DELPHI, Ind. — Attorneys for Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen are asking for a fourth time that the warrant for the search of his house be thrown out.
The defense has argued to special judge Frances Gull multiple times that the prosecution has been slow, or even negligent, in turning over evidence and investigation materials.
The defense also said they just received information Friday about the location of Libby German's cellphone when she and Abby Williams went missing Feb. 13, 2017.
In their fourth request for a hearing on the search warrant, the defense says that Indiana State Police troopers were receiving information about the location from German's cellphone from AT&T during the search for the girls. German's phone was connecting with a cell tower in the area on Feb. 13 but stopped at 5:44 p.m.
The defense says in court records that police believed "the information which they were receiving from AT&T indicated that the cellphone was no longer in the area or no longer in working condition." But the phone made contact with the tower again at 4:33 a.m. on Feb. 14. The girls' bodies were found about eight hours later.
The defense is suggesting that the phone - and the girls – were left the woods near the Monon High Bridge. That scenario does not line up with the prosecution timeline of Allen killing the girls during a roughly 90-minute window while he was at the trail on Feb. 13.
"That's so important because at this juncture, Richard Allen is the only person charged with these murders,” said defense attorney and former deputy prosecutor Katie Jackson-Lindsay, who is providing legal expertise on the case for 13News. “Richard Allen is the only one alleged to have committed the crime at all. He's not charged under a theory of conspiracy, and we've not heard of any other even potential suspects."
Court records indicate that German's phone was found under her shoe, and both were found under Williams' body. The defense argues that if Allen killed the girls, that phone never moved after the girls were killed and should not have lost contact with the cellphone tower for 11 hours.
The defense motion also goes even deeper into their theory that the girls were killed by Odinists in a ritualistic sacrifice.
Allen's attorneys say that a Purdue professor told police that it was “quite plausible” that the branches placed on the girls’ bodies were Norse religious markings.
The defense also said an FBI agent stated that the bodies appeared to have been moved and staged.
According to Allen's attorneys, Williams was dating the son of an alleged Odinist, and that man posted photos on his Facebook page mimicking the crime scene.
Allen's trial is scheduled to begin in mid-May.