Experts weigh in on the probable cause affidavit in the Delphi murder case
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The probable cause affidavit in Richard Allen’s arrest laid out a timeline of his alleged involvement in the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German but experts knowledgeable about this case said the document does not point to the murders being directly pinned on him.
Allen faces two counts of murder for the Feb. 13, 2017, deaths of Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German near Delphi.
Allen was arrested in the case on Oct. 28.
Áine Cain is very knowledgeable about the Delphi murders because she covers each aspect of the case with her co-host and lawyer Kevin Greenlee on the Murder Sheet podcast.
“He’s facing the felony murder charge. So that’s basically if you’re committing a felony and it results in a death then you can be charged with felony murder,” Cain said. “And Nicholas McLeland in some of these documents actually makes it clear that the underlying felony that they’re looking at Richard Allen for is kidnapping.”
She said it is unclear if the prosecution is looking at a kidnapping felony murder charge because they have a stronger case that way or because there are others involved that have not yet been charged.
“If they are indeed looking at other people they may feel that a scenario unfolded where you have multiple people participating in the crime of killing the girls or that there was some sort of underlying plot or conspiracy going on that ultimately led to the deaths of the girls,” Cain said.
Doug Kouns is a former FBI agent and now does private investigative work at his company Veracity IIR.
“Witness testimony is highly unreliable,” Kouns said. “Especially over time your brain can play tricks on you and you 100% believe in your mind this is what you saw but it’s just not right.”
Richard Allen’s lawyer has already cast doubt on the case.
“Is this what happens after five years of an investigation? Is this what it is? We don’t have any other evidence we don’t have any discovery that’s all we have and we are not impressed,” said Andrew Baldwin, Allen’s attorney. “I’ve got a guy here who says he’s innocent, alright. And a very flimsy probable cause affidavit.”
The charging document laid out witness descriptions of a man in similar clothes to what Richard Allen described himself as wearing to the Monon High Bridge Trail when he was interviewed by police in 2017. These descriptions match up with images taken of the so-called “Bridge Guy” taken by the girls. Witness accounts of the car are inconsistent but a video of a car matching Allen’s is mentioned.
Also new in the document is the mention of an unspent bullet matched to Richard Allen’s gun found between the two girls. Both of these experts said they are waiting to see how this develops before making judgments about the case.
A jury trial is scheduled to begin on March 20, 2023.
- Big crowd turns out for hearing of Delphi murders suspect
- Delphi murders suspect wants out of jail while awaiting trial
- Source: Investigators have known for years that the Delphi suspect was on the Monon High Bridge the day Abby and Libby were killed
- Indiana police superintendent: Delphi murders’ facts will come out at trial