Defense Attorneys For Delphi Murder Suspect Want To Question Investigators, Ask For More Time To Prepare For Trial

Attorneys for the man suspected of killing two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, back in 2017 are preparing to question investigators working for police and the prosecutor’s office.

Richard Allen, 50, is accused of murdering 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German on a hiking trail in 2017. His defense attorneys filed the subpoenas ahead of a hearing to determine whether the attorneys acted in contempt of court, WSBT reported.

Defense attorneys Brad Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin intend to depose investigators working with the Indiana State Police and the Carroll County Prosecutor’s office, though it is unclear what they intend to ask. The depositions are scheduled for March 1.

The depositions will take place ahead of a March 18 hearing on the defense attorney’s alleged contempt. Last week, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland provided a list to Allen’s defense attorneys that detailed the names of witnesses he will call and the exhibits he will present during the hearing, the Journal & Courier reported. A public filing does not list the witnesses or exhibits.

McLeland also asked that Special Judge Frances Gull – whom Allen’s defense attorneys tried to get removed from the case – order the defense attorneys to turn over their witness and exhibit list before March 7. It does not appear Gull has issued the order.

Rozzi and Baldwin have also requested more time to prepare for Allen’s trial, which is set to begin later this year, Fox 59 reported. On January 27, prosecutors requested defense attorneys turn over discovery materials and provide a list of witnesses they plan to call at trial. The attorneys were ordered by the court to respond to the state’s motion by February 21, but on Monday, the attorneys requested more time.

In their response filing, the defense attorneys said they had received the majority of discovery materials from the state on January 30 – just 12 days before they were reinstated after having been removed by Judge Gull last fall. The discovery materials contain audio, video, reports, transcripts, and more, and the defense wrote that after reviewing just a fraction of the evidence, it “became apparent to the defense that the discovery received includes evidence the defense believes has never viewed or had a chance to view.”

Rozzi and Baldwin questioned how so much material had not been turned over prior to their removal, and wrote in their filing: “Perhaps between September 2023 and Jan. 18, 2024, the State of Indiana provided the evidence to counsel that replaced Attorneys Rozzi and Baldwin?”

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The attorneys have requested a new deadline of March 25 to respond to the state’s request, saying that by then, they “should have a much better grasp of the discovery it has received, and therefore a much better grasp of which fact witness and expert witnesses it expects to call and what exhibits it may introduce.”

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