DELPHI, Ind. — The prosecutors in the Delphi murders case have responded to a filing by Richard Allen's legal team that could delay the trial scheduled to begin in October.
Attorneys for Allen said this week that they want the Indiana Court of Appeals to overturn two of Special Judge Frances Gull's rulings before the trial starts. The attorneys don't agree with some of the judge's recent rulings about what evidence can and can't be heard by a jury.
The defense team wants the Court of Appeals to review those rulings. They believe those rulings were wrong and violated Allen's constitutional rights and ultimately will lead to a second trial if Allen is found guilty.
The issues the defense is raising are critical to how the defense team plans to defend Allen and convince jurors he did not kill 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German.
The girls were killed in February 2017 after going for an afternoon walk near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi, Indiana.
Allen was arrested in October 2022. He pleaded not guilty.
The two issues the defense is raising: Gull's decision to let jurors hear about alleged confessions and a ruling to prevent them from hearing the defense theory that someone else killed the girls.
Allen's defense team believes Gull got it wrong when she decided to allow a jury to hear more than 60 confessions Allen allegedly made to family, prison officials and his psychologist while being held in a state prison after his arrest.
The defense has argued those confessions were not voluntary and made by Allen when he was severely mentally ill.
Gull disagreed.
In a new motion filed Monday, Allen's attorneys said the judge's decision to allow a jury to hear those confessions denies Allen his Constitutional rights.
The defense says if Allen is found guilty, this issue would likely come up on appeal and lead to the conviction being overturned, with a new trial following after that.
State response
In a response filed late Sept. 10, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland argued against the certification of orders that would allow for an "interlocutory appeal."
McLeland argued that "there is no question of law to be debated" in Gull's orders questioned by the defense.
"The Orders in no way involve a substantial question of law, rather the issues presented and decided, which are the basis of the orders, are questions of fact," the state says. "Questions of fact are appropriately determined at the trial level..."
The state also argued that such an appeal would delay the trial for a second time, which "is burdensome on the State and on the family of the victims, as well as financially burdensome on the county."
The state asked Gull to maintain current trial dates in the case.
Gull has 30 days to respond to the defense's motion.
Jury selection for the Delphi murders trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 14 in Fort Wayne, with open statements expected to take place Oct. 18 in Delphi.