Prosecutor believes Delphi murder suspect did not act alone
DELPHI, Ind. (CBS) -- Police and prosecutors do not believe the man accused of murdering two girls in Delphi, Indiana acted alone.
Richard Allen, 50, was charged last month in the 2017 murders of two teenage best friends – Abigail J. "Abby" Williams, 13, and Liberty Rose Lynn "Libby" German, 14. Allen pleaded not guilty.
Arrested at the end of October and charged with two counts of murder, cameras were rolling on Allen for the first time Tuesday as he showed up to the Carroll County Courthouse in a Kevlar vest – with his arms and legs shackled.
Allen's defense attorneys request for a bail hearing was granted Tuesday. That hearing is set for Feb. 17 of next year.
Meanwhile, Allen County, Indiana Judge Fran Gull has not decided whether the probable cause documents related to Allen will be released to the public or will remain sealed.
As CBS4 in Indianapolis reported, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland's main arguments in keeping the affidavit sealed is the belief that Richard Allen, 50, is not the only person involved in the case.
Indiana law allows courts to withhold records in "extraordinary circumstances." In this case, prosecutors said since they believe Allen was not the only person involved, making the information public could compromise the continuing investigation
The prosecutor backed up his request with a letter from Libby German's family, which asks for sensitive information to remain to remain private.
He also backed it up with a gag order, which would bar "parties, counsel, law enforcement officials, court personnel, coroner, and family members" from releasing information or "extra-judicial statements" to the public.
Richard Allen Gag Order by Adam Harrington on Scribd
Allen's defense attorneys, who have read the sealed documents, learned about the possible second suspect for the first time in court Tuesday.
"If you read the probable cause affidavit, it does not mention anything about any other person. That was news to us," said defense attorney Andrew Baldwin.
This new information has eyes back on a photo that has been held up as the most important piece of evidence shared with the public to date. The picture is a screen grab from a video taken by Liberty German during what police have only called "criminal activity." Indiana State Police have called a man who appears in the picture the person behind the girls' deaths.
So is the man in the photo Richard Allen? Or could it be the other person prosecutors are now saying they believe to be involved?
Investigators aren't saying yet.
CBS 2's Tara Molina reached out to those investigators Tuesday to see how many tips they have received since Allen's arrest last month. They were not sharing that information.
We never heard back from the Carroll County Prosecutor's office on our requests. But we will let you know when the judge makes a decision on whether those documents will remain private or be shared with the public.
Indiana State Police referred questions to the prosecutor.
Abby and Libby disappeared while hiking on the Monon High Bridge Trail near Delphi in February 2017. Their bodies were found a day later on Valentine's Day in a wooded area - a quarter mile from an abandoned railroad bridge that's part of a trail system where they planned to go hiking during a day off from school.
Allen lived in Delphi the whole time the case was under investigation before being charged.
We've learned Allen worked at a CVS drugstore on West Main Street.
Court records also showed that Allen asked to be transferred from the custody of the Carroll County, Indiana Sheriff's office to the custody of the Indiana Department of Corrections for safekeeping to which the request was granted.
Anyone with information that could help the ongoing investigation can email abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com, or call (765) 822-3535.
