Allen’s team said he plans to appeal his conviction and the 130 year sentence he is now serving for the February 2017 deaths of Liberty German and Abigail Williams.
DELPHI, Ind. — The State’s Public Defender is seeking permission from the trial judge to appoint two attorneys as appellate counsel for the man convicted of murdering two girls in Delphi. Richard Allen’s defense team has said he plans to appeal his conviction and the 130 year sentence he is now serving for the February 2017 deaths of Liberty German and Abigail Williams.
During Allen’s sentencing Dec. 20, trial judge Frances Gull agreed to a defense request to have the State Public Defender select the lawyers for Allen’s appeal. Monday, State Public Defender Amy Karozos indicated her agreement with Allen’s trial attorneys’ assessment that he would need more than one lawyer assigned to the appeal. In her motion asking for approval two appoint two attorneys, Karozos wrote that she had “consulted with several experienced appellate attorneys qualified to handle a murder conviction appeal and has concluded that the case calls for more than one attorney to represent Mr. Allen in the direct appeal to adequately and timely review the voluminous record, multiple pretrial hearings, trial proceedings, and evidence presented in this case.”
Allen has 30 days after the Dec. 20 sentencing to file his official notice of appeal. That filing will prompt the court clerk to assemble the case record and prompt the court recorder to prepare any necessary transcripts. In this case that involves transcripts from at least the three-days of hearing this summer along with the 21 days of the trial.
Allen received the assistance of public defenders for the trial after he was declared indigent shortly after his arrest in late 2022. Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin were assigned to the case and later joined by Jennifer Auger.
RELATED: Here’s what happened in the Delphi murders trial
In their request for the State Public Defender to appoint appellate counsel, Allen’s defense team also noted that they believe having the public defender assign representation follows Carroll County’s plan for providing services to clients in need and that not following those procedures could risk the county not receiving the 40% reimbursement from the state for indigent defense services.
Also on Monday, Judge Gull agreed to a State motion to seal the crime scene and autopsy photos along with the autopsy reports and all other medical and mental health records.
The judge approved a defense request to preserve all documents related to the jury selection process, including the jurors’ questionnaires.
However, the judge denied the defense request to “Order the State, including any law enforcement agency holding evidence in the above-captioned cause, to preserve all evidence for possible future testing, inspection, or admission at a hearing.” In Gull’s order, she said the reference to “all evidence” was “vague” and thus she was denying the request.
Monday, Judge Gull referred a defense request for a transcript to the State Public Defender. Specifically, the defense team asked for a transcript of Allen’s Oct. 28, 2022 initial hearing in front of Carroll County’s then-Circuit Court Judge Benjamin Diener. Allen did not have an attorney representing him at that hearing. Rozzi and Baldwin filed their appearances on Nov. 14, 2022.
RELATED: Delphi murders trial expenses top $2.5 million; more bills to come
On Nov. 11, 2024, jurors convicted Allen of four counts of murder. Investigators say Williams and German were out for a walk on an unusually warm Feb. 13 in 2017 when they encountered Allen. Investigators testified they believe he led the girls away from the Monon High Bridge and murdered them when his plan to sexually assault them was interrupted.
Indiana law prevents a person from being sentenced twice for the same death, so two of the murder counts were dismissed for sentencing. Allen received the maximum of 65 years for each of the remaining counts. The judge ordered them to be served concurrently, for a total of 130 years in prison.
RELATED: ‘These families will deal with your carnage forever’ | Judge sentences Richard Allen to 130 years for Delphi murders of Libby German and Abby Williams
On Dec. 26, the Indiana Department of Corrections placed Allen the Control Unit of the Westville Prison to serve his sentence. Before his trial, Allen spent about 13 months held at the Westville facility under a safekeeping order. His defense attorneys made several requests to move him out of Westville, citing a number of issues including abusive conditions for someone being held pre-trial and intimidation by guards. Eventually, the Department of Corrections moved Allen to the Wabash Valley Prison before he was eventually transferred to the Cass County Jail to await trial.
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