Delphi murders trial update: Week 2 in review – National & International News – FRI 25Oct2024

Emotional and contentious testimony in the second week of the Delphi murders trial. Prosecution lays out complex case as defense punches back on flawed investigation and conflicting witness testimony.

Delphi murders trial update: Week 2

The trial of Richard Allen for the 2017 murders of Abby Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, is now in its 7th day of testimony in Delphi, IN. Unlike many high-profile cases, the trial is not being televised. Indianapolis NBC broadcast affiliate WTHR has obtained some of the limited media seats in the courtroom so they can report firsthand to the public each day about key events and testimony. WTHR gives live updates throughout each day of testimony. They also have a half-hour nightly broadcast called Delphi Debrief, which summarizes events in court that day. 

This week of testimony, particularly the last two days, has been emotional and contentious. On Monday, Day 3, jurors saw graphic crime scene photos, and heard testimony about the crime scene investigation. On Tuesday, Day 4, the court heard from witnesses who claim to have seen “Bridge Guy”, a man captured briefly on video from Libby’s phone shortly before their abduction. Wednesday, Day 5, the coroner testified about Abby and Libby’s injuries, and a tech expert spoke about the data extraction from Libby’s phone. Yesterday, Day 6, investigators spoke about how they identified Allen as a suspect in 2022, 5 years after the murders took place. Today, Day 7, a tool mark analyst spoke about the unfired cartridge found at the scene which the state contends was cycled through Sig Sauer pistol belonging to Richard Allen. 

While the state has put up a thorough and detailed case so far, the defense has successfully pointed to inconsistencies in witness testimony and highlighted glaring flaws in the investigation. Opinions on this case are sharply divided, with many believing that Allen is innocent, or that at the very least more than one person must have carried out the crime. Even the decision not to televise the case has been controversial, with many accusing the state and the court of a lack of transparency. The trial is expected to last at least a month.

For those who are curious about what is actually taking place in the trial, here is a breakdown of key testimony this week, based on WTHR’s reporting and other sources.

Day 3 – CSI and graphic crime scene photos 

On Monday, crime scene investigators explained to the jury how they processed this gruesome and very complicated crime scene. Part of this testimony included 117 crime scene photos, about half of which were graphic images of Abby and Libby’s bodies. These images have not been shared publicly. However, they were shown on a big screen in court and were visible both to the jury and others in the courtroom. 

According to WTHR reporters in the courtroom, the images showed Abby and Libby’s bodies lying in the woods, their throats slit. Libby was naked, and her face and hands covered in blood. A few feet away, Abby lay on the ground wearing Libby’s clothes, jeans and a sweatshirt. The ground around the bodies was described as saturated in blood. Blood was also found on a nearby tree. Other clothes were found discarded in nearby Deer Creek. 

Jurors were visibly uncomfortable while viewing the photos, particularly one male juror who disclosed during jury selection that he worked with children at a school district. Reporters said that Richard Allen showed little reaction, occasionally looking up and making notes while the photos were shown. Presumably, Allen’s defense team has shown him these photos many times before. The girls’ families were allowed to view the photos on Saturday to prepare them for them to be shown in court on Monday.

Crime scene investigation- sticks and bullets

Investigators explained the process of collecting samples from the crime scene as well as securing evidence. When asked, investigators said that they had recovered no DNA evidence at the crime scene that linked to Richard Allen. 

When the girls’ bodies were discovered, they were covered with sticks and branches that had been deliberately laid over them. Investigators admitted that those sticks and branches were not initially collected as evidence. It was only two days after the girls were found that investigators returned to the crime scene to collect the sticks and branches. 

The sticks and their treatment by investigators are of particular interest to the defense, who contend that the sticks are indicative of a ritual murder. The defense has been barred from raising this theory in court. However, investigators’ initial dismissal of the evidentiary value of the sticks highlights the investigation of this crime was deeply flawed from the beginning, as the defense contends.

WTHR’s legal expert, attorney Katie Jackson-Lindsay, described the CSI team’s failure to collect the sticks on the day of the girls’ discovery as “reckless”. Investigators initially decided the sticks were not worth collecting because they did not believe they could get DNA from them. However, as Ms. Jackson-Lindsay points out, other trace evidence could have been obtained, such as hairs and fibers transferred from a perpetrator. 

An unfired cartridge was also recovered from underneath some leaves near to one of the girl’s bodies. This bullet is currently the only physical evidence the state has to link Richard Allen to the crime scene. On cross-examination, the defense highlighted that despite the copious photographic documentation of the scene, there were no images of the bullet’s collection, nor any showing its exact position in the ground prior to its collection. 

The lack of clarity about the collection of the cartridge leaves room for doubt as to where the bullet came from, and whether it had possibly been in the woods for some time prior to the murders.

Day 4 – Witness testimony and video evidence

On the day of the murders, Libby German took a 43-second video. The video includes just a few frames of video of “Bridge Guy”, who is believed to be the girls’ murderer. According to WTHR’s court reporter, the snippet that shows Bridge Guy shows him far in the background.

The court also heard from three women, two of whom were young teens at the time of the murder. The women claimed to have seen Bridge Guy on the trail on the day of the murders. However, the defense pointed out that the descriptions that the witnesses gave police, before they saw the video, were not consistent with Bridge Guy. One witness admitted that her recollection may have been affected by her subsequent viewing of the Bridge Guy video. 

The defense also underlined that the descriptors the witnesses initially gave did not match Richard Allen. The witnesses initially described the man as tall (Allen is either 5’4″or 5’5″); “boyish” and “youthful” in his 20s or 30s (Allen was well into his 40s); “muscular” which Allen is not.

“Confession” memo from Allen

While the trial was going on, reporters reviewed some evidence made available to them for the first time in Fort Wayne. One of these was a form filled out by Richard Allen in March 2023 seeking an interview with the prison warden. On the form were two sentences, apparently written by Allen: “I am ready to officially confess for killing Abby and Libby. I hope I get the opportunity to tell the families I’m sorry”.

The prosecution has alluded to 60+ confessions supposedly made by Allen during his incarceration. The defense argues these are false confessions which arose from the mental collapse that Allen suffered as a result from his treatment in prison, including prolonged solitary confinement. 

The reporters in Fort Wayne also viewed material collected by investigators related to Odinism, a Norse pagan religion which is popular among American white supremacists. The defense has seized on the theory once pursued by investigators that the murders were connected to an Odinist ritual. The judge has barred the defense from introducing this theory in court, or bringing up alternative suspects interviewed by investigators.

Day 5 – Autopsy testimony and cellphone extraction

Coroner Dr. Roland Core described the injuries to the girls’ necks. The injuries would quickly render the girls unconscious, and result in death within 5 to 10 minutes. Core believed the condition of the bodies was consistent with death having occurred the afternoon before their discovery. He could not determine what weapon was used or if perhaps multiple sharp weapons were used. Neither of the girls showed signs of sexual assault.

The defense also motioned once again to admit testimony regarding the Odinism theory. A state witness testified the day before that the sticks on Libby and Abby’s bodies were an attempt to “conceal” them. The defense contended this opened the door to alternative explanations.

The jury also heard testimony about data from Libby’s phone. The 43 second video was recorded at 2:13 p.m. on the day the girls disappeared. One minute later, the phone locked. Seconds later someone tried unsuccessfully to unlock the phone. The data also recorded instances where the phone started and stopped moving after the video. The phone stopped moving at 2:39 p.m. following an elevation change of 20 ft.

Day 6 – Investigation and arrest of Allen

Members of law enforcement testified about how Allen came to be the prime suspect five years after the murders. Four days after the murders, Allen called the tip line and told investigators that he had been at the trail on the day of the murders between 1:30 and 3:30. Allen met with Capt. Dan Dulin, an investigator from the Indiana State Department of Natural Resources. Dulin and Allen met outside of a supermarket. Allen said that he had seen three girls on the trail, but that he had been focused on looking at the stock ticker on his cell phone. 

Dulin said that nothing stood out to him about Allen during his interview. Allen’s tip sheet was marked as “cleared”, indicating that Allen was not a person of interest. 

Allen’s tip sheet was then misfiled and was only rediscovered in September 2022 by a file clerk. It was then that investigators decided to take another look at Allen. 

Police conducted an interview with Allen in October 2023. During that interview, Allen changed the time frame of when he was on the trail from 1:30-3:30 to noon-1:30. He said he had walked on the Monon High Bridge, where the Bridge Guy video was captured, to “watch the fish”. He recalled that he was wearing a black or blue Carhartt jacket and blue jeans, similar to what Bridge Guy is wearing in the video. 

During the interview, repeatedly protested his innocence. Allen was shown the Bridge Guy video. He responded that if the photo was from one of the victims’ phones, “there’s no way” it could have been him. Allen then terminated the voluntary interview. 

“It’s all over”

Hours after the interview, Indiana State Police Lt. Jerry Holeman supervised the execution of a search warrant at Allen’s home. Holeman testified that during the search, he reassured Allen the state would pay for repairs of any damage to his home. According to Holeman, Allen responded, “Why bother? It’s all over”. Allen repeated this sentiment when Holeman offered to drive Allen to see his wife.

Police seized more than 25 guns and knives from Allen’s home, as well as a blue Carhartt jacket. They also took over a dozen electronic items belonging to Allen, some dating back to the early 2000s. However, they did not find the phone that Allen was using in 2017.

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi had testy and revealing exchanges Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett (who was elected shortly after Allen’s arrest). Rozzi managed to force Liggett to make two very important admissions on the stand. Firstly, Liggett admitted that the witnesses’ descriptions did not match Richard Allen at all. Secondly, Liggett admitted (after saying otherwise) that he had told the previous Sheriff that he believed more than one person had to have been involved in the murders. 

In pretrial hearings, investigators stated that they initially believed that three to five individuals were involved in carrying out the murders.

Day 7- Unspent bullet and tool mark analysis

All of today’s testimony was from Melissa Oberg, formerly of the state crime lab. Oberg first spoke at length about her credentials and her investigative experience. Then she talked about the science of tool mark analysis and how these comparisons are made. She then explained to the jury how the crime scene cartridge was compared to bullets both fired and ejected from Richard Allen’s Sig Sauer pistol.

Oberg concluded that markings on the cartridge were consistent with the cartridge having been cycled through Allen’s gun, but not fired. There are multiple ways this could happen. For example, the bullet could have been chambered but then ejected without having been fired by cycling the slide. 

Oberg did not believe the bullet had been out in the elements for a long time, describing that the bullet was in good condition. This is important because the defense could argue that the bullet had been lying in the ground for days or weeks possibly before the murder. Neither of the two victims was shot; both were murdered with a sharp implement.

On cross examination, the defense pushed back on the disputed science of tool mark analysis. Secondly, Oberg admitted that the comparison she used to match the crime scene bullet was based on a test cartridge that was fired from Allen’s gun, rather than ejected. Oberg countered that ejection marks are the same whether a bullet has been fired or ejected. Some legal experts argue that this is not a valid comparison. While Oberg admitted that her analysis and conclusions were subjective, she said a second analyst confirmed her results.