Delphi Murders trial: Day 1 live blog
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Seven years, eight months and 5 days since Abby Williams and Libby German went missing in Delphi, the trial for accused killer Richard Allen is about to begin.
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 arrested in October 2022.
Follow this blog throughout the day and stay tuned to News 8 for the very latest. Note that times listed on the blog headers are the time the entry was written, not the time the events happened in court. Those events will be noted in the copy, when available.
10 p.m.
#UPDATE: Final update for the second half of day 1 of the #Delphi double murders trial.
– The last person to be called to the stand today was Deputy Mitchell Catron at the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office. He was the first law enforcement officer to the trails to help search for… pic.twitter.com/RIeIZEAAGv
— Kyla Russell (@KylaBRussell) October 19, 2024
8:09 p.m.
#UPDATE: Update #4 from the second half of day 1 in the #Delphi double murder trial.
– The state then called the mom of Abby Williams, Anna Williams.
– Anna described having been at work at a restaurant when she heard of Abby and Libby’s disappearance.
– At the time, she felt… pic.twitter.com/Dpf8qNB0FS— Kyla Russell (@KylaBRussell) October 19, 2024
8:05 p.m.
#NEW: Update #3 for the second half of day 1 in the #Delphi double murders trial.
– The third witness the state called was Libby’s father, Derrick German.
– He described living at home with Libby and Kelsi, along with his parents.
– Derrick said he picked Abby up for a…— Kyla Russell (@KylaBRussell) October 19, 2024
6:54 p.m.
#NEW: Update #2 from the second half of day 1 in the #Delphi double murders trial.
– The second witness the state called was Libby German’s sister, Kelsi Siebert, who was then Kelsi German.
– Kelsi described her last day with Libby and driving the two girls to the trails near…— Kyla Russell (@KylaBRussell) October 18, 2024
6:43 p.m.
#NEW: Update #1 from the second half of day 1 in the #Delphi double murders trial.
– The state’s first witness was Libby German’s grandmother, Becky Patty. Libby lived with her grandparents and was raised by them primarily.
– Becky Patty described Libby and Abby’s friendship —…— Kyla Russell (@KylaBRussell) October 18, 2024
5:28 p.m.
#NEW: First courtroom sketch for the #Delphi double murders trial here in #CarrollCounty WISHNews8 #RichardAllen #RichardAllenTrial
By the T.A.G. Art Company, April Ganser pic.twitter.com/RLEQHAKvAR
— Kyla Russell (@KylaBRussell) October 18, 2024
4:52 PM – Derrick German testimony (Libby’s father)
The prosecution called Derrick German to the stand at 2:50 p.m. Derrick told the jury he lived in the home with the Pattys (Libby’s grandparents) with Libby and Kelsi.
Derrick told the jury that he communicated with Abby via text and took her to Abby’s house a lot. Derrick said he picked Abby up for a sleepover the night before and made banana pancakes for their breakfast on February 13.
Derrick told the jury he left the home at 1:20 p.m. to take photos for appraisal properties in Frankfort owned by the Pattys. Half-way there Libby called him to pick them up from the bridge. Derrick told Libby he had photos to take and he finished the work and went to pick up the girls.
Derrick told the jury he called Libby to tell her to come back to the entrance to the park, she never answered. He told the jury he ran into a man and asked if he had seen two teenage girls, the man said no. Derrick then went to the water and to the Freedom Bridge. He told the jury he continued to call Abby’s phone and began yelling their names.
Prosecutors asked Derrick to show on a map where he searched, he tells the jury others were searching south of him. He told the jury he parked at the CPS building and went back to the entrance.
Derrick told the jury that the next day during the search, “I just heard mom (Becky Patty) screaming.” “I saw the coroner go by and about 12 cop cars, so I knew.”
The defense asked Derrick what the last digit of his phone number was.
4:21 PM – Kelsi German testimony (Libby’s sister)
The state called Kelsi German (Libby’s sister) at 1:34 p.m. to the stand. Kelsi told the jury she was a junior in high school in 2017. She now has a daughter and is expecting another. She said Libby was “more like my best friend than my sister.”
Kelsi told the jury that Libby wanted her to go to the trails with her, but Kelsi couldn’t go but would drop them off if they had a ride home. She told the jury Abby had on a grey zip up jacket that day, that she had borrowed from Kelsi.
Kelsi was shown a photo by the prosecution of Abby and Libby inside Kelsi’s car, jurors were given a copy as well.
Kelsi was asked to stand up and show on a large map how she would have taken the girls to the trails. Kelsi said she dropped the girls off and went to her boyfriend’s house.
Kelsi is asked if Libby knew where her phone was most of the time. She told the jury “It was always in her hand.”
Kelsi told the jury she got a call from Becky Patty that Libby was missing while her boyfriend had just left for work.
The prosecution showed a closer view of the earlier map that Kelsi explained that “lots of people at school go on this,” referring to the trails near the bridge. Kelsi was asked if she was aware it was private property, she said no and laughed.
Kelsi told the jury that she communicated with Libby via Snapchat “for the most part.”
Kelsi described the bridge to the jury as different than it was in 2017, that you can’t cross it and other areas have been paved. The prosecution plays a video of the trail as it looks today. Kelsi is asked if she would agree that the area has improved since 2017. She replied, “yes, a lot.” Kelsi described several changes to the area to the jury.
The prosecution asked Kelsi, “If you were at the end of the bridge, could you see someone at the beginning?” Kelsi answered no.
Kelsi told the jury about Snapchat and the texting feature and discussed timestamps on Snapchat stories.
Kelsi said she was texting and calling Libby the night of February 13. Kelsi told the jury that she became emotional after finding out the girls had been found, but did not know they had died.
Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin asks Kelsi if Libby was outspoken, Kelsi said yes. Baldwin asked Kelsi if she would run across the bridge, Kelsi replied “that would be dangerous.”
The defense showed Kelsi a photo of Abby on the bridge, taken by Libby. He asked “You don’t see anyone behind Abby on that bridge do you? In that photo?” Kelsi said no.
Baldwin asked Kelsi how long into the bridge was that photo was taken, Kelsi said 1/4.
Kelsi told the jury she gave DNA to police a few days ago and it was not the first time she been asked that.
Baldwin asked Kelsi if she had worn the sweatshirt worn by Abby, Kelsi said they washed it but she had not worn it.
1:41 PM – Becky Patty testimony
After the lunch break, court resumed and Libby’s grandmother Becky Patty was called to the stand. She described Libby as ‘very smart’ and that she participated in the math bowl and was active in swimming, volleyball, softball, and soccer. She said Libby had many sleepovers with friends and vice versa. She told the jury that Abby Williams went on spring break with her and her husband and Libby.
Patty said that Libby had just turned 14 the previous December (2016) and that her sister Kelsi having her driver’s license helped with all of Abby’s activities.
Patty told the jury that February 13 was a typical work day, but that school was out. Abby spent the night on Sunday, according to Patty. She told the girls if they filed some paperwork for her, she would pay them.
Patty began to cry as she described Libby and Abby asking to go to the trails, she tells the jury the last thing Abby said to her was “Grandma, I will be ok.”
She described Libby as wearing grey sweats and a tye dye shirt with Nikes. She said Libby loved photography and loved the Monon High Bridge. She said she always knew Libby was going where she said she would be.
The prosecution asked Patty “Was it a concern of yours to know what time Abby and Libby would be picked up from the trail?” Patty responded “She always coordinated with us.” She told the prosecution that they took the girls to the trail at 1:30.
Patty told prosecutors that she herself had not been to the bridge but all of her kids had gone there to take photos. “I didn’t realize how high it was,” she said. She said Libby was “polite but if you were out of line, she did not have a hard time telling you.” She also told the jury that Libby loved crime shows and she had “great intuition.”
Patty told the jury that at 3:30 that day Derrick German (Libby’s dad) called to say they had not heard from Libby and that they decided to start looking at the trails, checked both directions they could have walked and didn’t see them. They called AT&T and could not ping Libby’s phone. She said Libby was scared of the dark and it was after 5 p.m. at that point and she felt like they needed to call the police. She tried to get ahold of Abby’s mom but was unable to. Patty told the jury her husband Mike called the police.
Patty told the jury that the search continued the next morning and a friend came up to her and said “they found them, they found them.” She told the friend “you need to take me to Libby.”
The defense asked Patty “Did you provide your DNA to police two days ago?” Patty responded “yes, one of the times.”
The prosecution asked Patty “Do you know if Libby had ever been exposed to handguns?” She responded “I don’t know, my husband has a few guns, he hunts. She had not been around handguns, no body in our house owns handguns.”
12:48 PM
According to News 8’s Kyla Russell, the defense has said that the composite sketches will NOT be allowed as evidence in the trial.
12:30 PM
The media entered the courtroom at 8:35 a.m., at least 23 people from the public were turned away. Richard Allen entered the courtroom around 8:49 wearing a pink/mauve button-down shirt with khaki pants and glasses.
The prosecution handed the German family a box of tissues. Allen spoke to his attorneys as the judge entered the courtroom.
The judge tells the courtroom that two media outlets were ‘filming jurors’ and confiscated a camera from NBC network and 5 cameras from the Associated Press. The judge says the batteries and SD cards were removed. The judge re-read the decorum order and excludes them from the trial.
At 9:25 Judge Gull read instructions about the process to the jury, explaining reasonable doubt and the meaning of murder and kidnapping.
Prosecution Opening Statement
At 9:42 prosecutor Nick McLeland began his opening statement. He describes the events of February 13, 2017 that it was a ‘nice summer day in the middle of winter’ and that the girls were laughing and joking at the park. McLeland says he will refer to the girls as Abby and Libby. He then describes the Monon High Bridge and how dangerous it can be and how it is a ‘rite of passage’ for kids to cross it. McLeland says Libby posted photos of the bridge with Abby and noticed a man following them. Libby was on Snapchat and her video cuts off after the man says ‘girls, down the hill.’
McLeland warns the jury that they are going to see photos of the scene and describes them in graphic terms. He describes an unspent bullet at the scene and how the girls were dressed.
McLeland tells the jury about all the witnesses that he plans to call to testify and that Allen admitted he was on the trail that day. Allen shakes his head ‘furiously’ when McLeland speaks about guns and his alleged admission. Allen’s wife, seated in the courtroom, shook her head when McLeland said Allen told her he killed the girls.
McLeland concluded after speaking to the jury for 13 minutes.
Defense Opening Statement
Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin begins his opening statement with “Richard Allen is an innocent man.” He tells the jury the investigation was ‘messed up from the beginning, middle even the last couple of days.’ Baldwin says the state of Indiana kicked out the FBI and that a strand of hair was found around Abby’s fingers. He says DNA from the family has never been provided and that they just need to test the girls’ mothers to see if the hair is from a family member or not. Baldwin told the jury the DNA did not match the girls but may match someone from the family.
Baldwin tells the jury that the prosecution’s theory is that at 4 p.m. that day, the girls were deceased, and for the next several hours the bodies didn’t move and that the phone that was found never moved.
Baldwin tells the jury about the CPS parking lot near the trails and that the state’s theory of Allen’s parking does not make sense. He says the defense’s theory is that Allen was never on the trail at the same time as the girls and Allen was gone by 1:30 p.m. that day.
Baldwin tells the jury that witnesses will testify that they did not see Allen’s car and that the man seen on the bridge may not have ever said ‘girls, down the hill.’
He tells the jury that evidence may show the girls went to an access road, to a man named Brad Webber’s house. That the road is under the bridge.
Baldwin then tells the jury “We have reason to believe those girls may have gotten into a vehicle at a road near Brad Webber’s property.”
Baldwin says Libby’s phone was connected to a cell tower until 5:44 p.m., that it stopped connecting then reconnected the tower at 3:45 p.m. Baldwin says “This is the same phone the state says was under Abby’s body.” Baldwin says the phone was working when it was found and that the phone was out of the area and someone brought the girls to where they were found.
Baldwin tells the jury that at 4:34 a.m., 15 texts came through to Libby’s phone. He describes the search for the girls on the 13th and says the area was where the girls were found was searched but the girls were not there. “Not one person saw any bodies over there, nobody saw any clothing in the creeks on the 13th.”
Baldwin describes Allen and his family and talk about false confessions. He tells the jury the bullet was found in the ground, that no photos of it were taken from different angles. He says the bullet was ejected through a gun but not fired, so they tested it out on a new bullet and the markings were not the same. He tells the jury it is like ‘apples and oranges’.
Baldwin tells the jury the defense believes two different people were involved. At 10:53 a.m. Baldwin concluded his opening statement.
9:05 AM
Allen’s defense has filed a response to the prosecution’s Motion in Limine Regarding Composite Sketches. Judge Francis Gull is expected to rule on this motion today.
After the prosecution argued that the sketches are inadmissible due to the fact that they were intended as an ‘investigative tool to generate leads,’ and are irrelevant. The defense is arguing that the sketches are composites of persons witnesses saw on the bridge the day of the murders, and do not look like Richard Allen, therefore they are highly relevant.
That document can be viewed here:
8:30 AM
The public started lining up Thursday night for the chance to get into the Carroll County Courthouse for Day 1 of the trial.