Delphi defense team asks for early trial

Kim Dunlap, Kokomo Tribune, Ind.
·2 min read

Mar. 7—DELPHI — In January, the legal team for accused Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen told the Indiana Supreme Court their client wished for a speedy trial in the case.

However, defense attorneys Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin said they did not have an opportunity to file for that early trial before they were "officially disqualified" from the case by Allen County Superior Court Judge Fran Gull, the special judge presiding over the case.

Now that Rozzi and Baldwin have been reinstated, that wish has become a reality.

On Wednesday morning, the defense team for Allen, who is accused of killing Delphi teenagers Libby German and Abby Williams in February 2017, officially filed that motion for an early trial.

The lawyers' request is pursuant to Criminal Rule 4(B)(1) of the Indiana Rules of Procedure, per the filing, which states a defendant's jury trial for a pending charge begin no later than 70 calendar days from the date of the motion for an early trial.

There are exceptions, however, according to Indiana law.

Some of those include congestion of the court calendar or an emergency situation, if the defendant is released from jail before the end of the 70-day period or if the defendant is actually the one that is delaying the trial proceedings.

But in Allen's case, that criteria seems unlikely.

If the defense is granted its most recent motion, that means Allen's trial would start around mid-May, far sooner than the currently scheduled jury trial, which is slated for October.

Allen is next due back in court March 18, when Gull will hear arguments on several key issues in the case, including the prosecution's claims the defense should be held in contempt of court for reportedly violating a gag order put in place in early 2023.

It was Feb. 14, 2017, when the bodies of Williams and German were located along the banks of Deer Creek near the Monon High Bridge area, after being dropped off the day before but not returning to their pick-up location.

Five years later, on Oct. 31, 2022, investigators announced they had arrested Allen on two felony counts of murder.

During an interview with police, Allen reportedly stated he was on the bridge the day the girls went missing, but he did not see them.