Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen has two charges dropped ahead of high-profile trial

Richard Allen, 51, is charged with the 2017 Delphi murders of teenage best friends Libby German and Abby Williams

An Indiana judge has dismissed two kidnapping charges against Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen ahead of his high-profile trial.

Mr Allen, who is charged with the 2017 Delphi murders of teenage best friends Libby German and Abby Williams, appeared in Allen County Courthouse on Monday for two hearings in the case.

During the first hearing, Special Judge Fran Gull ruled on whether or not Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland can file additional charges against him.

The prosecutor had previously filed a request to amend charges to include two counts of murder while committing or attempting to commit kidnapping, two counts of murder, and two counts of kidnapping, arguing that the changes “more accurately aligns the charging information with the cause’s discovery and the probable cause affidavit”.

Judge Gull dismissed the two counts of kidnapping during the hearing but approved the other two charges.

The judge also denied a motion to change the venue for the trial, which will be held in Carroll County.

The trial, originally set to take place in October later this year, is now scheduled to begin on 13 May.

Richard Allen is charged with the Delphi murders (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

A second hearing is set to be held on Monday afternoon regarding contempt of court accusations against Mr Allen’s original attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi.

Prosecutor McLeland claims the attorneys should be held in contempt of court following what he calls a “trend” of “not being completely honest with the court,” according to WTHR.

He also claimed that they violated the case’s gag order when they sent out a press release in December 2022 professing that Mr Allen was innocent.

WTHR has reported that the defence team is expected to call at least six witnesses and present more than 26 pieces of evidence during the hearing on Monday.

Back on 13 February 2017, best friends Libby and Abby set off on a walk along the Monon High Bridge in their hometown of Delphi.

During the walk, Libby posted a photo of her best friend on Snapchat as they walked along the Monon High Bridge.

Minutes later, Libby captured a video of a man – known as “bridge guy” – dressed in blue jeans, a blue jacket and a cap walking along the abandoned railroad bridge.

In the footage – found on Libby’s phone following their murders – the man tells the two girls: “Guys, down the hill.”

Later that day, the teenagers were reported missing when they failed to return to a spot where a family member was picking them up.

The next day – Valentine’s Day 2017 – their bodies were discovered in a wooded area less than half a mile off the trail along the side of Deer Creek.

Libby German (left) and Abby Williams (right) pictured together (Facebook)

For five years the case went cold with many local men falling under suspicion but no charges ever filed in the case.

Then, in October 2022, Mr Allen was arrested and charged with the murders.

Following his arrest, the case has continued to be fraught with controversies.

In September, his legal team made a bombshell claim that Libby and Abby were killed – not by the suspect – but as part of a “ritualistic sacrifice” at the hands of a white nationalist cult called Odinists.

One month later, his two attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi then dramatically quit the case following the leak of graphic crime scene photos taken from the wooded trail where the teenage best friends were brutally murdered.

The leak – according to authorities – was traced back to a friend and former coworker of one of the attorneys. The attorneys were dramatically later reinstated to the case.

Now, the trial is set to begin in May.