Indiana News

Explicit prison videos presented to jury in Delphi case

(Photo Supplied/ Indiana State Police)

DELPHI, Ind. (NETWORK INDIANA) — Explicit material, an angry family and a tearful attorney. Here’s what went down inside of the Carroll County Courthouse for day fourteen in the Delphi murders trial.

Richard Allen is charged with four counts of murder for the 2017 killings of Delphi teenagers Abigail Williams and Liberty German. Allen walked into the courtroom Saturday morning with a smile and was engaged with those around him. He said good morning to each member of his defense team and took a look around the courtroom.

Kathy Allen, Richard’s wife, was only briefly in the courtroom. She was informed of what was going to be displayed during Saturday’s hearing and quickly left.

Superintendent Doug Carter of Indiana State Police briefly entered the room. Allen said “good morning” to Carter, who responded with a smile, nod, and a “good morning” of his own. Carter then left the room as the defense wasn’t ready for him just yet.

The main focus of Saturday’s hearing was Westville Prison video of Richard Allen.

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi stated there were to be fifteen videos entered into evidence to be presented to the jury. Prosecutor Nick McLeland advised Special Judge Fran Gull that he planned to object to every single video. He called it a cumulative objection, in order to avoid saying “objection” every single time. Judge Gull noted his objection but allowed every single video to be played.

However, the videos were not played for the audience.

Rozzi stated that he wanted to protect his client’s dignity, as well as others involved. Judge Gull also noted for the jury that the videos were explicit in nature and allowed Rozzi to turn the large courtroom TV around and angle it in a way in which only the jury, Judge Gull, and anyone else facing that direction could view it. Prosecutor McLeland pulled a chair up next to the jury to view the videos, and defense attorney Jennifer Auger stood behind him.

Defense intern Max Baker was recalled to the stand and presented the videos. Each video was a handheld, cam corder video. The videos varied in length. They were edited videos ranging from April to June of 2023. Baker stated a master list of the videos, with timestamps and dates, was provided by the State of Indiana. Baker stated similar features will accompany in-cell videos, which are expected Monday. Judge Gull thanked the State for turning over material that was “work product” in order to help the defense “clarify its position.”

Since the TV was facing away from the audience, reporters turned their attention to the jury.

The jury studied each video intently. Several jury members took several pages worth of notes and didn’t look away very often. Occasionally, one or two members of the jury would place their hand over their mouths, but not one juror had a significant facial reaction.

The same cannot be said for everyone else in attendance. The families of the victims were visibly angry and upset when the TV was turned away. Richard Allen appeared frustrated and shook his head before the videos started. He could not see the videos either. Defense attorney Auger’s face became bright red during some of the videos, and she often kept a hand over her mouth. She would sometimes look away.

Later in Saturday’s session, defense attorney Andrew Baldwin stood next to the jury in order to view the videos. Tears were clearly visible in Baldwin’s eyes. He returned to his seat, put his left arm around Allen, pulled him in close, and proceeded to cry quietly.

Nick McLeland stopped taking notes during video #8 and just watched. A few jurors in the top row started conversing and showing each other their notes. They continued to stay intensely focused on the videos.

After nearly two hours of watching cam corder videos, Brad Rozzi called for a brief recess in order to fit in one witness.

That witness was Superintendent Doug Carter.

Carter, who was the face and voice of the Delphi murders investigation for several years, only spent about ten minutes on the witness stand. Carter testified to the fact that dozens of police departments across nearly every Indiana county have had some involvement in the Delphi murders investigation. Carter testified that the ATF, FBI, and US Marshals also played roles in the years-long investigation.

McLeland asked to approach the bench, which drew an audible grunt from one of the jurors.

Carter testified that he asked the FBI to leave the Delphi murders investigation in August of 2021 and requested that they hand over their investigative materials.

The State had no questions for Doug Carter. The jury did not have any questions for Carter, and the defense had no further follow-ups. After that, Carter left the stand and will not return.

The defense was back to the videos at this point. Videos #11-15 were presented to the jury.

It should be noted that during the morning’s recess, someone informed the court that members of the media could see Rozzi’s laptop, and thus could somewhat identify what was happening in the Westville Prison videos. Lieutenant Jerry Holeman of Indiana State Police, who always sits directly to Richard Allen’s left, kept a close eye on the general area in which the media was sitting.

And then the day came to an end. Prosecutor McLeland stated he would save his cross-examination of Max Baker for next week, after the in-cell Westville Prison videos are presented to the jury. McLeland clarified that he plans to object to each one of those videos as well.

Once the courtroom cleared of the general audience, Judge Gull walked over to the media and allowed each member to come view the two-page document left by the defense. The document was a list of each cam corder video, the length, and file name. Four videos were labeled “NUDITY”. Court TV’s Barbara MacDonald asked Judge Gull if the media will be able to view the prison videos. Judge Gull said she was unsure and that she believes the defense plans to request the videos be sealed.

So, what did the videos show?

The following section is purely speculative. Only three media members could see the videos, but their view was obstructed. Rozzi kept his laptop brightness level down and angle it slightly towards the jury. Each media member came to a consensus on what they saw: Richard Allen was naked in four of the videos. In almost every video, Allen’s arms and hands are cuffed behind his back. At least two officers are with Allen in each video, sometimes accompanied by a nurse/doctor. Some of the videos briefly show Allen in his cell or being moved down a hallway. Allen was strapped into a wheelchair for the final video, with a large black strap around his chest, waist, and legs. Reporters say in some videos, Allen had a cloth or black hood placed over his head. Allen is dragged by officers on each arm in one video. Allen is being bathed by officers in another. Each reporter agreed that in every video, Richard Allen is not resisting but rather limp and “not really responding to anything.”

This a breakdown of video length and date, provided by the defense:

Video #1 – 2 minutes, 22 seconds long; sometime between April 5 to April 13, 2023

Video #2 – 2 minutes, 1 second long; sometime between April 5 to April 13, 2023

Video #3 – 5 minutes, 17 seconds long; April 13, 2023 (nudity)

Video #4 – 3 minutes, 43 seconds long; April 14, 2023

Video #5 – 2 minutes, 57 seconds long; April 17, 2023

Video #6 – 2 minutes, 46 seconds long; from April 17, 2023 (nudity)

Video #7 – 28 minutes, 28 seconds long; from April 17, 2023 (nudity)

Video #8 – 12 minutes, 8 seconds long; from April 18, 2023

Video #9 – 11 minutes, 7 seconds long; from April 21, 2023

Video #10 – 52 minutes, 25 seconds long; from April 28, 2023 (nudity)

Video #11 – 1 minute, 4 seconds long; May 26, 2023

Video #12 – 55 seconds long; May 20, 2023

Video #13 – 4 minutes, 5 seconds long; May 26, 2023

Video #14 – 3 minutes, 58 seconds long; May 30, 2023

Video #15 – 34 minutes, 43 seconds long; June 20, 2023

Court is back in session Monday, November 4th.

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