Examine the Delphi murder evidence and the case against Richard Allen

DELPHI, Ind. ― Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland told jurors: Opening statements in Richard Allen’s murder trial that this case boils down to three things: “Bridge Guy”; a bullet; and the murders of Delphi teenagers Liberty “Libby” German and Abigail “Abby” Williams.

Ultimately, the jury agreed with the prosecution and found Allen guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of murder during the kidnapping. After days of negotiations, they had to go through weeks of testimony. Here are some of the complex pieces of evidence they must navigate to reach their decision.

‘Bridge Man’

‘Bridge Guy’ video becomes key part of case against Richard Allen

A short clip released to the public in 2019 shows a man walking on the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. Jurors in 2024 get more context from video

Indiana State Police

Libby’s video featured grainy footage of a man ordering girls to “get down the hill.” Indiana State Police enhanced the video, but the enhancement did not improve the quality of the image.

‘Bridge Guy’ is obviously wearing light blue jeans and a blue jacket. However, one witness testified that he saw a man he believed to be Bridge Guy covered in mud and blood and wearing a tan jacket.

Witnesses testified that they believed Bridge Guy to be 6 feet tall, young, fit, and with “fluffy” hair. Allen’s attorneys noted in closing that Allen is 5 feet 5 inches tall.

ISP Lieutenant Jerry Holeman stated from the video that it would have cost $10,000 to do an accurate elevation analysis of Bridge Guy. According to the statements, they chose to put their resources elsewhere. The defense brought this up in its closing argument.

When Allen was arrested in October 2022, Allen was a middle-aged, heavyset man.

Unspent cartridge, an expert connected to Richard Allen’s gun

Indiana State Police laboratory tests showed that marks on the bullet found at the scene, near the girls’ bodies, matched the ejection, ejection and breach marks of Allen’s Sig Sauer .226. However, these conclusions were reached only by comparing the unfired bullet with later fired shell casings. From Allen’s gun.

But a defense firearms expert told jurors that comparing an unfired bullet through a gun to a bullet fired from a gun would create different tool marks, skewing a definitive conclusion and calling it comparing apples to oranges.

The unspent cartridge was key evidence in the arrest of Richard Allen

Forensics matched Richard Allen’s gun to a cartridge found at the scene of the Delphi murders, five years after the investigation began.

Richard Allen’s prison confessions

Allen began confessing to killing the girls in early April 2023. According to reports, 61 verbal or written incriminating statements.

Prosecutors played at least seven recorded phone calls in which he allegedly confessed in April 2023.

“I did it. I killed Abby. I killed Abby and Libby,” Allen says in a phone call to his wife on April 3, 2023.

“You don’t feel well. There’s something wrong. Why did you say that?” Allen’s wife also responded, stating that his medications may have been mixed or the guards were confused.

“Because maybe I did. I think I did.”

According to both state and defense witnesses, Allen was psychotic at the time of the prison confessions. A person in this state of mind will likely make incriminating statements if he is convinced that he was involved in this incident.

Allen’s confessions to his wife and mother during his psychotic episodes frequently included the phrases “I think” or “I believe” as warnings to admit to killing Abby and Libby.

Psychiatrists testified for both the case and the defense that a psychotic person is prone to making statements based on the belief that he or she is confused.

Prosecutors drew attention Dr. Monica Wala’s statement He believed he did much of his behavior to manipulate prison guards, and Wala said his motive may have been to further search for his wife.

Two psychiatrists (one witness and one defense) and a neuropsychologist testified that Allen did not fake his psychosis.

Moreover, Wala, the psychologist who treated Allen at the Westville prison, was a fan of true crime and had followed the case of Libby and Abby’s murders. He was removed from treatment at Allen and the Westville prison after it was discovered he had used Indiana Department of Corrections files to learn more about the case.

According to prosecutors, some of Allen’s alleged confessions were made to Wala.

In a report released in April, Wala stated that Allen killed them and believed the attack was sexual in nature. However, Allen did not remember whether he had sex with the girls.

Although still psychotic, Allen said in May 2023: walah He ordered them “down the hill,” according to Wala’s report.

Additionally, in May 2023, he told his wife that he had killed the girls and his mother that he had killed them.

“Mom, if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be sitting here and telling you I did this,” Allen said in a May 17 phone call from prison.

“I think they’re making fun of you,” her mother said. “I know you don’t have it in you to do such a thing.”

Two psychiatrists testified that Allen was still psychotic and had been taking antipsychotic medication in the months he admitted.

But defense witness and neuropsychologist Polly Westcott testified that Allen’s alleged confessions contained in Wala’s DOC psychological reports were logical, linear and story-like with a beginning, middle and end.

Defense witnesses suggest that Allen was unlikely to be able to speak in a linear, story-like manner in his psychosis.

white minivan

A report by Wala in August said Allen said he planned to sexually assault the girls after leading them away from trails on the south side of the Monon High Bridge east of Delphi. But according to Wala’s report, a van passed him and the girls, causing Allen to change his plans.

According to prosecutors and Wala’s report, Allen ordered the girls to cross the creek to its northern banks and killed them there.

Prosecutors allege the van belonged to property owner Brad Weber, who was returning home from work at SIA in Lafayette. He checked out at 2:02 and took about 30 minutes to drive home. According to the time stamps on Libby’s video, the girls were abducted from the High Bridge at 2:13 p.m.

The defense argued that Weber initially told police he was servicing ATMs in Lafayette that day after getting off work, but on the stand Weber said he went directly home after work.

Indiana State Police Specialist Brian Harshman told jurors that only the killer could have known about the van found on that dark road in Carroll County at that time of day on Feb. 13, 2017.

Harshman also listened to more than 700 phone calls Allen made from prison. He said he recognized Allen’s voice and that Allen’s voice was the man saying “Get down the hill” in Libby’s video.

Jurors had to point out that the report about the van in Wala’s report either came from a psychotic man, was an actual confession, or was an addition made by a true crime fan who had been following the case and knew about online speculation about a van.

The defense’s closing statement highlighted the prosecution’s shortcomings, including prosecutors’ last-minute investigations into defense highlights.

At one point, a defense witness analyzing Libby’s phone for the state was caught off guard when asked about phone data that showed something was plugged into the headphone jack between 5:45 pm and 10:32 pm on the day of the murder. girls were killed.

According to prosecutors’ timeline, the girls were killed after crossing the stream around 2:30 p.m.

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi said in closing that there was no explanation for access to the headphone jack, noting that the state did not even know the phone jack was accessed.

How long did the jury deliberate in the Delphi murders?

The decision regarding the Delphi murder got heavier in front of the courthouse

Spectators sit and wait outside the courthouse where the Delphi trial will be held as the jury deliberates the fate of Richard Allen.

Jurors took the case around 1:25 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 7, and deliberated for about two hours before stopping for the day. They resumed talks at 9 am on Friday, November 8th.

On Saturday, November 9, the jury deliberated from 9 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. The teams took leave on Sunday and returned to the courthouse on Monday, November 11, and reached their decision in the afternoon.

The jury deliberated for a total of about 18 hours over four days, officials said.

‘Bridge Man’

Unspent cartridge, an expert connected to Richard Allen’s gun

Richard Allen’s prison confessions

white minivan

How long did the jury deliberate in the Delphi murders?

Related Posts