Last Updated 1 month by Amnon J. Jobi | Amnon Front Page
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Day 13 in the trial of Delphi Murders suspect Richard Allen began Friday morning at the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi.
Allen, 52, is charged with murder and murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping in the deaths of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German. The girls’ bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge near Delphi on Feb. 14, 2017, a day after they went missing.
Allen was first investigated in 2017 and again in October 2022. After a second police interview, he was taken into custody.
The trial began Oct. 18 and was expected to continue through mid-November. Originally, 16 Allen County residents sat as the jury on the case, but one juror was dismissed on Oct. 25.
Tune into News 8 and follow our live blog throughout the day for the latest developments.
NOTE: The times listed in the blog headers are the times which the entries were added. Specific times for courtroom events will be listed in the entries if available. These notes are compiled from photographs of written notes provided by reporters in courtroom and emailed to the WISH-TV news desk.
For a brief summary of Day 12 in the Delphi Murders trial (Thursday), scroll to the bottom of the page.
To view all of our previous trial coverage, click here, and follow News 8’s Kyla Russell on X as she covers the trial live from Delphi.
9 A.M.: Court session begins
News 8’s Kyla Russell is back in Delphi for continuing coverage of the double murder trial of Richard Allen.
The prosecution rested its case just before 5 p.m. Thursday. Allen’s defense team called two witnesses before court adjourned for the day.
The defense said at the end of the day that they were working out exactly how they will move forward on calling witnesses as they wait on Special Judge Frances Gull to rule on a few key motions.
Brief summary of Day 12 in the Delphi Murders trial
Master Trooper Brian Harshman, a 30-year veteran of the Indiana State Police, was the first witness called on Thursday. Harshman said he became involved in the Delphi investigation in April 2020, just over three years after the murders.
Harshman told the court he became “the phone guy,” meaning he monitored Allen’s communication from inside custody to the outside world. He says he monitored calls, video chats, and texts. He says he has listened and relistened to 700 hours of Allen’s calls.
The trooper told the jury he believes the voice in the “Bridge Guy” video is “absolutely Richard Allen’s.”
Harshman testified that Allen either calls his wife or his mother, adding that he makes “incriminating statements.”
The prosecution started by playing several phone calls between Allen and his wife, Kathy, including an outgoing call placed on April 3, 2023:
- R. Allen: I did it. I killed Abby and Libby.
- K. Allen: No, you didn’t. No, you didn’t, dear. Don’t say that. You weren’t feeling well; they messed up your meds.
- K. Allen: Why would you say that?
- R. Allen: Maybe I did (commit the murders)?
- K. Allen: They are messing with your mmind, something is not right. Don’t ever say you did it. I know you didn’t.
- R. Allen: I think I did.
- K. Allen: They’re fooling wiuth you, trying to get you to say things.
Richard Allen then asked his wife to apologize to the girls’ families, to which she replied, “Just don’t talk anymore.”
In many of the calls, both Allen’s wife and mom, Janice, assure him he did not kill the girls, also telling him he was mentally ill.
They asked him at times not to talk about the crimes over the phone. Allen also mentioned in the calls several times that he felt he had lost his mind inside Westville.
The prosecution rested its case just before 5 p.m. and the defense called its first two witnesses.
First up was a woman named Cheyenne Mill. Mill and her best friend were hiking on the Monon High Bridge trails on Feb. 13, 2017, and crossed the bridge around 2:50 that afternoon.
She said she “never” saw anything strange in the woods that day, but recalled she and her friend passed an “overweight” man on the bridge.
She said she took a few Snapchat photos of the afternoon and later told police where she was — she also said she never saw Richard Allen.
The second and final witness to testify Thursday was Teresa Liebert. Liebert lives near the bridge and said she saw someone “strange” near mailboxes close to her house. She also said she reported it to police.
The defense said at the end of the day that they were working out exactly how they will move forward on calling witnesses as they wait on Special Judge Frances Gull to rule on a few key motions.
However, Gull ruled that she will allow jurors to hear about Allen’s Google search history, but denied a request to let the jury see photos of Allen from before his arrest.