Delphi murders trial of Richard Allen live: Pathologist, witness speak

Testimony continues Wednesday in the trial of Richard Allen in Delphi, Indiana.

Allen, 52, is accused of killing two teens who went missing Feb. 13, 2017, and were found dead the next day. He was arrested in 2022 and faces two counts of murder and two counts of murder while kidnapping in the deaths of Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German.

On Tuesday jurors watched an expanded version of the infamous “Bridge Guy” video, marking the first time prosecutors showed footage of a man ― whom they alleged is Allen ― following the teens.

Journalists from the Indianapolis Star and the Lafayette Journal & Courier will cover the case as it moves through the judicial system.

This story will be updated throughout the day.

Libby received text message from grandmother: ‘You need to call me now’

Wednesday afternoon began with a testimony from Sgt. Christopher Cecil, a former digital forensics expert for the Indiana State Police who provided jurors with a timeline of the girls’ movements based on an analysis of the contents of Libby’s iPhone.

At 1:38 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, Libby called her father, named “Daddy-o” in her contacts list. Derrick German testified last week that Libby called him to ask him to pick them up from the Monon High Bridge trail later that afternoon.

At 1:41 p.m., while the girls were on the way to the trail, Libby posted a selfie on Snapchat. Abby was sitting in the backseat. Libby posted another selfie two minutes later. She was smiling, while Abby had a blank expression.

At 2:05 p.m., Libby posted a photo of the high bridge just before they crossed.

At 2:13 p.m., Cecil said, “a video was recorded.”

The 43-second video, which jurors saw Tuesday, showed Abby crossing the bridge and a man ― the one who would later become widely known as the “Bridge Guy” and a primary suspect in the case ― following her. Prosecutors allege that man is Allen.

The last movement detected by the phone’s Apple health app was at 2:32 p.m.

A text came from her grandmother, Becky Patty, at 4:06 p.m. Patty, along with relatives and others, had been searching for Abby and Libby for several hours.

“You need to call me now,” Patty texted, adding multiple exclamation points.

Officials initially believed that the last signal the phone received was around 10 p.m. on Feb. 13, Cecil said. But a second analysis conducted earlier this year using more advanced programs found that the last signal was actually received at 4:33 a.m. on Feb. 14, Cecil testified.

At that time, Libby’s phone received about 15 text messages at once.

Cecil said there was no indication that Libby’s phone had been turned off, and it’s unclear why the messages all came at once.

Pathologist: Abby was cut once on the neck. Libby was cut at least 4 times.

Dr. Roland Kohr, a semi-retired forensic pathologist who conducted the autopsies on the teens on Feb. 15, 2017, said Abby had a 2-inch laceration across her neck that damaged the left jugular vein. Kohr said the cut appeared to have been made from right to left.

Libby had at least four, maybe five, overlapping wounds on her neck, Kohr testified. Two of the cuts, one on each side, were lethal and hit arteries ― meaning blood would have spread several feet. Both of her hands were also bloody, Kohr said, suggesting that she might have grabbed her neck.

Kohr, who said that he had performed between 7,700 and 7,800 autopsies in his career, estimated that the teens lived between four to 10 minutes after their throats were slashed, although they likely lost consciousness before dying.

Kohr also said there were no visible signs that the girls were sexually assaulted.

He testified this does not mean there was no sexual contact, just that “no trauma was left.”

Delphi trial witness: ‘I saw a man covered in mud and blood’

Sarah Carbaugh testified that she decided to drive on County Road 300 North, by the Monon High Bridge trail entrance, on the afternoon of Feb. 13, 2017. It was a beautiful day and she was off work, she said, so she decided to scope out how many people were using the trail.

At around 4 p.m., Carbaugh said she saw a group of people at the trail entrance looking stressed out.

Later, as she was heading east on the county road, she drove past a man who was walking hunched over, with both hands in his pocket.

“I saw a man covered in mud and blood,” she testified.

Carbaugh described the man’s demeanor as “sketchy.” She said she looked at the man, whom she estimated was three feet away from her car, but he did not make eye contact with her.

But Carbaugh didn’t tell police about the man for three weeks because she was scared, she testified. She later believed that the man she saw was the same man who came to be known as the “Bridge Guy.”

▶ Delphi murders trial Tuesday, Oct. 22:Crime scene investigators questioned in Delphi murder trial against Richard Allen

Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin sought to discredit Carbaugh by picking apart the statements she gave to police during three interviews.

Baldwin pointed out that Carbaugh mentioned the word “mud” 11 times during the first interview. She said the word 13 times during the second interview in June of 2017. The word “blood” was not in the transcript of both interviews, Baldwin said, but Carbaugh insisted she remembers talking to investigators about it.

During the third interview two years later, in 2019, she mentioned the word “blood” 16 times but not the word “mud” or “muddy.” Carbaugh said she talked about blood more because that’s what investigators focused on during the interview.

The cross-examination was intense, with Carbaugh addressing the jury instead of Baldwin as she answered questions and later growing defensive and sarcastic. When Baldwin pointed out that her statements were not consistent, she said, “I guess not.”

At one point, Baldwin questioned why Carbaugh didn’t stop to help the man. Carbaugh said she didn’t feel safe stopping to help a random man on the side of a county road.

Baldwin pointed out that Carbaugh had initially told police the man she saw wore a tan coat, but she later changed her mind after she saw the now-infamous video of the “Bridge Guy,” who was seen wearing a blue jacket. Carbaugh said she might have thought the coat was tan because he was covered in mud.

Is the Delphi murders trial televised?Here’s why there are no cameras in the courtroom

Richard Allen’s defense again argues to introduce Odinism theory

Attorneys for a man charged in the 2017 killings of Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German have made one more attempt to present parts of their alternative theory about the girls’ killings, according to Fox59.  

In a motion filed Wednesday morning, attorneys Andrew Baldwin, Bradley Rozzi and Jennifer Auger requested to “admit certain evidence” previously denied from being shown to jurors. The attorneys in their filing cite testimony heard earlier this week during the trial as the reason for their request, the outlet reported.  

More than a year ago, the defense filed a lengthy memorandum in the case against the suspect, Richard Allen, in which they stated followers of Odinism, a pagan Norse religion adopted by white nationalists, killed the teens as part of a ritual.  

Delphi murders trial updates:Defense asks to present parts of Odinism theory