Prison Videos Presented to Jury on Day Fourteen of Delphi Trial

Source: Li Buszka / Sketch Artist

DELPHI, Ind. — Explicit material, an angry family and a tearful lawyer. Here’s what happened at the Carroll County Courthouse on the fourteenth day of the Delphi murders trial:

WIBC/Network Indiana’s Donnie Burgess is back in the courtroom for the fourteenth day.

Richard Allen is charged with four counts of murder in the 2017 deaths of Delphi teenagers Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Allen walked into the courtroom Saturday morning with a smile and chatted with those around him. He said good morning to each member of the defense team and glanced around the courtroom.

Richard’s wife, Kathy Allen, was in the courtroom briefly. He was informed of what would be exhibited at Saturday’s hearing and left immediately.

Investigator Doug Carter of the Indiana State Police briefly entered the room. Allen said “good morning” to Carter, who responded with a smile, nod, and a “good morning” of his own. Carter then left the room because the defense wasn’t ready for him yet.

The main focus of Saturday’s hearing was the video of Richard Allen from Westville Prison.

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi said fifteen videos will be entered into evidence to be presented to the jury. Prosecutor Nick McLeland told Special Judge Fran Gull he plans to object to each video. He called it a cumulative objection to avoid saying “objection” each time. Judge Gull noted his objection but allowed each video to be played.

However, the videos were not played to viewers.

Rozzi stated that he wanted to protect the honor of his client and the others involved. Judge Gull also stated on behalf of the jury that the videos were explicit in nature, allowing Rozzi to turn and turn on the large courtroom television in a way that was visible only to the jury, Judge Gull, and anyone looking in that direction. Prosecutor McLeland pulled a chair next to the jury to watch the videos, and defense attorney Jennifer Auger stood behind her.

Defense intern Max Baker was called to the stand and presented the videos. Each video was a handheld camera cable. The lengths of the videos varied. These were edited into videos spanning from April to June of 2023. Baker noted that a master list of the videos, along with timestamps and dates, was provided by the State of Indiana. Baker stated that similar features will accompany the in-cell videos expected on Monday. Judge Gull thanked the State for handing over the material, which was a “work product” to help the defense “clarify its position”.

Since the television was not facing the audience, reporters turned their attention to the jury.

The jury carefully examined each video. Several jurors took pages of notes and often didn’t look away. Sometimes one or both of the jurors would put their hands over their mouths, but there was no obvious reaction on either of the jurors’ faces.

It is not possible to say the same for everyone who attended the meeting. The victims’ families were visibly angry and upset when the television was turned off. Richard Allen looked angry and shook his head before the videos started. He couldn’t see the videos either. Defense attorney Auger’s face turned bright red in some videos and he often covered his mouth with his hand. Sometimes he would look away.

Later in Saturday’s session, defense attorney Andrew Baldwin stood next to the jury to watch the videos. Tears were clearly visible in Baldwin’s eyes. She returned to her seat, wrapped her left arm around Allen, pulled him close, and began to cry quietly.

Nick McLeland stopped taking notes during video 8 and just watched. Several top-ranked jurors began talking and showing each other their notes. They continued to focus heavily on videos.

After watching the footage for nearly two hours, Brad Rozzi asked for a brief recess to describe a witness.

That witness was Superintendent Doug Carter.

Carter, who was the face and voice of the Delphi murders investigation for several years, was on the witness stand for only about ten minutes. Carter testified to the fact that dozens of police departments in nearly every Indiana county had some involvement in the investigation of the Delphi murders. Carter stated that the ATF, FBI and US Marshals also played a role in the investigation, which lasted for years.

When McLeland tried to approach the podium, one of the jurors could be heard grumbling.

Carter testified that he asked the FBI to drop the Delphi murders investigation in August 2021 and asked them to turn over investigative materials.

The state had no questions for Doug Carter. The jury had no questions for Carter and the defense had no further follow-up. After this, Carter left the podium and will not return.

The defense went back to the videos at this point. Videos numbered 11-15 were presented to the jury.

It’s worth noting that during the morning’s recess, someone informed the court that members of the media were able to see Rozzi’s laptop and therefore somehow determine what was happening in the Westville Jail videos. Lt. Jerry Holeman of the Indiana State Police, always seated to Richard Allen’s left, kept a close eye on the general media area.

And then the day ended. Prosecutor McLeland stated that he would save his cross-examination of Max Baker until next week, after the in-cell videos from Westville Prison are presented to the jury. McLeland announced that he plans to appeal each of these videos.

Once the courtroom was cleared of the general audience, Judge Gull walked toward the media and allowed each member to view the two-page document left by the defense. The document was a list of each camera recorder video, its length and file name. Four videos were tagged “NUDITIY”. Court TV’s Barbara MacDonald asked Judge Gull if the media could watch the prison videos. Judge Gull said he wasn’t sure and believed the defense planned to request the videos be sealed.

So what did the videos show?

The following section is purely speculative. Only three members of the media could see the videos but were blocked from viewing them. Rozzi kept her laptop’s brightness level low and turned it slightly toward the jury. Every media member agreed on what they saw: Richard Allen was naked in four of the videos. In almost every video, Allen’s arms and hands are handcuffed behind his back. At least two police officers appear with Allen in each video, and sometimes they are accompanied by a nurse/doctor. Some videos show Allen in his cell or being led out into the hallway. For the final video, Allen was strapped into a wheelchair with a large black strap around his chest, waist and legs. Reporters say that in some videos, Allen was wearing a cloth or black hood over his head. In one video, Allen is dragged by both arms by officers. Elsewhere, Allen is being washed by officers. Each reporter agreed that Richard Allen was not resisting in each video, but rather was limp and “not really responding to anything.”

Here’s a breakdown of the length and date of the video provided by the defense:

• Video #1 – 2 minutes, 22 seconds long; Sometime between April 5 and April 13, 2023
• Video #2 – 2 minutes, 1 second long; Sometime between April 5 and April 13, 2023
• Video #3 – 5 minutes, 17 seconds long; April 13, 2023 (nudity)
• Video #4 – 3 minutes, 43 seconds long; April 14, 2023
• Video #5 – 2 minutes, 57 seconds long; April 17, 2023
• Video #6 – 2 minutes, 46 seconds long; From April 17, 2023 (nudity)
• Video #7 – 28 minutes, 28 seconds long; From April 17, 2023 (nudity)
• Video #8 – 12 minutes, 8 seconds long; From 18 April 2023
• Video #9 – 11 minutes, 7 seconds long; From 21 April 2023
• Video #10 – 52 minutes, 25 seconds long; From April 28, 2023 (nudity)
• Video #11 – 1 minute, 4 seconds long; May 26, 2023
• Video #12 – 55 seconds long; May 20, 2023
• Video #13 – 4 minutes, 5 seconds long; May 26, 2023
• Video #14 – 3 minutes, 58 seconds long; May 30, 2023
• Video #15 – 34 minutes, 43 seconds long; June 20, 2023

The court will start sitting again on Monday, November 4.