Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook-Morrissey: Delphi suspect Richard Allen's may be involved in 2012 murders
EVANSDALE, INDIANA: The probe into the Delphi murder case has been linked to a similar double homicide that has remained unsolved for 10 years. The police suspect the involvement of Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen, 50, in the murder of two other young children in Evansdale, Iowa in 2012.
Allen was arrested on October 28 nearly six years after the killing of two young girls Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, who were found dead near a hiking trail on Valentine's Day 2017. The suspect, however, pleaded not guilty. As police continue to probe into the Delphi case, they speculate Allen's involvement in the murder of cousins Elizabeth Collins, 8, and Lyric Cook-Morrissey, 10, who mysteriously vanished on July 13, 2012, while riding their bikes. Their bodies were discovered five months later by a group of hunters, 25 miles away in the remote Seven Bridges Wildlife Area. The police never revealed the girl's cause of death and no arrest was ever made in connection with their murder.
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Over the years police have speculated that the two case's could be linked and many other parrallels have been drawn. Both murders took place in small Midwestern towns of less than a few thousand people, just 300 miles apart. Both cases involved two girls who were out exploring nature when they were abducted, and four bodies were found on land frequented by hunters. Currently there is no evidence to suggest the cases are linked, and police said they will continue to evaluate Allen through known case facts.
(KCCI8 News/video screenshot)
Jason Ellison, a detective with the Bremer County Sheriff's Office said, "Our investigative framework has been neither to confirm or deny suspects as it pertains to our investigation," reported The Sun. "We are aware of Mr. Allen and have taken appropriate steps to evaluate him through our known case facts." "We will continue to evaluate Mr. Allen as more information is learned about him," he added. Netizens have pointed the fact that the dates of the two murders are anagrams of one another, Delphi being 2-13-17 and Evansdale 7-13-12.
How did Elizabeth Collins and Lyric Cook-Morrissey disapper?
On the morning of July 13, 2012, Elizabeth and Lyric had been dropped off at their grandmother Wylma Collins home in downtown Evansdale, while their parents worked. The young girls decided to go on a bike ride and did not return for an hour. The grandmother grew concerned and informed their parents, before the police were finally called sometime around 3pm. An hour later police found their bikes and Elizabeth’s purse with her cell phone still inside on a trail at the southeast corner of the lake. A day passed by without any progress, volunteers came out in their hundreds to assist police and provide comfort to the girls’ families.
The FBI also joined the search and sent trained divers into Meyers Lake to search for the girls but there was no trace found of Elizabeth and Lyric. It was only after 5 months, December 5, 2012, the parents received a call asking them to come down to City Hall immediately. Sadly, the parents worst nightmare had come true after both girls had been found dead, together, deep in a secluded nature reserve. Elizabeth's father, Drew Collins, said, "That’s the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do in my life.” Police never disclosed to the family members how the girls were killed, believing it to be information only the killer would know. Futhermore, Richard Allen is the first suspect to ever be publicly named and arrested in connection with the Delphi investigation.No bond has been set and pretrial hearings are slated to begin on January 13.
Anyone with information about the deaths of Elizabeth and Lyric is asked to call Bremer County Sheriff’s Office at +1 319-352-5400 or submit tips to ourmissingiowagirls@dps.state.ia.us.