CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. – Lawyers for Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen are asking for a delay in a key bail hearing scheduled for next week.
Allen’s defense team filed a motion Tuesday for a continuance for the Feb. 17 hearing as well as a delay for his March trial.
Allen faces two counts of murder in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German. Indiana State Police announced his arrest in October 2022, more than five years after the murders.
According to the motion, the defense said it has “yet to receive the entirety of discovery” from the state and was “not yet prepared to proceed with the bail hearing.”
Allen’s counsel anticipated receiving the remaining discovery materials by the end of the week and said it lacked “adequate time to review the discovery in preparation for the bail hearing.”
As a result, the defense is asking Special Judge Fran Gull for a delay. If the hearing is continued, the defense acknowledged the court would likely have to push back Allen’s trial, which is scheduled for March 20, 2023.
Last week, prosecutors filed their response to Allen’s petition for bail. The state said its evidence “adds up to strong and evident proof of guilt” in the case.
But Allen’s attorneys have argued that the evidence wasn’t strong enough to keep Allen behind bars as he awaited trial. They’re asking for him to be released or given reasonable bail. He’s been held without bond since his arrest.
Allen last appeared in court on Jan. 13. At that time, Gull said a jury would be convened from outside Carroll County and expressed skepticism that the trial would meet its March 2023 date.
Gull ruled last month that jurors would be brought in from Allen County for the trial, which will remain in Carroll County for logistical reasons.
