The trial of Richard Allen for the Delphi Murders

[almagata]

Jury selection is slated to start 10/14/24.  They will pick the jurors in Fort Wayne and then sequester them in Carrol County where the trial will be held.  The trial is expected to last at least a month. 

Last week, the defense submitted transport requests for four men who are currently serving time in Indiana prisons.

Kegan Klein:  Considered a suspect in the Delphi murders at one point.  He had contact with Libby via social media on the day of the murder via the Anthony Shots cat fishing account. 

James Haas: Was in jail with Ron Logan while Ron was serving time for his DUI probation violation. Wrote a letter saying Ron Logan confessed to him. 

James Chadwell: The pedophile convicted of abducting, sexually assaulting and attempted murder of a nine year old girl in Lafayette twenty miles from Delphi in 2021.

Ricci Davis Jr: White supremacist serving 50 years for meth sales convicted in 2014 in Huntington County, Indiana.  

Judge Gull had previously ruled that third party suspect defense was limited when it came to Ron Logan and the Odinist theory so it will be curious to see how Judge Gull views the testimony of these four.  

Social media has been flooded with videos this past month with people talking about the case and discussion of theories and details that I have not heard in the past seven years. 

This case has had the largest social media profile of any case I have followed and it has been very odd with many rumors, names of over a hundred men suggested as suspects posted and weird theories of the crime described.  Youtubers and law enforcement have had their accounts hacked. Youtubers have been threatened on-line. Youtubers have had swatting calls that have brought law enforcement to their homes and made them concerned about their personal safety. 

Delphi is a very unusual case. 

[almagata]

During voir dire of jurors 10/15/24, there were two bits of information released:

Confessions 

Richard Allen confessed that he: 

1. shot the girls:  not true. 

2. buried the girls in a shallow grave: not true

3. sexually assaulted the girls: not true

These three points indicate Richard Allen's confessions were false.  We will have to wait and see what else is included in those confessions.

Hair

There was a hair(s) found in Abby's hand that does not match Richard Allen.  We know that DNA testing was paid for during the investigation and that DNA was collected from a number of people over the years including Kegan Kline. 

The jurors will be sworn in on Thursday and sequestered.  They will be allowed to contact and/or visit with their families only on Sundays during the trial under the supervision of court staff. 

The  prosecution also filed a request to suppress the composite sketches stating that they would only confuse the jurors and that the prosecution does not intend to call the people that provided these descriptions to the artist as witnesses. 

[andrew]

If he is being tried in court they must have something strong over him?

[almagata]

Oct 17, 2024 20:08:37 GMT andrew said:

If he is being tried in court they must have something strong over him?

This is the first major case that I have followed that I'm not sure they have arrested the right man. 

Law enforcement has been very secretive during the investigation and have said that it was a very complicated case and they felt it was likely that there were others involved. 

Now they are trying Richard Allen as a lone wolf killer.

I don't know what to think at this point. 

[elir]

It certainly appeared over the years after the murders that Law enforcement had multiple suspects they evaluated and then let go even as the person currently being prosecuted was living and working in this small town at the center of the crime.

It’s alleged that he confessed but is unclear if he was also having a mental health crisis. As we know that false confessions occur , we should keep in mind that context is as an important element as the content of the confession.

The ballistics evidence will probably be a major point of contention between prosecution and defense.

There were rumors about what dna evidence was obtained at the scene, and what if any dna was used to inform the arrest. Was rumored that it was pet dna, but is that true? . We can hope to learn more about that at the trial.

For a year or more prior to the arrest it was alleged that there may be multiple people involved who had contact with at least one of the victims vis social media. It is possible that the defense may use those rumors and the parade of past persons of interest to present alternate theories.

It is really unclear to me at this point in time if he is guilty, innocent , or guilty but only one of several people with involvement in the crime.

Let’s hope we can get justice for Libby and Abby through a fair judicial process.

Oct 18, 2024 9:30:56 GMT almagata said:

Oct 17, 2024 20:08:37 GMT andrew said:

If he is being tried in court they must have something strong over him?

This is the first major case that I have followed that I'm not sure they have arrested the right man. 

Law enforcement has been very secretive during the investigation and have said that it was a very complicated case and they felt it was likely that there were others involved. 

Now they are trying Richard Allen as a lone wolf killer.

I don't know what to think at this point. 

[almagata]

Today was opening statements by both the prosecution and defense.  People who were at the trial said that the prosecution's opening was about 15 minutes and the defense was about an hour. 

The defense opening said that a hair(s) were found in Abby's hand.  When the hair was tested, it was  a female relative of Libby's.  They did not say if that female relative was Kelsi or someone else.  We know that Abby was wearing Kelsi's sweatshirt when she went out on the trails that day but I find it hard to believe anyone would walk around for any length of time with hair in their hand like that. 

We know that Libby's mother, Carrie Timmons, lived in Kentucky.  We also know that there are other relatives of Carrie Timmon's that live in the Delphi area.  Her family has had ties to the community for generations so the hairs could belong to another female in the Hillenberg (Carrie Timmons maiden name), Eisert (Carrie's maternal grandmother), Machel (Carrie's great grandmother) family lines.  Hopefully, we will find out who the owner of these hairs is later in the trial. 

The defense also stated they believe that the girls were transported from the bridge area to a second location and returned to the location where they were found. The prosecution claims the girls were killed where they were found.

I'm not sure if it was the defense or the prosecution that stated that two different knives caused the wounds on the girls, one of which was serrated. 

The two theories that have been discussed online today regarding these two knives: 1. two killers  2.  One knife was a ritual knife

Libby's phone was still getting messages up until 5:44 pm on 2/13.  Then at 4:33 AM 2/14 it reconnected to the tower.  After 4:33 AM human hands handled Libby's phone according to the current phone data analysis.

The prosecution timeline says Richard Allen left the bridge area by 2:15 pm on 2/13 so who was handling the phone on 2/14 at 4:33 AM?

After the opening statements, the first witness, Becky Patty was called.  I believe Derrick German and Kelsi German  also testified today. 

[almagata]

The reports from Monday 10/21/24 say Monday was a rough day of CSI crime scene details.  Libby was found nude with branches placed over her body.  Abby was found clothed with branches placed over her body.  Both girls had massive injures to their necks.  The branches appeared to have been places in specific configurations.  Additionally, both girls had their arms and legs position in odd ways that some have described as positions on tarot cards "The Hanged Man" and "The Magician".

Libby had blood on her neck, hands, feet, thigh and face.  Multiple people said that Libby had an odd symbol in the palm of her had that was similar to a lower case r. Abby was described as clean, pristine without dirt, with very little blood despite her neck wound.  People have speculated that there is not enough blood at the location where the bodies were found to be the location where they were killed.  There were no defensive wounds visible only the gashes on their necks.   Some of the blood dripped on Libby in a way that indicated her head was lower than her feet at some point. 

Abby was dressed in Libby's clothes.  The pants were not buttoned and her arms were underneath the sweatshirt she was wearing.  Those who attended the trial indicated that it looked like Abby had been redressed by her attacker(s). 

While documenting the crime scene, CSI found an  un-fired 40 caliber cartridge near the girls in the leaf litter.   

They also found Libby's tie dye shirt in Deer Creek snagged on some brush. Also found in the water a black and white Nike tennis shoe, blue jeans inside out, underwear on the jeans, ankle sock, hooded fleece sweatshirt, bandanna, orange sock, black sock, black tank top.   Under Abby they found the other black and white shoe and Libby's phone.   Clothes in the water were in two separate location about 50-70 feet apart.  

The bandana  is interesting because one of the witness said a suspect on the trail had his face covered and another person speculated that Abby and Libby were lured there for some sort of initiation.  Could the bandana have been used to cover their eyes so they could not see an attack coming thus no defensive wounds? 

Blood was found on at least one tree.  Some of the blood was on a tree on the opposite side that the girls were found. 

[almagata]

10/22/24 In the morning there was more testimony about what was collected from the crime scene by CSI.  There were multiple swabs from both girls bodies.  Libby's body had many more swabs.  No DNA from any of these swabs were matched to Richard Allen.  The hair that was in Abby's fingers was also mentioned. 

Libby's phone was analyzed by a program called Celebrite multiple times in 2017.  There is a knowledge C database that Apple created that is used to target ads based on your activity.  Law enforcement said they did not realize that this database existed and the early Celebrite software did not access the knowledge C database.  This database can show when the phone was powered on and off and other activity.  The Abby bridge picture was not found on Libby's phone but it was a Snapchat picture which may not save on the phone itself.  The GPS data from Libby's phone does not place her phone at the Monon High Bridge.  It placed the phone in the town of Delphi.  Libby did have "Find My Iphone" enabled so there is a question why this app was not used to track the phone that night is curious.  There were questions about data being lost during each extraction as well as the methods that were used by the ISP to analyze  the phone data that my have overwritten data on the phone due to the ISP powering the phone on and off and opening apps. 

The bridge video was shown in its original form.  The video was found on Libby's phone.   The video starts off with focus on the ground then it comes up and shows Abby crossing the bridge and initially you can't see any man in the distance.  Then as the man gets closer, you can see him but he is tiny due to the distance.  Libby is not holding the phone steady so the image is not smooth. She turns the phone toward the end of the High Bridge then Abby runs past Libby and you hear a voice which is probably Libby saying  "there is no path down" .   Jeremy Chapman is a AV tech with ISP. He uses Adobe Suite and other tools to enhance images.  The video was run through a program that creates frames.  The frames that included the bridge guy were selected for processing.  Mr. Chapman ran the frames and audio through some filters to help make the image and audio clearer.   The audio that was processed through filters is what we have heard in the media and Mr. Chapman said he thought the words were "down the hill".  The testimony about the image of BG that has been shown to the public was made by a program that used interpolation to it guesses what to add to the pixelated image to make it clearer. 

In the afternoon, the female witnesses on the trial that day took the stand.  The three did not describe Richard Allen.  

Railey Voorhees, sophomore.  Out with her sister and a friend.  Had a nice camera with her and was taking pictures which was a hobby of hers.  They walked from Freedom Bridge to the Monon High Bridge.  Got to the bridge about noon.  Then they went down under the bridge to the water.  Then were walking back to the Freedom Bridge and they were almost back to the Freedom Bridge and encountered a gruff man.  She was asked for a description.  Overdressed for weather.  Had a mask on covering his nose.  Caucasian.  Had a hood and hat on.  Hands were in pocket.  Saw the bridge guy sketch and thought that was the man she saw.  She needed to be home by 2:30 so she thought she saw him around 2:15 but the Libby video is at 2:13 so that would put this man about a mile away.  Black jeans, Black jacket, Black hat and black mask.  20-30 years old, muscular, heavier build, blondish curly hair, estimated height 5' 10" .

Bri Wilber, sophomore 16, friend of Kelsi and knew Libby.  Was with Railey and Anna.  Saw a few people while out there.  Provided police with her photos from that day that had time stamps that day.  The man caught her attention because he was wearing a heavy jacket on a warmer day.  He was walking with a purpose. She described it as a deer jacket.  She said they got creepy vibes from him.  Libby texted her while they were walking back to the Freedom Bridge asking if they were still out there and she said they were on their way back.  She could not see his face well.  Might have had a hood or hat on.  Could not see his hair.  Jacket was blue or black.   She stood as tall as her upper forearm so he would have been a taller man.  Younger man maybe in his early thirties.  Muscular. 

Betsy Blair regularly went to the Monon Trail and did the loop three times.  She had a fitbit and gave that data to police.  Walked from Freedom Bridge to Monon Bridge.  Did two loops then went Downtown to use the bathroom and came back for the third loop.  When she got to the Monon Bridge, there was a man out on the bridge.  It appeared he was waiting for someone.  On the way back, she passed Abby and Libby.  She was not able to see his face clearly.  White male.  20-30 brown poofy hair.  Young and boyish.  Beautiful in appearance. Average height.  No facial hair. 

Last witness of day was Steven Mullin.  Collected videos from Hoosier Harvest Store to see which vehicles had driven down 300 Rd.  Betsy Blair vehicle 12:22 east bound 1:15 westbound 1:46 east bound.  Kelsi west  bound 1:49 Betsy 2:18 westbound. Sarah Carbaugh east bound 3:56. 

[almagata]

10/23/24 Started off with a witness who saw a man walking along 300.  Sarah Carbaugh had been driving down the road and she saw this man walking.  She had been interviewed three times over the seven years by law enforcement.  In her first two interviews, she described the man as muddy wearing a tan jacket.  In her third interview, she said he was bloody wearing a blue jacket.  She testified on the stand that the man she saw was muddy and bloody wearing a blue jacket.  The defense reminded Ms. Carbaugh that her first two statements contradicted her third interview and she got very agitated and defensive when questioned by the defense on the stand.  It is unlikely that the jury will trust what Ms. Carbaugh testified to on the stand.

Next the medical examiner testified.  Rape kits were completed on both girls.  Libby's hands were bagged.  Abby's were not bagged but her hands were under the sweatshirt.  The medical examiner described Abby's wound as a single slice to her jugular vein which would have taken a considerable amount of time to for her to die.  This wound was from right to left but the ME said that it was hard to say if the attacker was right or left handed. Neither girl had any defensive wounds.  Abby had some marks on her chin that indicated that she may have had some covering over her mouth  at some point which is interesting with a bandana/handkerchief having been found in Deer Creek with the clothing.  The medical examiner said that there was no obvious indication that either girl was sexually assaulted but that often there is no indication of sexual assault but that often there is not.  Libby had multiple slice wounds on her neck (three deep parallel and mostly vertical plus another on the other side of her neck and one more.  There also was a superficial wound on her chest. ) that were very deep and were described as being vertical rather than horizontal.  These wounds also had other abrasions/bruising at the edge of the cuts that might be from a hilt or something else.   Libby's wounds were much more significant and would have caused her to die much quicker than Abby but it likely she reached up to her neck explaining the blood on her hands and may have pressed so hard as to have caused some mild swelling in her brain.  The results of the rape kit and other tests will be testified to by the people that processed that evidence.  The examiner said that Libby's wounds could have been caused by a serrated blade and he testified to that in he deposition but during his time on the stand said that it could have been due to a box cutter and this was questions by the defense because it was not in the deposition.  Libby did have a small abrasion on her lip that was noted. 

Christopher Cecil from the ISP was next witness and he a computer forensics guy who testified to "gray key" which deciphers Iphone encryption.  He did a full file extraction using "gray key". He said it gives them more than the prior extractions did.  He said he spent two months doing this work and also ran it through Celebrite and Magnate in 2019. He focused work on 2/13/17. Report confirmed that both Abby and Libby used this phone.  Three different bio metric finger prints allowed access.  The phone can track elevation and motion with start and stop times.  1:30 pm to 2:08 pm 1682 steps.  2:08 pm and 2:18 pm   414.38 meters traveled  (1358 feet) 2:31pm  to 2:32 pm elevation change to about two flights of stairs does not say up or down. 2:32 pm was the last record of steps of the phone.  The phone due to the gyroscope will also record other movement like a bump in a car.  Went back in 2019 and looked at the knowledge C database which records things like power on power off, apps accessed, times of access.  1:38 phone call. Snap chat accessed at 1:41.  Found picture in Snap Chat .   1:43 selfie in the car with Kelsi and Abby.  2:05 Snap chat picture uploaded plain picture of Monon Bridge on phone.  2:07 phone unlocked.  No mention about when bridge photo of Abby uploaded.  2:13 video recorded with man behind her  2:14 someone tries to bio metrically unlock phone.  2:32 last recorded steps in apple health.  10:32 pm last recorded data from phone but now knows this is incorrect.  Went back and updated analysis using the original extractions with updated software releases. did not compare 2017 to 2019 data.  Impression from this that testimony was very specific due to not wanting to answer some questions as asked.  That he might have been trying to avoid admitting that data was lost during the extractions.  Did not like the question was the amount of data the same in the extractions.  At one point the phone was turned on and the phone connected to the cell network so there most certainly would be new data added to the phone.  Said he compared data between the two extractions and said they were the same.  May and August of 2024 new report and analysis done and made some corrections on times and how the phone was opened and updated the time of the last phone access. Knowledge C retained about a month of data some is stored for days and some for months.  First in first deleted based on what the phone wants to update.  Knowledge C does store that the camera was used but does not store the image.  Internet cached deleted but user created data will be saved.  No new data from apple health in new analysis.  Health data no location data but other apps do.  To get location data, phone connecting to cell phone or wifi network.  Video, location data starts near the high school, then the location data came back to the trail.  Phone opens then it uses cell tower data then it will use the satellite based location.  Snap chat location data was on.  Battery low would not interfere with apple health data.  New conclusion phone stayed on until after 4:33 am because it received a bunch of SMS data.  Could not explain why the phone started working at this time.  Phone lost power at some point but no record of that in the knowledge C data.  Photo of Abby on the Bridge was not on the phone but had found one on the internet image capture but also was not in the snap chat database like the other one was.  Flight of stairs is about ten feet so the elevation change would have been about twenty feet.  Cecil did not know where he got this image of Abby on the Bridge.  He thought maybe it came from a Google search because it was not on the phone.  The time stamp on the image is 2:07 but there is no proof.  It is the only image that is not in snap chat or on the phone.  Was the image deleted from the phone or was it created  some other way?

The phone that Richard Allen had on the trails that day was not included in the 22 devices collected from this home.  Law enforcement has admitted that they have not found any link between Richard Allen and Abby and Libby.  

[elir]

Almagata-Thanks for the update !

Oct 24, 2024 13:01:10 GMT almagata said:

10/23/24 Started off with a witness who saw a man walking along 300.  Sarah Carbaugh had been driving down the road and she saw this man walking.  She had been interviewed three times over the seven years by law enforcement.  In her first two interviews, she described the man as muddy wearing a tan jacket.  In her third interview, she said he was bloody wearing a blue jacket.  She testified on the stand that the man she saw was muddy and bloody wearing a blue jacket.  The defense reminded Ms. Carbaugh that her first two statements contradicted her third interview and she got very agitated and defensive when questioned by the defense on the stand.  It is unlikely that the jury will trust what Ms. Carbaugh testified to on the stand.

Next the medical examiner testified.  Rape kits were completed on both girls.  Libby's hands were bagged.  Abby's were not bagged but her hands were under the sweatshirt.  The medical examiner described Abby's wound as a single slice to her jugular vein which would have taken a considerable amount of time to for her to die.  This wound was from right to left but the ME said that it was hard to say if the attacker was right or left handed. Neither girl had any defensive wounds.  Abby had some marks on her chin that indicated that she may have had some covering over her mouth  at some point which is interesting with a bandana/handkerchief having been found in Deer Creek with the clothing.  The medical examiner said that there was no obvious indication that either girl was sexually assaulted but that often there is no indication of sexual assault but that often there is not.  Libby had multiple slice wounds on her neck (three deep parallel and mostly vertical plus another on the other side of her neck and one more.  There also was a superficial wound on her chest. ) that were very deep and were described as being vertical rather than horizontal.  These wounds also had other abrasions/bruising at the edge of the cuts that might be from a hilt or something else.   Libby's wounds were much more significant and would have caused her to die much quicker than Abby but it likely she reached up to her neck explaining the blood on her hands and may have pressed so hard as to have caused some mild swelling in her brain.  The results of the rape kit and other tests will be testified to by the people that processed that evidence.  The examiner said that Libby's wounds could have been caused by a serrated blade and he testified to that in he deposition but during his time on the stand said that it could have been due to a box cutter and this was questions by the defense because it was not in the deposition.  Libby did have a small abrasion on her lip that was noted. 

Christopher Cecil from the ISP was next witness and he a computer forensics guy who testified to "gray key" which deciphers Iphone encryption.  He did a full file extraction using "gray key". He said it gives them more than the prior extractions did.  He said he spent two months doing this work and also ran it through Celebrite and Magnate in 2019. He focused work on 2/13/17. Report confirmed that both Abby and Libby used this phone.  Three different bio metric finger prints allowed access.  The phone can track elevation and motion with start and stop times.  1:30 pm to 2:08 pm 1682 steps.  2:08 pm and 2:18 pm   414.38 meters traveled  (1358 feet) 2:31pm  to 2:32 pm elevation change to about two flights of stairs does not say up or down. 2:32 pm was the last record of steps of the phone.  The phone due to the gyroscope will also record other movement like a bump in a car.  Went back in 2019 and looked at the knowledge C database which records things like power on power off, apps accessed, times of access.  1:38 phone call. Snap chat accessed at 1:41.  Found picture in Snap Chat .   1:43 selfie in the car with Kelsi and Abby.  2:05 Snap chat picture uploaded plain picture of Monon Bridge on phone.  2:07 phone unlocked.  No mention about when bridge photo of Abby uploaded.  2:13 video recorded with man behind her  2:14 someone tries to bio metrically unlock phone.  2:32 last recorded steps in apple health.  10:32 pm last recorded data from phone but now knows this is incorrect.  Went back and updated analysis using the original extractions with updated software releases. did not compare 2017 to 2019 data.  Impression from this that testimony was very specific due to not wanting to answer some questions as asked.  That he might have been trying to avoid admitting that data was lost during the extractions.  Did not like the question was the amount of data the same in the extractions.  At one point the phone was turned on and the phone connected to the cell network so there most certainly would be new data added to the phone.  Said he compared data between the two extractions and said they were the same.  May and August of 2024 new report and analysis done and made some corrections on times and how the phone was opened and updated the time of the last phone access. Knowledge C retained about a month of data some is stored for days and some for months.  First in first deleted based on what the phone wants to update.  Knowledge C does store that the camera was used but does not store the image.  Internet cached deleted but user created data will be saved.  No new data from apple health in new analysis.  Health data no location data but other apps do.  To get location data, phone connecting to cell phone or wifi network.  Video, location data starts near the high school, then the location data came back to the trail.  Phone opens then it uses cell tower data then it will use the satellite based location.  Snap chat location data was on.  Battery low would not interfere with apple health data.  New conclusion phone stayed on until after 4:33 am because it received a bunch of SMS data.  Could not explain why the phone started working at this time.  Phone lost power at some point but no record of that in the knowledge C data.  Photo of Abby on the Bridge was not on the phone but had found one on the internet image capture but also was not in the snap chat database like the other one was.  Flight of stairs is about ten feet so the elevation change would have been about twenty feet.  Cecil did not know where he got this image of Abby on the Bridge.  He thought maybe it came from a Google search because it was not on the phone.  The time stamp on the image is 2:07 but there is no proof.  It is the only image that is not in snap chat or on the phone.  Was the image deleted from the phone or was it created  some other way?

The phone that Richard Allen had on the trails that day was not included in the 22 devices collected from this home.  Law enforcement has admitted that they have not found any link between Richard Allen and Abby and Libby.  

[almagata]

10/24/24

Kathy Shank - worked with child services for years and is now retired. She was on vacation when the murders happened but decided to volunteer as a receptionist for the investigation 3/2017 and continues in the roll today. She was manning the phone and emails for tips. Eventually, she was asked to organize paper files to make them easier to search. She was told not to read the reports and filled five filing cabinets with these reports. The next task she was assigned was entering lead summaries from a report into a database. Then she was asked to start entering tips into the database. She is the person that found the missing lead about Richard Allen who called voluntarily to report he was on the trails that day and he had seen three girls. This lead have been marked as cleared. She took the file to Tony Liggett. Originally, this tip was filed as Richard Allen Whiteman. She said she had no idea who filed it or marked it as cleared. Richard Allen had never been tipped in by anyone else.


Dan Dulin - Interviewed Richard Allen at market after he called in to say he was on the trails. Richard Allen said he was on the trails from 1:30 to 3:30 and he had seen three girls. He was looking at his phone as he walked checking stocks. He said he parked at the old Farm Bureau Building and walked to the High Bridge and back. Dullin did not ask him what he was wearing or what he was driving that day. Dullin is fish and game so he checked Richard Allen in the licensing system and saw that both Richard Allen and his wife had fishing licenses and that Richard Allen's height was changed from 5'4" to 5'6" on the most current license. Dullin said he was not responsible for the filing error. That the lead with the incorrect name had been given to him. There was a list of phones that pinged off the tower and Allen's phone was not mentioned as being on that list. Dullin saw some branches in a pile when he was out there three days later. Dullin suggested that the branches with blood might be removed. Dullin noticed deer stands so people had been out there hunting. When asked if people hunted out there, the prosecution objected at it was sustained which is hilarious because he is fish and game and it is his job to know where people hunt. Conceded not uncommon to find rounds out where people hunt. Usually,, is rifle or shotgun shells but said people do have handguns and fisherman often carry them.

Steve Mullin - Investigator Carol County Prosecutors office. Received a call saying that this report about Richard Allen was located. He ran him through the DMV database Ford 500 and a Ford Focus. Went to the Hoosier Harvest store to see if the vehicle was on the video. When to CVS and got picture of the Ford Focus to compare the video. One that matched was on the video 1:27 pm 2/13/17. Defense objected that the match was subjective. Video is not clear enough to confirm it is Richard Allen's car or who was driving. Car was east moving west. It was pointed out by the lawyers following the case that Mullin has been on the stand multiple times to testify to very limited topics to limit the defense ability to question him. When the defense tries to expand the line of questions, McClellend is objecting as out of scope. This will not end up being effective because the defense can call him when it is their turn. Mullin interviewed Richard Allen. Richard Allen was interviewed at the police station. He said he had gone to his mother’s house and left her house about 11:15 then went home to pick up a jacket and got to the trail about 12:00, walked down the trail to the Monon High Bridge and he saw three girls but was looking at this phone. Parked at the old building and left at 1:30 pm. Went out as far as the first platform to look at fish. There were a couple of different ways he could drive from his house to the trails and he said he drove through town and did not take the country route. They showed him a picture of BG and asked him if that was him. He said if the picture was taken with the girls' camera it was not him (because he never saw the girls on the trail that day). They asked if they could go through his phone and he initially said yes then changed his mind. They said Richard Allen went out during questioning to smoke multiple times and they said his behavior was strange and suspicious. There is a video of this interview that was not allowed to be shown in court but the jury can see it if they want. Baldwin caught Mullin in a lie and misrepresenting what Richard Allen said about how he drove to the trails that day. Baldwin handed him a copy of the transcript and for 6 minutes Mullin reviewed the transcript and eventually admits Richard Allen did not say he drove past the Mears entrance. In order for the state's theory to work Allen's car must be at the CPS lot to work. Baldwin asked about Betsy Blair and her testimony about a 1965 Mercury Comet being on the road. This was objected to as facts not in evidence and it was sustained. Betsy Blair likely will be recalled and so will Mullin to talk about this car. After this interview, they got a search warrant and went to search his house.

Tony Liggett - Ligget was an investigator on the case. He replaced Tobe Leazenby as sheriff. The election was two weeks after the arrest of Richard Allen and the defense pointed out that he got a $50,000 pay increase. It was pointed out that Ligget was the only detective in the department at the point Abby and Libby were murdered. He was asked about info leaks. Asked about FBI no longer being involved in the investigation. Ligget said yes then no and clarified that they were no longer involved but they could be invited back at any time. Testified that the Orion database had Richard Allen’s original tip marked as “cleared” but that an officer had not done that, a dispatcher had. Liggett said it was not his place to tell other officers not to talk about evidence in the case. Asked about sticks. Liggett said that he thought the sticks were used to conceal the girls despite the girls were quite visible. Asked if he saw a report that Bri Wilber had described a man as muscular. This was objected to. Baldwin was making the point that things were left out of the search warrant and excluding information and cherry picking information that would provide misleading information to the judge. Asked if the man was seen on the Hoosier Harvest store video that Sarah Carbaugh claimed to have seen walking on 300 and the answer was no. He said no one was seen walking on that side of the road but suggested someone could have gone back on the trail or cut through the Mears property. Liggett was insisting that the woods were thick and hard to see through but by all accounts you could see from the trail to the road in the winter. Libby’s family was out there looking for the girls so there were people on the trails. Asked if aware Sarah Carbaugh has given inconsistent statements. He insisted that he had seen muddy and bloody in the report. He is asked if it is possible that Sarah Carbaugh did not see anyone that day? No was his answer. Did he not think it was odd to take weeks to report. Did not think Carbaugh was panicking would impact her perceptions. He acknowledged there were lots of Ford Focuses. Allen’s car is on video at 1:27 pm. Asked if it is hard to recreate what happened five years ago. Liggett is evasive on answering this questions. Liggett obviously does not want to admit that witnesses might have been influenced by social media and that evidence can be lost in that time. Asked about a gun’s condition being changed in five years. Admits that delay makes an investigation much more challenging. Asked if he ever said that multiple people might be involved. His response, before Richard Allen, I was open to anything. Acknowledged you can’t see the man’s mouth moving in the video and that you can’t see who is speaking but would not admit it could be someone else. Admitted not DNA link to Richard Allen. Admitted to no electronic links Richard Allen to Abby or Libby including cell towers or geolocation from the internet services. Interesting because Richard Allen said he was on his phone when he was walking. Don’t have time of death. Clothes missing from scene which have never been recovered. No evidence of premediated behavior from Richard Allen like google searches. Richard Allen’s did not change any of his behavior, move, job etc after murders. Liggett made a big deal out of Richard Allen backing into a parking space at CVS five years later. The Hoosier Heartland video shows the car on 300 at 1:27 and the video was taken at bench photo taken by the Bri Wilber was taken at 1:26. The girls said they saw BG shortly after they took the picture. Liggett said they left the bench at 1:44 and was accused of making stuff up. Discussed witness unreliability. Liggett said just because witness information is different does not mean that information is unreliable. Were they not already looking for a Sig Sauer or Smith and Wesson because the lab told them that is the gun they would be looking for. Clarified it was 40 caliber Winchester cartridge found in the house. Asked about the tool marks on the cartridge and that they did not match but it was objected to. Asked if the gun and the cartridge in the hope box match the cartridge found at the scene. He said he did not know. Jury did not have any questions which is odd because they have questions most of the time.


Tobe Leazenby - Tobe was Sheriff during the murders. He admitted on the stand that none of the three descriptions from the witnesses matched Richard Allen.


David Vido – ISP Lt. Took photos of what was seized. Took photos of the rims of Richard Allen’s car. There were many knives taken into evidence, box cutters, phones and pagers. They did not find one from 2017. 16 phones found. Some of the phones were old flip phones. 40 round in the box was a hollow point but no picture of the one at the scene in evidence. Photo album showed Richard Allen out on the trails and at Monon High Bridge. Clearly the whole family used the trails for years. Asked if searches should be done to professional standards? Shows him the photo of the bullet found at Richard’s house being held in his hand. Knows he is aware that Delphi is known for the trails so not unusual for people to be out there. Richard Allen had short hair in 2016. Listened to Richard’s Allen from another room. Asked if it was usual for fisherman to have knives. Tried to say fisherman might use scissors to cut line not a knife. Asked if it was unusual for people to have box cutters. Asked if it was unusual for people to trade in phones. Asked if Sig Sauer guns were unusual. Asked if Winchester ammunition was unusual. Does not know if there are many Ford Focus in the area. Nothing found to link Richard Allen to murders including knife, missing clothing, or the spot dug up in the yard. Did not find any blood in Mr. Allen’s car. Said he did not know if blood could transfer. Asked if the person that killed Abby and Libby had a lot of blood on them and that was objected to.

Jerry Holman - Lead investigator for the ISP. There to assist with search warrant at Richard Allen’s house. He told Richard Allen if anything damaged there was a form he could fill out and Richard Allen said “It is over now”. “It doesn’t matter it is over now” when asked if Holman wanted to drive him to see his wife. Holman had Richard Allen sitting in his car while the search was going on. Asked about photographing bullet in hand. He said yes, it can be a problem if there is DNA on the bullet, handling can damage DNA and that detailed photos should be done at the lab. More with Holman tomorrow.

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Melissa Oberg Firearms expert evaluation of the magic bullet spent hours explaining about how guns work and how tool mark analysis works so the jury has a basic understanding. The bullet found at the scene was never fired. Police theorize that it was cycled through a gun in error but it could have just been dropped. When she compared the fired casing with the unfired casing, she felt there were three lines that matched. They said the round that was found at the scene had been cycled through a gun three times leaving three different marks on this casing. It was not really a match to Richard Allen’s gun. She found out that Sig Sauer manufacturing process uses different machines. The barrels are drilled. They get parts from different places so the guns coming off the line are not as unique as they used to be when guns were machined in the same location. She tested a Glock and she could not even totally rule that gun out that was from a different manufacturer. Rozzi did the cross. Three different tool areas she found on the round. The ejector marks were most obvious. She used fired rounds to compare to a non-fired rounds. When she cycled a round through Allen’s Sig Sauer his gun did not leave any significant marks so she decided she needed to use fired rounds. Sufficient agreement is that a term of art. So what you are saying is my clients guilt is enough? So you are speaking a different language? She responds it is a science term. The video had no reference to ejectors or extractors? No. No mention of barrels? Well, they mentioned how they were made. The manufacturing of the tools were not shown.? True. What is IBIS. Integrated ballistic Information systems that allows you to look at comparisons for other states. Typically, you don’t look at ejected rounds. You typically are looking at fired bullets. Yes. In all the years you worked there, you never could say a bullet matched a gun? I can’t say with any percentage of certainty. I have to say there is sufficient agreement between the two. She has said in her deposition that she had not made a mistake in 17 years. Well she said she had not made a mistake in proficiency exams not comparisons. She said she had made thousands of comparisons like 6,500 in 17 years. Wasn’t the first company your office used for proficiency exams sketchy so you changed proficiency companies? Yes. You would never tell a officer that tool mark analysis was as specific as genealogy testing.? No, it is not a perfect science. PCAST, national association of attorney generals, are concerned that tool mark analysis is not a science. Yes, there are not enough double blind studies to assure this is actually a valid science. Is it true that these evaluations should all be done by independent labs so that law enforcement would not have undue influence on the results because the evaluators are part of law enforcement . The examiners should not know the details of the crime so that the examiners don’t feel the need to help to convict. There have been multiple studies done that are criticizing tool mark analysis. Almost all studies in this field is matching a bullet with a gun meaning that the bullet has been fired by a gun. The other studies are mostly trying to determine the caliber of the gun. But what we are talking about a casing being ejected, there are no studies to compare to. She said it was quite lean. Then he said he wanted to talk about the difference between fired and unfired rounds. A fired cartridge is subject to high pressure and speed. A unspent casing is not experiencing those kinds of pressure and will have much more marks. Even in this case with the ten rounds you ejected, you could not use any of those because they did not leave marks that you could use for comparison. You actually had to use one of the fired bullet casing to get Richard Allen’s gun for you to be able to compare.

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Holman - Reminded him he had been present for Melissa Oberg’s testimony yesterday by McCleleand. Acknowldeged that his comment about the tool mark being as reliable as paternity testing, was incorrect that he understands that now. The error rate for tool mark testing was about 2% for fired bullets but there was no percentage for unfired cartridges. He said within law enforcement beloved it was as reliable. No proficiency testing to compare an unfired cartridge that had been cycled three times. Having examined the bullet, if you provide me with a Sig Sauer or s Smith and Wesson gun that I will be able to work magic. Acknowledging this comment that his unfired bullet can be matched to any of these two guns. This is what is wrong with this unscientific method. She did link it to a Sig Sauer. Next was questioning about Holeman’s training and experience with the Reid technic. Law enforcement considers this is the premier technic in extracting confessions from difficult suspects. The Reid technique has come under criticism in recent years for extracting false confessions. Used the example of the man in Paramount that confessed to killing his father when his father was still alive as well. Most exonerations have three main commonalities. 1. False confessions 2. Faulty Science 3. Incorrect witness identifications and we have all three in this case. The Reid technique is a guilt presumptive model and you treat your suspect like they are already guilty. The key is to lie to the suspect and tell them it would be better for them to confess. People with cognitive deficiencies, mental illness and juveniles are particularly susceptible to the Reid techniques manipulation. The Reid technique has been abandoned by many law enforcement and organizations that train law enforcement for about the past ten years or so because it is such a problem. Holeman used this technique on Richard Allen. Holeman explained that you try to build a comradery. Also the Reid technique trains the interrogator to use body language as an indicator of deception and body language is also subjective. Holeman says he uses Reid technique often. Holeman said he interrogated Richard Allen at the ISP barracks in Lafayette and told him to come down and get his car and he had received Ms. Oberg’s bullet analysis. The purose of the interview was to find out why this round was at the scene. Holeman swore he did not plan to arrest Richard Allen so he did not read him his Miranda rights. Interrogation is any questioning intended to illicit information that could lead to an arrest. Restricting your ability to leave is also a time when law enforcement must give you a Miranda warning. If you do not provide a Miranda warning, the information is not admissible in court. They thought he killed the girls, brought him to the station and did not read his Miranda rights but they did remind him three days ago he had been read his Miranda rights.

Asked if leaving the bloody sticks at the scene was a mistake. Did eventually admit there were some mistakes, typos in some of the reports. Other failures did not accept responsibility for that. Your belief that the sticks were meant to camouflage the bodies. You don’t believe they were placed in a pattern. You believe they were random. They took time to place three sticks on Abby. He did not believe the bodies were posed or positioned. Did acknowledge they were moved. Libby was killed at the tree not where she was found. He acknowledged there were no finger prints. Abby’s hands were clean while Libby’s were bloody. ME said it was instinct to cover a wound like that with your hands yet Abby’s hands were clean. Judge Gull allowed these questions to be asked. Crime scene you could hear voices at the bridge, objection, sustained. Theory is that Richard Allen heard family calling for the girls on the bridge so he killed the girls. If you can’t hear voices from the bridge to the crime scene. His answer is not accurate. Search party was not there until after 4:00. Derrick got there at 3:30 but he was not out shouting their names until much later. Holman insists there were people on the trails but not searchers. Still sticking to the timeline with Sarah Carbaugh at 3:56 saw the killer. Can’t see the killer on the video and can’t tell who said “down the hill”. Said no I don’t think there was anyone other than Richard Allen but nothing to indicate more than one person was at the other end of the bridge. Asked about Teresa Weibert. Do you know what she saw that day? Holeman said he did not remember what she saw. Isn’t true there was tension between the FBI and unified command. Objection was sustained. State does not want the investigation conflicts to be mentioned. Last time Libby’s phone connected to network 5:44 PM on 2/13 Can’t rule out the phone left that are and returned on 14th. Was Kelsi German’s phone ever analyzed or extracted, no. Should they have analyzed Kelsi German’s phone looking back, no. He thinks Libby’s phone was always under Abby’s the whole time. It was not until recently they found out it reconnected at 4:33 AM. He said he thinks he forgot that the phone had reconnected in the morning. McCleland redirect It was closer to two hours not one for the killer to have been with the girls is Sarah Carbaugh did see the killer on 300 at 3:56. Did you find anything about another male on the bridge that day? no Betsy and Sarah both identified who they thought was bridge guy, yes And you think the sticks were there for camouflage but it could have been the sign of an undoing (remorse for what they have done)? Yes. Lt. Holman agreed there was no indication that the girls were taken from the area in a vehicle. No indication that the phone moved after 2:32 pm on 2/13, yes. You lied to Richard Allen during the interrogation that he had been identified by witnesses, well I lied about them identifying him rather than they and seen him. Jury question: Is there a way BG to get to where the girls were without crossing the bridge? Yes, possibly from the back way. McCleland : We know Abby is on the south side of the bridge, other wise he would have had to pass them and come back. (Might have creeped Libby out to have a guy pass them then turned around) Baldwin: The photo of Abby on the bridge shows no one behind her, is it preposterous from someone to walk past the girls then turn around? Maybe. The man on the video was not breathing heavy like he has walked fast. Jury: Do you know were Derrick German was when he was calling for the girls? Not sure but it would have been down by the river.

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10/28/24
Stacy Bozinowski – DNA analyst Over all, no DNA link to Richard Allen in over 100 items tested. Rape kit on Libby did show a presumptive positive for seminal fluid but no DNA was found. She was not sure how why this is. Abby’s high top tongue of the shoe was a mix of Abby and Libby’s blood which is interesting because her hands were so clean. Green scarf that was found in the creek that was not Abby or Libby’s appeared to be very old and embedded with mud and did not test. Mud, water and sunlight can affect the quality of the sample. Only Libby’s blood was found on the sticks. There were a number of rootless hairs that could have been sent out to an independent lab that has capabilities that the ISP lab does not have. The FBI could do a microscopic hair comparison and this has not been done. Juror questions included asking about chimeras. Answer was that a chimera would likely be confusing if they were not expecting a chimera sample. They do ask if the subject had been transfused or other medical situation that would confuse the results.
Pat Cicero – Blood splatter analyst F tree stain 1.37 inches wide 5.9 long north east side. There were also two other stains of blood on the tree more to the north. Said it was a transfer stain as were the other two on the north side of the tree. They also showed it with a gluco…. That made it stand out more. Said it was not a normal transfer and that it was very square, uniform even and smooth. All the stains were consistent with a bloody object making the stains. Two areas had large pooling of blood. The pool near Libby. Libby’s feet had blood consistent with Libby walking in blood. Libby lower torso had blood stains that she had been upright at some point and had been moved. Her face had different flow patterns. Her hands had a large amount of blood. The pattern by her eye is consistent with dilution likely due to tears. Left had of her palm had been cleared of blood. Libbys right thigh had drips with flows that are horizontal. He thought she would have had to have been seated at one point to make this pattern. Another pattern on Libby’s face showed a swipe. There is blood that looks like it is coming from her nose. She would have had to have been moved after death to create this pattern on her face. Only a small amount of blood found were she was discovered so she was moved.
Abby small pooling by her shoulder. No blood stains on her hands, sleeves or arms. Believe the blood mentioned on her arm by the ME was not there at the crime scene due to her being transported. Abby’s blood goes up toward her face consistent with her being moved. No blood on her bra, torso or shirt. This is all consistent with this clothing being consistent when she died. Moved while blood still flowing. His explaination that Libby was killed near the F tree. All blood near the three was Libby’s. Likely she put her hands on the tree and that blood was transferred. She likely walked over to where the large puddle of blood was. Subsequent stains were likely from her being moved to her final resting place. He speculated that she was moved for concealment.Abby he said she was killed where she was despite no blood under her. The lack of blood on her body is very unusual. He has never seen no blood on hands for a neck wound. Said she might have been restrained. He said if she was clothed after her wounds that the blood likely would have resulted in different blood stains. Asked about the minimum number of people to commit crime. He said at least one. He was not asked to review the case until 2/2024 seven years after the crime. His theory of the F tree was that Libby was mobile when she was cut. That she sat down at some point and he was dragged to where she was found. The several flow patterns indicate that her torso was below her face.
Abby’s chin was below her neck at some point but he thinks she died near where she was found.
He said he thought they were moved to conceal them. He said they should have marked any drag marks. Asked if he had talked with Jerry Holeman before finalizing his opinion. He said Abby could have been washed to clean off blood. He had never seen a case like Abby’s. Libby might have been pulled by her arm to where she was found.
Pat Cicero’s testimony ends up failing to explain where Abby’s blood is and does not explain the odd drip patterns on Libby. His testimony confirmed the girls were moved, although Cicero indicated that they were not moved far.

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Thanks for the updates!