INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – The third day of testimony in the trial of Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen begins Monday at the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi.

Allen, 52, is charged with murder and murder in the commission or attempted kidnapping in connection with the deaths of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German. The girls' bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge near Delphi on February 14, 2017, a day after their disappearance.

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

Follow this blog throughout the day and stay tuned to News 8 for the latest.

NOTE: The times listed in the blog headers refer to the time the entry was written, not the time the events in court occurred. These events will be noted in the story when available.

For a quick recap of Day 2 in the Delphi Murders Trial (Saturday), scroll to the bottom of the page.

3:08 p.m.: Court takes an afternoon break

12:45 p.m.: Court returns for afternoon session

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi resumed questioning Indiana State Police Sgt. Jason Page.

Page said it was not his job to determine the time of the girls' deaths when asked for his opinion on when that might have happened.

“Do you know if a rape test kit was given?” Rozzi said.

“I would assume so. I wasn’t there,” Page said.

Next, Rozzi asked about the sticks placed over the bodies. Page said he has seen other death investigations where sticks were placed over bodies. Page said that in Delphi, a person apparently placed the sticks over the girls' bodies.

Rozzi also asked about the depth of Deer Creek, the size of the footprints found, the blood in the area where the bodies were found, and information about the hair found in Abby's hand. Page responded, “You are asking questions that come from my knowledge.”

Page also revealed that he was not aware of Allen's DNA found at the crime scene.

Page later explained that his job – he was the 14th police officer to arrive at the scene – was to secure the area through photography.

Prosecutors next called Indiana State Police Sgt. Duane Datzman, a crime scene technician, on the witness stand. He is now retired but was a CSI at the scene of the Delphi murders. He has been a CSI for at least 20 years and has visited hundreds of crime scenes.

Datzman talked about more than a dozen photos from the crime scene. He talked about where blood was found on and near the girls' bodies. He also noticed that glitter was found on the leaves on the ground. He also talked about photos of the gun cartridge found near one of the girls' bodies. He said he didn't bother the cartridge.

Datzman also said the sticks on the bodies had “no evidentiary value” and there was no blood on them. The sticks were later stored in the evidence storage facility at the state police station in Lafayette.

12:27 p.m.: Jury views crime scene photos; ISP Sgt. Jason Page testifies

The state's second witness was Indiana State Police Sgt. Jason Page, a police officer for 24 years and a crime scene investigator for 16 years. Page secured and photographed the scene in Delphi.

Page described the area behind the tape as about the size of a softball field, but focused on the area where Abby Williams and Libby German were found, or “ground zero.”

Of the 45 state exhibits shown to jurors during Page's testimony, 42 were crime scene photographs, including several images of Abby and Libby's bodies and other evidence from the crime scene.

Family members of the girls and Richard Allen were emotional. According to News 8's Kyla Russell, much of the courtroom had difficulty watching the proceedings. Libby's mother cried, Libby's younger sister looked away from the exhibits most of the time. Libby's grandparents, Mike and Becky Patty, held hands as the photos were shown.

When Richard Allen's mother saw a close-up photo of the girls, she began to cry, Russell said.

After crime scene photos and brief comments on Page's crime scene photos, the court dismissed the case for lunch.

Noon: Dept. Statement from Darron Giancola (first deputy to see the girls' bodies)

The state's first witness Monday was Dep. Darron Giancola, who has served as a deputy and detective for the Carroll County Sheriff's Office since 2011.

According to News 8's Kyla Russell, he told the jury that he was off work on February 13, 2027, but still came to work after seeing on social media that Libby German and Abby Williams were missing. Giancola assisted in the search and indicated on a map of the courtroom where he had begun the search.

Giancola went looking for the girls at midnight and couldn't see much in the forest, even with a flashlight. He remarked to the jury that he saw a “disturbance” at the end of the flyover where bare ground could be seen. He said he alerted a nearby firefighter but eventually ended his search at 2 a.m. on Feb. 14.

Prosecutor Nick McLelland asked Giancola: “At the point where you finished the search at 2 a.m., are you investigating a murder?”

Giancola said, “No,” adding that he didn’t think anything bad happened to the girls at the time.

He was later sent to an address to ask questions about the girls and received a call from a person named Liggett to go to Morning Light Cemetery. “We were told that someone found something near the creek, possibly bodies,” Giancola told the jury.

Giancola said that after he arrived at the creek, he was shown Libby German's tie-dye shirt and shoes that had been found in the creek. Then someone told him that the girls' bodies were behind him. He said he couldn't see the bodies when he went to the creek, but he saw something “white.” He later said that these were “the bodies of Abby Williams and Libby German.”

Giancola said he recognized them from pictures and described the condition of the girls' bodies. He did not perform any life-saving measures: “It was obvious that they had died.”

He then called officers to cordon off the area and make sure no one came by. Giancola remained at the Deer Creek crime scene the remainder of February 14th and said he did not leave until sunrise on February 15th.

Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin began cross-examining Giancola, asking questions about the timeline of the search for Giancola, the location where the girls were found and to better explain what their bodies looked like. Giancola was also asked what weapon he had with him at the crime scene, namely a Glock 17.9mm. The weapon type was mentioned by the defense to provide a basis for future disputes.

After brief questioning by McLelland and the jury, Giancola was released.

9 a.m.: Day 3 of the trial begins

Richard Allen entered the courtroom, his stepfather, mother, sister and wife in the gallery. All members of Libby German and Abby Williams' families were also in attendance.

8 a.m.: The courtroom doors open

The courthouse doors opened for the third day of the Delphi murder trial.

7:44 a.m.: Outside the courtroom

According to News 8's Kyla Russell, people camped out overnight outside the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi to try to get a seat in the courtroom.

Russell says the jury is expected to hear detailed testimony from the first police officers to arrive on the scene after the bodies of Libby German and Abby Williams were found.

Brief summary of Day 2 in the Delphi Murders Trial

Saturday's trial at the Carroll County Courthouse in Delphi featured testimony from three witnesses: Steve Mullin, Delphi police chief in February 2017; Jake Johns, the search party member who found Libby's tie-dye T-shirt; and Pat Brown, the man who found the girls' bodies. To read their testimonials, click here.

The first day of the Delphi murder trial featured emotional testimony from Libby German's grandmother, Becky Patty; sister, Kelsi Seibert; and father, Derrick German. Abby's mother, Anna Williams, and Carroll County sheriff's deputy Mitchell Catron concluded testimony Friday. To read their statements, click here.