INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Attorneys for the man charged in the Delphi murders believe police have reopened the investigation into claims the killings were part of a “ritualistic sacrifice.”

The allegations are part of new defense filings Monday in the case of Richard Allen.

Allen faces two counts of murder for the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German. Their bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi on February 14, 2017.

In Monday’s court filing, Allen’s attorneys argue that authorities have reopened the investigation into a potential connection to Odinism after initially dismissing the theory.

Odinism is a Norse religion connected to paganism.

The defense originally spelled out their claim in a 136-page memo to the court last month, describing in gruesome detail the crime scene, how the girls died, and how their bodies had been staged.

Allen’s attorneys also claim some evidence is missing, such as audio and video recordings of some police interviews in the weeks after the murders and police reports from a woman reporting that her brother confessed to the killings.

In a court filing last month, the prosecution flatly rejected the Odinism angle, calling the defense theory “colorful, dramatic and highly unprofessional” and designed for consumption on social media.

Both sides are under a gag order that prevents them from talking about the case outside of the courtroom.

Allen’s attorneys also asked the judge to force prosecutors to complete all discovery in the case by November 1, claiming the “continual drip, drip, drip of evidence” of that could point to Allen’s innocence is harming their trial preparation.

Allen’s trial is set to begin in January of 2024, although it’s highly likely to be delayed.

Judge Frances Gull, the special judge named to handle this case, must still rule on defense motions to suppress evidence found at Allen’s home last year and on whether to allow cameras in the courtroom.

Richard Allen is being held at the maximum security prison in Westville. His attorneys have renewed a request to have him moved out of the prison and into a county jail while he awaits trial.