Numerous confessions allegedly made by accused Delphi killer Richard Allen have been deemed admissible in court.
Special Judge Fran Gul issued the ruling Thursday in Carroll County, permitting all statements Allen made to psychologists, inmates, guards, law enforcement, and family members while incarcerated to be presented as evidence at trial.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Allen is facing four counts of murder for the deaths of Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German. The girls vanished while hiking along the Monon High Bridge trail in February 2017, in Delphi.
Their bodies were discovered the next day.
Allen, a Delphi resident and pharmacist, was arrested and charged with their murders more than five years later.
Stacy Diener, a prosecutor on the case, said Allen made 61 incriminating statements over two months, including confessions to his wife, mother, and inmates assigned to him while on suicide watch.
Indiana State Police detective Brian Harshman, who was tasked with reviewing reports, videos, and phone calls involving Allen during his incarceration, testified that the defendant had made “60-plus direct confessions.”
Harshman noted that some of the confessions had specific details about the Delphi murders that only the killer would, as well as the motive behind the crimes.
Defense attorney Brad Rozzi argued that the confessions were coerced, citing improper policies and intentional actions by investigators and prison staff that violated Allen’s constitutional rights.
In Thursday’s ruling, Judge Gull determined that Allen’s statements were made voluntarily, Fox 59 reports. She also noted that Allen failed to demonstrate any psychological issues when making the alleged confessions.
“The defendant has failed to comply with the Criminal Rules of Procedure by neglecting to clearly state which specific statements he is seeking to suppress, nor the legal basis for the suppression,” Gull stated.
“Despite these deficiencies, the Court has been able to determine that the statements given to the defendant’s family members were voluntary, not coerced by any State action, and were not made under threats of violence, or improper influence.”
Allen’s trial is scheduled for October 14. He remains behind bars without bail.
[Feature Photo: FILE – A makeshift memorial to Liberty German and Abigail Williams near where they were last seen and where the bodies were discovered stands along the Monon Trail leading to the Monon High Bridge Trail in Delphi, Ind., Oct. 31, 2022. Jurors for the trial of Richard Matthew Allen, an Indiana man accused of killing the two teenage girls, will be brought from Allen County, which includes the city of Fort Wayne, a judge in the case decided Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)]
