Judge in Delphi murders case defends keeping parts of proceedings private

Delphi, Indiana – The special judge overseeing the Delphi murder case on Thursday defended her decision to keep certain aspects of the court proceedings confidential in a filing with the Indiana Supreme Court.

On October 28, 2022, Richard Allen, 51, of Delphi, was taken into custody in connection with the February 2017 killings of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams close to the Monon High Bridge in Delphi.

Allen County judge Frances Gull states in a 20-page brief on Thursday that Allen failed to register an objection with her, waited too long to object, and broke state and federal laws when his defense team named Abby and Libby in a memo that was over 100 pages long this past fall.

After not being able to obtain papers via the online Chronological Case Summary, Allen brought his concerns to the attention of the court. Gull states in her filing that the Chronological Case Summary is the responsibility of court clerks, not judges.

The Indiana Supreme Court has called for Gull’s removal from the case and requested that she respond to inquiries concerning Allen’s counsel, who resigned from the case. She can reply to the state justices until November 27.

In a hearing on October 19, Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi resigned as Allen’s defense lawyers. Following a Baldwin office evidence leak, they withdrew.

The released letter from July to the court coincided with the judge’s response on Thursday. In July, a judge was informed by a prisoner at Westville Correctional Facility that Allen was being mistreated and abused.