Allen
By Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee | The Murder Sheet
For the Daily Journal
FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The defense in the Delphi murders case withdrew their motion requesting that the jury visit the crime scene in-person in the last hearing before the trial begins.
On Thursday, Special Judge Frances Gull also heard numerous arguments in the Allen County Courthouse on a number of motions concerning composite sketches, ballistics evidence, and testimony from prison guards. The hearing marked the final step in the case before trial begins Friday in Carroll County.
Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland will try 52-year-old former CVS worker Richard Allen for the 2017 double homicide of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams. Before her abduction from the trails of Delphi, German captured the image of a man approaching her and Williams on the Monon High Bridge, part of an abandoned rail system. In 2022, authorities arrested Allen after linking his gun to a bullet discovered at the crime scene. While incarcerated, prosecutors allege Allen made over 61 confessions regarding the murders.
Two composite sketches released in 2017 and 2019 in connection with the case proved to be one point of pre-trial contention Thursday.
In support of their argument that the composite sketches ought to be omitted from trial, prosecutors called former FBI Special Agent and forensic artist Thomas Plantz to testify. Plantz drew the first-released sketch in the Delphi case, which depicted an older man. He noted that composite sketches are highly subjective, representing an artistic rendering of a witness’s memory.
“Memory is not an audio-video recording,” Plantz said, in response to questions from deputy prosecutor Stacey Diener.
The state contended that the sketches did not result in the identification of Allen, and that they were only the result of fleeting glimpses of the so-called “Bridge Guy.”
Franklin attorney Jennifer Auger, a member of the defense team, cross-examined Plantz about his decision to allow the eyewitness he was interviewing to view an image of “Bridge Guy.” Plantz argued that this was permissible because the footage was too blurry to make out the individual’s face.
“All I could see in that photo was graininess,” he said.
The judge broke up the hearings at one point to swear in the jury. Selected from a pool of hundreds of Allen County residents, the 12-person jury consists of eight women and four men. There are four alternates — two men and two women. Relatives of the two victims attended the hearing, along with journalists and members of the public.
The judge and parties also discussed the logistics of certain elements of the trial. Judge Gull previously barred the defense attorneys from bringing up a third-party suspect defense, including a theory centering around an alleged cult of Odinists. After a three-day hearing over the summer, the judge ruled that the defense had not offered enough evidence to proceed with that theory. That being said, the defense will still be able to include an “offer to prove.” This will allow them to present testimony and incorporate transcripts for later appellate review.
The trial begins Friday morning with opening statements.
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.
