are seeking to have his convictions overturned, arguing that his increasingly disturbing behavior and statements while behind bars were the result of a severe psychological crisis.

The appeal was heard Monday by the Indiana Court of Appeals, where his lawyers argued that the alleged confessions should not be considered reliable because of his deteriorating mental state while in prison.

The legal battle marks the latest development in a case that began with one of the most chilling pieces of evidence ever captured on a victim’s cellphone.

On February 13, 2017, Abby and Libby were walking near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi on a day off from school when a man approached them.

Libby, 14, managed to record a brief video on her cellphone. The grainy footage captured a man walking along the railroad bridge, while a male voice was heard ordering the girls: “Down the hill.”

The eerie recording would go on to become one of the most significant pieces of evidence in the investigation.

Prosecutors later alleged that Allen was the man captured in the footage and that he used a handgun to force the girls away from the trail before they were killed.

The girls’ bodies were discovered the following day. Prosecutors said their throats had been cut, with one victim found nude and the other wearing clothing belonging to the first girl.

Despite the shocking crime, Allen remained free for more than five years before authorities arrested him in October 2022.

During his trial, prosecutors presented an unspent cartridge found between the victims, arguing that it had been cycled through Allen’s handgun.

But some of the most extraordinary evidence came from Allen himself.

While awaiting trial behind bars, he allegedly began making a series of increasingly disturbing statements about the killings.

According to testimony presented in court, Allen repeatedly confessed to murdering Abby and Libby.

One prison employee testified that Allen had said: “I, Richard Matthew Allen, killed Abby and Libby by myself.”

Another witness testified that Allen described planning to sexually assault the girls before panicking and killing them.

More than 60 alleged confessions—made in person, over the phone and in writing—were presented during the trial. His attorneys now argue, however, that those statements and the evidence surrounding them cannot be considered reliable.

The defense claims Allen’s prolonged isolation and the conditions of his imprisonment in solitary confinement contributed to a severe psychological breakdown.

His lawyers argue that his deteriorating mental state may have caused him to genuinely believe he had killed the girls. They contend that Allen was experiencing psychosis when some of the alleged confessions were made and that jurors should have been given more information about his mental condition.

“We live in a world where one or two things happen here,” Allen’s attorney, Mark Leeman, said. “A pharmacy tech with no criminal history goes out for a walk to watch a stock ticker and look at fish and decides to gruesomely murder two girls. Or, we live in a world where the police through confirmation bias failed to find the right guy.”