DELPHI, Ind. — Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen is back in court Monday, March 18 in Fort Wayne for two hearings in the case.
Special judge Frances Gull has ruled on a few big decisions that will decide how the rest of the case moves forward. Allen is accused of killing Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, in February 2017.
On Jan. 18, the same day the Indiana Supreme Court reinstated Allen's original attorneys, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland filed a request to amend the charges to also include:
- Two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping (previously filed Oct. 28, 2022)
- Two counts of murder
- Two counts of kidnapping
During Monday's first hearing, Gull approved both counts of murder, but the judge dismissed both counts of kidnapping. According to legal expert Katie Jackson-Lindsay, the new charges give the prosecutor another avenue to convict Allen without having to prove he's the one who actually killed the girls.
McLeland agreed to abandon the request for the kidnapping charges, conceding that the charge falls outside the five-year statute of limitations.
The prosecutor previously said the added charges "more accurately aligns the charging information with the cause's discovery and the probable cause affidavit."
In regards to the change of venue motion, Gull ruled that all future hearings will take place in Carroll County.
During Monday's first hearing, Gull also responded to the defense's motion to recuse the judge, which she denied.
The second hearing to discuss accusations of contempt against Allen's attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, started right after the first hearing ended. Gull denied the defense's request for a continuance in the contempt hearing.
McLeland argues the attorneys should be held in contempt of court for what he calls a "trend" of "not being completely honest with the court." The prosecutor said the attorneys violated the gag order in the case by issuing a press release on Dec. 1, 2022, proclaiming Allen's innocence. McLeland also points to information, including crime scene photos, leaked to the public through Baldwin's office.
Court transcripts indicate Gull previously accused Allen's attorneys of "gross negligence" in the case prior to their removal and the state supreme court's later reinstatement of them.
The attorneys have asked several times in recent weeks for the contempt hearing to be delayed.
The final issue of the day was a motion by the defense to dismiss the charges against Allen because of video evidence that was destroyed by the state, interviews the defense believes could have helped prove Allen's innocence and pointed to the alleged real killers.
The state testified that interviews recorded via DVR at the Delphi Police Department in the first six days after the girls' bodies were discovered somehow got erased because the DVR's settings got changed, possibly because of a power surge or someone accidently unplugging it.
According to testimony, videos also recorded in from April 28 to June 30 also got erased. In some cases, video was recovered but without sound.
The defense theorized that one of the people involved in the murders of German and Williams was interviewed in that first week after the murders.
Gull did not make a decision on whether she would dismiss the charges because those video interviews were destroyed.
When it comes to the contempt charges against the defense, they have one week to file extra information. Then, the prosecution has a week to respond. After that, Gull has 30 days to decide whether to hold the defense in contempt. If she takes all 30 days, that will bring us to within two weeks of Allen's trial date, currently set for mid-May.
The court denied multiple media requests for cameras in the courtroom during the hearings.
After a request from Allen, the jury trial in the case is scheduled to take place May 13-31. The trial was previously scheduled to begin Oct. 15.
13News has learned jury selection will begin on May 13 and take place at the Allen County Courthouse. Once a jury from Allen County has been selected, the trial will shift to Carroll County for opening arguments and continue there through the verdict.