Delphi Murder Trial: Richard Allen’s Mental Health, Cartridge Analysis in the Libby German and Abbie Williams Murders

DELPHI, Indiana — Richard Allen’s defense team called forensic and mental health experts to testify Tuesday morning.

They continued to aggressively try to cast doubt on the state’s contention that Allen killed Libby German and Abby Williams.

The girls were found dead with their throats slit near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi, Indiana back in February 2017.

The video in the player above is from a previous report.

Betsy Blair was the first witness called to the stand. She previously testified that she walked along the path leading to the bridge several times on the day of the murders.

Blair said she saw one car near the trail, parked in the area of the old Child Protective Services building. She said she liked it because it “parks differently than other people park.”

Blair described the vehicle as a four-door sedan. She couldn’t remember exactly what color it was, but said it wasn’t a bright color. She also described the car as an older model car.

State authorities say they believe Allen followed the trail in his black 2016 Ford Focus on the day of the murder.

The juror asked Blair if she thought the car might have belonged to someone working at the CPS building; Blair said the building looked abandoned.

The defense also called Dr. Stuart Grassian. He is a psychiatrist who specializes in solitary confinement, false memories and false confessions.

Grassian listened to Allen’s calls from prison and read transcripts from other inmates.

He told the court that when people are kept in solitary confinement for long periods of time, they can become “confused, disoriented” and “extremely lonely” as opportunities for stimulation are minimal.

Grassian said he never visited Allen’s cell but saw video provided by the defense.

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi asked Grassian if he noticed symptoms of delusion during Allen’s phone calls to other people, Grassian replied, “Absolutely yes.”

Grassian went on to say, “Your memory may change over time.” He added that this was “entirely consistent” with Allen’s symptoms.

The jury asked several Grassian questions. One of them was, can psychotic behavior return to normal after the person is removed from the situation?

Grassian replied: “In general, yes.”

Another juror asked Grassian if he believed that a person described as normal could become psychotic within six months? Grassian replied: “Absolutely. I saw it happen.”

The defense then called Dr. Erin Warren to the stand. He owns a crime scene reconstruction business and worked for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in the Firearms Identification Unit.

The defense asked Warren to review Melissa Oberg’s work. She is a former Indiana State Crime Lab technician who examined an unspent cartridge found at the murder scene and compared it to Allen’s gun.

Oberg’s analysis showed that the shot at the crime scene went through Allen’s gun.

This is key evidence linking Allen to the deaths of Libby and Abby.

Warren reviewed the ISP testing results and told jurors he considered them an “apples to oranges” comparison. He said he came to this conclusion because Oberg compared the first shot, which was cyclic rather than fired, to a bullet fired from Allen’s gun.

When Oberg was on the stand, she told the court that “an ejector mark is an ejector mark” regardless of whether the shot was cycled or fired.

Warren disputed that testimony, saying the lab needed to identify tool marks under the same conditions in which the bullet was found.

The jury asked Warren 15 questions about the cartridge’s testing method, which was notably more questions than most witnesses received from the jury.

The court is expected to resume Tuesday afternoon.