The Delphi Murder Trial: Shifting Narratives and a Fight for Justice

By Alexander Zabal Jr.

Now that the jury for the Delphi case has been selected, it feels a little easier to breathe. Law enforcement, Prosecutor McLeland, and Judge Gull have done everything in their power—and beyond—to control the narrative of this case, leaving an innocent man fighting for his life. But now that the jurors have been chosen, control of the narrative shifts. It will come down to the facts of the case, the evidence—or lack thereof. We now place our faith in the jury to see through the lies.

According to the state, a bullet supposedly ejected from a gun matches Richard Allen's firearm. First, tool marking analysis and ballistics are two completely different sciences. Second, the girls were never shot. Third, no other guns were tested, which makes the comparison to Allen’s gun seem like winning the lottery. Fourth, if this bullet was so critical, why wasn’t it mentioned in Ron Logan’s search warrants? Fifth, if the bullet is so important, why doesn’t the state even have the murder weapon? The bullet is the only physical evidence they could try to tie to Richard Allen, and they pounced on it. Everything else is purely circumstantial. Sixth, it’s publicly known that the bullet wasn’t found until days later, and not by law enforcement, but by a woman using a metal detector. Seventh, and most importantly, show the proper chain of custody for the bullet, including all photographs. Additionally, Sheriff Liggett wasn’t wearing a body camera when searching Richard Allen’s home as recently as October 2022, even though it is standard for law enforcement to wear body cams.

Sheriff-Elect Tony Liggett won an election he was losing, 20 days after arresting Richard Allen and writing the search warrant based on a supposedly missed tip from the chaos of 2017.

Liggett also signed the arrest warrant, made the arrest, led the search of Allen’s home where the gun was recovered, transported Allen, and personally requested that Allen be housed in a maximum-security prison instead of the county jail—where Liggett used to work. The judge and Liggett both agreed Allen should be placed in a facility hours away for "safekeeping," where he almost died.

Even with the "magic bullet" and 61 confessions on the record, it’s an established fact that the fingerprints and DNA recovered at the crime scene don’t match Richard Allen. If the investigation was done properly and the DNA doesn’t match the girls or Allen, then tell us whose DNA it is. Doug Carter mentioned that state-of-the-art labs, funded by millions of taxpayer dollars, couldn’t figure it out. CeCe Moore offered to conduct genetic genealogy for free, but Unified Command declined. In 2024, to convict someone of a double murder, especially with collected DNA that doesn’t match the suspect, jurors won’t accept these glaring mistakes and mishandled evidence.

Even after blocking the introduction of third-party suspects, sealing all case records, imposing a gag order on attorneys, families, and law enforcement, and banning cameras in the courtroom—the fact remains: the state has no case.

For Richard Allen to be guilty, the girls would have had to be killed by 3:30 p.m. on February 13, 2017, at the crime scene. But the autopsy lists the time of death as "undetermined." So, for Lt. Holeman to claim that the time of death was 4 p.m. that day is almost laughable. Time of death is never pinpointed to an exact time unless it’s witnessed—it’s always a window of a few hours. How many more lies will be fabricated to fit the narrative that Allen is the sole killer of Abby and Libby?

The girls’ bodies weren’t at the crime scene on February 13, 2017. Fire Chief Darrell Sterrett destroyed the state’s timeline in a 2019 interview, stating that he and his crew scaled the bridge, searched the creek, the woods, and the banks around the Monon High Bridge. There was no foliage, and it was easy to see through the trees. Sterrett said they had "lights like no other," and after hours of searching and blanketing the area four times, he asked Delphi Police Chief Mullins if they could check the area off. Mullins agreed.

Nick McLeland and Unified Command are on a runaway train to nowhere. Whether Richard Allen is found guilty or not, this trial is a practice run for the state. Why should the taxpayers of Carroll County pay for their mistakes? After already receiving over $2 million for the trial, they’re now requesting another $2.5 million—for what amounts to a rehearsal. When the appellate court takes over, it’s going to cost even more. These "good ol' boys" have gone way over their heads. They kept this lie hidden for five years, but the truth is out, and they continue to publicly play pretend.

Where is the Indiana Department of Homeland Security? Where is Attorney General Todd Rokita? Where is Governor Holcomb? Where is the FBI, which Doug Carter kicked off the case in 2021? Where is the Indiana Supreme Court? Where is the ACLU of Indiana? Where is the oversight for everything that has happened to this very day? Wherever all these paid officials are, it seems like nobody cares anymore. But together, our voices are louder than ever. And we’re not going anywhere.