Delphi Murders trial: Day 12 live blog
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Day 12 in the trial of Delphi Murders suspect Richard Allen begins Thursday morning at the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi.
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. After a second police interview, he was taken into custody.
The trial began Oct. 18 and was expected to continue through mid-November. Originally, 16 Allen County residents sat as the jury on the case, but one juror was dismissed on Oct. 25.
Day 12 of the Delphi Murders trial was set to begin at 9 a.m. Thursday.
Tune into News 8 and follow our live blog throughout the day for the latest developments.
NOTE: The times listed in the blog headers are the times which the entries were added. Specific times for courtroom events will be listed in the entries if available. These notes are compiled from photographs of written notes provided by reporters in courtroom and emailed to the WISH-TV news desk.
For a brief summary of Day 11 in the Delphi Murders trial (Wednesday), scroll to the bottom of the page.
To view all of our previous trial coverage, click here, and follow News 8’s Kyla Russell on X as she covers the trial live from Delphi.
9 a.m.
News 8’s Kyla Russell is back in Delphi for continuing coverage of the double murder trial of Richard Allen.
According to pool notes shared with News 8, the jury is expected to hear two hours of audio during Thursday’s session. It is set to begin at 9 a.m.
Brief summary of Day 10 in the Delphi Murders trial
The first person to testify Wednesday was clinical psychologist Dr. Monica Wala. Wala is a contractor and lead psychologist at the Indiana Department of Corrections at the Westville Correctional Unit, where Allen was housed.
Wala said that she started seeing Allen in 2022. At the start, she was the only person to work with him. Over time, other professionals — including psychiatrists — began seeing him.
Ed. Note: An important distinction between psychologists and psychiatrists is that psychiatrists are medical doctors who can prescribe medications, while psychologists do not have a medical degree and generally cannot prescribe medications.
Wala said when she met with Allen, he was unshackled and seated in a cubicle. She described Allen as being on suicide watch and was watched every 15 minutes by a suicide companion.
Wala told the jury on April 5, 2023 Allen discussed his case with her, unprompted.
In her report from that day, she said Allen told her, “I killed Abby and Libby” and became tearful. Wala said Allen told her “he made sure they were dead because he did not want them to suffer.”
Wala said on May 3, 2023, Allen shared his version of events from Feb. 13, 2017.
According to Wala, Allen told her that on Feb. 13, 2017, he went to see his parents on the morning of the murders. He said he decided not to go with lunch with his mom, and decided to drink three beers and went to the bridge. He told Wala he saw the girls, that he wanted to rape the girls.
Wala said Allen told her he followed the girls, and while walking, a bullet fell from his gun. Then, he told the girls, “down the hill.” He said he planned on raping them, but saw a van and became scared. He then told the girls to cross a creek, cut their throats, and covered their bodies with branches.
Wala said Allen told her he’s been “selfish all of his life” and that he wanted to apologize to Libby and Abby’s families.
“I just want to sign my confession,” Wala said Allen told her.
Wala told the court that she initially believed Allen’s behaviors in his jail cell — including eating feces — weren’t genuine, but eventually changed her mind.
“It was getting to the point where it almost doesn’t matter whether he is faking it or not faking, because he is deteriorating,” Wala said.
During cross examination, Wala admitted to following the case via podcasts and Facebook groups before and during treatment, using a prison data base to look up info, and talking to Allen about the case.
Wala said she once told Allen that he had supporters online: “There are people on your side out there.”
Dr. Wala is no longer working with the Department of Correction. “They had to do an investigation,” she told the court.
Brad Weber, who owns property near the Monon High Bridge where the girls were found, was the next to testify.
On the day the girls went missing in February 2017, Weber told investigators that he went to work and, after that, worked on ATM machines.
Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin asked Weber if he drove straight home after work on Feb. 13, 2017, to which Weber said he dropped off a trailer. Baldwin said that was earlier in the day, adding that Weber originally told police he went to work on ATM machines after work.
This prompted Weber to scream “That’s not correct!” and to deny Baldwin’s claim multiple times.
Baldwin then gave Weber a subpoena, the details of which were not disclosed, and court adjourned for Wednesday.
New push to tell Delphi Murders jury about Odinism
Defense attorneys for Richard Allen on Wednesday made a new request to tell the jury in the Delphi Murders trial about evidence of Odinism.
The request was part of a new request filed Wednesday morning asking Judge Frances Gull to admit evidence about a connection between Odinism and the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German.
It’s the second such request filed by Allen’s attorneys since testimony began in his trial.
Judge Gull has previously rejected defense requests to present the ritualistic sacrifice theory to the jury.
In the same filing, Allen’s attorneys ask to be allowed to present evidence of 3rd party suspects.
The defense filing cites testimony from a forensic pathologist who told jurors that as many as four knives may have been used in the killings.
Judge Gull did not indicate when she might rule on the request.