INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Thursday is Day 18 in the trial of Delphi Murders suspect Richard Allen 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.

Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom.

Tune into News 8 and follow our daily live blogs throughout the trial 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 17 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.

• More Delphi Murders trial on WISHTV.com

10:55 a.m. Prosecution begins its closing argument.

At 9:17 a.m. prosecutor Nick McLeland begins closing arguments.

He tells the jury “February 13th is a day Delphi will never forget.” He says the state has proven that Allen is Bridge Guy. He tells the jury “the State has done just that.”

McLeland talks about that day. Where Libby was the last time she talked to Becky Patty, Libby’s grandmother. He is showing the jury a Power Point with Libby and Abby’s Snapchat photo from Kelsi German’s car. He recounts the search Libby’s father made and how he called Becky Patty.

McLeland tells the jury about the search and that Brad Weber, the neighbors, let them look around his property. He says they did not look through the house at that time, however.

McLeland goes through the testimony of several people on the bridge and in the area that saw Bridge Guy, from Betsy Blair who saw the girls, to Sara Carbaugh who said she saw Bridge Guy “muddy and bloody.”

He says “that doesn’t happen around here,” referring to the murders. He describes the bodies being found and shows photos of the girls’ clothes in Deer Creek. He describes the crime scene being secured.

McLeland begins to talk about firearms and how officers in Carroll County carry 9mm handguns and not .40 cal. He says “remember that for later.”

He shows the crime scene and says “this is what they saw.” He says a phone was collected from under Abby’s shoe which was under her body. He says they collected a cartridge and shows it at the scene.

McLeland shows the jury a photo of Libby’s phone. He shows the Bridge Guy video from Feb. 13, 2017 at 2:13 p.m. He says “the video shows the moment they were forced down the hill by the guy in the video, Bridge Guy.”

“He forced them down the hill with a gun,” McLeland tells the jury.

He says Libby said in the video, “that be a gun.”

He shows the jury an enhanced version of the Bridge Guy video.

McLeland says law enforcement interviewed people on the bridge that day. He shows a photo a witness took of Freedom Bridge. He recounts Bre Wilber saying she saw a man on the trails “walking with a purpose.” He shows the jury Besty Blair’s Fitbit information. He talks about Sara Carbaugh seeing a man ‘muddy and bloody’ on 300N.

McLeland talks about Chris Cecil’s forensic examination of Libby’s phone, how he got health data from it. He says that data confirms when the girls were at the bridge. He says GPS shows where movement was at 2:32 p.m. and that there was no more movement after that.

He goes over the timeline with witnesses, when they arrived, where they went. He says Breann Wilber arrived at Freedom Bridge at 12:25 p.m. that day and walked to the high bridge. She took a photo at 1:26 p.m. at the bridge. He says she ran into Bridge Guy while walking back to Freedom Bridge.

McLeland tells the jury about Betsy Blair passing a camera at the Hoosier Harvestore, heading to the high bridge. He says Kelsi German’s car was also seen on that camera, passing it after she dropped the girls off. He says Blair saw a man on the bridge and passed Libby and Abby as they arrived on the bridge.

He says the Bridge Guy video was taken at 2:13 p.m. He tells the jury Libby’s phone stopped moving at 2:32 p.m. He says that Sara Carbaugh passed the Hoosier Harvestore camera at 3:56 p.m. and said she saw Bridge Guy and he was “muddy and bloody.”

McLeland says “if we can determine who Bridge Guy is, we can determine who killed Abby Williams and Liberty German.

McLeland moves ahead to 2022. He describes Kathy Shank finding the lead sheet regarding Richard Allen. He describes Shank taking the tip to Tony Liggett, a detective working on the investigation. He describes conservation officer Dan Dulin downloading a photo of Allen from the BMV.

McLeland says that it was determined that Allen’s car was the only 2016 black Ford Focus registered in Carroll County in 2017. He says former sheriff Steve Mullin went to the Hoosier Harvestore and got footage from the camera there of Allen’s Ford Focus at 1:17 p.m.

He says that on Oct. 13, 2022 Mullin called Allen in for an interview, he says Allen confirmed that we was wearing the same clothes Bridge Guy was wearing.

McLeland tells the jury that Allen said he saw three girls, but in the interview he changed the time he was there. He said Allen became angrier as the interview went on. He shows the jury photos of Allen’s Ford Focus in the garage during the search of Allen’s home.

He says they found the blue Carhartt jacket in Allen’s home. McLeland says “surprise surprise.”

10:34 a.m. Court begins, Judge Gull talks to the jury.

Before court begins, News 8’s Kyla Russell reports that defense attorney Andrew Baldwin writes “Rick” on a coffee cup and gives it to Allen. Normally Allen gets a coffee from the courthouse but today Baldwin has purchased one from a local shop.

At 8:47 a.m. Allen enters the room. Russell reports that he has a regular, large sized bible today and not the typical Gideon style bible he’s had in the past. He is heard saying he loves the coffee. He shows defense attorney Jennifer Auger a verse in his bible.

Prosecutor Stacey Diener is seen hugging the German and Williams family members. Abby’s mother is crying and being comforted by family.

At 9:04 a.m. Judge Gull enters the court room. The jury enters at 9:07. Court is in session.

Gull says the jury again had supervised contact with their electronic devices. She explains some of the case specific jury instructions:

1. The jury must follow all law while deliberating.
2. The jury must consider all facts.

Gull reads all the counts against Allen. He shakes his head as Gull reads charges that say he killed “AW,” and “LG.” She explains the concept of beyond reasonable doubt and the definition of murder.

Gull explains that if the state proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Allen killed the girls, they must find him guilty and vice versa.

Gull explains “intentionally” and what it means.

9 a.m. Court in session for Thursday

After 17 days of witness testimony and evidence being presented, the jury will hear from both the prosecution and defense when closing arguments begin Thursday morning.

Special Judge Frances Gull told the jury Wednesday that they would hear several hours of closing arguments. The judge told each side they would have up to 2 1/2 hours.

Both sides will only be able to talk about the evidence and testimony that was admitted during the trial, which means the defense team will not be allowed to bring up Odinism or any of the third-party suspects they claim actually committed the murders.

When closing arguments are over, the jury will be given instructions. If they have reasonable doubt, they are instructed to find Richard Allen not guilty. If they believe Allen committed the murders, they are instructed to find him guilty.

After that, it will be up to the jury.

Deliberations could take hours or days. The 12-member jury (three alternates excluded) must reach a unanimous verdict. If they are unable to do so, the trial could end in a mistrial.

Brief summary of Day 17 in the Delphi Murders trial

The defense rested its case somewhat unexpectedly on Thursday as several expected witnesses did not take the stand. It also opted against putting suspect Richard Allen on the stand.

Judge Gull asked the defense to call their next witness and was told, “Your honor, we rest our case.”

The prosecution was asked to call its rebuttal witnesses. ln total, three were called, including psychiatrist Dr. John Martin, who treated Allen while he was at Westville Correctional Unit.

Martin, who has more than four decades of experience in corrections, told the court he was aware of Allen’s mental health history and that, when their sessions began in the fall of 2022, Allen was not showing symptoms of psychosis.

When Allen began showing signs of psychosis — smearing feces, washing with toilet water — Martin prescribed injections of Haldol (Haloperidol), an antipsychotic drug commonly used to treat schizophrenia. The shots were administered every four weeks.

Dr. Martin described a gradual shift in Allen’s behaviors between April and June 2023 and told the jury that Allen’s psychosis had faded by early May. He said Allen became aware of where he was and started sleeping, eating, and talking on the phone with his wife. Earlier testimony indicated Allen was psychotic for every confession he made.

Martin also said that Allen “was not in a state of psychosis” in June when Allen told him he wanted to “apologize to the families of the victims.”

The defense showed the jury a camcorder video of Allen on June 20. Their goal was to prove Allen wasn’t coherent that day, according to News 8’s Kyla Russell.

The jury heard again from Indiana State Police Master Trooper Brian Harshman, who reviewed over 700 phone calls made by Richard Allen while in custody.

Harshman said he also reviewed videos of Allen – including recent ones taped from his time inside the Cass County Jail since the trial started — and told the court Allen has threatened to kill officers there. He also confirmed Allen has been held alone in all of his facilities, including Cass County.

Previous witness Breann Wilbur also returned to the witness stand. Wilbur was on the Monon High Bridge trails the day the girls went missing. She said again that she did not see “Bridge Guy” or any kids.

The court adjourned Wednesday afternoon and would return Thursday morning.