DELPHI, Ind. — Last week, Allen County Superior Court Judge Fran Gull ruled that third-party evidence of a possible link between Odinism and the February 2017 deaths of teenagers Libby German and Abby Williams will not be heard at the upcoming trial of Delphi suspect Richard Allen.
And earlier this week, Allen’s defense team filed a notice with the court indicating they’re planning to appeal that ruling.
It’s a filing that could put Allen’s mid-October trial in limbo, as a ruling by an appeals court could take several months.
But in Monday’s filing, defense attorneys Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin also appeared to take the trial calendar into consideration, asking the court for an “expeditious ruling.”
“This motion is not made to unnecessarily delay the trial, but out of a sincere belief that this Court’s ruling in erroneous and will result in an unnecessary second trial should Richard Allen be found guilty,” the defense wrote in its latest filing.
Rozzi and Baldwin also argued that Gull’s ruling against presenting potential evidence relating to Odinism at trial denies Allen the right to present a defense, what they called a violation of both “state and federal constitutions.”
“Essentially, with its September 4, 2024, order, therefore, 40 days before the trial is scheduled to begin, Richard Allen’s defense was completely gutted,” the defense wrote.
Gull’s ruling regarding the talk of Odinism in alleged connection to the girls’ deaths came after Rozzi and Baldwin argued their case during a late July hearing.
During that hearing, Rozzi and Baldwin told the court they believed there is evidence to show German and Williams’ bodies were “staged” and alleged “runes” were placed throughout the crime scene.
But according to Gull’s ruling on the matter, the defense’s arguments were not sufficient evidence to present in front of a jury.
“The burden is on the defendant to show a nexus between Odinism, cult or ritualistic killing … and the murders of the two victims,” the ruling read in part. “The case law is quite clear that the nexus must not be based on speculation, conjecture, rumors, or hearsay, but rather on admissible evidence.”
But Gull’s ruling did appear to leave the possibility of that third-party involvement evidence still being presented at trial, but only if the defense can provide an “offer of proof.”
That means essentially that during the jury trial — slated to run from Oct. 14 to Nov. 15 in Carroll Circuit Court — the defense will still have a chance to argue their “offer of proof” in front of Gull outside the presence of a jury.
Then, if Gull believes the proof is met, she can decide to bring the jury back in to listen to the defense’s evidence.
But in this week’s filing, the defense stated an “offer of proof” could take a long time to argue, forcing the jury to “wait outside the courtroom or in their hotel rooms for hours or even days.”
“The trial will run more efficiently and at less expense should these issues be resolved by the Court of Appeals before any trial takes place,” Rozzi and Baldwin noted.
This all comes on the heels of another one of Gull’s recent rulings regarding Allen’s alleged confessions, in which Gull agreed with the prosecution’s belief that over 60 of Allen’s confessions of alleged guilt made to family and employees during his year-long stint at Westville Correctional Facility were made voluntarily and not out of what the defense believes was psychological and environmental distress.
“The court is not persuaded that the detention caused the defendant to make incriminating statements,” Gull wrote in that ruling last week. “While the defendant does suffer from major depressive disorder and anxiety, those are not serious mental illnesses that prevent the defendant from making voluntary statements.”
It was Feb. 14, 2017, when the bodies of German and Williams were found near the Monon High Bridge area in rural Carroll County.
In November 2022, Allen was arrested and charged with two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder for his alleged connection to the case.