Delphi Murders: Three hearings could forever change outcome of case – Midday

The video attached above aired before the hearing started around 11 a.m.

For a refresher on the Delphi murders trial and what will be discussed in the hearing, see the “RECAP” section of the live blog.

4:37 p.m.

Defense attorneys for Richard Allen during the hearing’s afternoon session argued the case should be dismissed.

I-Team 8’s Kody Fisher reports that along with the motion to dismiss, the defense argued that police were negligent and purposefully did not follow a lead on a third-party suspect.

The defense presented to the court evidence that they say showed the suspect wasn’t properly investigated, including Facebook posts that hinted at the practice of Odinism.

The defense previously argued that the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German were a part of an Odinistic ritual, and showed social media posts that contained similar runes and symbols to ones found at the crime scene in Delphi.

In the third-party suspect’s deposition, the defense says the suspect changed their story three times when asked about knowing Abby Williams.

Defense attorneys also argued that police either destroyed the suspect’s phone records or didn’t search the suspect’s phone. In the deposition, the suspect said police took his phone, but wasn’t sure. Investigators claim they never took the suspect’s phone.

State prosecutors say the third-party suspect had been cleared very early in the investigation as he had a clear alibi at the time of the murders.

4:14 p.m.

The afternoon court session has finished, I-Team 8’s Kody Fisher reports.

1:20 p.m.

The courtroom has returned from lunch break. More updates will be available the next time the session breaks.

12:42 p.m.

I-Team 8’s Kody Fisher reports from the courtroom that in the first motion, the defense team for Richard Allen has pushed for him to be moved from the Indiana Department of Corrections to the Cass County jail to improve his mental state.

Allen is currently in solitary confinement at IDOC, which his defense says is detrimental to his mental health. The defense added that the move would place Allen closer to his attorneys and would make it easier to meet and communicate with Allen.

In the second motion, state prosecutors and the defense team squabbled over how the 26 terabytes of evidence are organized and labeled.

The defense claimed they had to go to Georgia to get a picture they believe proves Allen’s innocence. The photo was apparently given to Indiana State Police at the beginning of the investigation in 2017, but ISP no longer has the picture.

State prosecutors retorted, saying that they never had the photo and that the evidence was labeled appropriately. Prosecutors said the defense team has the same evidence that they have, and that they’re “spoon-feeding” them and “doing their job for them.”

The hearings will continue after the courtroom returns from lunch.

12:30 p.m.

The courtroom has recessed for lunch.

11:05 a.m.

Special Judge Frances Gull has just arrived at the Carroll County Courthouse, News 8 photographer Kevin Stinson reports.

7:55 a.m.

News 8 crew on the scene reports Richard Allen has already arrived and is inside the Carroll County Courthouse. Proceedings are set to begin at 10 a.m.

Follow along here for a live observation of the hearing — in and outside of the courthouse.

Recap

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Richard Allen, the man accused in the 2017 Delphi murders, is expected at a Tuesday hearing at the Carroll County Courthouse.

Tuesday is the first of three days of hearings in the Delphi murders case. State prosecutors and the defense will discuss whether certain topics should be omitted from the trial when it begins in October.

The hearings “could forever change the outcome of the case — and decide what information the jury can be told,” according to I-Team 8 investigative reporter Kody Fisher .

In April , prosecutors requested the court bar the defense from bringing up certain terms from past arguments, such as geofencing , a theory that Odinism played a role in the killings, and other possible suspects.

During the three days of hearings, the defense team will have to provide enough evidence to convince Special Judge Frances Gull that they should be allowed to tell jurors about other possible suspects.

Judge Gull will also hear arguments over whether a jury can be told about the multiple confessions Allen has made while in jail.

Allen, 51, of Delphi, was arrested on Oct. 28, 2022, for the February 2017 murders of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi.

Allen’s trial has already been pushed back several times since his arrest. The most recent trial dates were May 13-31 , but the case was pushed to October after the defense told Judge Gull that they needed more time to present their case.

The trial is now set to start Oct. 14 and run through Nov. 15.

Tuesday’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT.

Follow along here for a live observation of the hearing — in and outside of the courthouse.