Delphi Murders Trial: Live Blog Coverage of Day 13

INDIANAPOLIS — Day 13 of the trial for Richard Allen, the suspect in the Delphi Murders, commenced on Friday morning at the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi. Allen, 52, faces charges of murder and murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping in connection with the deaths of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German. The girls’ bodies were discovered near the Monon High Bridge close to Delphi on February 14, 2017, just a day after they went missing.

Allen was first investigated in 2017 and again in October 2022, leading to his arrest following a second police interview.

The trial began on October 18 and is anticipated to run through mid-November. Initially, there were 16 jurors from Allen County; however, one juror was dismissed on October 25.

NOTE: The times listed in the blog headers indicate when entries were added. Specific times for courtroom events will be included in each entry when available. These notes are compiled from photographs of written notes provided by reporters inside the courtroom.

11:31 a.m. Court back in session: Discussion of surveillance videos of Allen

At 10:40, court resumed with an immediate sidebar before the jury entered. At 10:46, the defense called Max Baker as a witness. Baker is an intern who has worked on this case since November 2022 and graduated from Indiana University.

Baker informed the jury that he had listened to Harsman’s testimony and mentioned that at this point, Allen’s wife Kathy exited the courtroom accompanied by three others. He testified about reviewing most of Allen’s phone calls and videos recorded at Westville. His task involved compiling video footage of Allen at Westville onto a flash drive. The prosecution raised continual objections throughout his testimony.

Baker explained that two main types of video formats exist: camcorder video and security camera video. The camcorder video records outside Allen’s cell while security footage captures activity inside his cell; notably, only the camcorder video includes sound.

He noted that the camcorder footage lacked a timestamp but had been organized into folders with general timeline information based on his best efforts to piece it together. Furthermore, he clarified that the in-cell video available on the flash drive covers recordings taken on the fifteenth of every month from November 2022 to December 2023—except for April through July where additional recordings exist beyond just those dates.

The defense requested admission of these videos as evidence along with spreadsheets detailing videos by date and time taken. The prosecution objected again leading to another sidebar discussion. Judge Gull ruled that she would admit the camcorder video with certain exceptions; specifically stating that while they could submit camcorder footage, recordings from April to July cannot include sound. She also admitted the spreadsheets into evidence.

Court was then recessed at 11:10 a.m.

10:35 A.M: Court is in session for Friday.

At 9:01 a.m., the jury entered the courtroom, and proceedings resumed. Judge Gull informed defense attorney Brad Rozzi that they would discuss his motions regarding transports during the lunch break.

Judge Gull noted that the jury had once again been allowed supervised contact with their electronic devices.

The defense called Christopher Gootee to the stand, prompting an immediate request for a sidebar from the state, which lasted nine minutes.

Gootee, a police officer from Hammond, Indiana, with experience as an EMT, explained his training in interviewing witnesses and suspects. The defense attorney, Jennifer Auger, asked him about the significance of accurately documenting interviews. Gootee mentioned his involvement with an FBI gang response task force (GRIT) that focused on kidnappings.

He revealed that GRIT assisted in the Delphi investigation by canvassing neighborhoods and conducting interviews over more than a week. During this time, he spoke to Brad Weber about Weber's activities after work on February 13, 2017. When Auger inquired about an FBI 302 form—an interview report—he confirmed he had spoken to Weber on February 19 but could not recall what was said despite reviewing his own report. After this exchange, Auger concluded her questioning without cross-examination from the state.

Next, at 9:27 a.m., Dr. Deanna Dwenger was called to testify. She oversees the Department of Behavioral Health at the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) and has held this position since 2021. Dwenger outlined her role in managing contracts for behavioral staff within IDOC.

She acknowledged familiarity with Richard Allen and confirmed his transfer from Westville Correctional Facility while noting similarities between solitary units at Westville and Wabash Valley Correctional Facility. Although she had not personally met Allen or made decisions regarding his transfer, she did hear from Dr. Monica Wala—Allen's assigned psychologist—who expressed interest in listening to Delphi podcasts prior to being assigned to him in early 2023.

Dwenger thought it unusual for Wala to visit Allen's crime scene but mentioned that Wala discussed her concerns with her supervisor afterward. The state then requested another sidebar regarding terminology related to "crime scene."

Dwenger recognized Dr. Martin as a psychiatrist who previously worked at IDOC and provided insights into Allen's mental health assessment indicating he was assigned a "D" code signifying potential benefits from tailored therapy treatment plans.

She expressed concern over video surveillance in Allen’s cell and recommended its removal due to worries about its impact on privacy and mental well-being; however, her recommendation was not acted upon.

Dwenger noted that solitary confinement could adversely affect mental health over time and specified that confinement lasting thirty days or more typically occurs only for severely mentally ill inmates—a standard intended to prevent prolonged isolation effects.

She described Allen as "gravely disabled," differentiating between mental health monitoring and treatment: therapeutic settings were inadequate at Westville according to her observations. Although she participated in discussions concerning Allen's care without directly treating him herself, she served as a sounding board for those involved in his treatment decisions.

The state initiated another sidebar following questions posed by Rozzi regarding solitary confinement protocols for mentally ill individuals.

At 9:56 a.m., Rozzi concluded his questioning of Dwenger; prosecution attorney Stacey Diener began her cross-examination shortly thereafter.

Dwenger confirmed that Allen was not severely mentally ill until after arriving at Westville Correctional Unit and first became aware of him through Dr. Wala’s communication in April 2023 when his core team formed around him. She recalled Wala suggesting that Allen might be feigning symptoms when requesting meetings with family members.

The team responsible for addressing Allen’s needs was referred to as an MDT (multi-disciplinary team). She clarified terms like "gravely ill" meant someone unable to care for themselves adequately while stating interventions became necessary regardless of whether he was faking symptoms or not.

Dwenger explained Haldol injections used for managing psychosis-related symptoms; however, Rozzi objected on grounds of leading questions during this portion of testimony.

By 10:04 a.m., Diener's cross-examination concluded as Rozzi resumed redirecting questions toward Dwenger before another sidebar ensued following additional objections raised by both sides amidst juror inquiries concerning various aspects of safekeepers' placements within correctional facilities relative to severe mental illness experiences among inmates—including possible faking behaviors observed during evaluations—and procedural standards associated with such cases.

9 A.M.: Court session begins

News 8’s Kyla Russell is back in Delphi for continuing coverage of the double murder trial of Richard Allen.

The prosecution wrapped up its case just before 5 p.m. on Thursday. Following this, Allen's defense team called two witnesses before court adjourned for the day.

At the end of the day, the defense indicated they were finalizing their plans for calling additional witnesses while awaiting Special Judge Frances Gull's rulings on several key motions.

Brief summary of Day 12 in the Delphi Murders trial

Master Trooper Brian Harshman, a seasoned veteran with 30 years at the Indiana State Police, was the first witness called on Thursday. Harshman became involved in the Delphi investigation in April 2020, over three years after the murders occurred.

He described his role as "the phone guy," tasked with monitoring Allen's communications from custody to the outside world. This included calls, video chats, and texts; he reported listening to approximately 700 hours of Allen’s calls.

Harshman testified that he firmly believes the voice in the “Bridge Guy” video belongs to Richard Allen.

He mentioned that during his monitored conversations, Allen often spoke with either his wife or his mother and made “incriminating statements.”

The prosecution played several recordings from phone calls between Allen and his wife, Kathy, including an outgoing call made on April 3, 2023:

• R. Allen: I did it. I killed Abby and Libby.
• K. Allen: No, you didn’t. No, you didn’t, dear. Don’t say that. You weren’t feeling well; they messed up your meds.
• K. Allen: Why would you say that?
• R. Allen: Maybe I did (commit the murders)?
• K. Allen: They are messing with your mind; something is not right. Don’t ever say you did it. I know you didn’t.
• R. Allen: I think I did.
• K. Allen: They’re fooling with you, trying to get you to say things.

Richard Allen then asked Kathy to apologize to the families of the victims, to which she responded, “Just don’t talk anymore.”

In many calls recorded by authorities, both Kathy and Janice—Allen's mother—reassured him he did not kill the girls and expressed concern about his mental health.

They urged him not to discuss details about the crimes over phone lines as he often conveyed feelings of losing his sanity while incarcerated at Westville.

The prosecution concluded its case just before 5 p.m., leading into testimonies from two witnesses called by the defense.

The first witness was Cheyenne Mill. She recounted hiking on Monon High Bridge trails on February 13, 2017, crossing around 2:50 PM without witnessing anything unusual aside from passing an “overweight” man on the bridge. Mill mentioned taking several Snapchat photos that afternoon but confirmed she never saw Richard Allen.

The second witness was Teresa Liebert, a resident near the bridge who reported seeing someone “strange” near mailboxes close to her home and subsequently informed police about her observation.

The defense concluded their presentation for Thursday with plans still underway regarding further witness testimonies as they awaited Judge Gull's decisions on significant motions related to evidence admissibility.

Judge Gull ruled that jurors will be permitted access to information regarding Allen’s Google search history; however, she denied a request for jurors to view photographs of Allen taken prior to his arrest.