Delphi Murder Trial: Jury Watches Videos of Richard Allen Accused of Killing Libby German and Abby Williams at Westville Jail

DELPHI, Ind. — Jurors in Richard Allen’s double murder trial on Saturday, more than a dozen videos were shown showing Allen being held at the Westville Correctional Facility.

Allen is accused of killing Libby German and Abby Williams while walking in Delphi, Indiana, on February 13, 2017.

The state objected to the videos being shown in court, with the defense arguing that only a jury should be allowed to view them due to the “dignity” of those involved. The defense stated that the video was vulgar in nature.

Justice Frances Gull ruled that the videos could be shown to the jury, but the monitor showing the videos should be directed away from the courtroom gallery where members of the media and public sat. Allen couldn’t even see what was being shown.

The defense provided two exhibits, body camera video and a master sheet of the film. The master sheet included a “contains nudity” category.

These 10 videos were shot in April 2023 and did not contain sound.

While watching the videos, reporters in the courtroom noticed one juror raised his eyebrows and looked at Allen. Several jurors took notes. The judge with a background in psychology seemed “extremely interested.”

Allen occasionally looked down at his coffee mug. Libby’s family appeared “annoyed” as the videos played. Libby’s grandmother, Becky Patty, told prosecutor Nick McLeland during a pretrial hearing that it was unlikely that people would see these videos of Allen, but the public would be shown gruesome crime scene photos and autopsy photos of Libby and Abby.

Film No. 10 seemed to evoke the most emotion among those who saw it. Watching this, defense attorney Jennifer Auger seemed deeply concerned. Auger held her head in her hand at one point, covered her mouth at another, and then finally looked away.

The defense also called Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter. He claims he played a supporting role and that dozens of law enforcement agencies were initially involved in the investigation. These include the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals, and ATF.

Carter said the FBI’s decision to drop the case came in August 2021. The FBI agents working on the case turned over all of their investigative materials.

Carter was on the stand for less than 10 minutes.

Five more films were then shown to the jury before the end of the day. Again, it was played only for the jury, the prosecution and the defense. The screen was turned away from the audience and media.

Grandma Libby left the courtroom during a break. She was visibly upset that the videos were not played publicly while everyone saw the graphic autopsy and crime scene photos of Libby and Abby. Allen’s wife, Kathy, was also absent from the hearing on Saturday.