Attorneys for Richard Allen, who is serving a 130-year prison sentence, asked a three-judge panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals on Monday to overturn his convictions. Jurors convicted Allen in 2024 for the murders of 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German, known as Abby and Libby, in the small town of Delphi.
Richard Allen Seeks to Overturn Murder Convictions in Delphi Killings
The victims disappeared on Feb. 13, 2017, after being dropped off near a hiking trail, and their bodies were discovered the next day with their throats cut. The high-profile case remained unsolved for more than five years before Allen was arrested, drawing intense attention from true-crime enthusiasts.
Defense Claims Solitary Confinement Induced False Confessions
During the Monday hearing, defense attorney Mark Leeman argued that law enforcement was so determined to secure a conviction that they relied on confessions gathered while Allen was suffering from psychosis. Allen’s lawyers stated that he was held in solitary confinement while awaiting trial, leading to a severe psychological decline and mental breakdown caused by isolation.
According to his defense team, Allen eventually experienced a distorted reality and convinced himself that he had committed the murders, leading him to confess multiple times. Prosecutors countered that some of Allen’s incriminating statements occurred before he displayed signs of mental illness and persisted after his condition improved. Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita wrote in a brief that Allen’s statements coincided with viewing case evidence, including the condition of the victims’ bodies.
Arguments Over Excluded Evidence and Trial Rulings
Allen’s legal team raised several key trial issues before the appellate panel, challenging multiple decisions made by the trial judge:
* Pagan Ritual Theory: Defense attorneys wanted to present an expert witness to testify that the crime scene indicated a ritual sacrifice by individuals worshipping Odin, pointing to the positioning of the bodies, scattered branches, outdoor location, and knife wounds. Prosecutors successfully argued that the expert had limited examples and that the defense should not present theories without supporting evidence. * Omitted Witness Sketch: The defense questioned why a police sketch of a suspicious man seen near the trail was withheld from trial, noting that the drawing looked nothing like Allen. * Ballistics Testimony: Lawyers challenged the prohibition of a defense expert who intended to dispute whether marks on an unfired bullet can be traced to a specific firearm. During the trial, an expert testified that an unspent bullet found between the victims’ bodies had been cycled through Allen’s handgun. * Prison Audio Recordings: The appeals judges questioned why jurors were shown videos of Allen exhibiting odd behavior in prison—such as claiming to be a king and stating he started World War III—while the corresponding audio was kept out.
State Response and Lack of Direct Physical Evidence
Defense lawyers emphasized during the trial that no witnesses explicitly identified Allen as the man seen near the trail on the afternoon the girls vanished, and no fingerprint, DNA, or other forensic evidence linked him to the murder scene. Prosecutors asserted during the trial that Allen was armed with a gun, forced the teens off the trail, and initially planned to rape them before a passing van interrupted his plans.
Indiana Deputy Attorney General Ellen Meilaender defended the convictions, telling the appeals panel that Allen provided the strongest evidence himself through his statements. The appellate judges questioned both sides on whether the contested trial decisions were ultimately harmless and whether the jury would have reached the same guilty verdict regardless.
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