Delphi murder suspect asks judge to deny health records request
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CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. – Attorneys for Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen are asking the court to deny the prosecution access to their client’s mental health and medical records.
In September, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland subpoenaed Allen’s health records from his time in captivity. The subpoena sought the results of examinations and evaluations that Allen has undergone at Westville Correctional Facility since Nov. 3, 2022.
Allen faces two counts of murder in the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German near the Monon High Bridge in February 2017. Indiana State Police announced his arrest in October 2022, more than five years after the killings.
This week, his attorneys filed a pair of motions seeking to quash the subpoena request.
The prosecution wanted the defense to turn over “any other documents, records, notes, videos and/or writings that the facility may have” pertaining to Allen’s physical and mental health.
In the filing, Allen’s attorneys characterized the subpoena as “unreasonable and oppressive.” They argued the records contain personal information about Allen that is protected by law.
The defense also pointed out that Allen raised issues about his mental condition in his request to be moved from Westville to another facility. Allen and his attorneys previously said he has been held in isolation for the bulk of his time in captivity, resulting in mental and physical decline.
“The Carroll County Prosecutor, by his own admission, has ‘no dog in this fight’ because the Safekeeping Order of November 3, 2022, transferred jurisdiction of Defendant Allen from the Carroll County Sheriff to the Indiana Department of Corrections,” the filing said.
Allen’s attorneys wrote that they had not filed an insanity defense, nor have they requested a competency evaluation of Allen, meaning his “mental state is not at issue in the guilt/innocence phase of this proceeding.”
The attorneys also wrote that the “requested information is not likely to lead to the discovery of admissible evidence.”
Special Judge Fran Gull of Allen County is overseeing the case. Allen is scheduled to go on trial in January 2024.
