Delphi defense wants Allen moved to county jail
May 14—DELPHI — The legal team for Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen made another push this week to get their client removed from prison and transferred to a county jail as he awaits his upcoming jury trial.
Allen was originally arrested on two counts of murder in October 2022 in alleged connection with the deaths of Delphi teenagers Libby German and Abby Williams in February 2017.
Shortly after his arrest, Allen was placed at the Westville Correctional Facility in LaPorte County for "safekeeping," due to what then-Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby called an "imminent danger of serious bodily injury or death" and a "substantial threat to the safety of others."
Last year, Allen was allowed to be transferred to the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Sullivan County after defense attorneys Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin argued Allen's experience at WCF was like a "prisoner of war."
Along the way, officials — including now Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett — also cited manpower as a reason for keeping Allen in a correctional facility as opposed to a county jail, adding county jails did not have the available number of officers that would be needed to safely transport Allen to and from court.
But now, according to Rozzi and Baldwin, there is no current evidence that reportedly suggests Allen is in imminent danger or a threat to others, and the pair of attorneys added they believe there are also no current snags in safely transporting their client.
It's time Allen is placed in a county jail until his upcoming trial, set to begin Oct. 14, according to a motion to vacate the safekeeping order filed by Rozzi and Baldwin on Monday.
The attorneys mentioned two county jails specifically in their Monday motion — the Tippecanoe County Jail in Lafayette and the Cass County Jail in Logansport — though it's unclear if the defense favors one over the other.
It's also unclear when presiding Judge Frances Gull will rule on this latest motion, though she did recently schedule a series of hearings that will take place from May 21-May 23 inside the Carroll Circuit Court.
During those hearings, according to court documents, Gull is expected to rule on several other recent motions filed in the case, including Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland's motion to ban the defense from mentioning anything in the trial about alleged third-party involvement in the girls' deaths.
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 that he was on the bridge the day the girls went missing, but he did not see them.
