DELPHI, INDIANA — The start of the Delphi murders trial was delayed by 10 minutes.
The court confiscated five cameras belonging to four media members for taking photos and videos of the jury entering the courthouse, which is a violation of the judge’s order.
Special Judge Frances Gull instructed the media Thursday afternoon that photographs and videos of the jury were strictly prohibited as they exited and entered the Carroll County Courthouse.
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The jury is comprised of seven women and five men, and there are four alternates, three women and one man.
Note: WRTV originally reported the jury was made up of eight women and four men with two women and two men as alternates.
More than 60 people waited in line outside the courthouse to get a seat in the courtroom. Some of them waited overnight for a chance at one of the 27 seats available to the public.
Members of Abby Williams' and Libby German’s family were in court Friday morning, as well as members of Richard Allen’s family.
Once the court opened, opening statements lasted about an hour. During this time, the defense repeatedly told the jurors “Richard Allen is innocent.” The prosecution told them there was plenty of evidence that would show Allen killed Williams and German in February 2017 near the Delphi High Bridge.
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After a brief recess, the court resumed with the first witness being called to the stand a few minutes past 11:00 a.m.
Judge Gull did make a ruling today about the use of sketches that were circulated as law enforcement officials searched for the person wanted in the murder case. Judge Gull determined the sketches will not be allowed as evidence in the trial of Richard Allen.
READ MORE | Prosecution doesn't want suspect sketches used in Delphi Murders trial (wrtv.com)
The first witness called to the stand was Becky Patty, the grandmother of German. She was on the stand for about an hour Friday morning.
German and Williams disappeared on February 13, 2017, near Delphi. The bodies of the girls were found the next day near the High Bridge along a trail in Carroll County.
Patty was very emotional as she testified about her granddaughter. She had to stop several times because she was crying.
She talked about German and how she and Williams were best friends who spent a tremendous amount of time together. Patty told the court the girls were at her house on February 13 because they had a day off school.
Patty says German’s older sister, Kelsey, took them to the trail that afternoon, and German’s dad was supposed to pick them up at 3:30 p.m. When he got there, the girls were nowhere to be found.
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Patty testified they tried calling the girls on their cell phones, and despite the fact German always had her cell phone with her, neither girl answered the repeated calls.
Patty says she called Williams’ mother to let her know they could not get in touch with the girls and search parties started to look for them. The bodies of the girls were found the next morning by members of the search party.
The defense attorney for Allen cross-examined Patty and wanted to know about how vocal German was. They also wanted to know from Patty about flashlights used by search parties on the evening of February 13 as they searched for the girls.
Court recessed for lunch a little before 12:30 p.m. and will resume at 1:30 p.m. when the prosecution calls its second witness.
WRTV will continue to update this story as the trial continues.
