Kristine PhillipsIndianapolis Star
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Early last month, the highly anticipated trial of Delphi double-murder suspect Richard Allen seemed on track to proceed as scheduled on May 13.
The judge had issued rules for the public and the media.
Summons had been sent to potential members of the jury.
Hotel rooms had been booked for the jurors, who will be sequestered during the weeks-long trial in Carroll County.
But, at the last minute, the trial was rescheduled.
By the end of May ― when the trial was supposed to have concluded ― the growing list of outstanding issues, including what evidence the jurors should see and hear, seemed nowhere near close to a resolution in a case that's seemingly been defined by controversies and never-ending legal fights.
Then, last week, Special Judge Frances Gull rejected another attempt by Allen's defense attorneys to get her to step down from the case.
Allen, charged with four counts of murder, is now scheduled to face a jury in October, assuming the trial doesn't get rescheduled again. By then, he will have been in prison for two years, waiting for his day in court.
The wait has been even longer for the friends and families of Abigail "Abby" Williams and Liberty "Libby" German, who were killed while on a hike on Feb. 13, 2017. They have been waiting for answers and justice for more than seven years.
"It's become a legal disaster," said longtime Indianapolis criminal defense attorney Bob Hammerle, who's been following the case. "It should've gone to trial a long time ago. There was no reason that it couldn't."
Evidence leak, suicide, Odinists: Inside 'bizarre' Delphi murders case
A flurry of motions and more delays
The last few months have been marked by a parade of motions, mostly from Allen's defense attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi.
Most recently, the defense team asked for dismissal, the second time they've done so. The attorneys raised new but familiar allegations that police and prosecutors failed to turn over critical pieces of evidence the attorneys say could clear Allen of the killings. That include evidence related to Odinists who, defense attorneys alleged, killed the girls during a bloody ritual in the woods.
Meanwhile, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland is asking the judge to bar testimonies about Odinism, cults, ritualistic killing and other related evidence from being presented to the jury, arguing such information is irrelevant, unfounded and misleading. Granting this request could torpedo a key part of Allen's defense.
"If the prosecution is allowed to quash any mention of an Odinist defense," said Jody Madeira, an Indiana University law professor who's been following the case, "then the defense attorneys are back to square one."
Allen's defense team is also asking the judge to exclude confessions Allen made while in prison, including statements he made to guards and other inmates. His attorneys argued Allen made these statements while in the throes of a mental health crisis, and the harsh conditions under which he's been kept ― including months in solitary confinement ― amounted to coercion.
"One issue that is becoming more and more of an issue for them is that their client continues to confess to different people in different ways," said Brett Talley, an attorney and co-host of The Prosecutors podcast who's also been following the case.
Delphi case: Judge won't postpone murder suspect's hearings; defense asks judge to step down
"The next domino to fall, I think, is probably some sort of mental evaluation to set up a situation where the things he said are due to mental duress."
These issues need to be resolved before trial, Talley said, and how those are sorted out could determine the outcome of the case.
Last month, defense attorneys, again, asked Gull to recuse herself, arguing she has shown bias against them by "maligning" them and calling them "incompetent," "negligent" and "sloppy." Gull denied that request, saying adverse rulings "do not support a reasonable basis for questioning the Court's impartiality, nor are they grounds for disqualification."
Gull also dismissed criticisms from Allen's attorneys that public confidence in the case has eroded.
"The Court cannot be swayed by inappropriate and ridiculous outside influences," Gull wrote.
A similar legal tussling between Gull and the defense team played out last year, when the judge removed the attorneys off the case alleging they had been negligent and incompetent. But theIndiana Supreme Courtkept the status quo, reinstating Baldwin and Rozzi and keeping Gull on the case.
Bob Motta, a Chicago criminal defense attorney who's been following the case and has shown support for the defense team, said Allen's attorneys can ask Gull to reconsider her decision to stay on. Or they can appeal to a higher court ― and that alone could take months to resolve, Motta said.
"Everything about this case is unusual," Motta said, "and I've handled some pretty crazy cases, but this one takes the cake."
Is a plea deal likely?
An answer to a question of whether the case could be resolved without a trial depends on whom you ask.
Talley and his co-host, Alice LaCour, said anything is possible. If prosecutors are allowed to present the confessions at trial, and defense attorneys are prevented from presenting evidence pointing to Odinists, Allen has little choice left.
"It's not uncommon for cases to plea even on the eve of the trial," LaCour said. "That does happen."
Motta, who hosts the podcast Defense Diaries, rejects the prospect of a plea deal.
"I don't think it's at all likely. I don't know why people think that," Motta said, expressing skepticism about the confessions. "We don't know anything about the confessions until we hear what he actually said and the conditions in which he said them."
Richard Allen's defense: Libby and Abby killed in Odinism ritual sacrifice
The long and repeated delays have frustrated some. Hammerle, the Indianapolis defense attorney, said it's unusual for so many issues to still be pending a year and a half after charges were filed.
"The fact of the matter is that the judge has the ability to control the tempo," Hammerle said. "If there are pending issues, have those set for hearings and make rulings on them. She has the power to do that. That's all on her lap."
"It's been a couple of years and (the attorneys) are still filing motions," he said, adding that Gull could've set deadlines. "For God's sakes. The judge needs to stop this thing."
But Motta believes postponing the trial was the right move.
"Frankly, I wasn't sure that either side was ready. We're trying to get justice for the girls, and that means having a fair trial and making sure they got the right guy," he said, adding that removing Allen's defense team last year disrupted their ability to prepare for the trial. "To me, in my evaluation, I think it's the right thing for everybody involved."
Madeira, the IU law professor, said the delays benefit no one.
Richard Allen in prison: Attorneys say his jail conditions are 'akin to that of prisoner of war'
"It’s not good for the victim’s families. Not good for the victims," she said. "Not good for the defendant. Not good for the prosecution."
Because of a gag order barring them from speaking publicly about the case, Abby and Libby's family members have been silent for much of the last two years. But Carroll County historian Mark Alan Smith, who lamented that the case has tainted Dephi's identity and overshadowed its rich history, said the delays have been "very frustrating."
"I want the entire drama to be over ASAP so we can all live our lives," Smith said. "That's all."
Lafayette Journal & Courier reporter Ron Wilkins contributed to this story. Contact IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at kphillips@indystar.com.
