Delphi suspect seeks ’emergency’ move to different prison
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – Attorneys for the man charged with the Delphi murders want him moved to a new facility, citing filed an emergency motion to have him moved to a new prison.
Richard Allen’s lawyers filed the emergency request in Carroll Circuit Court on Wednesday.
The request cites “dramatic change in Mr. Allen’s condition, including his change in demeanor, change in appearance and change in his overall mental status.”
The motion includes a photo of Allen that the defense says was taken April 4 at the prison, which his attorneys claim prove that his “physical condition is deteriorating rapidly.”
His defense team also compared his treatment to that of a “prisoner of war”, including:
- Sleeping on a pad on a concrete floor
- No visits with his wife or family for the past five months
- Wearing same clothes for “days and days on end, all of which are soiled, stained, tattered and torn”
Allen has been held at the maximum security Westville Correctional Facility since November 2022, just days after his arrest in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German.
Their bodies were found near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi. Police have labeled their deaths as homicides but have not revealed how the girls died.
Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby originally requested Allen to be moved to the Indiana Department of Correction for his own safety.
Allen faces two counts of murder but has maintained his innocence.
The special judge in the case has scheduled a June 15 hearing on a defense request to allow Allen to be released on bail.
The judge has issued a gag order on attorneys and witnesses in the case.