Defense attorneys in Delphi Murders trial request limits on girl’s video
DELPHI, Ind. (WISH) — As investigators of the Delphi Murders on Monday told jurors what they found at the crime scene, defense attorneys awaited word on a request to limit what the jury can see and hear from a video one the teen girls recorded before her death.
The trial of murder and kidnapping suspect Richard Allen, 52, entered its third day Monday. The trial was expected to continue into mid-November.
Allen 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.
Libby recorded a video with sound before the crime happened. A search warrant, which News 8 first reported on in June 2023, said 43 seconds of video showed Libby being followed by a man investigators believed was Allen. The video was taken at 2:13 p.m. Feb. 13, 2017, about 45 minutes after the two girls were dropped off at the bridge by a relative.
During opening statements on Friday at the trial, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland said Libby was on Snapchat and her video cut off after the man said, “Girls, down the hill.”
Defense attorneys on Sunday night filed a motion to prohibit prosecutors “from eliciting testimony concerning what words are spoken by the girls on the enhanced audio recordings.”
The defense attorneys argue the jury should determine what’s said in the recordings.
The motion filed Sunday also said, “The defense requests the Court prohibit the State from eliciting testimony concerning what sounds are contained in the enhanced video with the man’s voice.”
“The video and audio enhancements appear to be investigatory records,” the motion also said. “Interpreting the words and sounds on the enhanced video requires a completely subjective analysis.”
The request about the video came days after a decision to omit sketches of suspects from the trial.
During the first day of the Delphi Murders trial, the defense attorney told News 8 that the composite sketches made during the crime investigation will not be allowed as evidence in the trial.
Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland had requested that the composite sketches used by investigators not be admitted as evidence or referenced during the trial. McLeland said the sketches are “not relevant” and would “confuse or mislead” the jury.