Gag order issued, January hearing set in Delphi case
Dec. 2—DELPHI — The special judge in the murder case against a Delphi man accused in the February 2017 deaths of teenagers Abby Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14, has now issued a gag order effective immediately, according to court records filed late Friday morning.
Richard Allen, 50, faces two counts of murder and he is being held without bond at a detention facility in Indiana. Authorities have not divulged the incarceration location.
And while Allen wasn't supposed to appear in court again before his February 2023 bail hearing, he'll now be back in Carroll Circuit Court at 10 a.m. Jan. 13, in a hearing that is set to address whether the gag order that's now in effect will remain in place and perhaps to learn if the case will be tried in Carroll County at all.
On Nov. 22, according to court records, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland filed a motion with the court for the gag order, essentially asking for all parties involved in the case, including court officials, law enforcement officers and family members, to be banned from publicly speaking about the details of the investigation unless it is within the confines of the court itself.
A few days later, Allen's defense team filed their own motion for change of venue, citing what they referred to as "extensive media attention" and the "highly publicized" nature of the case, per court records.
The defense is asking for the case to be moved to somewhere greater than a 150-mile radius from Delphi, though a specific location was not named in the motion itself.
The motions also come on the heels of the release of a redacted probable cause affidavit filed in Allen's case, in which the defendant reportedly admitted to being on the Monon High Bridge on the day the girls went missing.
Per that same affidavit, authorities reportedly also located an unspent .40 caliber round near the girls' bodies, a bullet which investigators say directly matched a firearm that was later located inside Allen's Carroll County residence.
But Allen's attorneys, in a press release sent to media late Thursday afternoon, said that their client is innocent.
"Rick (Allen) is a 50-year-old man who has never been arrested nor accused of any crime in his entire life," attorneys Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin said in part. "He is innocent and completely confused as to why he has been charged with these crimes."
Rozzi and Baldwin added that it was Allen who contacted investigators about being on the bridge the day the girls went missing, and he also reportedly volunteered to meet with an officer to offer up details of his time on the trail, per the release.
"Rick tried to assist with the investigation and told the police that he did recall seeing three younger girls on the trail that day," Allen's attorneys wrote. "His contact with the girls was brief and of little significance. ... After Rick shared his information with law enforcement officials, he went back to his job at the local CVS and didn't hear from the police for more than 5 years."
The release went on to state that in the past five years since that first encounter between Allen and police, Allen did not get rid of his vehicle or his guns, didn't throw away his clothing, did not alter his appearance or relocate himself and his family, Rozzi and Baldwin wrote.
"He did what any innocent man would do and continued with his normal routine," the attorneys stated. "... Rick has nothing to hide. As importantly, we were hoping that we would receive tips that would assist us in proving up his innocence. Not surprisingly, we have been inundated with tips from a variety of sources, all of which will be vetted by our team.
"Although it is the burden of the prosecutor to prove Rick's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, the defense team looks forward to conducting its own investigation concerning Rick's innocence," Rozzi and Baldwin added.
