LIBBY GERMAN & ABBY WILLIAMS: Indiana vs. Richard Allen for 2017 murder of two Delphi girls *TRIAL IN PROGRESS*

On February 14, 2017, the bodies of Abigail Williams and Liberty German were discovered near the Monon High Bridge Trail, which is part of the Delphi Historic Trails in Delphi, Indiana, United States, after the young girls had disappeared from the same trail the previous day. The murders have received significant media coverage because a photo and audio recording of an individual believed to be the girls' murderer was found on German's smartphone. Despite the audio and video recordings of the suspect that have been circulated and the more than 26,000 tips that police have received, no arrest in the case has been made.[1][2][3]

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Police have not publicly stated nor released details of how the girls were murdered.[6] As early as February 15, 2017, Indiana State Police began circulating a still image of an individual reportedly seen on the Monon High Bridge Trail near where the two friends were slain; the grainy photograph appearing to capture a Caucasian male, with hands in pockets, walking on the rail bridge, head down, toward the girls.[4] A few days later, the person in the photograph was named the prime suspect in the double-homicide.[5]

On February 22, law enforcement released an audio recording where the voice of the assailant,[7] though in some degree muffled, is heard to say, "Down the hill." It was at this news conference that officials credited the source of the audio and imagery to German's smartphone, and, further, regarded her as a hero for having had the uncanny foresight and fortitude to record the exchange in secret. Police indicated that additional evidence from the phone had been secured, but that they did not release it so as not to "compromise any future trial." By this time, the reward offered in the case was set at $41,000.[5]


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Older article but interesting...

Allen's attorneys want the judge to suppress the statements, contending they were made involuntarily and under the throes of a mental health crisis while he was being held in solitary confinement.

Defense attorney Bradley Rozzi said allowing those statements to be presented at Allen’s trial violates his due process rights. He also cited the conditions under which Allen was placed, saying it amounted to coercion by the state. “The actions of the state," Rozzi said, drove Allen to make those statements.

But the prosecution wants Gull to dismiss the motion to suppress, saying there had been no attempts to force those confessions out of Allen.

Stacy Diener, one of the prosecutors, said the statements ― including those Allen made during calls with his wife and mother ― were not made during “custodial interrogations.” Allen "was fully aware that his statements were unsolicited," Diener said.

Allen made the statements during phone conversations with his wife and mother, and to other inmates who were assigned as “companion inmates” while Allen was on suicide watch. He also made statements to prison guards and to the warden and chaplain at Westville, where he was kept in a segregation unit and was under constant video surveillance.

Brian Harshman, a detective with the Indiana State Police who monitored calls Allen made from the prison, testified that he noticed changes in Allen's behavior in March 2023, when he began saying he'd found God.

Allen began confessing to his family several days later, Harshman said, and kept confessing to them and to other people in the months that followed.

Allen's wife and mother became "extremely upset" during those calls, Harshman testified.

Delphi murder case:Marred by delays and endless fights, Richard Allen's trial becoming a 'legal disaster'

"As the confessions went on," he said, Allen's mother would tell him that "they're messing with you." Allen's wife implored him to stop talking, Harshman said.

Allen, Harshman said, talked about why he killed the girls and why he delayed in confessing, although the detective did not elaborate on what those motivations were. Harshman also said Allen expressed fears that his family will no longer love him after the trial, during which they will see graphic photos of the girls' bodies.

Harshman, though, acknowledged during questioning from the defense that Allen also proclaimed his innocence during other conversations.

Contradicting claims of mistreatment by the defense, Harshman said he never saw any evidence of coercion and said Allen was treated better than other inmates.

A mental health crisis or faked symptoms?​

Over several hours of testimony, Dr. Monica Wala, the lead psychologist at Westville who had therapy sessions with Allen, testified that his mental health began to deteriorate in April 2023, around the time he began confessing.

Allen started expressing suicidal thoughts and feelings of hopelessness. He was seen banging his head on the wall to the point that his face was severely bruised, Wala testified. He began eating his own feces. His thoughts were disjointed. During some sessions, Wala said Allen was trembling and his eyes were twitching.

During questioning from Rozzi, Wala admitted having conversations with Allen about whether he's competent to stand trial. She also said Allen met the criteria of having a serious mental illness, a designation that would've placed a 30-day limit to his solitary confinement. But he was kept in isolation because of the safekeeping order, Wala testified, adding that Allen's safety from other inmates was a priority.
I think the D made a huge mistake in trying to get a blanket exclusion of all various confessions. Had they argued each on its own basis, they may have gotten some thrown out.

In the end, jmo, it ended up being as decision I agree with, let the jury hear all, let the D question each person confessed to and more. If he also at times according to Harshman professed his innocence, they can ask about those times. And let the jury decide from all sides and all evidence where to give weight and what to believe. It's my true belief that's the way overall the system is meant to work.

This was/is a good article, I didn't go into the link but only read what was posted but I would add something to the part about Dr. Wala, she also questioned whether he could have been "faking" as well and thought he might have been. I don't recall if that was throughout or over a certain time period. Not all of her testimony would help Allen is the point I'd make.

Everything, imo, the defense has ever wanted thrown out is always everything and is blanket form though is I think what the real problem was. And yet then they want what they want allowed in in total blanket form. That's' jmo but I've seen it said as well.

I have great faith in jurors, MOST of the time. Most take it very seriously or they'd have tried to bail on the duty to begin with. They will hear both sides re the confessions, and re his mental health.

I'd also remind RA and the D though did not want to use his mental health NOR have the records released to the P and Gull honored that for some time but then they kept trying to use it but not share it, etc..

This isn't a response to anyone, it's one to the part from this particular article. And it's jmo and may not be shared by all, of course.
 

Monday is day one of a three-day jury selection for the Delphi murders trial in Allen County.

12 jurors will decide the fate of Richard Allen, 52, who is charged with multiple counts of murder in the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German, teen girls whose bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge in Carroll County in 2017. There will also be four alternates.

So far, 14 jurors have been seated with eight of them being women and six being men.

The jurors have a variety of backgrounds including, a nurse, a counselor, a retired man, two with law enforcement families, and one who has been on three other juries.
So two to go then...
 
Didn't like the color green... How does stuff like this even come up... It's good she or they are weeding such out that apparently he might have thought it was important to share this fact about himself in this forum...

He'd probably freak if he ran into the pyschic on his way out and she said I see you surrounded by the color green.... Just an attempt at a bad joke and light moment lol...
 
I'll bet they do!

Delphi murders: State wants to keep widely circulated composite sketches out of trial​

The state doesn’t want a pair of composite sketches that were highly publicized early in the investigation to be part of the Delphi murders trial.

On Monday, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland filed a motion in limine asking the court to prohibit the admission of the sketches or any reference to them during the trial.
 
I'll bet they do!

Delphi murders: State wants to keep widely circulated composite sketches out of trial​

The state doesn’t want a pair of composite sketches that were highly publicized early in the investigation to be part of the Delphi murders trial.

On Monday, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland filed a motion in limine asking the court to prohibit the admission of the sketches or any reference to them during the trial.
Running out of time right now so can't read link unless end up with a couple minutes but doubtful.

Yeah, those sketches and the one witness I will admit are not ideal, and I'm not going to deny that. I'm not a fan and think she may well have inserted herself and couldn't see him that well from her spot at all. Tom has remarked on this several times and has been there and sent someone out to see how well he could see form her vantage point. I think LE was pushed to put this out and I don't think they were keen on it. Jmo.

I don't think it breaks the case but I think they are going to have to show her her description could well not be accurate but that she of course did see someone there. It all aligns, but her description doesn't match that of all the others.

The second sketch also resulted in nothing and did nothing but confuse us all.

Well, some days yet but by the end of the week...

It looks like there will be days open to decide on these motions, I'd assume they'd do that if the jury gets picked anyhow., with time to spare..?
 
Older article but interesting...

Allen's attorneys want the judge to suppress the statements, contending they were made involuntarily and under the throes of a mental health crisis while he was being held in solitary confinement.

Defense attorney Bradley Rozzi said allowing those statements to be presented at Allen’s trial violates his due process rights. He also cited the conditions under which Allen was placed, saying it amounted to coercion by the state. “The actions of the state," Rozzi said, drove Allen to make those statements.

But the prosecution wants Gull to dismiss the motion to suppress, saying there had been no attempts to force those confessions out of Allen.

Stacy Diener, one of the prosecutors, said the statements ― including those Allen made during calls with his wife and mother ― were not made during “custodial interrogations.” Allen "was fully aware that his statements were unsolicited," Diener said.

Allen made the statements during phone conversations with his wife and mother, and to other inmates who were assigned as “companion inmates” while Allen was on suicide watch. He also made statements to prison guards and to the warden and chaplain at Westville, where he was kept in a segregation unit and was under constant video surveillance.

Brian Harshman, a detective with the Indiana State Police who monitored calls Allen made from the prison, testified that he noticed changes in Allen's behavior in March 2023, when he began saying he'd found God.

Allen began confessing to his family several days later, Harshman said, and kept confessing to them and to other people in the months that followed.

Allen's wife and mother became "extremely upset" during those calls, Harshman testified.

Delphi murder case:Marred by delays and endless fights, Richard Allen's trial becoming a 'legal disaster'

"As the confessions went on," he said, Allen's mother would tell him that "they're messing with you." Allen's wife implored him to stop talking, Harshman said.

Allen, Harshman said, talked about why he killed the girls and why he delayed in confessing, although the detective did not elaborate on what those motivations were. Harshman also said Allen expressed fears that his family will no longer love him after the trial, during which they will see graphic photos of the girls' bodies.

Harshman, though, acknowledged during questioning from the defense that Allen also proclaimed his innocence during other conversations.

Contradicting claims of mistreatment by the defense, Harshman said he never saw any evidence of coercion and said Allen was treated better than other inmates.

A mental health crisis or faked symptoms?​

Over several hours of testimony, Dr. Monica Wala, the lead psychologist at Westville who had therapy sessions with Allen, testified that his mental health began to deteriorate in April 2023, around the time he began confessing.

Allen started expressing suicidal thoughts and feelings of hopelessness. He was seen banging his head on the wall to the point that his face was severely bruised, Wala testified. He began eating his own feces. His thoughts were disjointed. During some sessions, Wala said Allen was trembling and his eyes were twitching.

During questioning from Rozzi, Wala admitted having conversations with Allen about whether he's competent to stand trial. She also said Allen met the criteria of having a serious mental illness, a designation that would've placed a 30-day limit to his solitary confinement. But he was kept in isolation because of the safekeeping order, Wala testified, adding that Allen's safety from other inmates was a priority.
Gull has already denied the D request to exclude the confessions, so they will be admitted into evidence.
 
Running out of time right now so can't read link unless end up with a couple minutes but doubtful.

Yeah, those sketches and the one witness I will admit are not ideal, and I'm not going to deny that. I'm not a fan and think she may well have inserted herself and couldn't see him that well from her spot at all. Tom has remarked on this several times and has been there and sent someone out to see how well he could see form her vantage point. I think LE was pushed to put this out and I don't think they were keen on it. Jmo.

I don't think it breaks the case but I think they are going to have to show her her description could well not be accurate but that she of course did see someone there. It all aligns, but her description doesn't match that of all the others.

The second sketch also resulted in nothing and did nothing but confuse us all.

Well, some days yet but by the end of the week...

It looks like there will be days open to decide on these motions, I'd assume they'd do that if the jury gets picked anyhow., with time to spare..?
I think they will heavily rely on the testimony of the youngsters who saw him because he admits he himself saw them.
 
I'll bet they do!

Delphi murders: State wants to keep widely circulated composite sketches out of trial​

The state doesn’t want a pair of composite sketches that were highly publicized early in the investigation to be part of the Delphi murders trial.

On Monday, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland filed a motion in limine asking the court to prohibit the admission of the sketches or any reference to them during the trial.
TBH the sketches are irrelevant once they got their man - he was the only adult male and admitted being there.
 
No idea what this is all about. I do remember LE saying they had DNA way back when.


Yes they did say that. I don't know what the D are playing at and it looks like they are trying to taint the jury pool before the trial even begins. At present the gag order is still in effect isn't it ?

I guess it is also possible she could have Libby's or Kelsey's hair in her hands if there was some sort of transfer from the car or the clothes or elsewhere.
 
Jury is all seated now.


Allen, a pharmacy technician who had lived and worked in Delphi, was arrested in October 2022.
A relative had dropped the teens off at a hiking trail just outside Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017, but the two friends failed to show up at the agreed pickup site later that day. They were reported missing that evening and their bodies were found the next day in a rugged, wooded area near the trail.
Within days, police released files found on Libby’s cellphone — two grainy photos and audio of a man saying “down the hill” — that they believed captured the killer.
Investigators released one sketch of the suspect in July 2017 and another in April 2019. They also released a brief video showing the suspect walking on an abandoned railroad bridge.After years of failing to identify a suspect, investigators said they went back and reviewed “prior tips.”
Allen had been interviewed in 2017. He told the officer that he had been walking on the trail the day the girls went missing and that he saw three “females” at another bridge but did not speak to them. He said he did not notice anyone else because he was distracted by a stock ticker on his phone, according to an arrest affidavit.
Police interviewed Allen again on Oct. 13, 2022, when he reasserted he had seen three “juvenile girls” during his walk in 2017. Investigators searched Allen’s home and seized a .40-caliber pistol. Prosecutors said testing determined an unspent bullet found between the teen’s bodies “had been cycled through” Allen’s gun.
According to the affidavit, Allen said he’d never been where the bullet was found and “had no explanation as to why a round cycled through his firearm would be at that location.”
The case is subject to a gag order approved by Allen County Superior Court Judge Fran Gull, the special judge overseeing the trial. Allen’s trial has been repeatedly delayed after evidence was leaked, Allen’s public defenders withdrew and were later reinstated by the Indiana Supreme Court.
 
Yes they did say that. I don't know what the D are playing at and it looks like they are trying to taint the jury pool before the trial even begins. At present the gag order is still in effect isn't it ?

I guess it is also possible she could have Libby's or Kelsey's hair in her hands if there was some sort of transfer from the car or the clothes or elsewhere.
Well, they're getting to make some sort of opening statements to potential jurors.
 
I think they will heavily rely on the testimony of the youngsters who saw him because he admits he himself saw them.
Agree and that is far more solid than she is. I don't think it's any deal breaker but not really happy about her. If she can't see straight well then... I mean Tom couldn't see that far that kind of detail so it's questionable right there.
 
TBH the sketches are irrelevant once they got their man - he was the only adult male and admitted being there.
Agree as well. In cases they put out sketches in some that don't even turn out being THE person, they are just looking for anyone that saw anyone, etc. I don't know that Gull will exclude it though, I mean I have to be fair here, and the sketches were put out, and the defense can't be totally cut off at the knees. Just because he turned out to be the one and not the other means nothing imo. They were two different sketches but based on someone's faulty vision or judgment of age or some darned thing... I believe I heard back when she insisted. Do I have that right, anyone recall that? Wanted to know why that one was never put out? Well, I think the reason is clear. And they probably figured at that point what did they have to lose. Been how many years with the first sketch and video and unsolved...
 

Delphi murders trial: Defense claims hair found with victim didn’t match Richard Allen​

Defense lawyers for Richard Allen made a startling admission during Tuesday’s jury selection.
Allen’s defense team revealed that hair was found in Abby Williams’ hand that didn’t match Richard Allen. That’s the first time that information has been made public. Attorney Andrew Baldwin made the comments during “mini opening statements” preceding jury selection.
Allen is charged with four counts of murder in connection with the deaths of Abby and her friend Libby German in February 2017. Indiana State Police announced his arrest in October 2022.
 
Yes they did say that. I don't know what the D are playing at and it looks like they are trying to taint the jury pool before the trial even begins. At present the gag order is still in effect isn't it ?

I guess it is also possible she could have Libby's or Kelsey's hair in her hands if there was some sort of transfer from the car or the clothes or elsewhere.
I came home to refresh YT and saw Court TV with a headline about the hair. Went in, wasn't really wanting to, and the whole show was little about it and was all Barb McDonald confused about why they needed two jurors but then had to get three more today, and other things, and when the hair was finally mentioned, it was like a sentence or two.

First of all what is this mini opening statements b.s. and why are there alleged "facts" being said to prospective jurors anyhow? Why Gull allowed it I don't know. To throw the D a bone? Here's what they say, this is what happened on this day to two girls. Period. A man has been charged and one side, the prosecution, believes him to be guilty and will present evidence. The other side, the D, says not so, and they will be mounting a defense and trying to show otherwise.

PERIOD.

And either side if each gives one can do some version of that but what is it with claimed facts in front of prospective jurors or what they are calling a "mini" opening statement? Why is the jury being courted as if they are all seated jurors yet?

Anyhow I suffered that worthless in my opinion, MacDonald, to hear one sentence or two on the hair to see what they were talking about, which didn't come until the end sadly as I listened to all her other stuff. Nothing of significance. Just number of jurors, those dismissed, not understanding why three more, showing a notebook and how they have to take handwritten notes and a bit nothing burger.

The hair means little to me even IF true. From all we know mostly from defense leaks, ABby never moved or fought back, etc. I wonder if after determining I was not his if it was tried to determine whose it was. Also the defense never gives the specific truth with anything they have ever said, was it in her hand, on her hand, caught partly under a nail, etc.?

This tweet says "in her hand" but I never count on reporters, does that mean she had clutched hands...?

Means nothing until there's more and context as well.

We had a hair on A LISK victim that traced back to a woman he had lived with (possibly first wife) and it was determined she was not still living there then. It came from where the victiim had been.

But what I want to know is why is this being allowed anyhow? So now with a gag order, some alleged fact is being reported on. In the media and on Twitter, and I thought they were not wanting a tainted jury pool. Hey these people are not SEATED YET. They are not sequestered yet. They can still GO HOME YET.
 

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