INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Thursday marks Day 18 of Delphi Murders suspect Richard Allen’s trial at the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi.

Allen, 52, is charged with murder and murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping in the deaths of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German. The girls’ bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge near Delphi on February 14, 2017, a day after they disappeared.

Allen was first investigated in 2017 and then again in October 2022. He was taken into custody after the second interrogation at the police.

The trial began on October 18 and was expected to continue until mid-November. Initially, 16 Allen County residents served as jurors in the case, but one juror was dismissed on Oct. 25.

Cameras are not allowed in the courtroom.

Follow News 8 and follow our daily live blogs during the trial period for the latest.

NOTE: The times listed in the blog titles are the times the entries were added. Specific times of courtroom events will be listed at the entrances, if possible. These notes were compiled from photographs of written notes provided by reporters in the courtroom and emailed to the WISH-TV news desk..

Scroll to the bottom of the page for a brief summary of day 17 of the Delphi Murders trial (Wednesday).

To view all of our previous trial coverage, Click hereand follow News 8’s Kyla Russell on X while streaming the hearing live from Delphi.

At 9 a.m. the court is in session on Thursday.

After 17 days of witness testimony and evidence being presented, the jury will hear from both the prosecution and defense when closing arguments begin Thursday morning.

Special Judge Frances Gull told the jury Wednesday they will hear closing arguments that will last several hours. The judge told both sides they would have up to 2 1/2 hours.

Both parties will be able to speak only about the evidence and testimony admitted at the hearing; This means the defense team will not be allowed to bring up Odinism or any of the third-party suspects they claim actually committed the murders.

Once closing arguments are completed, the jury will be given instructions. They were instructed to find Richard Allen if they had reasonable suspicions. innocent. If they believed Allen committed the murder, they were instructed to find him. guilty.

After that, it will be up to the jury.

Negotiations can last hours or days. The 12-member jury (excluding three alternates) must reach a unanimous decision. If they fail to do so, the hearing may result in a mistrial.

Brief summary of the 17th day of the Delphi Murders trial

The defense unexpectedly rested its case on Thursday after several expected witnesses did not take the stand. He also opposed putting the suspect, Richard Allen, on the stand.

Judge Gull asked the defense to call its next witness and was told, “Your Honor, we rest our case.”

The prosecution was asked to call rebuttal witnesses. Three people in total were called, including a psychiatrist Dr. john martinThe person who treated Allen while he was at Westville Correctional Facility.

Martin, who has more than 40 years of experience in corrections, told the court he was aware of Allen’s mental health history and that Allen was not showing signs of psychosis when sessions began in the fall of 2022.

When Allen began showing signs of psychosis, such as smearing feces and flushing with toilet water, Martin prescribed medication. Haldol (Haloperidol)It is an antipsychotic drug commonly used in the treatment of schizophrenia. Vaccinations were administered every four weeks.

Dr. Martin described a gradual change in Allen’s behavior between April and June 2023, and told the jury that Allen’s psychosis abated by early May. He said Allen became aware of where he was and began sleeping, eating and talking to his wife on the phone. Earlier testimony indicated that Allen was psychotic in every confession he made.

Martin also said Allen was “not in a psychotic state” when he said in June that he wanted to “apologize to the families of the victims.”

The defense showed the jury a bodycam video of Allen on June 20. According to News 8’s Kyla Russell, their goal was to prove that Allen wasn’t consistent that day.

The jury heard again from Indiana State Police Master Trooper Brian HarshmanThe person who reviewed more than 700 phone calls made by Richard Allen while in custody.

Harshman also said he reviewed videos of Allen (including recent videos taken while he was in the Cass County Jail since the trial began) and told the court that Allen had threatened to kill officers there. He also confirmed that Allen was being held in solitary confinement at all of his facilities, including Cass County.

previous witness Breann Wilbur He also returned to the witness stand. The day the girls disappeared, Wilbur was on the trails of the Monon High Bridge. He said he never once saw “Bridge Guy” or any of the kids.

The court adjourned Wednesday afternoon and was due to return Thursday morning.