FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Special judge Frances Gull is refusing to throw out key evidence in the Delphi murders case.
Richard Allen is charged with murdering Libby German and Abby Williams. His attorneys had been requesting a Franks Hearing to dismiss some of the evidence prosecutors used to arrest and charge Allen with multiple counts of murder.
That evidence was gathered when investigators served a search warrant at Allen’s Carroll County home in early October 2022.
In their effort to suppress that evidence, Allen's lawyers argued that the sheriff misled and lied to a Carroll County judge in order to obtain the search warrant.
They asked for a hearing to explain why they believe the evidence should not be allowed at trial.
Tuesday, Gull rejected that request for a hearing and ruled that she did not believe the sheriff acted inappropriately when getting the warrant.
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One of the most critical pieces of evidence that investigators found during the search of Allen’s home is a firearm the defendant said he has owned for many years. The prosecutor says ballistics testing later performed on that gun link it to an unspent bullet found at the scene where the girls’ bodies were located.
In a series of motions, the defense team laid out dozens of pages of reasons why they believe the search warrant violated Allen’s rights and should not have been issued.
The defense team claimed that law enforcement failed to tell the judge about the possibility of other people being involved in the murders and the possibility of Odinism, a Norse pagan religion, playing a role.
The Odinism theory
The prosecution has filed their own motions to bar the defense from tying the Delphi murders to Odinism. They also want to ban them from mentioning nine other men who have not been charged in connection to the murders.
The defense filed a response on Aug. 13, arguing the restrictions would violate Allen's Sixth Amendment rights.
They also brought up police statements delivered when the prosecution wanted to keep the probable cause for Allen's arrest sealed. Those police statements mentioned that the investigation was "ongoing."
Allen's attorneys say that means the State has admitted someone else could have been responsible for the murders.
Another hearing on Aug. 23
The judge has set a status hearing for Friday, Aug. 23. The beginning of that hearing will be closed to the public.
We hope to hear her decisions on several other motions she took under advisement, after a three-day-long hearing at the beginning of August. That includes issues of what information jurors will be allowed to hear and whether some of the statements Allen made while in custody will be suppressed.
Allen’s trial is scheduled to begin Monday, Oct 14.