Delphi Murders Trial: Live Updates from Day 14

INDIANAPOLIS — Saturday marks Day 14 of the trial for Richard Allen, the suspect in the Delphi Murders, taking place 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 bodies of the two girls were discovered near the Monon High Bridge on February 14, 2017, just a day after they went missing.

Initially investigated in 2017 and again in October 2022, Allen was taken into custody following a second police interview.

The trial commenced on October 18 and is anticipated to extend into mid-November. Initially, a jury composed of 16 Allen County residents was seated for the case; however, one juror was dismissed on October 25.

Note: The timestamps listed in blog headers correspond to when entries were made. Specific courtroom event times will be included within the entries when available. The following notes are compiled from photographs of written notes provided by reporters present in court.

12:49 p.m.: Jury watches more video; ISP Superintendent testifies

The court reconvened at 11:05 a.m. After the jury's entry, defense attorney Max Baker momentarily paused video presentations. State prosecutor Nick McLeland indicated he would delay his cross-examination of Baker until all videos had been shown.

The defense then called Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter to testify. With nearly 12 years in his role, Carter described his involvement in the investigation as primarily supportive. He highlighted that many agencies participated in the inquiry, including several county agencies and federal entities such as ATF and FBI.

Carter testified that FBI involvement ceased in August 2021 and confirmed to the jury that it was his decision to release them from further investigation responsibilities. He also requested that any evidence held by the FBI be returned.

Carter's testimony lasted about ten minutes before he was released from his subpoena. Following this, adjustments were made in the courtroom regarding video visibility for jurors while public seating remained unable to view them. McLeland raised renewed objections concerning this setup.

The videos shown (#11 – #15), captured between May 13 and June 20 of 2023, prompted various reactions from jurors during viewing; notably during Video #13 when Baldwin turned away shaking his head and three jurors appeared visibly uncomfortable during Video #14. Defense attorney Jennifer Auger also looked away during this segment.

Video #15 extended for approximately 34 minutes; multiple jurors took notes while an alternate juror exhibited surprise throughout its duration. Baldwin could be seen speaking softly with Richard Allen as he took notes while shaking his head.

The video presentations concluded at approximately 11:50 a.m., followed by discussions regarding security footage created by Max Becker from within Allen’s cell before court adjourned just before noon on Saturday.

10:53 a.m.: Jury views video of Richard Allen while in Westville

Richard Allen entered the courtroom at 8:46 a.m. Observers noted he was mouthing words to his family, though his wife, Kathy Allen, was absent. Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter attended in full uniform.

The positioning of the courtroom television was adjusted to ensure that the gallery could not view it. State prosecutor Nick McLeland objected to the admission of video footage of Richard Allen from Westville, while defense attorney Brad Rozzi requested that it be shown only to the jury due to explicit content.

Kathy Allen had not arrived yet; she had left during Friday's session when videos were set to be viewed as well.

After the jury took their seats, the defense called Max Baker, an Indiana University graduate and defense intern, back to testify. Baker confirmed on Friday that he had been asked to compile videos of Allen in Westville and prepared another flash drive containing additional footage on Saturday morning.

The defense introduced two exhibits: camcorder footage and a master sheet detailing the video contents, which included a warning for “contains nudity.” The judge allowed these videos into evidence despite objections from the prosecution. The prosecution had to arrange chairs for viewing since Richard Allen could not see the footage himself.

The ten videos were recorded in April 2023. One particular video, referred to as Video #7, lasted nearly 30 minutes but was sped up by Rozzi during playback.

As they watched the videos, one juror raised their brows and glanced at Allen; several others were taking notes. A juror with a psychology background appeared particularly engaged. At one point, Allen looked down at a coffee mug. Libby German’s family showed signs of frustration while watching, and McLeland seemed weary.

During Video #7, some jurors frowned. One juror wrote something down on their notepad and shared it with another juror beside them. In Video #9, multiple jurors directed their attention toward Allen.

The final video lasted 52 minutes, with Rozzi informing the jury that he would skip through certain sections.

Defense attorney Jennifer Auger appeared visibly distressed while viewing Video #10; she held her head in her hands and covered her mouth during particularly troubling moments before eventually looking away.

Among the jurors present, one alternate juror wore an expression of discontent while another appeared shocked by what they were witnessing.

The media and public were unable to discern the nature of the content displayed as the television faced away from their view.

The court recessed briefly at 10:46 a.m.

9 a.m.: Court resumes for Saturday session

Kyla Russell returns for ongoing coverage of Richard Allen's double murder trial in Delphi.

Brief summary of Day 12 in the Delphi Murders trial

On Friday, the courtroom witnessed lengthy testimonies from several defense witnesses. The first to take the stand was Ofc. Christopher Gootee, a police officer from Hammond, Indiana, who also has experience as an EMT and was part of an FBI gang response task force focused on kidnappings.

Following a brief sidebar discussion by the state, Gootee emphasized to the jury the significance of interviewing witnesses and suspects, noting that GRIT contributed to the Delphi investigation for over a week. He had interviewed Brad Weber about his whereabouts after work on February 13, 2017. When asked by the defense about an FBI 302 report—an interview record—Gootee admitted he did not know what Weber had said even though he had reviewed the report in court.

The next witness was Dr. Deanna Dwenger, who oversees the Department of Behavioral Health at the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC). She testified that while she was familiar with Richard Allen's case, she did not personally know him nor could she identify who transferred him out of Westville Correctional Facility. Dr. Dwenger confirmed that Dr. Monica Wala, Allen's assigned psychologist, expressed a special interest in his case and noted Wala's unusual activity of listening to podcasts discussing the Delphi Murders and visiting the Monon High Bridge.

Allen was placed in Westville Correctional Facility in late 2022 before being transferred in December 2023, having spent 13 months in solitary confinement.

Dr. Dwenger elaborated that Allen had been assigned a “D” code indicating he would benefit from specific therapeutic interventions but stated she was unsure why he ended up at Westville. During cross-examination, she mentioned that Allen did not exhibit severe mental illness until his time there.

She recounted her first contact regarding Allen occurred in April 2023 when Wala asked if he could meet with his wife. At one point, Wala told her that Allen was “faking it.” Eventually, it became necessary to intervene due to concerns over his deteriorating condition; Dr. Dwenger explained Haldol injections used to manage symptoms such as psychosis.

"Gravely ill" is a symptom of psychosis.

The defense attorney objected to some questions as leading which prompted further side discussions before a brief recess for questions from jurors regarding mental health treatments within DOC and confessions obtained under duress.

After returning from break, another sidebar preceded testimony from Max Baker, an IU graduate working as an intern with the defense since 2022. He informed the jury that he reviewed Master Trooper Brian Harshman’s testimony and analyzed most of Allen’s phone calls and videos from Westville.

Baker described how he compiled video footage of Allen at Westville onto a flash drive for submission during discovery but faced objections from prosecution throughout this segment of testimony.

Baker explained there were two main types of video: camcorder footage with sound recorded outside Allen’s cell and security camera footage lacking audio recorded inside his cell. He noted discrepancies concerning timestamps on these videos provided by prosecution.

The court recessed for lunch until 1 p.m., during which time the defense sought permission for FBI Special Agent Adam Pohl to testify remotely due to his current assignment in San Antonio, Texas.

Once court resumed shortly after noon, Brad Heath, aged 70 and formerly employed by Reliable Exterminators until his retirement in 2019, took the stand next. He recounted being at Anderson’s on February 13, 2017, where he noticed an old vehicle parked off-road near CPS building by Monon Trail both earlier that day and later when returning around afternoon hours.

"The car looked old and out-of-place," Heath said regarding why he reported it to law enforcement a week after learning about the murders.

David McCain, who has lived in Delphi for two decades as project manager for Monon High Bridge Trail followed Heath on stand. McCain recalled using his camera while walking along trail around mid-afternoon on February 13 but saw no other vehicles or people until just before leaving around four o'clock when someone asked if he'd seen any missing girls; prompting him later contacting sheriff's office upon realizing their disappearance coincided with his visit there...

Motions Addressed Friday

During the proceedings, the defense submitted a motion requesting the transportation of inmates from Indiana Department of Correction facilities. They also introduced a motion to permit evidence related to Odinism, a modern pagan faith with roots in Old Norse traditions. Additionally, they sought permission for an FBI special agent currently out of state to testify remotely.

The judge approved the motion for inmate Jesse James to be brought to the courtroom in Delphi.

However, she denied the request to allow testimony about Odinism and also rejected any arrangements for witnesses to appear via videoconferencing.