For a refresher on the Delphi murders trial and what will be discussed in the hearings, see the “RECAP” section of the live blog.

Follow along here for a live observation of the hearing — in and outside of the courthouse.

7 p.m.

I-Team 8’s Kody Fisher reports from the courtroom that in November 2022, Allen told his wife over the phone, “If this gets too much for you just let me know and I’ll talk to the detectives and tell them everything they want to know.” 

Per ISP detective who listened to his calls from jail to his family:

He “found god” in March 2023 and began confessing in April 2023. His family initially didn’t believe him and later told him, “They’re messing with you. They’re messing with your mind.” 

60-plus confessions with specific details about what he did and in some he explained his motives. Allen didn’t reveal his motive in court.

All of those confessions coincided with a decline in his mental health. Allen started eating his own feces, running the length of his cell and hitting his head against the door, washing his face in toilet water.

The defense claims the decline was all due to solitary confinement. Allen has been dealing with depression off and on since his 20s. They say the solitary confinement pushed him over the edge.

Allen’s psychologist testified that normal DOC rules say someone with his type of mental health should only be in solitary for 30 days straight but he was in solitary for 12 times that. They got around those rules because he technically wasn’t incarcerated, he was just in the “safe keeper” program. She said other inmates were yelling at him to kill himself and that he was a baby killer. Allen told his family he felt like he was being mentally tortured.

The prosecution says his mental health was properly treated and got better with medication. Also, an ISP detective in his testimony said Allen was being treated better than all the other inmates.

12:26 p.m.

I-Team 8’s Kody Fisher reports from the courtroom that while in the early session of day two, Allen’s defense attorneys continued to argue that his being in solitary confinement in Westville prison deteriorated his mental health.

Allen was video-monitored while in solitary confinement, and also had eight fellow inmates assigned to watch him. The inmates weren’t supposed to speak with Allen, but they did.

They claimed that Allen was “coerced” into confessing while in Westville, saying his 5th, 6th, 8th, and 14th Amendment rights were violated. 

The prosecution refuted the defense’s claims that the inmates and prison guards were “actors” and forced Allen to confess. They say that Allen was never interrogated and that his confessions, both verbal and written, were of his own accord.

Because of Allen’s “voluntary confessions,” the prosecution argued the motion to suppress should be thrown out altogether.

Over the course of two months, Richard Allen was said to have made 61 murder confessions. The confessions started seven months after arriving at Westville, and included statements like “I killed those two girls.”

The court has recessed for a lunch break and will return sometime after 1 p.m. Further News 8 updates will be available following the afternoon session.

10 a.m.

Day two of hearings for Richard Allen was set to begin at 10 a.m.

8:50 a.m.

Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen has arrived at the Carroll County courthouse ahead of Wednesday’s hearing. Special Judge Frances Gull, as well as Allen’s attorneys and state prosecutors, were seen entering the courthouse shortly after.

8:47 a.m.

I-Team 8’s Kody Fisher and News 8 photojournalist Kevin Stinson will be live from the Carroll County courthouse throughout Wednesday to provide updates on Wednesday’s motions hearing.

Recap

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Richard Allen, the man accused in the 2017 Delphi murders, is expected at a Wednesday hearing at the Carroll County Courthouse.

Wednesday is the second of three days of hearings in the Delphi murders case. State prosecutors and the defense will discuss whether certain topics should be omitted from the trial when it begins in October.

The hearings “could forever change the outcome of the case — and decide what information the jury can be told,” according to I-Team 8 investigative reporter Kody Fisher.

During Tuesday’s hearing, the defense and state prosecutors argued over the pieces of evidence that the state wants to be omitted from the courtroom, such as geofencing, a theory that Odinism played a role in the killings, and other possible suspects.

The defense claimed that police were negligent and purposefully didn’t follow leads on third-party suspects. They also pushed for Allen to be moved from solitary confinement at the Indiana Department of Corrections to the Carroll County jail in hopes of improving his mental state and making it easier to communicate with Allen.

The motion to dismiss the case was on the table, but it was unclear what the motion’s final ruling would be.

During the three days of hearings, the defense team will have to provide enough evidence to convince Special Judge Frances Gull that they should be allowed to tell jurors about other possible suspects, on top of other subjects.

Judge Gull will also hear arguments over whether a jury can be told about the multiple confessions Allen has made while in jail.

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.

Allen’s trial has already been pushed back several times since his arrest. The most recent trial dates were May 13-31, but the case was pushed to October after the defense told Judge Gull that they needed more time to present their case.

The trial is now set to start Oct. 14 and run through Nov. 15.

Wednesday’s hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. EDT.

Follow along here for a live observation of the hearing — in and outside of the courthouse.