FORT WAYNE, Ind. — For the first time, broadcast cameras will be permitted inside the courtroom as Richard Allen — the man accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams below the Monon High Bridge near Delphi in 2017 — appears before Judge Fran Gull in Allen County on Thursday.

The Oct. 19 status hearing is set for 2 p.m. at the Allen County Courthouse. Despite Allen’s accused crimes being committed in Carroll County, the hearing will be held in Allen County due to Allen County Judge Fran Gull being assigned to the heavily publicized case.

Allen’s defense attorneys previously filed in support of allowing cameras into the courtroom. The State, however, had expressed “serious concerns” at the prospect of allowing cameras into the courtroom due to the national fervor surrounding the case which has generated thousands of followers online and even led to leaked information being shared in online communities.

Despite these concerns, Judge Gull ruled to allow the media to have a camera in the courtroom during Thursday’s hearing.

Several topics could be on the docket for the Thursday hearing, including a crucial leak of evidence that Allen’s defense attorneys took responsibility for. Indiana State Police launched an investigation into the leak last week, preceding Gull’s decision to set the Oct. 19 hearing status “to discuss the upcoming hearing on October 31, 2023, and other matters which have recently arisen.”

Legal experts previously told NewsNation affiliate WXIN that a leak of this nature could result in Allen’s attorneys being given another warning from the bench. It could even lead to Allen’s attorneys being dismissed and a new legal team being appointed which would most likely delay the Jan. 24, 2024, trial date.