Indiana judge issues gag order in Delphi murder case

DELPHI, Ind. - A Carroll County Indiana judge has issued a gag order in the Dephi murder case.

Richard Allen 50, of Delphi, has been charged with two counts of murder in the killings of 14-year-old Liberty "Libby" German and 13-year-old Abigail "Abby" Williams.

Allen was arrested in October after police secured a warrant for probable cause. 

Allen entered a not guilty plea and is scheduled for a preliminary trial on Jan. 13, 2023.

The gag order was issued just one day after Allen's defense issued a press release speaking out against the evidence presented by the recently-released probable cause affidavit.

Court records were sealed in October at the request of the local prosecutor.

The redacted probable cause affidavit was released Tuesday.

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It states that investigators seized Allen’s .40-caliber pistol during an Oct. 13 search of his home and that testing determined an unspent bullet found within 2 feet of the body of one of the girls "had been cycled through" Allen’s pistol.

Investigators determined that Allen had purchased that gun in 2001 and, according to the affidavit, that Allen said in an Oct. 26 interview with police he had never allowed anyone to borrow the gun.

"When asked about the unspent bullet, he did not have an explanation of why the bullet was found between the bodies of Victim 1 and Victim 2. He again admitted that he was on the trail but denied knowing Victim 1 or Victim 2 and denied any involvement in their murders," the affidavit states.

State police have revealed incremental details since investigations began after the February 2017 killings. Calls from the public and the media for additional information were granted Tuesday by Allen County Judge Fran Gull’s order, which released the redacted affidavit in Allen’s arrest.

In her ruling, Gull wrote that "the public interest is not served by prohibiting access" to the documents and that witnesses’ safety and Allen’s personal information could be protected by redacting some parts of the records.

The gag order will be in place pending a hearing on Jan. 13. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.