CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. – Special Judge Fran Gull will not allow Richard Allen’s defense to present its third-party murder theory in court.
In a ruling handed down Wednesday, Gull granted most of the state’s Motion in Limine seeking to prohibit the Odinism theory from being part of the proceedings.
Allen is charged with four counts of murder in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. Indiana State Police announced his arrest in October 2022, more than five years after the girls were killed.
Since then, the case has been bogged down by contentious legal back-and-forth involving Gull, the prosecution and the defense.
Allen’s lawyers have contended that someone else killed the girls, outlining their theory that a group of Odinists was responsible. The defense first revealed its alternative murder theory in its motion for a Franks hearing challenging the validity of the search warrant granted for Allen’s home.
The defense has focused on multiple individuals who it maintains are adherents of Odinism, a pagan Nordic religion coopted by white supremacists. Allen’s lawyers have attempted to shift the blame for the murders to these individuals in several filings.
The prosecution, on the other hand, maintained that the defense has relied on speculation and hearsay, and has not produced specific evidence tying a third-party perpetrator to the killings. Prosecutor Nick McLeland filed a Motion in Limine asking the court to bar the defense from mentioning the alternative murder theory or other potential third-party perpetrators during the proceedings.
In her Sept. 4 order, Gull sided with the prosecution, writing that the “burden was on the defendant to show a nexus between Odinism, cult or ritualistic killing” and specific individuals cited in defense motions.
“The case law is quite clear that the nexus must not be based on speculation, conjecture, rumors, or hearsay, but rather on admissible evidence,” Gull wrote in her order. She added that the defense had “failed to produce admissible evidence” demonstrating such a nexus during hearings.
“The Court will not permit the evidence submitted by the defense in support of their arguments regarding third-party perpetrators in the trial of this cause as the probative value of such evidence is greatly outweighed by confusion of the issues and its potential to mislead the jury,” Gull wrote.
The judge noted that the ruling came despite objections from the defense.
She left the door open—slightly—for the defense by writing that the court would allow evidence “to support an offer of proof at the trial if one is made by Counsel.”
Jury selection is scheduled to start on Oct. 14, with jurors being pulled from Allen County and transported to Carroll County for Allen’s trial, which is scheduled to wrap up on Nov. 15.