Delphi murders suspect asks Indiana Supreme Court to intervene
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The man accused of the Delphi murders wants the Indiana Supreme Court to open the case against him to the public.
New attorneys for Richard Allen filed that request with the state’s highest court on Monday.
The 22-page brief argues that the local court and the Carroll County prosecutor have violated the state open records rules for court proceedings.
“If there was ever a time when the openness mandated by the Trial Rules and Access to Court Records Rules was critical, it is the present case—one of the most high-profile cases this state has ever seen,” attorney Maggie Smith wrote in the Allen filing. “For many Hoosiers this is the first time they have followed the workings of a court in this state.”
Chief Justice Loretta H. Rush asked any briefs on the request be filed on or before Nov. 9.
Allen’s attorneys, the third to represent him in the case, want the court to order Judge Frances Gull to unseal more than 100 documents currently in the court docket.
Those documents, including some defense filings which point to separate theories in the case, are currently sealed from public view.
Allen faces two counts of murder for the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German.
The pair were found stabbed to death in February of 2017 near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi.
Judge Gull earlier this month announced Allen’s attorneys had withdrawn from the case and appointed new attorneys for him.
The original lawyers, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, claim the judge carried out a “pre-meditated ambush” and “coerced” the withdrawals.
They have asked that she step down from the Allen trial or be removed.
Allen had told the judge he wanted Baldwin and Rozzi to remain on his case, including a letter to the court dated October 11.
Richard Allen is due in court Tuesday morning for a hearing.
His trial is set to begin in January, although that is likely to be delayed.