INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Two major developments happened Tuesday in the lead-up to the Delphi murders trial.

Richard Allen, 51, of Delphi, was arrested on Oct. 28, 2022, for the February 2017 murders of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi.

Allen’s attorneys filed new paperwork in court that accuses the prosecution of hiding evidence that could help prove Allen proof he’s not guilty of the murders. The motion says the prosecution has taken months longer than allowed to hand over major pieces of evidence, including what the defense labels potential exculpatory evidence.

The filings specifically cited video and audio of police interviews; the name of an expert who consulted with police on the possibility the killings were part of a “ritualistic sacrifice,” as the defense has hinted; and details on a map showing cellphone activity near where the girls were found. The cellphone activity is said to have happened at the time police believe the girls were killed, and Allen’s attorneys say none of the phones have a connection to Allen.

“What’s interesting is there are some points in there where they admit some of the evidence they’re asking for may not even exist,” said Kevin Greenlee, an attorney and host of the Murder Sheet Podcast. “They’re just guessing it’s likely to exist, in their opinion.”

The filing came less than a week after the defense filed a request for a speedy trial. Under Indiana law, the trial must start in 70 days. This gives a mid-May deadline, and an official trial date of May 13 was set.

The attorneys’ motion to compel, though, could delay the trial.

“The defense is specifically asking for sanctions (on) the prosecutor in the form of, if this gets continued, it could be blamed on the prosecutor,” said Áine Cain, a journalist, and host of the podcast. “So if they’re even thinking about that, that really seems to strongly indicate to me that there will probably be more delays and we should not necessarily expect May.”

While unlikely, according to Greenlee, if the 70-day clock runs out because the prosecution broke rules, Allen would be released from jail. If Allen is not tried in court, he could still be recharged with these crimes and tried in court at a later date.

Two separate matters are playing out in the courts simultaneously: the criminal trial against Allen, and a separate contempt hearing for his attorneys.

The defense team filed six additional motions on Tuesday. One asks for a change of venue, and for the proceedings to be moved back to Carroll County, where the girls were found dead.

The additional filings relate to the contempt hearing: one added more witnesses; another asked the prosecutor, Nicholas McLeland, to recuse himself in the hearing because he is a witness. An additional motion asked the judge to recuse herself due to a lack of neutrality, and the defense team also asked for the judge to issue a finding of fact after the hearing.

These motions were filed at the same time as one to postpone Monday’s hearing in the case to focus first on the criminal trial, but, as of Tuesday night, the contempt of court hearing is still set to move forward on Monday.

Earlier on Tuesday, I-Team 8 obtained new documents on what could unfold in Monday’s hearing in Fort Wayne on the contempt of court accusations facing Allen’s attorneys, Brad Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin.

Prosecutors want Special Judge Frances Gull to take some type of disciplinary action against the defense team over a leak of evidence last year in the Delphi murders case. That leak, tied back to the defense team’s legal office, included never-before-released photos of the scene where Abby and Libby died.

Gull has already called the attorneys grossly negligent for the leak, pushing them off the case in October, when she said, “We’ve had an unexpected turn of events, ladies and gentlemen: The defense attorneys have withdrawn their representation of Mr. Allen.”

The Indiana Supreme Court reinstated the defense attorneys after the judge had removed them from the case.

Greenlee told News 8 that the criminal trial could move forward before the contempt hearing because any action from the contempt hearing would likely not be enough to remove the lawyers from the case again.

Allen’s attorneys have filed notice they plan to introduce evidence Monday that prosecutors had been in contact with online, “true crime” podcasters and YouTube creators. One of them, Gary Beaudette, who runs the YouTube page FigSolv, has spent extensive time covering the Delphi murders case.

Beaudette said, “I’ve gone from learning about the Delphi murders while listening to a podcast called True Crime Garage to creating YouTube videos to spread awareness about the case and to encourage people to tip in relevant information to law enforcement, hoping a little nudge will make someone who knew something say something.”

The defense points to an Oct. 22, 2022, video from the page that talks about a bullet found at the crime scene and linked to Allen. That information came out a week before the court unsealed the information.

Allen’s attorneys also plan on Monday to present evidence of Baudette’s communications about the disqualification of defense counsel; giving prosecutors defense work product; and court staff revelations.

In a letter to the court obtained Tuesday by I-Team 8, Beaudette defends his work, saying he did contact prosecutors when he received unsolicited Delphi murders evidence. He goes on to write, “I must unequivocally state that I was not involved in any strategy to disseminate crime scene photos.”

He goes on to claim his online interactions “have been misinterpreted by individuals who have targeted me due to my support for the Indiana prosecutor, law enforcement, and the Honorable Judge Gull.”

Gull decided March 1 to deny four requests for cameras to record Monday’s hearing in Fort Wayne.

The judge this week granted a defense request to move up the start of the trial to May 13. The trial is scheduled to be in Delphi with a jury from Allen County, where Gull serves as a judge.

This story was in part created from a script aired on WISH-TV.