DELPHI — Day 11 of the Delphi Murders Trial began with the state of Indiana calling Dr. Monica Wala. She was the lead psychologist at Westville Correctional Facility and cared for Richard Allen while he was in jail.
Allen faces multiple counts of murder from the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German.
Wala said during her visits with Allen, she took notes on a pad and then transferred those notes into an electronic database.
Wala began seeing Allen as a patient in November 2022. She said since Allen was on suicide watch, she visited him daily. Allen remained on suicide watch until December 2022. He was placed back on suicide watch in April 2023.
Wala testified she didn't believe Allen was at the level of imminent harm until things "took a turn" in April 2023.
She said she advised Allen not to talk about the case, but at some point began receiving confessions from Allen regarding the killings of Williams and German.
Wala would visit Allen at his cell door in a cubicle at the jail.
She shared some of the notes she took regarding Allen's confessions with her.
She wrote that Allen said:
-"I committed these murders on my own."
-"I made sure they were dead so they didn't suffer."
She also said Allen indicated that his intentions toward the girls were sexual, that he believed the girls were 18 or 19 years old, but that they could have been as young as eleven.
She wrote that Allen confessed that he:
-Was selfish, a coward, and took their [Abby and Libby's] lives to save his own
-Wanted to apologize to the victims' families
-Wanted to go back and change his actions
-Thought a problem began when he was a child
-Experimented by molesting his sister
-Became an alcoholic and had help from his wife Kathy
-Talked about belief in God and hoped others found God before they die
-Wanted to give a Bible to Abby's and Libby's families or someone he thought needed help
-Was glad he didn't kill himself so he could see his family
Wala said Allen's religion often was a focus of their meetings. She observed that Allen slept with a Bible, asked for a chaplain, read his Bible, talked about God, and expressed concern for Wala's faith.
Wala's observation on Allen's mental status varied. She said Allen's emotions were up and down. She said sometimes he would go off on a tangent, but she did not believe he was having hallucinations. She said Allen entered Westville Correctional Facility with depression and anxiety, but felt that had "improved."
Throughout Wala's testimony of these conditions, jurors were taking notes. Wala testified about her reports of visits with Allen from multiple days.
5/2/2023
She said Allen often would repeat himself. He made statements about the murders saying, "I killed Abby and Libby. I will kill anyone. I will wipe out everybody." He also talked about World War III. Wala said Allen said he was going to kill himself by jumping off the sink in his cell. He made comments like, "I killed myself by killing my entire family and best friend."
Yet later he told the doctor, "I won't kill myself, I'm too much of a coward."
Wala discussed Allen's behavior with her patient. She told the jury that Allen said he knew it didn't make sense to eat his own feces.
Wala said Allen didn't present as being psychotic. However, he was inconsistent in her estimation, and she believed he was "sane."
She also monitored Allen for situational psychosis. She said it would last about a month and then he would return to normal. She gave Allen games to occupy his mind and upgraded him to a constant suicide watch.
Wala mentioned how Allen broke his tablet and was given a new one more quickly "than other inmates." Usually if inmates break a tablet, it can take months to get another one due to the high demand. She said Allen was also given a TV by the warden.
5/3/2023
On Wala's visit the next day, she began an examination for situational psychosis. She said it takes time to diagnose. She noted Allen had disorganized speech and disorganized behavior. She also noted more of what she called confessions from Allen.
According to Wala's testimony that day, Allen confessed he saw the girls on the trails, followed them across the bridge, and mentioned doing something with his gun, which she said is how the cartridge could've gotten there.
Wala claims Allen then said he ordered the girls down the hill, across the creek, wanted to sexually assault them but didn't, cut their necks, made sure they were dead, covered the bodies with branches, stayed off the trails to leave and not be seen, then continued to live his life normally ever since.
Wala believed Allen appeared to be normal during the time of confession and showed signs of being relieved after his statement.
5/5/2023
Wala said she evaluated Allen for suicide risk every six months. Her goal was to "keep Allen safe." She then revised his suicide watch from constant to close.
5/9/2023
Allen allegedly told Wala he wanted to "just sign my confession."
Wala advised he needed to speak with his attorneys. Allen then said he wanted to snap his neck and kill himself.
5/10/2023
Wala testified that Allen spoke with his wife Kathy on the phone during this visit. He wanted Wala present so his wife could "understand" his confession. Wala said when Allen told Kathy "I killed Abby and Libby" she hung up.
"She doesn't believe me," Allen said at the time. "I didn't do everything I said, but I did kill Abby and Libby."
Wala noted that during this conversation, Allen showed no signs of psychosis and seemed to be calm.
5/11/2023
Wala said that Allen wanted closure for himself and wanted to apologize to the girls' families.
9/2/2023
Allen told Wala he wanted to go to heaven, that he was afraid of dying, but felt like he was dying.
She noted Allen told her he "didn't know if he was going to heaven, was scared he wouldn't get to say goodbye, and felt he was a burden to his family."
Cross-examination of Dr. Monica Wala was conducted by defense attorney Brad Rozzi.
Wala told the court she is no longer at the Department of Corrections.
She admitted that she was familiar with the Richard Allen case. She said she followed the discussions on Facebook, on podcasts, and online. She told Rozzi her interest grew as time went on.
Rozzi asked if she accessed a Department of Corrections computer in an effort to gain information regarding the case — information the public could not access.
Wala admitted, "I did that."
Rozzi questioned why she was no longer employed by the Department of Corrections.
Her answer was only that they (DOC) had to do an investigation.
She also shared information with the public about how they could access information on the case. The defense contended she shared that information on places like TrueCrime, a twitter account called Defense Diaries, Criminality, Prosecution, Gray Hughes, as well as chat rooms and on Facebook.
When Rozzi asked if that was against the American Psychological Association guidelines, Wala replied it is "a grey area."
Rozzi pointed out Wala commuted an hour-and-a-half each day to follow the case.
Rozzi brought up a deposition when Wala was asked if she had disclosed to her employer about how closely she was following the case. She said she discussed it with her supervisor as he was coming into the facility (the jail) one day.
Rozzi pointed out a statement taken from Wala on June 6, 2024. Rozzi said "Did I ask if you reported it to a supervisor?"
She said, "It was a no. I didn't do anything formal. I took your question as a formal report."
During cross-examination, Wala admitted she told Richard Allen what she was seeing online about him and about his case.
Wala also said Allen was a Code D on the mental health scale. The scale spans from A to F. A is the least severe. E is the most severe, and the letter F is reserved for those suffering from substance abuse.
4/7/2023
Wala testified that she advised Allen that it wasn't in his best interest to confess. She believed Allen was claiming memory loss and was faking behaviors.
4/10/2023
Wala visited Allen on April 10, 2023, outside of his cell. She said he raised his arms up and down through the visit, would not answer her, refused meals, urinated outside of his toilet, did unknown things to his private area, had papers scattered around his cell and was naked.
Wala noted a shift in Allen's behavior after he received his legal documentation and discovery.
She said it appeared that Allen received his discovery around the time he started confessing to the murders. The warden didn't want other inmates to see Allen's documentation, so he changed his companion officers.
4/12/2023
During this visit, Allen was seen clapping and banging his head on the door. She said he was constantly naked, rolling on the ground, touching his genitals, and refused recreation.
4/13/2023
Allen began eating and laying in his own feces.
She noted his escalating behavior but said it didn't qualify for emergent involuntary medication. Wala felt he was possibly having an emotional breakdown after seeing the discovery.
Allen was barely sleeping since he was called to suicide watch. She called in a psychiatrist.
4/14/2023
Following Allen eating his feces, he was forced medication.
4/17/2023
Allen's window appeared to be greasy and dirty. He was "acting bizarre" while praying in his cell but was wearing a kimono.
During that visit, he again closed his eyes and said he wanted to tell the truth. He also expressed wanting a medical diagnosis to explain what he did.
Wala testified Allen started rational thoughts before drifting off.
4/21/2023
Wala testified that she did not believe Allen's bizarre behavior that day was genuine.
4/25/2023
Allen reported having a mental divide. Wala felt this was either from Allen not taking his medication to see his wife or to be transferred.
4/28/2023
Allen was observed lying in bed naked. Wala noted a smell coming from his cell. Allen requested to shower before his visit.
During this visit, Richard Allen flushed his Bible down the toilet and called himself selfish.
Wala believed his behavior was not psychotic. Instead, she noted it as defiant with no real motive.
She also believed Allen was severely depressed.
Brad Rozzi, one of Allen's defense attorneys, cross-examined Wala.
Rozzi clarified the following:
- Wala is no longer allowed back at the DOC following her July 31 testimony
- Wala violated the DOC's policy by accessing information about the Richard Allen case. (Wala admitted to using her personal computer to log into a system to access documents related to Allen that were not made public.)
- Wala followed the case before she started treating Allen
- Wala was included in Facebook groups and podcasts related to Allen's case
- Wala's interest in the case grew as it continued
Rozzi asked, "You never disclosed to your employer that you had personal interest?"
"I think I did, deposition said no," Wala said.
"If you had the chance to do it all over again, would you have stopped following the case while treating Allen," asked Rozzi.
"Probably," Wala said.
One juror appeared shocked during the cross-examination.
Rozzi pointed out Wala told Allen things she learned online about the case, and no clinical testing was done on Allen.
Officials say it is hard for the DOC to do formal psychological testing on inmates due to resources.
Wala testified her analysis of Allen included:
- Major depression disorder
- Anxiety Disorder
- Signs of Dependent Personality Syndrome
- His mental status was that of a "fragile man"
- Allen's housing remained the same for his entire 13-month stay at Westville Correctional Facility
- Allen's mental health score was a "D" on a scale of "A-F"
The defense disclosed Allen didn't receive orientation training when he was processed into the jail, even though every other inmate gets it.
Steve Mullen briefly returned to the stand for the prosecution Wednesday afternoon. He said they wanted to answer some questions asked by the jury about previous testimony regarding Richard Allen's Ford Focus.
Mullen was questioned by prosecutor Nicholas McLeland. He wanted to know how many Ford Focus cars like Richard Allen's were registered in Carroll County and the surrounding counties. Mullen said they searched for 2016 black Ford Focus sedans registered in the area in 2016 and 2017. Mullen said the total was 18, but only eight of them were the same SE model driven by Allen. When you narrowed the search to Carroll County, Richard Allen owned the only 2016 black Ford Focus SE sedan.
On cross-examination, the defense attorney asked if it is possible that another car — not registered in the county or the region could have visited the Monon High Trail that day.
Mullen said, "Yes."
The attorney also asked if Mullen could see the license plate of the Ford Focus in surveillance video.
Mullen said, "No."
When asked if Mullen could see the markings that proved the model of the car, he said, "No."
The state called Brad Webber as its final witness of the day. He lives near the Monon High Bridge Trail, and a portion of his driveway passes under the bridge.
The prosecution asked him about his job. He told them he is a first-shift worker who typically works 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
When Webber was asked about his work scheduled for February 13, 2017, he said he clocked in at 5:41 a.m. and clocked out at 2:02 p.m. that day. On the stand, he said he went straight home after work, and it took 20 to 25 minutes.
There were some fireworks on the cross-examination of Webber.
Andrew Baldwin questioned Webber. He said, "In 2017, you told police you went and worked on ATM machines."
Webber responded, "That's not correct."
Baldwin continued, " You didn't drive straight home."
Webber said, "I dropped off a trailer."
Baldwin replied, "That was earlier in the day."
Webber shouted his answer at Baldwin "That's not correct! No!," and Webber and Baldwin started screaming at each other in open court.
At that point, Baldwin approached the witness stand and served a subpoena to force Webber to testify when the defense calls witnesses later in the trial. Special Judge Fran Gull ended the session.
On Thursday, jurors will likely hear 2+ hours of audio in the courtroom. Those recordings will probably include telephone conversations Richard Allen had from jail.
FOLLOWING: Delphi Murders Trial: Day 12 | Prosecution rests, and attorneys begin Richard Allen's defense
WATCH | Correctional facility staff recount alleged confessions from Richard Allen
