Delphi Murders trial: Day 2 live blog
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — This story has been corrected to change the spelling of former Delphi Police Chief Steve Mullin’s name from “Mullen” to “Mullin.”
Seven years, eight months, and five days after Abby Williams and Libby German went missing in Delphi, the trial for accused killer Richard Allen started Friday.
Allen, 52, is charged with murder and murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping in the deaths of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German. The girls’ bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge near Delphi on Feb. 14, 2017, a day after they went missing.
Allen was first investigated in 2017 and again in October 2022. Following the second interview, he was taken into custody.
Saturday’s session was set to begin at 9 a.m. Follow this blog throughout the day and stay tuned to News 8 for the very latest.
NOTE: Times listed on the blog headers are the time the entry was written, not the time the events happened in court. Those events will be noted in the story when available.
For a brief summary of Day 1 in the Delphi Murders trial, scroll to the bottom of the page.
Pat Brown testimony (Man who found the girls’ bodies)
The court’s second session started with testimony from state witness Pat Brown, another search party member and lifelong Delphi resident. Brown’s home is 1.5 miles from the High Monon Bridge and he participated in search efforts on Feb. 14, 2017.
Brown told the court he’d known Libby’s grandfather, Mike Patty, since high school, and also knew Libby. He said he was at home eating dinner and watching TV when his wife told him Libby and Abby went missing. Brown said he called a man named Tom Mears for help, and went out in the dark to search for the girls.
Brown pointed out his drive from his home to the Morning Heights Cemetery. He said he stopped at a man named Ron Logan’s house to ask if he saw the girls, then continued to the bridge to talk to search party members.
Afterward, he drove to the nearby Mears property and met with Tom to look for Libby and Abby.
Brown said he called off work on Feb. 14 to help with search efforts. He and Mears drove into town, where Brown said Delphi Police Chief Steve Mullin was “heading the search up.” Mullin said in his testimony earlier Saturday that he did not head up the search.
Brown picked up his daughter around 11 a.m. on Feb. 14and soon received a call from Mears to say they’d found Libby’s shirt along Deer Creek. Brown went to the north side of the creek and found the girls’ bodies on the way.
Brown said he thought they were mannequins at first, and became emotional as he told the court, “We found them.”
Melissa, a relative of the Pattys, was with Brown when they spotted the girls. She ran off to call the police.
Brown noted on the courtroom map where he found the girls and said he got within five feet of their bodies. Police arrived before Brown left the scene.
Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin questioned Brown, focusing on the sound of voices, what could be heard, and if Brown had cell service while in the woods. Judge Gull also asked questions about Brown’s cell service provider, how long it took for police to arrive after they found the girls, and how long it took for the scene to be secured. Brown answered that officers arrived within five minutes of being called, and it didn’t take long for the area to be secured.
Saturday’s session ended after the jury was shown a photograph of Libby’s shirt and shoes in the muddy water of Deer Creek.
11:55 a.m.: Court adjourns for Saturday
Jake Johns testimony (Search party member who found Libby’s tie-dye shirt)
The second person to testify Saturday was Jake Johns, a lifelong Delphi resident who works at a propane company in Delphi. Johns spotted Libby German’s tie-dye shirt in Deer Creek during search efforts.
Johns said he knew Libby German’s family, and his wife worked with Libby’s grandmother Becky Patty. Johns was not familiar with Abby Williams or her family.
Johns said he joined the search for the girls on Feb. 14. He said he knew they would be looking for a tie-dye shirt that belonged to Libby and walked four hours around the area and to the High Bridge, where he spotted the shirt in the water. He and firefighter standing nearby tried to contact police to report the shirt, but Johns said they could not get ahold of anyone.
The firefighter went to the shirt himself, and also located a pair of black Nike shoes that also belonged to Libby. Soon after, a person living on the other side of the creek was called to come down to the search area. Brad German and Kelsi also arrived. That’s when Johns said another member of the search party said, “We have found the bodies.”
Johns said he did not personally see the bodies.
The defense began questioning Johns, only learning that Johns saw footprints on Feb. 14 on an access road near Deer Creek. After being questioned by the prosecution and defense again, nothing new was said. No further questions were asked.
Steve Mullin testimony (Delphi chief of police in 2017)
The first witness called to the stand by the prosecution was Steve Mullin, who served as Delphi’s chief of police in 2017, and was on duty the day of the murders. Mullin described Feb. 13, 2017, as “routine” and spoke about hearing radio traffic and receiving texts about the girls’ disappearance. During his testimony, Mullin stood up and approached a map of the trail on a TV, and pointed out where Abby and Libby entered.
After learning the girls did not return, Mullin said he contacted Delphi Middle School and spoke with the search party. Mullen did not participate in the search but said he stayed behind at dispatch.
Mullin says when he left the dispatch center at 2 a.m. on Feb. 14, he told the court he did not believe anyone had hurt the girls and believed they would return home.
He returned to work at 7:30 a.m. Feb. 14 and met with the search party. He says he did not direct them where to go.
Allen’s attorney Andrew Baldwin objected to Mullin’s testimony about the search, saying Mullin only knew the whereabouts of the search because he was at dispatch.
Mullin continued his testimony by describing when he heard the girls’ bodies were found and noting on the courtroom map where they were located. He says he met with Abby and Libby’s families around 2 p.m. to say they had found bodies and were working on identification.
Mullin said he then learned of a store near the start of the trail, the Hoosier Harvest Store, having security cameras. The store’s camera pointed toward 300 North and West, and he reviewed footage from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Feb. 13. He also discussed drone footage taken of the trail on Feb. 13, 2024, which state prosecutor Nick McLeland said was to represent and compare what the two scenes looked like seven years apart.
McLeland asked Mullin what kind of people would be seen on the bridge in 2017, which he answered, “Teenagers. Younger people.”
Baldwin then began questioning Mullin, starting by asking about improvements made on the trail since 2017. Special Judge Fran Gull chimed in, asking about the thought process behind searching for the girls downstream. Mullin said it was in case the girls might have fallen off the bridge. Baldwin asked if Mullin went to the scene, and Mullin said he did not.
Mullin described to the court where the bodies were found in relation to Morning Heights Cemetery, which is near the trail. He said he went to Weber’s property on Feb. 27, 2024, but did not elaborate. Gull asked if it “would take nine minutes to walk from the trailhead to the end of the bridge,” and Mullin said “about.”
9 a.m.
Richard Allen arrived in court Saturday wearing a blue striped button down and glasses. News 8’s Kyla Russell reported that he was seen looking back at his mother and his wife.
Libby and Abby’s families were all present in the courtroom.
8 a.m.
News 8’s Kyla Russell reports that there is a much smaller crowd outside the Carroll County courthouse for the second day of the trial.
Court is set to run from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday.
Brief summary of Day 1 in Delphi Murders trial
Court proceedings on Friday began at the Carroll County courthouse in Delphi with opening statements from the prosecution and Allen’s defense.
Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin began his statement by saying “Richard Allen is an innocent man,” before discussing points from their argument, including DNA from hair found in Abby Williams’ hand not matching Allen’s, false confessions from Allen and his family, and witnesses who would testify that Allen was not on the High Monon Bridge in Delphi on the day the girls disappeared.
State prosecutor Nick McLeland began his opening statement by describing Feb. 13, 2017, as a “summer day in the middle of winter” and Libby and Abby’s adventure on the bridge. He warned the jury of graphic pictures that would be shown and said witnesses would testify that Allen confessed to being on the bridge. Allen and his wife both “furiously” shook their heads hearing the prosecution’s mention of him being on the bridge.
Special Judge Frances Gull also ruled in favor of the state’s request that composite sketches used during the investigation would NOT be allowed as evidence in the trial. The first courtroom sketch of the trial was also released to the public Friday evening.
The first set of emotional testimonies came from Libby German’s grandmother, Becky Patty; sister, Kelsi Seibert; and father, Derrick German. Abby’s mother, Anna Williams, and Carroll County Sheriff’s Deputy Mitchell Catron ended Friday’s witness statements. To read their statements, click here.