A look at the Carroll County Courthouse on Tuesday, October 1, 2024 in Delphi, Indiana.
Associated Press
Ayn Cain, by Kevin Greenlee | Murder Sheet
for daily journal
DELPHI, Ind. — The Delphi murder trial began Friday with opening statements and testimony from several family members of slain teens Liberty German and Abigail Williams.
Testimony continued Saturday as prosecutors focused on the scene where the two teens were found.
Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McClelland gave the state’s opening statement Friday, telling jurors about the two teens, the events leading up to their murders, and how 52-year-old Richard Allen kidnapped the girls. He introduced the prosecutor’s theory that he was murdered. The two teens went missing on February 13, 2017, and searchers found their bodies the next day. Both their throats had been slit. German was naked and Williams was wearing some of his friend’s clothing. Allen, a former CVS employee and Delphi resident, was arrested by police in 2022 for the crime.
Once the trial began, both the prosecution and the defense began to outline their respective cases. The state is seeking proof that Allen is a so-called “bridge guy.” This is the person Germans filmed on cell phone video recording him walking towards her and Williams on the Monon High Bridge, part of the railroad. -Delphi Trail Pass. The suspect was recorded threatening the girls with a gun and ordering them to “get off the hill.”
Allen
Investigators allege that unused bullets found at the murder scene were recycled into Allen’s Sig Sauer. Since his arrest, Allen has reportedly confessed to murder at least 61 times.
McCleland said in his opening statement that these confessions include information not only about “how he did it and why he did it,” but also “details that only the perpetrator would know.”
In his opening statement, Franklin’s defense attorney, Andrew Baldwin, urged jurors to keep an open mind.
“There is reasonable doubt in this case,” he said.
Baldwin suggested the defense would attack law enforcement’s investigation into the murder and also focus on phone data. He also clarified that the evidence of hair on Williams’ body mentioned during jury selection belonged to a woman, most likely from German’s family. Notably, Williams’ body was found wearing a German swimming sweatshirt, which may have transferred the hair.
He also spoke about how incarceration can lead individuals to make false confessions.
“Wait,” Baldwin told jurors Friday. “Richard Allen is innocent. He really is innocent.”
Deputy Prosecutor Stacey Diener then led the investigation of several of the victims’ families. The first person to appear was Becky Patti, German’s grandmother and guardian. She became emotional on the stand, recounting the last time she saw a German and urging her granddaughter to wear a jacket when it gets cold.
She said the 14-year-old German replied, “‘Grandma, it’s okay.'”
Patty, along with Jarman’s father, Derek, and sister, Kelsey Siebert, learned about the days leading up to the girls’ disappearance, the search for Jarman and Williams, and the discovery of their bodies. I remembered the moment.
Williams’ mother, Anna, also testified, recalling her 13-year-old daughter as a “kind”, “funny” and “unassuming” girl. She also became emotional during her testimony and smiled as she recalled some memories about Mr. Williams.
There were also some initial issues regarding public access regarding the case.
On Friday, Allen County Special Judge Francis Gall also notified the parties that a group of four journalists, including representatives from NBC and the Associated Press, violated court orders and attempted to film jurors outside the courthouse. did. They were barred from the courtroom and their cameras were confiscated. The equipment will not be returned.
Before the jury arrived Friday, the judge slammed the case as “media nonsense.”
“I think it’s important that Mr. Allen gets a fair trial,” Gall said.
Many members of the public were also denied access to court due to a lack of seats. Many of those who secured seats were turned away after the lunch break, and other members of the public who had been waiting in line for hours were taken away.
The trial entered its second day on Saturday. Mr Gall had previously ordered that the trial be held on Saturday. Jurors and alternates will be given time to communicate with families on Sunday.
Prosecutors continued their case against Allen in court Saturday.
Steve Mullin, an investigator with the Carroll County Prosecutor’s Office who was Delphi’s police chief in 2017, was called to the stand. He testified about the Monon High Bridge, the geography of the murder scene, and his role in the initial search for the girls before their bodies were discovered.
“I had no idea that something outrageous had happened to the girls,” Marin said.
Prosecutors also called two of the searchers, Delphi residents Jake Johns and Patrick “Pat” Brown. Johns testified that he noticed German’s brightly colored tie-dyed T-shirt at Deer Creek and called a nearby firefighter. Brown said he and other searchers came across a body near a stream and initially believed it was a mannequin. Diener asked him how he had raised the alarm about this discovery.
“I said, ‘I found it,'” Brown said before her voice choked up.
The trial will resume on Monday.
The Murder Sheet is a podcast that takes a journalistic and analytical approach to true crime reporting. They are partnering with the Daily Journal to provide coverage of the Delphi double murder trial. Check out their podcast at murdersheetpodcast.com.
