DELPHI, Ind. — There were lots of motions filed and issues raised by both sides in the pretrial hearings Thursday for Richard Allen, the man accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams in Delphi in 2017.
Defense attorney and legal expert Katie Jackson-Lindsay said there are some key things to consider.
First, will the state be successful in getting the judge to allow Richard Allen's 61 alleged confessions as evidence for a jury?
Allen's attorneys say those confessions were coerced and, to some extent, elicited by law enforcement.
"And so to that end, Judge (Frances) Gull has to now parse through each of those statements and determine whether there have been some conditions that have violated his rights in being able to get those confessions. And so the outcome of that ruling is extremely significant because, as you can imagine in any criminal case, a confession is critical," said Jackson-Lindsay.
Jackson-Lindsay says due to the number of confessions, that could call into question the credibility of those confessions.
A second key point: Will the defense be able to present evidence of an alternative theory that someone else committed the murders.
"As a defense attorney, that is a super-critical issue," said Jackson-Lindsay. "If the jury, after hearing all of the evidence, determines there are two things that could have happened — it could have been a ritualistic killing or it could have been Richard Allen — they are going to be instructed by law that they have to choose the theory consistent with his innocence."
Jackson-Lindsay said this is a big issue that could affect the outcome of this case and determine Allen's fate.