The trial for the suspect accused of murdering two girls in Delphi, Indiana nearly six years ago will use jurors bused in from another county, a judge ruled Friday.
Judge Frances C. Gull decided at a 10-minute hearing that the high-profile trial of Richard Matthew Allen would occur in Carroll County despite his attorneys’ previous request to relocate the proceedings, ABC reported.
Citing convenience for the victims’ families and witnesses, Gull said the cost of relocating Allen’s trial would prove “extraordinary.”
She acknowledged, however, that it would be “difficult, if not impossible” to find Carroll County jurors who were not impacted by the tragic case, and agreed to bus a jury in from another county.
The defense and prosecution now have one week to select a county where they can begin to select a jury.
While trial preparations are underway, Gull also noted that the scheduled March start will likely be delayed due to the “extraordinarily voluminous” discovery material that has to be turned over to the defense.
An official trial date with be set at Allen’s bond hearing on Feb. 17.
Allen, 50, made headlines in October when he was arrested and charged with two counts of murder related in the Feb. 2017 deaths of Liberty German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13. He subsequently pleaded not guilty, and is being held without bond.
Friday’s rulings are the latest update in the small Midwestern community’s nearly six-year ordeal that began when German and Williams’ bodies were discovered on Delphi Historic Trails on Valentine’s Day 2017– one day after they went missing during a school holiday.
Police confirmed that the case was a double homicide, but have not revealed how the girls died or what evidence they collected. A gag order on the investigation remains in place.
National interest in the Delphi murders reached a fever pitch when law enforcement released a brief clip from German’s phone, which appeared to have recorded a blue jean-clad male approaching the pair while saying “Down the hill.”
An affidavit made public in November revealed that the .40 caliber casing found between the girls’ bodies was traced to a gun owned by Allen.
Though no further arrests have been made, prosecutors previously stated that Allen, a local CVS worker who liked playing pool at a nearby bar, may not have acted alone.
“It’s concerning that he’s a local guy,” Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland said upon Allen’s arrest.
“He was always nice. Anybody would tell you that,” resident A.J. Robinson told the Indy Star.
“You’d never think [he’s a murderer] in a million years.”
