Indiana’s Special Judge Fran Gull discussed two separate issues Monday in connection with the Delphi murder case against Richard Allen, including a push by Allen’s law team to drop murder charges.
During the court hearing Monday in Fort Wayne, Allen’s attorney, Andrew Baldwin, argued that murder charges should be dropped against his client, claiming police never investigated a different theory in the murders of Abby Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14.
Baldwin called former Rushville Police Chief Todd Click to testify, according to FOX 59, who suggested the involvement of Carroll County Odinists in the killings.
Specifically, Allen’s lawyers previously said that “members of a pagan Norse religion, called Odinism, hijacked by white nationalists, [who] ritualistically sacrificed Abigail Williams and Liberty German.”
Gull ruled that the two murder charges would remain but opted to dismiss two kidnapping charges against Allen.
Meanwhile, according to court documents, Gull will decide by mid-May concerning a complaint against Allen’s lawyers, Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, for allegedly leaking evidence on social media. The prosecution claims they were too aggressive in defending Allen.
Authorities believe Allen’s lawyers may be responsible for releasing sensitive images to social media groups that focused on the murders.
Gull first reprimanded Allen’s lawyers in December 2022 after they publicly released a statement denouncing the charges against Allen only weeks after they took the case themselves.
Delphi Motion Defense Costs by Leigh Egan
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Baldwin and Rozzi stepped down from the case last year after Gull called for their removal over the October 2023 leak. The lawyers took the case to the Indiana Supreme Court and were reinstated in February.
The Delphi Double Homicide Task Force took Allen into custody on October 28, 2022, at his home in Delphi, for the murders of Abigail and Libby.
The victims were found murdered near the Monon High Bridge on February 14, 2017, after taking an outing to the bridge the day prior. The outing was only meant for a few hours, and when the girls failed to return, family members contacted police.
Following his arrest, investigators searched Allen’s residence and found:
- A .40 caliber pistol
- Boots
- Knives
- Additional firearms
The Indiana State Police Laboratory examined a bullet found at the crime scene. It determined that the bullet came from a gun registered to Allen, and “forensically determined” that the bullet cycled through his gun.
Allen claimed he never let anyone else use his gun, but he had no explanation when investigators told him a bullet from his firearm was found at the crime scene.
Jury selection starts on May 13 in Fort Wayne for Allen’s trial, moving later to the Carroll County Courthouse.
Check back for updates.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast. Here is a previous episode on the case.
[Featured image: FILE – A makeshift memorial to Liberty German and Abigail Williams near where they were last seen and where the bodies were discovered stands along the Monon Trail leading to the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Ind., Oct. 31, 2022. Jurors for the trial of Richard Matthew Allen, an Indiana man accused of killing the two teenage girls, will be brought from Allen County, which includes the city of Fort Wayne, a judge in the case decided Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)]
