Delphi murder suspect's lawyers say he's enduring 'prisoner of war' conditions
Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen's lawyers say he is enduring "prisoner of war" living conditions in a motion obtained by FOX 59 Indianapolis.
Several new court filings from prosecutors in the Delphi murders case describe the latest claims from suspect Richard Allen's defense team as "fanciful," "colorful, dramatic and highly unprofessional."
The filings from Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland came about a week after Allen's attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, alleged that victims Liberty "Libby" German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13, were sacrificed as part of a pagan cult ritual when they were murdered off a hiking trail in Delphi, Indiana, six years ago.
McLeland said the 136-page memorandum from Allen's defense in support of a "Franks hearing," or a court proceeding in which a judge must determine whether a law enforcement officer lied in an effort to obtain a search warrant, contained only 13 pages that referenced "allegations relevant to the question of Franks inquiry."
"The remaining 90% of the Memorandum outlines its fanciful defense for social media to devour," he wrote.
GIRLS KILLED IN DELPHI MURDERS WERE SACRIFICED IN PAGAN CULT RITUAL, DEFENSE CLAIMS
Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, were killed while biking on trails near Delphi, Indiana, in February 2017. (Indiana State Police)
In a separate filing, McLeland made a request to bar cameras from the courtroom during what is expected to be a high-profile and emotional trial in January.
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While the memo from Allen's defense team "is colorful, dramatic and highly unprofessional, it is not completely true," McLeland wrote. "[T]he State believes the allegations outlined by the Defense are not supported by evidence that they have collected."
New ritual allegations
Authorities arrested Allen, a 50-year-old father and CVS employee, in October 2022 in connection to the killings of Libby and Abigail, who disappeared from a popular trail in Delphi on Feb. 13, 2017, before they turned up dead in the woods the next day.
Richard Allen was arrested in October 2022 in connection to the 2017 murders of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams. (Indiana State Police)
Police recovered Libby's cellphone under her body on Feb. 14, 2017. The phone had a 43-second video that showed Abigail walking on the Monon High Bridge toward Libby while a man wearing a dark jacket and jeans walks behind her. The man can be heard ordering the girls "down the hill," according to an affidavit.
Libby captured the video at 2:13 p.m., less than 25 minutes after she and Abigail were dropped off at the trail.
DELPHI MURDERS SUSPECT RICHARD ALLEN'S LAWYERS SAY HE IS ENDURING ‘PRISONER OF WAR’ CONDITIONS
"Overwhelming evidence in this case supports the following … Members of a pagan Norse religion, called Odinism, hijacked by white nationalists, ritualistically sacrificed Abigail Williams and Liberty German," Baldwin and Rozzi said in the memorandum.
A cellphone video image and a sketch of the prime suspect in the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German are shown on the office wall of Tobe Leazenby, then-sheriff of Carroll County. (Robert Scheer / IndyStar / USA Today Network)
The attorneys would go on to name several men who they allege are part of the Odinist cult in Carroll County, Indiana, and plotted to kill the girls as part of a pagan ritual. They shared extensive details, previously unknown to the public, about a "ghoulish" crime scene where the girls were murdered, arguing that it showed signs of a "ritualistic sacrifice."
They added later on, "[T]he Defense is not inventing, fabricating, or exaggerating these facts no matter how crazy those facts may appear."
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The lengthy memo details a new narrative to the public in the Delphi murders case. Up until Sept. 18, the public only knew of allegations against Allen and other potential suspects that had been previously tied to the case before they were ruled out.
Defending a search warrant
Allen's defense team is also arguing that Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett lied to obtain a warrant to search Allen's home in October 2022.
Officers escort murder suspect Richard Allen during a hearing at the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi, Indiana, on Nov. 22, 2022. (Alex Martin / Journal and Courier / USA Today Network)
The state, meanwhile, says Liggett "did not intentionally or recklessly omit evidence or lie about evidence in the probable cause affidavit to support the search warrant" for Allen's residence.
Investigators initially questioned Allen in 2017 after witnesses and security footage tied him and his vehicle to the crime scene. He admitted to being on the Monon High Bridge Trail on the day when Libby and Abigail were reported missing on Feb. 13, court documents show, but authorities did not file charges until years later.
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Journalist Áine Cain and attorney Kevin Greenlee, who co-host "The Murder Sheet" podcast and have been closely covering Allen's case, believe a clerical error may be the reason Allen's arrest came five years after police initially questioned him in 2017.
Officers escort murder suspect Richard Allen from the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi, Indiana, on Nov. 22, 2022. (AP Photo / Darron Cummings / File)
The state defended its decision to execute a search warrant at Allen's residence in October 2022 prior to his arrest.
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"[T]he evidence that was gathered in 2017 was reaffirmed by the interview done with Richard Allen and his wife, Kathy Allen on October 13th, 2022," McLeland wrote. "Investigators believed, at that time, that they had enough probable cause to apply for search warrant. Investigators also believed that if they did not execute a search warrant on the residence immediately, that there was a danger that the Defendant would destroy crucial evidence in the investigation."
The search resulted in the discovery of a blue Carhartt jacket, a SIG Sauer P226 .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun and a .40-caliber S&W cartridge in a "wooden keepsake box" from a dresser between two closets in Allen's bedroom.
Two different composite sketches and a grainy image of the murder suspect (Indiana State Police)
The handgun recovered at Allen's home was consistent with the .40-caliber unspent bullet that police found at the site of the murders in 2017.
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In June, Allen allegedly admitted to his double-murder charges "no less than five times while talking to his wife and his mother on the public jail phones available at the Indiana Department of Corrections," prosecutors said in an earlier court filing.
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