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Attorneys For Delphi Murder Suspect Richard Allen Insist He’s Innocent And Has ‘Nothing To Hide’
Richard Allen, who has been charged with the 2017 murders of Indiana teens Abby Williams and Libby German, is "innocent and completely confused as to why he has been charged with these crimes," his attorneys argue.
Attorneys for Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen insist he is innocent and has “nothing to hide,” just days after a probable cause statement was released outlining some of the evidence against him.
“Rick is a 50-year-old man who has never been arrested nor accused of any crime in his entire life,” attorneys Brad Rozzi and Andrew J. Baldwin wrote in a statement obtained by Oxygen.com. “He is innocent and completely confused as to why he has been charged with these crimes.”
Allen was arrested in late October for the February 2017 murders of friends Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13; and Liberty “Libby” German, 14; after a years-long investigation to find the teens’ killer.
Prosecutors initially stayed tight-lipped about what led them to the former CVS employee and court records were sealed, but Allen County Superior Judge Fran Gull ordered that the redacted probable cause statement be released on Tuesday after Allen’s defense team fought to make it public.
“Rick has nothing to hide,” Rozzi and Baldwin said of their reasoning. “As importantly, we were hoping that we would receive tips that would assist us in proving up his innocence.”
In the affidavit, obtained by Oxygen.com, prosecutors contend that an unspent .40 caliber round linked to a gun owned by Allen was found between the two girls’ bodies.
The teens had been dropped off near the Monon High Bridge on the afternoon of Feb 13, 2017.
They had been planning to “walk around and hang out” on the Delphi, Indiana hiking trails before getting picked up later that day, according to the Indiana State Police. However, the girls did not show up at the arranged meeting spot and their bodies were discovered in a wooded area off the trail the next day.
Video found on one of the girl’s phones showed a male subject wearing a dark jacket and jeans walking behind one of the victims.
“As the male subject approaches Victim 1 and Victim 2, one of the victims mentions, ‘gun,’” authorities allege.
Several witnesses reported seeing a man matching the suspect’s description along the trial that day, including one witness who reported seeing the man walking away from Monon High Bridge looking “muddy and bloody.”
Allen admitted in 2017 to being on the trails that day between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. to “watch the fish” and had been wearing blue jeans and a blue or black Carhartt jacket, authorities said.
Allen’s attorneys said he had “voluntarily” contacted police about being on the trail that day to “help in any way he could.”
“Without coming forward, the police probably would not have had any way of knowing that he was on the trail that day,” they said.
After sharing the information, they said Allen went back to his job at CVS and was never contacted again until five years later.
“In the 5+ years since Rick volunteered to provide information to the police, Rick did not get rid of his vehicle or his guns and did not throw out his clothing,” they argued. “He did not alter his appearance; he did not relocate himself to another community. He did what any innocent man would do and continued with his normal routine.”
Rozzi and Baldwin suggested Allen’s arrest may have had political motivations.
Carroll County Sheriff’s Office’s former second-in-command Michael Thomas had filed a federal lawsuit claiming he had “made suggestions and offered assistance in the investigation of a high-profile child homicide investigation” but said the suggestions were rejected by the Sheriff.
“Thomas further claimed that the Sheriff and others in the department feared the disagreements with Thomas would become publicized as a result of the political campaign for Sheriff,” they wrote.
Thomas claimed in the lawsuit—which never mentions the Delphi murder case by name—that he had been “demoted and replaced by Tony Liggett,” who won the election for Sheriff in 2022 just days after Allen’s arrest.
They also addressed what they called the “single magic bullet” that investigators used as “proof of Rick’s guilt.”
“It is a bit premature to engage in any detailed discussions regarding the veracity of this evidence until more discovery is received, but it is safe to say that the discipline of tool-mark identification (ballistics) is anything but a science,” they argued. “The entire discipline has been under attack in courtrooms across this country as being unreliable and lacking any scientific validity. We anticipate a vigorous legal and factual challenge to any claims by the prosecution as to the reliability of its conclusions concerning the single magic bullet.”
In addition to the bullet recovered from the murder scene, investigators also noted that multiple witnesses reported seeing a vehicle “parked in an odd manner” behind the Child Protection Services (CPS) building the day of the murders.
The description of the vehicle varied, with some describing it as a small SUV or a PT Cruiser. Authorities said they believed the descriptions “are similar in nature” to Allen’ 2016 Ford Focus, but Rozzi and Baldwin took issue with that conclusion.
“His Ford Focus is not, in any way, similar to the distinctive look of the PT Cruiser or Smart Car that was described by the witnesses. It seems that the CCSD is trying to bend facts to fit their narrative,” they wrote.
They also referred to statements made by a prosecutor in the case at a recent hearing about how investigators believed “others may have been involved” in the double murder and argued that despite the comment there was “no mention” in the probable cause affidavit about “a second suspect being involved.”
“The defense is confused by such discrepancies in the investigation and will be in a better position to respond as more discovery is received,” they wrote.
His attorneys vowed to continue to share evidence they believe support Allen’s innocence as the case against him proceeds through the legal system.
“Moving forward, it is our intent to scrutinize the discovery, as it is received, and give the necessary attention to the volumes of tips that we are receiving,” they said.
In response to the defense team’s statement, Carroll County Sheriff Tobe H. Leazenby said he believes the issues need to play out in court.
“I feel a court of law is the proper and impartial setting for this matter to be vetted and not within the dominion of speculation or assumption of a public or social media arena,” he said in a statement to WXIN-TV. “Patience and time must be afforded to the system, granting all aspects of the case to be brought to light.”
