Delphi murder trial: DNA evidence does not link Richard Allen to suspected murders of Libby Herman and Abby Williams

DELPHI, Indiana — The prosecution focused on DNA evidence as testimony resumed Monday morning in the double-murder case of Richard Allen.

Best friends Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, were walking along a Delphi hiking trail when they were killed on the afternoon of February 13, 2017.

Richard Allen, a resident of Delph, was arrested in October 2022 and pleaded not guilty to murder.

Stacy Bozinowski, an Indiana State Police forensic scientist, brought the charges.

Bozinowski worked on the DNA evidence in the Delphi case and wrote a report on the case in March 2017. It included analysis of the rape kits made on both girls.

RELATED | Delphi murder trial: Extended video from victim’s phone played in court

Bozinovskyi said there is no evidence that the girls were sexually abused.

She said the possible presence of male DNA was detected, but not enough. She added that the man’s DNA could have come from shared clothing and yielded very little DNA.

Bozinowski said the hair found on Abby’s arm came from Libby’s sister.

The medical examiner also examined an unexpended cartridge found at the scene of the murder, which became a key factor in the case.

Bozinowski said she tried to collect skin cells from the cartridge, but it was difficult because they are so small. The DNA found on the cartridge proved insufficient for further testing.

Other tests show that most of the DNA found at the crime scene came from one or both of the girls.

Bozinowski told the court there was no DNA evidence linking Allen or anyone else to the crime scene.

Interrogation of Richard Allen

Jurors were allowed to listen to tapes of the suspect’s interrogation in the murders of two eighth-graders.

Allen’s defense team asked the jury to hear tapes of two interviews.

He became a suspect five years after the murder, when a volunteer clerk who entered more than 14,000 tips into a database discovered a tip sheet that had been filled out incorrectly.

The message appeared three days after Allen’s murder.

The suspect turned himself in to the police, saying he was on the trail on the day of the murder.

The sheriff told jurors Friday that the report “fell through the cracks.” And Allen was “hiding in plain sight.”

“From the defense’s point of view, the fact that this tip was out there and that it was misclassified and not discovered until five years later really strengthens their case because every time they can find that it was wrong processed always leads to reasonable doubt. for the jury,” said ABC News legal correspondent Channa Lloyd.

Indiana State Police Lt. Jerry Holeman appeared in court Saturday. Holeman questioned the suspect during a search of the home.

Holeman told jurors he questioned Allen about an unused cartridge found near the girls’ bodies that was a key piece of evidence in the case.

“There is no way that round is going through my gun. I don’t know how he got there,” Allen told Holeman at the time.

Holeman testified that Allen became increasingly agitated but denied any involvement despite being questioned more than 20 times.

According to the lieutenant, Allen’s wife, Cathy, was there. She allegedly told him, “All you have to do is ask for a lawyer and you’ll be released.”

According to Holeman, Allen replied, “Don’t worry about me.”

At one point, the lieutenant said, he told Allen and his wife that he “thought he was a good man.”

RELATED | Delphi suspect turned himself in to police 3 days after killing, but ‘fell through the cracks’ for years, sheriff says

Allen allegedly replied, “what good person would kill two girls?”

The defense impeached Holeman because the conversation was not recorded.

Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin questioned his interrogation methods; why Miranda rights were not recorded and how evidence was collected at the crime scene.

The defense also asked Holeman about several sticks left at the scene of the murder.

Baldwin insisted on whether it was a mistake that they were left behind. Holeman replied, “No,” but admitted that “mistakes were made.”

Allen was questioned by the police on October 13 and 26, 2022.

Baldwin wants the videotapes of those interviews to be shown in court. The court ruled that this will happen next week.