Attorneys Weigh In After Conviction in Delphi Murders Case

After nearly eight years since the murders of Carroll County teens Abby Williams and Libby German, Richard Allen was sentenced to 130 years in prison for the crimes. The gag order that had long prevented anyone involved in the case from making public comments about the trial has been lifted.

Allen's attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Jennifer Auger, sat down with News 8's Kyla Russell at Baldwin's Franklin office on Friday. They discussed their thoughts on the trial and the outcome.

"It was crazy that we think this is going to be not guilty, because there were so many pitfalls in this case along the way," Baldwin said. "For example, the confessions, the so-called confession. How were we even thinking that we're in the ball game? Brad, it's crazy that we're thinking that this is going to be not guilty, yet, we did."

The defense team had advocated for the admission of more evidence to support the theory Williams and German were killed as a part of an Odinist ritual. They claimed investigators first explored the possibility the murders were connected to the third-party suspect.

"Police and Unified Command said it was always two to three people, or as many as – I think – five or six people, always. They never talked about it being one person, because, you know, the evidence is it can't be one person," Baldwin said.

When asked how they hoped the jury would reconcile the confessions, Baldwin said, "For starters, Richard Allen confessed to molesting his granddaughter. He didn't have a granddaughter. Richard Allen confessed to killing other people that weren't relatives."

The defense says it was investigators who first explored the possibility the murders were connected to an Odinist ritual. They claimed Judge Gull did not allow the admission of the evidence because she did not believe the defense had established enough of a connection.

"We also couldn't cross-examine Doug Carter about that because it undermines the investigation," Auger said. "Had we been able to cross-examine him about, 'Ok, first you said it was this person, now you say it's that person,' you know, sketch 2 is not sketch 1. It's not the same person. So, that line of cross-examination was taken from us … In testimony, it's hard for the jury to come back to that. It's hard for them to remember. People generally are visual learners and not auditory learners. So, if those composite sketches were so indicative of the fact that Bridge Guy was not Richard Allen, right? That those sketches look nothing like Richard Allen, they look nothing like each other. That was strong visual evidence from these witnesses that were used by the state to investigate. That these witnesses gave their seal of approval, that 'yes, that looks like the person I saw.' So, to have those visual sketches to come back to, I think would have been incredibly important."

Both attorneys plan to help in supporting the appellate attorneys assigned to Richard Allen and confirmed he does plan to try to reverse his conviction. They believe more evidence has come to light that they believe could be used in the appeal process.

The two attorneys also spoke on their belief that Allen was unfairly treated while incarcerated before the trial, especially as it relates to the cameras fixed on Allen both inside his cell and while he was moved.

"Who has asked the Department of Corrections Superintendent, 'Why was there a camera watching these guys talk to their client?'" Baldwin asked.

When asked about the scrutiny they've received for shielding the videos from the courtroom, while the crime scene photos and autopsy photos of Williams and German were not shielded, attorneys said they weren't asked by Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland if the crime scene photos could be kept private to the jury. Had they been asked, they would have agreed, they said.

Allen was recently moved back to Westville as he begins to serve his sentence. Many of the victim impact statements at the sentencing came from Williams and German's family members. They largely centered on the impact of the crime scene photos leak had on their families.

"The fallout from it for everybody is awful, the family itself," Baldwin said. "I have to sit here and I get upset and did I cry about the thought that those photos are out there? I can get upset about it as we speak right now. Okay. And people say, 'Oh, that's just you doing it for the camera or whatever.' But it is not. Anybody who knows me, knows that."