DELPHI — On day 17 of the Delphi Murders Trial, the defense rested its case for Richard Allen, who faces murder charges for the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German in Delphi in February 2017.
PREVIOUSLY: Delphi Murders Trial: Day 16 | Defense calls expert witnesses in Richard Allen's defense
The defense testimony lasted for several days, with witnesses including psychiatrists, forensics experts and testimony on camrecorder videos of Allen during his time in prison.
"I wasn't anticipating having this conversation quite yet," Judge Fran Gull said after the defense announcement.
The judge met with the prosecution and defense and discussed jury instructions and the order of arguments. The judge said both sides would receive two to two and half hours to present their closing arguments.
"I want to make sure you have all the time you need," Judge Gull said.
The prosecution called its first rebuttal witness at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday. It was Breann Wilber who had testified for the prosecution early in the trial. She was questioned by Stacey Diener.
Wilber had previously testified that she was on the Monon High Bridge on February 13, 2017, the last day Abby and Libby were seen by their families.
The attorney asked about SnapChat photos Wilber took while she was at the Freedom Bridge. The timestamp showed she was at the end of the bridge at 12:25 p.m.
Defense Attorney Andrew Baldwin had a few questions for Wilber. He asked if police investigators talked with her about the earlier part of her day on February 13 or just the ending part of her day on the trail? She said they concentrated more on the end of her day.
Baldwin observed that Wilber seemed to have a very good memory of the events of February 13, and he wanted to know how she had such a good memory of that day. She commented that she told police what she could remember, and that no one else stuck out to her beyond what she told police.
On re-direct, Diener asked Wilber if it was possible that things from that day (February 13, 2017) stick out to her because of the things that happened that day.
Wilber answered, "Yes."
Wilber previously testified that she is close friends with Kelsey German, Libby's older sister and was with Kelsey when she received the call that Libby and Abby were missing.
Andrew Baldwin from the defense asked one follow-up question of Wilber. He wanted to know if police had focused primarily on the end of her time on the trail near the Freedom Bridge.
She answered, "Yes."
Brian Harshman, a Master Trooper with the Indiana State Police, was called back to the stand by the prosecution. He discussed how Richard Allen had been in a one-man cell in every Indiana Department of Corrections facility where he has been housed. That includes prisons in Cass County, Wabash, and Westville.
Harshman said he believed the defense attorneys were saying the conditions were very poor for Allen at Westville, but he said the conditions weren't much better for him at Cass County where he has a smaller cell.
He also testified Allen was not treated any more harshly at Westville than he was at other facilities.
The final rebuttal witness was Dr. John Martin, a psychiatrist who has more than 40 years experience as a medical doctor. He was the physician who administered Haldol to Richard Allen when he was in prison.
Dr. Martin testified about Richard Allen's behavior in prison. He discussed the difference between being a prisoner who is described as a safe keeper vs. an inmate who has a history of causing trouble. He also said there is a difference between having a one-man cell and someone who is in solitary confinement. Dr. Martin said the people who are in solitary confinement are prisoners who have done something wrong and are being punished for that behavior.
“Richard Allen hadn’t done anything wrong. He didn’t break any rules in the prison system, yet it had been treated like he had. That is not right," said Dr. Martin. "But you also have to look at the responsibility of the prison system has to keep him alive. Despite the risk of solitary confinement on someone’s overall mental health, the overriding decision was to keep him alive.”
Martin testified they had meetings at Westville on how to keep Allen more comfortable in his one-man cell.
In looking at Dr. Martin's records, he said he had 18 meetings with Richard Allen at Westville, but he never reviewed any video of Allen’s time in Westville.
Martin stated that from November 8, 2022 to April 13, 2023, Richard Allen was fine. He did not have any issues suggesting that Allen's mental health was compromised.
On April 13, Dr. Martin said he was called and asked to report to Richard Allen’s cell to see him. He said he saw that Allen was naked, laying on his cot, had feces smeared on his body, and a brown liquid coming from his mouth. The doctor asked if he could see Allen, and the staff showered Allen before the meeting. Dr. Martin said the meting took place at a nurse's station. Martin sayd he made the assessment that Allen was psychotic, and he determined Allen was compromised enough that they needed to administer involuntary medication.
Before that could happen, Dr. Martin called an emergency meeting with the prison's mental health staff. The doctor's recommendation to medicate needed to go to the mental health board first. That group is called the Report of Treatment Committee. After presenting the findings, Dr. Martin said the committee gave the okay for Allen to be involuntarily medicated starting on April 14, 2023.
After Allen was cleared to get medication, the first dosage was a short-acting dose of Haldol. They gave Allen 5 milligram shots of Haldol on April 14, 15, 16, and 17 to make sure there were no reactions to the medication. When they were convinced there were no side effects for Allen, he was given a 50 milligram dose of long-acting Haldol on April 18, 2023. The maximum dosage is 450, but the long-acting Haldol may be administered once every four weeks. At the time of the long-acting dosage, Richard Allen was still deemed to be psychotic.
A week later, Dr. Martin said Richard Allen was still psychotic, but thought he was doing better. Allen seemed quiet, but he was asking for his wife, asking if he could have Taco Bell, chocolate, and wanted to see the warden. Allen knew that he was in prison. He was eating, and the doctor thought his condition was improving.
Martin saw Allen again on May 2, 2023 and three other times that month. In each of those subsequent visits, Dr. Martin observed Allen as coherent, had situational awareness, was getting enough sleep, and was eating. The doctor said Allen exhibited no signs of psychosis during the month of May, 2023.
When Dr. Martin visited Westville on June 20, 2023, he said Allen still showed no signs of psychosis. He noted it had been seven weeks since Allen had been observed with psychotic behavior. Martin made the determination that he was going to stop giving Haldol to Allen, and the medical chart said Allen's last shot of Haldol had been given on June 17th. However during Dr. Martin's June 20th visit, the doctor wrote in his notes that Allen told him he wanted to apologize to the families of his victims. As Dr. Martin said that from the stand, Allen could be seen shaking his head at the defense table and started praying as he sat beside his defense attorneys.
Martin was asked if Prozac, or a lack of it, would have played a role into Allen's psychosis.
On cross-examination of Dr. Martin during the afternoon, defense attorney Brad Rozzi questioned Martin’s medical degree and where it came from. The doctor confirmed it was not from a medical school in the United States.
Rozzi questioned Martin's work history in Florida — including asking him if he had been terminated from a job there, and the doctor answered "Yes." However, Martin was not allowed to answer any other questions about what happened in Florida.
The defense asked for clarification from Dr. Martin on why he was working with inmates at Westville. He said there was an inmate backlog of approximately 200 to 250 prisoners who needed to see mental health providers.
Rozzi also asked Dr. Martin if mental illness can be made worse by an inmate being put in solitary confinement, or if that mental illness could be exacerbated, to which Dr. Martin said, "Yes. It could." He also testified Richard Allen could have moved in and out of psychosis while at Westville.
Martin said his longest meeting with Allen was 30 minutes, and that was the first time they met. He said the majority of the meetings happened at the door of Allen's cell and that most of them were much more brief than the first meeting.
Rozzi wanted to know more about Richard Allen's medical condition. Dr. Martin said Allen was very psychotic at times. He also believed he was engaging in paranoia, and that Allen's 50 pound weight loss in prison was not normal.
When asked to talk about the differences between solitary confinement vs. a one-man cell, Martin said that solitary confinement has a punitive connotation to it, and he reiterated Allen had not done anything wrong to end up in solitary. He could see how it could be confusing for someone like Allen.
The defense contended some of the committee members who met with Dr. Martin to discuss medication for Allen had never seen Allen as a patient. Dr. Martin emphasized their job was to keep Richard Allen alive while he was in prison.
Martin was asked for more information on the June 20, 2023 appointment with Richard Allen when he determined he no longer needed Haldol injections (Allen did continue to receive oral doses of Haldol after the injections stopped on June 17.) Martin described how Allen told him he wanted to apologize to the family.
The defense played a video that was taken of Allen at Westville on the evening of June 20, 2023. It showed Allen in some sort of medical room in the prison sitting in what seemed to be a catatonic state. Around 10:53 p.m., Allen was shown sitting in a chair, but he was barely moving. The defense said the entire video lasted more than 20 minutes, but they chose to show eight minutes for the doctor to watch.
As the video played, Allen looked away from the screen, and private investigators who are part of the defense team and members of Allen's family were crying in the courtroom.
Rozzi asked Dr. Martin if that was the same Richard Allen he had seen earlier in the day — and the same man he said was thinking clearly and was fully oriented earlier in the day. Dr. Martin said, "No."
On re-direct Stacy Diener of the prosecution asked the doctor where the evaluation took place. He said it was out of Allen’s cell. He added the confession was never prompted, he never asked about it, and that it seemed to be a spontaneous statement.
Diener asked the doctor if his interaction with Allen that morning was different from what was shown on the video taken that evening, and he said "Yes." He was not able to explain why that may be the case.
Diener also asked, "After watching the video, are you questioning your recollection of Richard Allen from earlier that day?"
Dr. Martin said, "No."
Martin also told the court Allen was back to baseline mental competency by May 2, 2023, but they continued with the Haldol until, June 17, 2023.
Members of the jury asked four questions including when Dr. Martin met with Allen on June 20th. The doctor testified it was early in the morning that day, and that he often arrived at Westville around 6:30 a.m.
Another juror wondered if Allen’s behavior on June 20, 2023 could be consistent with him faking.
The doctor replied, "I don’t think so."
The final question focused on whether a patient could slip in and out of psychosis in a 24 hour period, and Dr. Martin said, "Yes."
At the end of the day, Judge Gull addressed the jury. She told the 12 jurors and three alternates, “You have heard all the evidence that will be presented in this case. Closing arguments will be next, and then you will be given your instructions.”
The judge acknowledged they were ending earlier than usual (around 2:00 p.m.,) but she wanted to give the prosecution and defense attorneys time to prepare for closing arguments. That portion of the trial will begin on Thursday morning in the Carroll County Courthouse. After both sides make a final appeal, the jury will be given the case and will be asked to determine if Richard Allen is guilty or not guilty of the murder of Abigail Williams and Liberty German near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi, Indiana.
FOLLOWING: Delphi Murders Trial: Day 18 | Jury hears closing arguments from prosecution and defense
