Delphi, Indiana murder suspect to appear in front of Indiana Supreme Court Thursday
DELPHI, Ind. (CBS) -- The man charged in the murder of two teens near Delphi, Indiana, will be in court on Thursday for a special hearing.
Richard Allen was charged in the murders of 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German. Their bodies were found in the woods near the Delphi historic trail on Valentine's Day in 2017.
Allen's trial was initially set for January 2024, but at a hearing on Oct. 19, Judge Fran Gull announced defense attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi were withdrawing from the case.
According to CBS 4 Indy, Allen's new attorneys filed a motion to delay the trial, arguing it would be impossible to meet that January date. Allen's trial was pushed back until Oct. 15, 2024.
In a filing, after Gull announced Rozzi and Baldwin were withdrawing from the case, Rozzi disputed having stepped down, according to CBS 4 Indy, setting off another legal back-and-forth that called for Gull's removal. Eventually, Allen filed a brief asking the Indiana Supreme Court to review Gull's handling of the case. The state's highest court set a Nov. 9 deadline for materials to be submitted.
Liberty and Abigail were found stabbed to death on a hiking trail near an abandoned railroad bridge.
Allen was arrested in October 2022.
Prosecutors have said Allen confessed in prison phone calls to his wife.
His attorneys have blamed four other people for the murders.
Police have said Libby snapped a photo of the killer and recorded his voice on her cell phone before she died. Authorities also have released a series of sketches of the suspect.
Allen is a Delphi resident and lived in the town the whole time the case was under investigation before he was charged. There are fewer than 3,000 people residing in the entire town of Delphi.
