Delphi residents emotional before start of Richard Allen trial

DELPHI, Ind. (WANE)— The people of Delphi were emotional on Thursday, the day before the long-awaited murder trial for Richard Allen begins.

Allen, 52, is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German, two teenage girls from Delphi, in 2017.

Downtown Delphi is about three square blocks and truly is a one-stoplight town. But, downtown was bustling, not only with locals and semis coming off of State Rd. 25, but also with media. At least a third of the storefronts downtown had “No Media” signs taped to their doors. Delphi has been in the media spotlight for more than 7 years, and many locals want their town to be known for something other than a tragedy. But, they also want justice for Abby and Libby.

In the businesses that didn’t have signs prohibiting media, the shopkeepers pretty much all said the same thing to WANE 15: The past seven years have been an emotional roller coaster. And with the long-awaited trail finally starting, that emotional roller coaster is reaching new heights for many.

Two women sitting behind the counter at Bill’s Rock Shop across from the Carroll County Court House teared up at the mention of the trial starting.

Thursday Court Proceedings

Before opening arguments start in Carroll County on Friday, media was allowed to take pictures and video inside the courtroom where the trial will happen.

There are 72 seats in the gallery of the Carroll County Circuit courtroom. Ten seats will be saved for each of the victims’ families and for Richard Allen’s family. Twelve seats are reserved for the media. That leaves 30 seats open to the public on a first-come-first-served basis. For past proceedings, people have been lining up for hours before the courthouse opens to ensure getting a public. seat.

The day started, however, in Allen County court with the jury officially being sworn in.

The jury, which was selected from Allen County residents, was officially sworn in. The 12-person jury is eight women and four men. There are also four alternate jurors, two men and two women. After being sworn in, they were transported by the court to their hotel near Delphi.

The jurors had to turn in all their electronic devices. Judge Fran Gull said they’ll be allowed phone calls to their families while being supervised by a bailiff. They will also be allowed family visits on Sundays.

The jurors will not have access to any electronics, other than a TV in a central room in their hotel. They’ll be allowed to watch television in there, under bailiff supervision, to ensure they don’t see any media coverage of the trial. Judge Gull also said they’re “old school” and have supplied DVDs of movies, many of which are light-hearted.

Before the jury was sworn in, Judge Gull started the hearings on several pending motions. Court started early with testimony from a retired FBI forensic artist. Thomas Plantz testified that he’s created more than 400 sketches of possible suspects over his more than 20-year career.

The state wants to omit the two police sketches of possible Delphi suspects released to the media in 2017 and 2019. Plantz testified that there is also bias in any drawing because the personal experiences of the witness and of the artist are impossible to eliminate. He said sketches are meant to be an investigative tool to generate leads, but not be used to positively identify a suspect.

“It’s a forensic artist, not a forensic scientist,” he said.

Plantz also testified that every forensic artist is not the same in their interviewing skills or in their artistic ability. Therefore, admitting two different sketches into evidence would be a “problem” because of the variables of muiltiple artists and witnesses.

During cross-examination, defense attorney Jennifer Auger said one of the witnesses described the sketch drawn from her description of the man seen on the bridge the day the girls went missing as a ten-out-of-ten perfect likeness, and that the sketch looks nothing like Richard Allen.

Auger also argued that Plantz broke the best practices in the forensic artist industry, in which Plantz has served as an instructor, by allowing a witness to look at a the grainy picture of the “bridge guy” that was found on one of the girls’ phones during the drawing process.

Plantz testified that looking at the photo would help jog the witness’s memory, but because you couldn’t see the man’s face in the photo, it would not “damage the sketch.” He also said no sketch would be a ten-out-of-ten likeness.

Judge Gull said she would take the motion under advisement and make a ruling before opening statements on Friday morning.

The defense withdrew a motion to bring the jury to the crime scene.

Judge Gull also ruled in favor of the prosecution to allow prison guards to testify about what they observed about Allen when he made his alleged confessions in solitary confinement in prison. She said they can testify to their observations of his behavior, but can’t testify to if they think Allen is guilty or innocent.

Judge Gull also ruled that the defense does have to give the Department of Corrections at least 24 hours notice before transporting an inmate to court to testify.

Another motion by the prosecution asked for the defense to not be allowed to enter into evidence a past Department of Corrections lawsuit that the defense called the “seed” of the current DOC policy on how to treat inmates with “serious mental illness.” The lawsuit was prior to Allen’s 2022 arrest and stay in the Department of Corrections under a safekeeping order. Judge Gull ruled that the defense can use the DOC policy, but not the lawsuit saying, “You don’t need the history of the policy. You have the policy.”

One of the longest debates surrounded a motion by the state to block the defense calling William Tobin as a witness. Tobin’s testimony would surround ballastics evidence of a bullet found at the crime scene between the girls’ bodies that was forensically linked to a gun owned by Richard Allen.

Prosecuting attorney James Luttrell argued that Tobin is not an expert and he’s “researched research.” While he has testified in other cases, Luttrell argued he’s not considered an expert in this case.

Defense attorney Bradley Rozzi argued that Tobin’s degree in matallurgy and experience working in an FBI forensic lab for two decades gives him credibility to testify that ballastics is “not a science.” Rozzi argued that Tobin’s opinion that ballastics is a tool that should not used to determine guilt or innocence is important context for the jury to hear.

Judge Gull will take the motion under advisement. Gull did not say when she anticipates making a ruling.

Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland also brought up at the end of the hearings that the defense added two more witnesses to their list after the October 1 deadline to share witness lists with the other side. McLeland said the witnesses would not share the nature of their testimony with him when he called them.

“I don’t believe in trial by surprise,” McLeland said.

Judge Gull instructed the defense to advise the witnesses to expect contact from the state and to share the nature of their testimony.

Court ended just before noon and everyone traveled to Carroll County where the rest of the trial will take place.

It’s scheduled through November 15, however, both sides have said it may go shorter.

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