DELPHI, Ind. — Special Judge Frances Gull denied a request to dismiss charges against Delphi murders defendant Richard Allen.
Allen is charged with murdering Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017.
Gull says their motion to dismiss from Allen's defense team was "denied as unsupported by the law and the evidence."
Allen's attorneys argued they believe another man killed the girls. Police interviewed the man just days after the murders, but investigators say a recording of the interview was accidentally erased. Allen's attorneys say that interview could have helped them prove their client's innocence.
But in her order, Gull said the defense failed to show police intentionally destroyed the recording or that the state acted in bad faith. She also said police testified that their investigation cleared the other man, and evidence presented by the defense did not negate the state’s evidence.
The judge also denied a request by the defense to impose penalties on the prosecutor. The defense claimed that the prosecutor has been slow to share information, and that the information provided was disorganized.
While denying the motion in general, Gull did grant some of the defense team's requests. She has ordered the prosecutor to turn over a report by a state police investigator within 10 days and any new discovery materials within seven days.
Gull still has several other important issues to decide — including whether the defense team will be able to tell the jury about their theory that someone other than Allen committed the murders.
Allen and his attorneys will be back in court for a status hearing Friday, Aug. 23.
Allen's murder trial is scheduled to begin Monday, Oct. 14.