Defense counsel for Richard Allen, who is accused of murdering two teens in Delphi, Indiana, six years ago, have filed a lengthy and, at times, strange request for a hearing, arguing that the girls were murdered by members of cults and that Allen has no ties to any such groups.
On Monday, Allen’s attorneys filed a 136-page memorandum stating that the probable cause for the October 13, 2022 search warrant was insufficient.
According to The Lafayette Journal & Courier, which is part of the USA Today Network, other people other than Allen performed the ritual killings of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14.
Authorities charged Allen, 51, with the killings of the two girls in October 2022, citing evidence from the crime scene. However, Allen’s defense team alleged on Monday that investigators disregarded other evidence and potential suspects because they were so focused on Allen.
Followers of Odinism, a pagan Norse religion adopted by white racists, ritually slaughtered Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Nothing in the memos suggested that Richard Allen was affiliated with Odinism or any other religious group.
According to the brief produced by Allen’s defense team, a variety of indicators, including sticks placed to mimic Germanic letters associated with the faith, show that the girls were slaughtered as part of a ceremony.
The attorneys stated that other evidence discovered at the scene, including a painting done with Liberty German’s blood, supports the defense’s argument that the girls were murdered by a gang of unidentified persons. A move to conceal evidence from Allen’s house search says that police intentionally ignored and deleted evidence of a ritualistic killing before performing the search.
According to the motion, “despite an obscene amount of evidence linking Odinism to the crime scene, the Delphi investigation seemingly, and quickly, abandoned the obvious correlation between the crime scene and Odinism.”
The following are the facts of the case.
What exactly is Richard Allen’s deal?
Richard Allen, 51, was arrested after being linked to the murders of Abby and Libby. They were killed on February 13, 2017. Allen reportedly tried to entice the ladies off the trail as they were hiking that afternoon. Allen has past experience working as a pharmacy technician at a CVS in Delphi.
According to the Lafayette Journal & Courier, one of Libby’s relatives told reporters previously that Allen had processed photographs of the kids at a local pharmacy without costing the family.
He had been a resident of the area before his arrest.
In other words, he claims to be hidden. It truly is that easy. I had no notion; I have no personal relationship with the man. Maybe I’ve seen him before. The county is somewhat small. Libby’s mother, Grandma Becky Patty, had told reporters that she didn’t know the man in issue.
At the time, CVS issued a statement saying, “Our hearts go out to the German and Williams families, and we remain devastated by these murders.” We are shocked to learn that one of our employees has been detained as a probable suspect in these horrible crimes. We’re ready to help the authorities with their investigation in any way they see proper.
What was the purpose of Allen’s extensive memorandum?
The brief supported Allen’s request for a hearing to contest the warrant.
According to govinfo.gov, the hearing will demonstrate that an affidavit made a “false statement knowingly or intentionally, or with reckless disregard for the truth” in order to get a warrant, as Allen’s attorneys argue.
To identify the evidence supporting the assertions stated throughout this memorandum, a mound of discoveries was sorted through, comprising thousands of pages of papers and hundreds of hours of footage. “But it wasn’t buried deep enough,” according to the paper.
Or, to put it another way, the information in the defense memorandum was something Carroll Circuit Judge Benjamin Diener should have known about before ordering the search.
“Richard Allen… requests that this Court set this case for a Franks hearing, at which time the Defense will be asking for the search warrant to be deemed illegal and the fruits of the illegal warrant to be suppressed,” the brief states.
Allen also requested that the trial and any pre-trial hearings be videotaped and broadcast live.
Do you know what happened to Libby and Abby?
On February 13, 2017, Libby and Abby went on a walk along the Monon High Bridge path. This route is part of the ten-mile Delphi Historic Trails network. Both attended Delphi Community Middle School, when they were in eighth grade.
The two were meant to be picked up after their trip, but they never returned. They may have visited the Monon High Bridge the day before their corpses were discovered the next morning in a neighboring forested region, according to evidence.
Allen was accused of murdering three adolescent girls at the bridge on the north bank of Deer Creek after luring them away from the route that afternoon.
Libby recorded a man approaching them and yelling for the girls to join him “down the hill.” The two were meant to be picked up after their trip, but they never returned.
Allen was arrested and charged with two counts of murder in late October. According to the Lafayette Journal & Courier, an unfired semiautomatic bullet was located between the girls’ bodies, and it had tool markings indicating that it had been ejected from Allen’s firearm.
When does the trial start?
The Lafayette Journal & Courier reports that jury selection for the trial will begin on January 8 in Fort Wayne.
Because of the significant interest in this case over the last six years, a jury from Allen County, rather than Carroll County, will be selected.
The trial will begin in Carroll County and will go until a decision is made.
