Attorneys split on appeal potential in Delphi double murder case

CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. — Since late October of 2022, Richard Allen has remained in solitary confinement, mostly in a maximum security state prison but recently in a county jail, awaiting trial for the murders of Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14, near the Monon High Bridge outside of Delphi in the winter of 2017.

Special Judge Fran Gull has recently issued a flurry of orders denying Allen’s defense team’s attempt to raise the potential of third-party suspects in the killings and confirming that the defendant’s 60+ alleged confessions to his family and persons inside the Westfield Correctional Facility could be introduced before the trial jury as his lawyers had not proven that the admissions were made under duress due to Allen’s deteriorating mental condition.

Now Allen’s attorneys are fighting back, claiming that because of the judge’s rulings, “Richard Allen’s defense was completely gutted.”

The lawyers are seeking Judge Gull’s certification of her recent rulings as a step toward appealing those orders to the Indiana Court of Appeals before Allen’s intended trial date of Oct. 14.

”It means that the attorneys want the judge to look at the rulings that she had previously and to certify them to indicate that they are basically accurate and correct,” said Indianapolis Defense Attorney Jeff Mendes who is not affiliated with the case. ”My gut feeling tells me that she will certify those documents and it will go to the Court of Appeals.”

Other lawyers and judges consulted by FOX59/CBS4 reveal split opinions, one even writing, “(The defense team) can appeal after trial. Neither the trial court nor the Court of Appeals will agree to do that,” and, “The Court of Appeals will need a full trial record to make a ruling. The issue of suppression of a confession is never an interlocutory appeal, at least I’ve never seen it.”

That last sentiment is shared by other lawyers who told FOX59/CBS4 that they can’t recall the precedent of a trial judge refusing to sign certification, or what would be the options open to Allen’s team if Judge Gull turned down their motion which could include a continuance to buy enough time to retool their strategy.

”It does not come up a lot if a judge does not certify the record,” said Mendes. ”I think it would still be able to go to the Court of Appeals for a ruling on what transpired at those other prior hearings.”

In late July, the court heard testimony from law enforcement officers once assigned to the Indiana State Police investigation who determined there was enough evidence to consider third party suspects, be they practitioners of Odinism, a Nordic ritualistic belief system, or Kegan Kline, a Peru man convicted of child exploitation who communicated with Libby the night before her death, or Ron Logan, the man who owned the property where the girls’ bodies were found who falsified an alibi for the day of the killings.

Judge Gull denied the defense team’s attempt to introduce that evidence in a Spet. 4 ruling.

The judge also permitted inclusion of Allen’s confessions into the trial which the defense claims were made under duress.

”If this evidence does not come into play in a trial and if this individual is found guilty, of course they’re going to appeal based on the fact that Judge Gull did not allow certain evidence to come in,” said Mendez. “And the Court of Appeals may say, ‘Hey, that evidence should have come in concerning the confessions, concerning other possible individuals involved here.’”

The defense said it needs a quick response by Gull for its certification motion so it can fast track an appeal to the Court of Appeals before the trial begins, arguing that if Allen is convicted, and his conviction is overturned on appeal due to potential errors in the judge’s rulings, it would turn any retrial in chaos for jurors and the defendant.

”That information on appeal could take another two years after conviction, so then you’re looking at a case that basically started seven years ago, we have a trial date in October, if he’s found guilty, add two more years,” said Mendes. “This legal process is gonna go on then for nine years, and that’s a long time for a case.”

Allen’s lawyers have circumvented Gull’s authority once before, going through the Indiana Supreme Court to seek reappointment last January after the judge pressured them off the case in October of 2023 for what she claimed was their misbehavior and ineffectiveness as counsel.

Mendes thinks the Court of Appeals will err on the side of caution.

”Knowing the Court of Appeals in this case and the complexity of this case, I think the Court of Appeals is gonna leave this case wide open. And they’re gonna say, ‘Hey, if there’s enough evidence to establish and to support what the defense counsel is trying to say here, I think they’re gonna overturn Judge Gull’s ruling.”

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