The Soldiers and Sailors Monument on the grounds of the Carroll County Courthouse is shown in Delphi, Ind., Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
The Associated Press
By Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee | The Murder Sheet
For the Daily Journal
DELPHI, Ind. — So far in the Delphi murders case, jurors reviewed graphic crime scene pictures, testimony from eyewitnesses, and a video that murdered teenager 14-year-old Liberty German captured of her own abduction.
Delphi resident and former CVS employee Richard Allen is accused of kidnapping and murdering German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams on Feb. 13, 2017. Led by Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland, the state is in the midst of presenting its case against Allen. The prosecution seeks to prove that the defendant is “Bridge Guy,” the man seen on German’s video telling the victims to go “down the hill.” The case has attracted extensive media coverage all over the world, as well as rumor-mongering on social media. In 2022, police arrested and charged Allen after a tip involving his early statements to an Indiana Department of Natural Resources officer resurfaced within the investigation.
On Monday, deputy prosecutor James Luttrell clicked through dozens of crime scene images, including graphic and disturbing images of the girls’ bodies. One girl was naked. The other was found wearing articles of her friend’s clothing. Crime scene investigators described the garments as damp, underscoring the state’s theory that Allen forced the victims to cross Deer Creek before slitting their throats. Multiple pools of blood at the scene indicated that the girls were killed where they were found.
Eyewitnesses testified on Tuesday about their encounters with a man they each identified as “Bridge Guy.” Multiple individuals saw a man on the trails around the time of the girls’ abduction, including a woman walking the trails that day for exercise and a group of teenage girls strolling on their day off of school.
Defense attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Jennifer Auger cross-examined the witnesses, pointing out that each one described the man they saw somewhat differently. Auger and Baldwin, who co-founded the Criminal Defense Team law firm, are both well known lawyers in Franklin.
The eyewitnesses each stated that while their encounters with a man on the trails were brief, they were certain that they saw the same person captured in German’s video.
“I knew when I saw the photo that was the man I saw on the bridge,” eyewitness Breanna Wilber said Tuesday.
Notably, Betsy Blair — who the defense previewed as an important witness — expressed that she was uncertain that her description of Bridge Guy’s face was completely accurate given that she only briefly saw him from a distance of at least 50 feet.
In a moment that seemed to take all the attorneys in the courtroom by surprise, Blair responded to a question from deputy prosecutor Stacey Diener by referencing the fact that she had worked with law enforcement to create a sketch of the man she saw. At the request of the prosecution — and over the objections of the defense attorneys, Special Judge Frances Gull ruled last week that any reference to the sketches would be prohibited in the trial. At the conclusion of the session, defense attorneys suggested that Blair’s remark had opened the door for the defense to bring the composite sketches into the trial.
Pressed by Baldwin about her past descriptions that characterized Bridge Guy as a younger man, Blair replied, “I consistently said he was the man I saw on the bridge.”
In addition, jurors and the public for the first time ever viewed footage that German shot on her iPhone 6 depicting the first few moments of her abduction.
The short video included audio and visuals. The prosecution played it twice on Tuesday. It depicts Williams on the Monon High Bridge, although the footage is quite shaky. One of the girls seems to mention a “gun” and being alarmed or scared. For an instant, in the background, the footage — which was upside down — showed a man in dark clothing approaching the girls. A male voice can be heard saying “guys” followed by a metallic noise. The man then adds “down the hill.”
Indiana State Police investigators enhanced the video in order to pinpoint an image and audio sample from Bridge Guy, which was released to the public back in 2017.
The Murder Sheet is a podcast that takes a journalistic and analytical approach to true crime coverage. They are partnering with the Daily Journal to provide coverage of the Delphi double-murder trial. Check out their podcast at murdersheetpodcast.com.
