Lawyers for suspect in Delphi murders have a long discovery list

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The lawyers for Richard Allen, the suspect in the 2017 Delphi murders, want the names and addresses of every person that has talked to investigators about this case.

Allen was arrested on Oct. 28 and the announcement of charges was made on Oct. 31. He’s been charged in connection to the murders of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German in February 2017.

The lawyers want every police report connected to the murders. Allen’s court-appointed lawyers have the green light to hire a private investigator. This seven-page filing is the road map his lawyers plan to use in his defense. 

The seven-page filing is the first step in the discovery phase of this case. Allen’s lawyers are looking for the names of confidential informants, all phone records, witness statements whether there was any electronic surveillance and recordings.

Kent Eastwood, the Boone County prosecutor, says what the court-appointed lawyers are doing is fairly standard. “My experience is in a major investigation such as this, the sheer volume of stuff you are putting together is going to take some time.” 

After 4½ years, investigators had not named a suspect or person of interest for the 2017 murders.

Allen became a person of interest after investigators went through previous interviews. At the time, police have received almost 20,000 tips and conducted close to 500 interviews. They discovered that Allen told police in 2017, just a few days after the murders, that he had been on the Monon High Bridge Trail the day the girls were murdered.

Allen’s lawyers want the names and addresses of everyone who offered relevant information to this case.  

Eastwood said, “As a prosecutor, we are required by law to give to the defense anything we intend to use at trail and anything that tends to show that the defendant didn’t commit the crime.”

Police released three seconds of cellphone video and audio of the person they believe murdered the girls. What else is on that recording? Are there other people in the area? Did other people come forward with Allen’s name? The filling is asking for all of the evidence collected about Allen to be turned over.  

“As a prosecutor, generally you give pretty much everything unless it is work product,” Eastwood said.

If the Carroll County prosecutor holds back information or evidence that he believes is not relevant to Allen, then tries to introduce it later at the trial, there is a good chance the judge will not allow it.

Eastwood said, “The last thing you want to do is say, ‘Hey, now this is relevant. Now I want to use it in trial. Here it is for the first time,’ and the judge could easily say you are not going to be able to use that. As prosecutors, you don’t want to play that game.”

Allen is expected to be in the Carroll County Courthouse at 10 a.m. Friday with his court-appointed lawyers.