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    • Delphi murder trial of Richard Allen reveals crime scene photos of Abby and Libby
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    Delphi murder trial of Richard Allen reveals crime scene photos of Abby and Libby

    Kathleen William Posted on

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    For more than seven years, the public had only heard of the existence of graphic images showing the mutilated bodies of Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German, two Delphi teenagers who were kidnapped and brutally killed in 2017.

    On Monday, the third day of testimony in Richard Allen's trial, prosecutors showed for the first time the gruesome images that have haunted even seasoned police investigators. The trial continued with testimony from police officers who were among the first to see Abby and Libby covered in blood and with their throats slit. Witnesses painted a chilling portrait of “Ground Zero” – the area on the edge of Deer Creek, north of a cemetery where the girls were found – as prosecutors showed frame after frame on a projector screen.

    People in the gallery gasped as a picture of Libby's face was shown to the jury. Kelsi Siebert, Libby's older sister, closed her eyes at one point as she placed her left hand on her chin. Family members passed around tissues as Libby's mother leaned forward, burying her face in her hands and sobbing quietly.

    ▶ Monday, October 21st: Testimony continues with testy cross-examination from defense: The latest

    ▶ Saturday, October 19th: “I thought they were mannequins”: The witness statements in the Delphi murder trial are emotional on the second day

    One juror, an older man with glasses, put his hand over his mouth and his face was red as Abby's picture was shown. Allen, who appeared in court wearing a striped blue shirt and khaki pants, was mostly expressionless and subtly rocked back and forth as a first responder described what he had seen.

    Allen is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of murder in connection with the girls' abduction. His long-awaited trial comes more than seven years after the teenager's death and almost exactly two years after his arrest. The week-long trial, one of the most controversial and publicized criminal cases in Indiana, is now expected to cost Carroll County $4.3 million – about $200 for each county resident.

    Gasps in the courtroom as graphic images are shown

    Libby was completely naked. Her left hand was stretched above her head while her right hand was at her side. She had blood all over her neck and face and blood stains on her right leg.

    Abby was fully clothed. She was wearing a dark blue sweatshirt. She was lying on her back with her right knee slightly bent and her right foot tucked under her left leg, just below the calf.

    There were twigs scattered across both girls' bodies, although Libby also had a large appendage on her, from her left shoulder to her torso.

    ▶ Friday, Oct. 18: 'Grandma, everything is going to be okay': Family testifies as lawyers offer dueling narratives in Delphi trial

    As Sgt. Jason Page, an Indiana State Police crime scene investigator, described the bodies and the surrounding area, prosecutors showed dozens of images one after the other. At some point, someone pressed the wrong button and a close-up of Libby's bloodied face was prematurely projected into the courtroom.

    People in the gallery, including family members, gasped.

    Monday's statements came from a sheriff's deputy, who was one of the first officers to see the bodies, and three Indiana State Police crime scene investigators, including Page, who arrived at the scene on Feb. 14, 2017, a day after Abby and Libby moved on went for a hike along the Monon High Bridge Trail and never came home.

    Page described the cordoned off area as being about the size of a football field.

    Under cross-examination by Bradley Rozzi, Page admitted that he was unaware of any DNA evidence linking Allen to the crime scene. The hour-long questioning was difficult at times, with Page appearing very stiff and seemingly impatient with the defense attorney.

    “Are you asking me my opinion?” Page responded after Rozzi asked if he had ever been to a crime scene where “sticks were arranged on the body like that.”

    Page said it was “reasonable” to assume people placed those branches on the girls.

    “You're asking me questions that are outside of my knowledge in this particular case,” Page said after Rozzi asked how long DNA testing takes to process.

    Sheriff's deputy: 'It was obvious they were deceased'

    Carroll County Sheriff's Deputy Darron Giancola testified that both girls “had a significant amount of blood” and that he did not provide any first aid after seeing them.

    “It was obvious they were deceased,” Giancola said.

    Giancola said he was away on Feb. 13, 2017, but decided to help with the search after learning about the missing teens on social media. His efforts were focused on the southeast side of the high bridge, where he noticed that the leaves had been blown up as if someone had slipped. He helped search for the girls until 2 a.m

    The next day he was told to go to the cemetery. When he reached the cemetery, “everyone pointed to the water,” Giancola said, and he saw a colorful shirt and a black-and-white tennis shoe floating upside down in the stream. Libby wore a tie-dye shirt.

    Under cross-examination, defense attorney Andrew Baldwin asked if the clothing was wet. Giancola said the clothes Abby was wearing appeared to be damp.

    The girls' bodies were wrapped in clean white sheets.

    Duane Datzman, a former Indiana State Police crime scene investigator, testified that he found the piece of evidence that linked Allen to the crime scene: an unspent cartridge that prosecutors said was fired from the same Sig Sauer Model P226 caliber handgun .40 that Allen owned was fired.

    Datzman said he “kept seeing sparkles” in the leaves between the girls’ bodies.

    ▶ The Burden of Justice: The jury in the Delphi murder case is under unimaginable pressure and must make a life-changing decision

    “Under those sheets,” he testified, “we found a .40 caliber cartridge.”

    Allen's defense team tried to cast doubt on the early stages of the investigation by denouncing in court the crime scene investigators' handling of the crime. For example, the lawyers said that the silver cartridge should have been better photographed and filmed by investigators at the crime scene.

    Datzman acknowledged that if he could do it again, he would have taken a photo of the entire cartridge and not just one side of it.

    Baldwin also flatly claimed that it was a mistake not to immediately consider the sticks and branches found on the girls' bodies as evidence. The investigators had removed them one by one and set them aside so that they would not hinder the investigation.

    Allen's defense team has argued that the real killers were members of an Odinist cult who killed the girls as part of a ritual – a theory of the case that special judge Frances Gull did not allow the jury to hear. Defense attorneys have claimed that the sticks and branches were attached to the bodies in a manner that resembled runes and symbols of Odinism.

    Testimony continues Tuesday.

    Allen's defense team is attempting to block a video extracted from Libby's phone that shows a suspect later known as “Bridge Guy.” In a motion filed Sunday, lawyers asked Gull to be barred from testifying “about the words and sounds allegedly contained in the video.”

    The short video shows a man wearing a blue coat and blue jeans walking along the Monon High Bridge. The footage became one of the most famous pieces of evidence in the Delphi case.

    Contact IndyStar Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or [email protected].

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    Kathleen William
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