INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Thursday is the 18th day of the trial for Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen at the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi.

Allen, 52, is charged with murder and murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping in the deaths of Abigail “Abby” Williams, 13, and Liberty “Libby” German, 14 years. The girls’ bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge near Delphi on February 14, 2017, a day after they disappeared.

Allen was first investigated in 2017 and again in October 2022. After a second interrogation by police, he was taken into custody.

The trial began on October 18 and is expected to continue until mid-November. Originally, 16 Allen County residents served as jurors in the case, but one juror was dismissed on October 25.

Cameras are not permitted in the courtroom.

Tune in to News 8 and follow our daily live blogs throughout the trial for the latest developments.

NOTE: The times shown in the blog headers are the times the entries were added. Specific times for courtroom events will be noted in registrations if available. These notes are compiled from photographs of written notes provided by reporters in the courtroom and emailed to the WISH-TV news desk..

For a brief recap of Day 17 of the Delphi murder trial (Wednesday), scroll to the bottom of the page.

To see all of our previous testing coverage, Click hereand follow Kyla Russell from News 8 on X while covering the trial live from Delphi.

9:00 a.m. Court sits Thursday

After 17 days of testimony and presentation of evidence, the jury will hear from the prosecution and defense when closing arguments begin Thursday morning.

Special Judge Frances Gull told the jury Wednesday that they would hear several hours of closing arguments. The judge told each side they would have a maximum of two and a half hours.

Both sides will only be able to talk about the evidence and testimony admitted at trial, meaning the defense team will not be allowed to discuss Odinism or any of the third-party suspects they believe actually committed the murders. .

Once closing arguments are completed, the jury will receive instructions. If they have reasonable doubt, they are instructed to find Richard Allen. not guilty. If they believe Allen committed the murders, they are instructed to find him. guilty.

After that, it will be up to the jury to decide.

Deliberations could take hours or days. The jury, made up of 12 members (three substitutes excluded), must reach a unanimous verdict. If they fail to do so, the trial could end in a mistrial.

Brief Summary of Day 17 of the Delphi Murder Trial

The defense concluded its case somewhat unexpectedly on Thursday when several expected witnesses did not take the stand. He also chose not to put suspect Richard Allen on the stand.

Judge Gull asked the defense to call their next witness and was told, “Your honor, we are resting our case.” »

The prosecution was asked to call its witnesses for rebuttal. In total, three were called, including a psychiatrist Dr John Martinwho treated Allen while he was at the Westville Correctional Unit.

Martin, who has more than four decades of experience in corrections, told the court he was aware of Allen’s mental health history and that when their sessions began in fall 2022, Allen did not showed no symptoms of psychosis.

When Allen began showing signs of psychosis – smearing feces, washing with cologne – Martin prescribed injections of Haldol (Haloperidol)an antipsychotic commonly used to treat schizophrenia. The injections were administered every four weeks.

Dr Martin described a gradual change in Allen’s behaviors between April and June 2023 and told the jury that Allen’s psychosis eased by early May. He said Allen became aware of where he was and began sleeping, eating and talking on the phone with his wife. Previous testimony indicated that Allen was psychotic with every confession he made.

Martin also said Allen “was not in a state of psychosis” in June when Allen told him he wanted to “apologize to the victims’ families.”

The defense showed the jury a video of Allen filmed by a camcorder on June 20. Their goal was to prove that Allen was inconsistent that day, according to News 8’s Kyla Russell.

Jury Hears Again From Indiana State Police Master Trooper Brian Harshmanwhich examined more than 700 phone calls made by Richard Allen while he was in custody.

Harshman said he also reviewed videos of Allen — including recent videos recorded during his stay in the Cass County Jail since the trial began — and told the court that Allen had threatened to kill police officers there. He also confirmed that Allen was being held alone in all of his facilities, including Cass County.

Previous witness Breann Wilbur also returned to the witness box. Wilbur was on the Monon High Bridge trails the day the girls disappeared. She reiterated that she had not seen “Bridge Guy” or any children.

Court was adjourned Wednesday afternoon and would return Thursday morning.