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    • Delphi murders trial jury hears prison confessions
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    Delphi murders trial jury hears prison confessions

    Harry Posted on

    Richard Allen’s trial continued on October 29 in Delphi, Indiana.

    Allen, 52, is accused of killing two teenagers who went missing on Feb. 13, 2017, and were found dead the next day. He was arrested in 2022 and faces two counts of murder in the commission of kidnapping and two counts of murder in the killings. Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German.

    journalists Indianapolis Star And Lafayette Magazine and Courier The case is handled on a daily basis as it progresses through the judicial system.

    This article will be updated throughout the day based on what’s happening in court.

    Guards testified about their observations of Richard Allen’s erratic behavior and alleged confessions while in custody; including how he wants to die for the murders of Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German.

    “I killed those two girls, so I have to kill myself too,” Westville Jail officer Raymond Smith said. Smith said Allen made these statements on April 10, 2023, at 7:55 p.m.

    Those remarks were among many recorded by corrections officers assigned to record Allen’s behavior during his time in state prison.

    Two weeks later, former Westville corrections officer Brandon Fisher testified that Allen planned to rape the Delphi teens on April 29, 2023, the day they were killed, but said he was afraid and killed them instead. Fisher also said that half an hour earlier, Allen killed the girls with a box cutter and threw them in the trash.

    Bradley Rozzi, one of Allen’s defense attorneys, pressed each of the guards who testified about the man’s conditions at Delphi, appearing to argue that being locked in an 8×12 cell and listening to inmates mock him would hurt anyone.

    Officer Jason Bedwell of the Wabash Valley Department of Corrections later said Allen made another statement earlier this year saying he regretted what he did and killed the girls.

    Allen was transferred to the prison in Carlisle at the request of his lawyers.

    During cross-examination of Bedwell, Rozzi pointed out that the officer’s statement about the alleged confession to police weeks later was more detailed than the original logbook and argued that the log entry was not entirely accurate.

    John Galipeau, former warden of Westville Correctional Facility, testified that Allen began confessing to killing Abby and Libby in March 2023. Galipeau claimed Allen also threw a box cutter into a trash can.

    Around the same time, Allen’s behavior became increasingly erratic. Galipeau, who was the prison warden when Allen was admitted to the prison in November 2022, said he began washing his face in the restroom and defecating in his cell.

    Prosecutors previously said Allen made 61 incriminating statements in Westville, where he was on suicide watch. Defense attorneys argued the confessions were coerced and made while he was on the verge of a mental health crisis while in solitary confinement.

    During Galipeau’s cross-examination, defense attorney Bradley Rozzi focused on the conditions of Allen’s incarceration, noting that although he had not been convicted of any crime, he was held alone in a prison cell and fed through a door bar.

    Authorities at Westville placed Allen in a suicide companion program, where an inmate or a corrections officer monitors him and keeps a record of his behavior.

    On April 7, 2023, at 12:45 pm, Allen said: “Dear God, forgive me for harassing Abby, Libby, and Chris.” According to a diary kept by Michael Roberts, a Westville corrections officer who testified.

    Allen later repeated the same admission, but added that he had also harassed “Kevin.” It is unclear who Chris and Kevin are. Allen confessed several more times that month.

    On June 18, Allen said, “I killed Abby and Libby,” according to Roberts’ diary.

    Roberts also testified that Allen moved frequently when watched.

    During cross-examination, Roberts acknowledged that he had no training in mental health. Roberts also said other inmates yelled at Allen, called him a “baby killer” and pressured him to kill himself.

    Jurors watched video of Indiana State Police Lt. Jerry Holeman harshly questioning Allen on Oct. 26, 2022. Meanwhile, the detective repeatedly confronted the Delphi man with forensic evidence that an unspent bullet found at the crime scene had been used in the gun. .

    The interrogation began with small talk about guns, but the situation escalated as Allen repeatedly denied killing Abby and Libby. Holeman cursed at Allen at various points during the interview.

    “I can’t tell you what happened that day,” Allen told Holeman.

    “You can tell us,” Holeman replied.

    “How?” Allen asked.

    Holeman kept pushing.

    “Anyone who knows me knows I couldn’t do something like that,” Allen said. “I didn’t kill two little girls.”

    Holeman once again brought up forensic findings linking the unspent bullet to his gun.

    “Science doesn’t lie,” he said.

    But Allen repeatedly said the bullet did not come from his gun. At one point the conversation turned to Allen’s history with depression. He told Holeman he had been struggling with suicidal thoughts for at least seven years.

    “I don’t care at all. Kill me. This will make my wife rich… I never had contact with Abby or Libby,” he told Holeman. “I’ve never even met them.”

    For two hours, Holeman continued to confront Allen with the forensic findings, but Allen did not back down. He also denied knowing Ron Logan, who owned property not far from where the girls’ bodies were found. Holeman then tried to reassure Allen that he did not believe he was a bad person.

    “What kind of good person kills two people?” Allen asked.

    “Good people make bad decisions all the time,” Holeman said.

    In the middle of the interrogation, Holeman brought in Allen’s wife, Kathy Allen. The two hugged and sat side by side. Allen tried to reassure his wife of his innocence.

    “I won’t say anything that isn’t true,” he told her. “I didn’t kill anyone.”

    Kathy Allen asked how the bullet from his gun ended up on the scene. Richard Allen said he didn’t know. “I don’t know how to explain something that isn’t possible.”

    Kathy Allen watched through tears as the video played. Richard Allen looked over his right shoulder at his wife and smiled as if to reassure her.

    “I’m sorry you had to go through this,” he told his wife in the video.

    After Kathy Allen left the room, Holeman brought up the evidence again. This time he looked angry and was yelling and cursing at Allen.

    “Do the right thing,” he told Allen, adding that he shouldn’t have put his family through such trouble.

    At this point Allen also seemed to lose his temper.

    “You want to fuck me, but leave my wife out of it,” Allen said. F—. Leave me out of this.”

    “No. You’re in on this,” Holeman told Allen. “Your f—— round there, Rick.”

    “No,” Allen replied. “It’s not like that.”

    Towards the end of the questioning, Allen appeared to decide he was done talking.

    “I’m done,” he told Holeman. “Arrest me.”

    “I’d appreciate it,” Holeman said. “F—– glad.”

    Allen was arrested that day.

    Jurors watched video of investigators’ interview with Richard Allen on Oct. 13, 2022, a few weeks later. They were warned about an old lead The afternoon Abby and Libby disappeared, Allen was on his way to the Monon High Bridge.

    Interview with Steve Mullinwho was chief of the Delphi Police Department when the girls were killed and later became an investigator with the Carroll County District Attorney’s Office Tony LiggettThe then-chief deputy with the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office began cordially.

    “We just want to know what you saw when you were there,” Liggett told Allen.

    Allen, who initially did not appear nervous, told investigators that he spent the morning of Feb. 13, 2017, at his mother’s home in Peru. He left Miami County around 11 a.m., stopped by his house to put on his jacket, and headed to the trailhead. He was wearing his Carhartt coat, although he said he wasn’t sure if he was wearing a blue or black coat. He also said he was wearing a hat or beanie and boots or tennis shoes.

    Allen said he didn’t see anyone but three girls at the top of the trail. He told investigators that when he arrived at the Monon High Bridge, he looked out into Deer Creek and watched the fish.

    Later in the interview, Mullin asked if he would consent to a search.

    How Richard Allen became a suspect: It wasn’t on the Delphi researchers’ radar. Later, a volunteer found a box of clues.

    “I’m not going to be someone’s girlfriend,” said Allen, who later agreed to search his phone but not his house or car.

    The interview grew more heated as Mullin and Liggett continued to press.

    “I had nothing to do with this,” Allen said. “I have nothing to do with this investigation.”

    Mullin tried to reassure Allen, saying investigators wanted to “work through this whole matter.”

    “There’s a lot to clear up here,” Mullin said.

    Mullin then asked Allen if he was the person in the infamous “Bridge Guy” video. Allen became even more agitated and told investigators it wasn’t clear in the video whether the man was wearing a Carhartt jacket.

    “I’m not,” he said.

    Towards the end of the interview, Allen told them he wanted to leave.

    “Arrest me or take me home,” he said. “I’m done.”

    After Mullin told him he was free to go and not under arrest, he said:

    “Thank you. You’re a ——-.”

    Some of the judges and the audience laughed.

    DNA in the Delphi murders case? Experts testified Monday about DNA and blood analysis evidence

    The video shows the moment jurors heard Allen’s voice for the first time. At the beginning of the interview, the three men talked about Allen’s past. He graduated from North Miami High School, where he played football and track, and attended Ivy Tech Community College, where he studied accounting. He also joined the Army and National Guard.

    He told investigators that Allen had a heart attack in 2010. They also have depression, anxiety, high blood pressure and cholesterol problems.

    Allen worked as a manager at a Walmart store for 10 years. He moved to CVS in 2013, starting with a location in Peru, Indiana.

    Allen, who appeared in court earlier in the conversation wearing a checkered lavender shirt and glasses on his head, looked at his wife with a grin and then nodded.

    Harry
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