DELPHI, Ind. — The judge in the Delphi murders case issued several orders Monday afternoon that will impact what evidence jurors will be allowed to see.
Specifically, Judge Frances Gull ruled that the evidence found inside defendant Richard Allen's home can be used in the case. Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017.
Court documents say investigators found important evidence against Allen at the crime scene — an unspent bullet found between Abby and Libby's bodies. Investigators claim ballistics testing on that bullet matches a gun they found inside Allen's home when they conducted a search warrant. It is some of the most powerful evidence offered by the state to link Allen to the crime scene.
But Allen's attorneys say the Carroll County sheriff lied in order to get the search warrant and, therefore, all that evidence should be suppressed.
Gull denied that request, saying the affidavit the sheriff filed to search Allen's home and car was reasonable and, she said, 'The Court does not find that (the sheriff) submitted false statements or that (the sheriff) omitted statements with reckless disregard, nor does the Court find that (the sheriff) intended to mislead the Judge by failing to present information."
The Indiana Supreme Court issued a ruling last week that Allen's original attorneys would be reinstated to the case. Gull chose to dismiss attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi in October following a leak of Delphi crime scene photos from Baldwin’s law office.
With his original attorneys reinstated, it is not yet clear if Allen's trial will be moved to an earlier date. It had been moved from January to October 2024 after his original attorneys were removed by the judge.