CARROLL COUNTY — Prosecution wants to keep two sketches out of the trial for Richard Allen, who is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017.
On Monday, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland filed a motion to ban the use of the sketches or any reference to them in the trial. The composite sketches were released by Indiana State Police early in the investigation.
The first sketch was released in 2017 after police said they received information from witnesses who were in the area at the time Libby and Abby went missing.
A second sketch was released at the press conference held on April 22, 2019. In that sketch, the suspect looks younger, which led police to update their description of the suspect to be a man between 18 and 40 years old.
According to McLeland's motion, "a composite sketch is not relevant, admission would result in undue prejudice, confuse or mislead the jury, or is impermissible hearsay, and the witnesses who participated in the preparation of composite sketch(s) will not be presented by the State for the purpose of in-court identification of the defendant."
Mcleland adds that the sketches were not related to identifying Richard Allen as the leading suspect. He also states that the witnesses who helped create the sketches would testify they did not see the person depicted in the sketch long enough to positively identify the defendant.
Finally, Mcleland argues that the defense intends to use the sketches "as demonstrative evidence and for impeachment purposes," but that no witness would be presented before the jury to identify the accused in court.
The motion asks the court to order the defense to not mention, comment, or reference the sketches during the trial.
Special Judge Gull will rule on the motion ahead of the trial, which is set to begin on Friday.
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