Delphi murders: Defense wants jury to see crime scene

(Update 9/26/24): The court has indicated that it will wait to rule on the defense’s request to take the jury to view the crime scene until after the state issues its response and a hearing that is set to occur between jury selection and the start of the trial on Oct. 14. The State has since filed orders opposing the jury visit to the crime scene.

Original story below:

CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. – Defense attorneys for Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen want jurors to see the crime scene firsthand.

In a motion filed Monday in Carroll Circuit Court, Allen’s defense team asked the court that empaneled jurors “be transported to the Freedom Bridge, the Monon High Bridge and to the site where the bodies of the victims were located, as well as the site of the old CPS building were the prosecution claims Richard Allen’s vehicle was parked between 1:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017.”

Allen is charged with four counts of murder in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German. Since Indiana State Police announced his arrest in October 2022, the case has been mired in legal back-and-forth. His trial is scheduled to start on Oct. 14.

In the motion, the defense said the request would “greatly aid a jury’s understanding of evidence presented at trial, including observing and feeling the unique topography of the land; something that cannot be understood from photographs and video.”

The defense wants jurors to walk the trail from the Freedom Bridge to the Monon High Bridge and see where the girls were abducted. They also want them to see the area where the bodies were found and the building where prosecutors contend Allen parked his vehicle during the time of the killings.

Andrew Baldwin (L), Richard Allen (C), Bradley Rozzi (R)

The locations are less than two miles from the courthouse, the defense argued. Transportation and viewing would take under 90 minutes, in the defense’s estimation.

Allen’s attorneys said their client wouldn’t necessarily have to make the trip.

“If, because of any security concerns, the Court does not wish to allow Allen to be transported to view the scene, he waives any such right and asks that the Court order this jury view occur without him,” the motion said.

Allen’s trial will begin with jury selection in Allen County. Once jurors are picked, they’ll be transported to Carroll County for the trial, which is slated to last a month.