Judge postpones Delphi murders trial following defense’s request for ‘more time to present’
FT. WAYNE, Ind. (WISH) — The trial for Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen has been pushed back until later this year.
Allen, 51, of Delphi, was arrested on Oct. 28, 2022, for the February 2017 murders of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi.
The push comes following a motions hearing on Tuesday to discuss the state’s request to censor pieces of the defense’s argument.
During the hearing, the defense expressed worry that the prosecution would take up too much time during the trial, and requested 15 working days to present.
The trial has already been pushed back and extended several times since Allen’s arrest. The most recent trial dates were set for May 13 – 31.
Special Judge Gull responded to the request by saying she couldn’t ask the jury to extend past the dates already set for May, adding that two and a half weeks should be sufficient time for the case.
Prosecution replied saying that they tried to “cut the fat” as sufficiently as possible. Prosecutors planned to call 45 witnesses with a projected end date of May 25, which would give the prosecution seven days to present outside of jury selection.
This, in turn, would leave the defense team with five days to bring their findings before the court. “What it sounds like to me is that they can present evidence until the cows come home,” Allen’s attorney Bradley Rozzi said.
Gull also said it was not her job to “micromanage” the communication between prosecutors and the defense, and said she would have allowed more time if asked by the defense sooner.
After a five-minute recess, the defense removed their request for a speedy trial. The prosecution maintained they were ready to start on May 13.
The new dates for the trial were slated for Oct. 14, 2024 – Nov. 15, 2024. Gull said after setting the new trial dates that “if you can’t try this case in a month, there is something wrong.”
Rozzi replied, “You don’t know anything about this case, so how do you know how long this will take.”
Gull responded by saying with all her experience, it was bold of the defense to assume she didn’t know how long it would take.
Following this, the defense filed its second motion to remove Gull from the case.
The next court hearings are May 21 – 23 in Carroll County to hear several different motions. It was unclear which ones would be brought before the court.
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