91Èȱ¬

A man in the US state of Indiana has been found guilty of murdering two girls who disappeared while hiking in 2017.

The bodies of teenagers Liberty German, who was 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, were found near their hometown of Delphi. The case that went cold for years and became a focal point for true-crime enthusiasts.

Local pharmacist Richard Allen, 52, was found guilty by a jury on Monday. He had been arrested in 2022, after authorities' long search for a suspect, and charged with murder and murder with kidnapping.

Prosecutors said he repeatedly confessed to his crimes, but his defence questioned the admissions and said they were made while Allen was mentally unwell.

Allen is due to be sentenced on 20 December, and faces 130 years in prison. News of his conviction was cheered outside the court building, Associated Press reported.

The two girls were found with cuts to their throat in February 2017, near an abandoned railway bridge and close to the location where they had been dropped off for their hike.

The trial jury was presented evidence that placed Allen at the scene - including footage recorded on German's phone that they said showed Allen.

Jurors were also played a recording of Allen appearing to confess to the killings in a call to his wife.

Allen's defence argued that this and other statements were made during a period of mental illness after long stretches in solitary confinement. A psychologist told the court that such conditions could indeed make someone delirious and psychotic.

Allen was initially interviewed as a possible witness, and was questioned again five years later when police linked his gun to an unspent bullet found at the scene.

Calling an expert witness, the defence disputed the gun link. Allen's lawyers protested his innocence, saying no witness had spotted the suspect at the scene.

A not-guilty verdict had been a "real possibility" due to "a fair amount of questionable evidence", one lawyer unconnected to the case told the 91Èȱ¬'s US media partner, CBS News.

Allen had a copy of the Bible with him, and showed no reaction as the verdict was announced, CBS reported, though he later turned back to speak briefly to his family.