DELPHI, Ind — It's been over seven years since the bodies of Abby Williams and Libby German were found near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. Richard Allen, the man accused of killing the two teenagers, will stand trial for the 16th day Tuesday.
The trial began Friday, Oct. 18.
Sixteen Allen County residents were selected to serve on the jury. Twelve of those people (eight women and four men) began the trial as jurors with four (two men and two women) serving as alternates.
From opening statements to verdict, 13News will be at the Carroll County courthouse every day of the trial to explain what happened inside the courtroom.
Follow along with the latest updates from Tuesday below:
9 a.m. - Richard Allen is wearing a baby blue shirt, khakis and glasses on his head.
When Special Judge Frances Gull, she shared how the prosecution filed a motion of limine to prevent Dr. Stuart Grassian from testifying for the defense.
Defense attorney Brad Rozzi said the state has known about this for a month.
Gull said she trusts the witness has been debriefed and will comply with evidentiary rules.
"If he steps over the line, we'll be having an argument" without the presence of the jury, Gull said.
Day 16 summary
New digital data was provided Tuesday by Stacy Eldridge, a digital forensic examiner. She claims she used data pulled by Indiana State Police years ago from Libby German's cellphone to determine someone inserted a headphone jack into the phone on the evening the girls went missing. It was then pulled out about five hours later.
That's the first time ever we've heard the possibility of someone else tampering with Libby's phone that night.
We also heard about two hours of testimony from a forensic scientist about the "cycled, unfired round" found at the crime scene between the girls' bodies. Dr. Eric Warren on Tuesday was critical of how state police handled the examination of the cartridge, essentially saying the findings were inconclusive.
Also on Tuesday, a psychiatrist who specializes in solitary confinement shared what he calls "common symptoms" of people who are confined for too long, including confusion and delirium.
After watching videos and listening to phone calls of Richard Allen in solitary confinement, the doctor concluded he was "absolutely" showing signs of delirium, supporting the defense's argument that Allen's mental health had deteriorated when he confessed to killing Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017.
Defense's 18th witness, Betsey Blair
9:17 a.m. - The jury entered the courtroom. Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin called Betsey Blair to the stand, who said she saw a car in the CPS parking lot on Feb. 13, 2017, and also went to the trails twice that day.
Blair said the second time she went to the trail was around 1:45 p.m. and left around 2:15 p.m.
In the old CPS lot, Blair said she saw one vehicle near the trail, but it was "not parking how other people park." Blair said the vehicle was backed into the area, close to the building.
Blair described the vehicle as a four-door sedan that wasn't brightly colored.
During cross-examination, a prosecuting attorney said Blair talked to police on Feb. 17, 2017 and said she described the car as "closer to the building, angled and backed in."
Blair confirmed she was certain the car she saw was at the CPS building.
A juror asked Blair if she thought the car could've belonged to someone working at the CPS building, but Blair said the building looked abandoned but nobody checked to see if anyone worked there.
Defense's 19th witness, Dr. Stuart Grassian
9:35 a.m. - The defense's next witness is Dr. Stuart Grassian, who is a psychiatrist and went to Harvard Medical School. Grassian specializes in solitary confinement, false memories and false confessions.
Grassian said, "It's important to understand the mental state" in cases like this.
Grassian said he understands Allen made incriminating statements and wanted to know if Allen's mental health contributed to that.
Grassian listened to calls from prison and read transcripts from other inmates.
When discussing solitary confinement, Grassian said people held like this can become "confused, disoriented" and "extremely lonely" since there is minimal opportunities for stimulation.
Grassian said he never visited Allen's cell but saw video provided by the defense.
Grassian said the United Nations classifies torture in solitary confinement as more than 15 days.
Rozzi asked Grassian what causes delirium, which Rozzi responded with sepsis, heart failure and lack of external stimulation.
When Rozzi asked Grassian if he noticed symptoms of delirium on Allen's phone calls to other people, Grassian said, "Absolutely yes."
Grassian said delirium can also lead to developing false memories, such as starting to believe and picture things that didn't happen.
"Your memory can shift over time," Grassian said, noting this was "perfectly consistent" with Allen's symptoms.
During cross-examination, a prosecuting attorney asked Grassian if he was aware of prison rules on safekeeping, punishment and safety protocols, which Grassian said yes, but he wasn't an expert on those.
A juror asked Grassian if psychotic behavior can go back to normal after the person is removed from the situation, which Grassian responded, "Generally, yes."
A juror also asked Grassian if he believes someone described as normal can become psychotic after six months, which Grassian responded, "Absolutely. I've seen it happen."
Defense's 20th witness, Dr. Erin Warren
10:17 a.m. - The defense's next witness is Dr. Erin Warren, who lives near Memphis, Tennessee, and owns a business dealing with crime scene reconstruction and worked with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations in the firearm identification unit.
Warren said he has testified on cases similar to this all across the country, working on both sides of the aisle.
Warren said he reviewed the examiner's work from the Indiana State Police report and read over the deposition, noting he couldn't think of anything that was missing.
Warren also said he looked at photos under a microscope, which he noted, "documentation is very important."
Warren said using a microscope can shift the focus to see spots and layers of a bullet.
Warren described the difference between cycled rounds and unfired rounds:
- Unfired rounds: case out of chamber
- Cycled rounds: The ejection will clear the live round and would leave marks, even though it was never fired
Warren explained that a fired round is much more explosive.
Warren said the cartridge found at the scene was a cycled and unfired round.
According to Warren, the difference between a cycled round and a fired round is the difference in pressure and time. Both can be different, even if it came from the same gun.
Warren noted that he has not seen any of the evidence in the case.
Warren described three tools:
- Ejector: Documented well, "high potential for subclass"
- Extractor: No documentation, subclass marks are generally left
- Barrel hood: Even less research, Warren has never heard of being used as a tool until this case
11:30 a.m. - When court resumed, prosecuting attorney Jim Luttrell asked Dr. Erin Warren is a tool mark is a tool mark, which Warren responded, "No, that's not correct."
Warren said he didn't need the bullet or the gun when conducting his part of the investigation.
Luttrell asked Warren if he had received the evidence, would he have looked at them under a microscope, which Warren said, "Yes."
12:17 p.m. - Warren's testimony lasted nearly two hours.
A juror asked Warren if removing or cleaning could change the markings on a bullet, which Warren said no, unless it was damaged.
Warren said it's possible to have subclass from manufacturing tools.
Warren also said he was aware ISP's findings were verified and supported by another person.
Defense's 21st witness, Stacy Eldridge, a former FBI forensic examiner
1:53 p.m. - The defense's 21st witness is former FBI forensic examiner Stacy Eldridge.
Eldridge now works as a private detective in Nebraska, specializing in digital forensics.
Eldridge said she spent 65 hours going over digital information and then spent 15 hours preparing her testimony.
Eldridge examined the data extracted from Libby's cellphone. She had access to the full file extracted in October 2017, as well as reports and depositions on other data pulls.
Eldridge said she was looking into stuff the user cannot touch or control. Eldridge said you need special forensic software to get through the data. Eldridge said she used a program called Cellebrite and another called Axiom.
Eldridge explained that after extracting the data from a phone, you should make a copy for examination; otherwise, you change the phone itself.
Software allows different types and levels of data to be extracted. Eldridge said the best practice is to get "full file systems" first. Eldridge said in 2017, Indiana State Police did a basic-user extraction at first, but could have pulled more. Eldridge said in October 2017, ISP came back to do a full extraction.
Eldridge said that "did cause issues" because files dropped off as the phone got older.
Eldridge said she was able to pull information from the health app on Libby's phone and the knowledgeC database.
Defense attorney Jennifer Auger pulled some of the data that Eldridge extracted on a TV screen. The display showed where Eldridge's data agreed with the analysis by state's witness Chris Cecil, who works for Indiana State Police.
Eldridge said her data disagrees with Cecil's timeline for when messages, calls and voicemails were delivered the night of Feb. 13 into the morning of Feb. 14 in 2017.
According to Eldridge, Libby's phone lost contact with a cellphone tower at 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, and then reconnected at 4:33 a.m. on Feb. 14, 2017.
Over objections by the state, information about "pings" to Libby's cellphone is shared with jurors.
According to the health data app on Libby's phone, Eldridge says it continued to log that it was gathering data, meaning the phone was on. Eldridge said there would have to be an external reason for the phone to be on but not connected to a tower.
In Cecil's report, the data said that at 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, there was an "audio output start time." Cecil noted "research is incomplete," saying that could mean headphones, a speaker, a microphone, a bluetooth device, etc.
"Now, in 2024, this research is complete," Eldridge said.
Eldridge said the facts were in the knowledgeC database the entire time:
- Feb. 13 at 1:38 p.m. - "Several audio outputs"
- Feb. 13 at 5:45 p.m. - a recording is started
- Feb. 13 at 10:32 p.m. - the recording ends
Eldridge said at 10:32 p.m., the device logged a "#1," which means a headphone was inserted. Eldridge confirmed it was wired headphones.
Eldridge said this means the headphones were inserted at 5:45 p.m. and then removed at 10:32 p.m.
Eldridge clarified it could have been wired headphones or an aux cable.
Eldridge said the headphones would stop sound coming from the phone.
Eldridge said Libby's phone received a call milliseconds before the headphones were inserted.
3:10 p.m. - State's attorney Nick McLeland began cross-examination.
McLeland and Eldridge established that she received her training while at the FBI. Eldridge was only given the rough location where the phone was found. Eldridge was not given time to review all of the information.
Eldridge focused on the health app data, focusing on when the phone lost power at 4:33 a.m. on Feb. 14 and worked backwards to 10:50 a.m. on Feb. 13.
Eldridge reviewed the video on the phone and agreed with the timestamp and location that state police found.
Eldridge agreed that the health app did not log any movement after 2:32 p.m. on Feb. 13.
Eldridge said there was no information that the phone was powered off overnight. It was in and out of service before 5:45 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017.
McLeland asked if Eldridge knew about the cell service at the scene on Feb. 13. Eldridge said, "No."
McLeland asked about a signal blocker. Eldridge said a person would need to have the device with them.
During redirect, defense attorney Jennifer Auger asked if Eldridge had analyzed all of the data she should have. Eldridge said she analyzed all that she could with the hours she had.
Auger asked what a "drive study" is. Eldridge said it is when you drive around to test cell service. Eldridge said it was covered in a 2019 document.
Auger asked if you would need to move a phone to plug in headphones. Eldridge said you wouldn't necessarily need to move the phone enough to log a step in the health app.
Auger asked if the phone would log a step if it was powered down after 4:33 a.m. Eldridge said, "No."
The state asked if the phone would log information while being carried. Eldridge said it would depend.