CARROLL COUNTY, Ind. — Special Judge Fran Gull has granted the defense team’s request to move up the murder trial for Richard Allen, the man accused of killing teen girls Abby Williams and Libby German.
Previously not set to go to trial until October, the high-profile murder case is now scheduled to begin on May 13. Gull blocked off May 13 through May 31 in her motion. Allen County courts confirmed that jury selection will take place in Allen County, with the chosen jurors and alternates traveling to Carroll County afterward.
Allen faces two counts of murder after the girl’s bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi in February 2017. Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland recently filed for additional murder and kidnapping charges to be leveled against Allen. Those charges are set to be discussed at an upcoming hearing scheduled for March 18 at 9 a.m.
Allen’s attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, have previously pushed for a speedy trial and requested it as part of their plea taken to the Indiana Supreme Court after Gull removed the attorney duo from the case following an evidence leak that stemmed from Baldwin’s office.
The Indiana Supreme Court reinstated the pair but denied their request to kick Gull off the case and to enforce a trial take place within 70 days. Despite recent motions to delay upcoming hearings, Baldwin and Rozzi did push for the closer trial date which Gull granted on Monday morning.