CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. — On the same day the Indiana Supreme Court heard arguments about whether or not Richard Allen’s original defense team should be reinstated on the Delphi murders case, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland filed new felony charges against Allen.
Allen was previously charged with two counts of murder in October 2022 after being accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German on the Monon High Bridge in Delphi in February 2017.
On Thursday, McLeland filed additional charges against Allen more than one year after his arrest. Allen now faces a total of four counts of murder and two felony counts of kidnapping.
According to the new filing, McLeland argues that the previously released investigative findings include cause that Allen kidnapped Abby and Libby by force prior to their murders near the Monon High Bridge.
Due to Allen committing the act, or attempting to commit the act of kidnapping, during the alleged murder, Allen can also be charged with two counts of felony murder — where murder is committed during the act of another crime.
McLeland stated these newly amended charges “more accurately aligns” with the charging information leveled against Allen in the high-profile murder case.
Allen’s legal team has been notified of the new charges leveled against their client.
In an updated court order released Thursday afternoon, the Indiana Supreme Court ordered Richard Allen’s original defense team of Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi to be reinstated to the case. The court will not remove Judge Fran Gull from the case and will not order the trial to commence within 70 days.
This concludes Allen’s battle with Judge Fran Gull over his defense team, however, as Gull previously removed Allen’s original attorneys after she found them “grossly negligent” in the wake of an evidence leak.
On Thursday, an attorney representing Allen argued before the Indiana Supreme Court for Rozzi and Baldwin’s reinstatement. Allen has previously pushed for a speedy trial in his case, which currently is set to begin in October.
It is unclear if the new charges will affect the proposed trial date or if a potential Indiana Supreme Court decision will once again shake up the docket.