Richard Allen’s next court appearance is scheduled for June

Defense attorneys would find it “shocking” to be ready for trial before the end of the year

CARROLL COUNTY, Indiana — Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen has been rescheduled for his bail hearing.

Special Judge Fran Gull held a virtual hearing with Allen, his attorneys and prosecutors on Friday to set a new date. Allen is now scheduled to appear in court for a hearing on June 15. A June 16 date has also been set in case the court needs additional time.

In addition to the issue of bail, the parties involved will discuss possible dates for a new trial during the hearing in June. An Allen County court official said Allen’s attorneys told the court it would be “shocking” if they could be ready for the trial before the end of the year because of the amount of evidence they would have to comb through during the discovery.

Judge Fran Gull had already expressed skepticism during a hearing in January that the court would be able to meet its planned hearing date in March. Gull cited the large amount of evidence in the case and the logistics of moving jurors from Allen County to Carroll County.

Allen faces two counts of murder in the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German. This week has been six years since the girls were found dead on February 14, 2017, a day after they were reported missing.

Allen’s attorneys filed a motion on February 7 to postpone their client’s bail hearing scheduled for today (February 17). The attorneys said they had a large amount of evidence to review before the hearing and asked for additional time.

Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland filed a motion Monday, saying the state had no objection to a delay. Gull decided Thursday that she would resume the hearing at a later date and scheduled Friday’s remote video conference to set the new hearing date.

Allen’s defense team is trying to get him released on “reasonable bail” while he awaits trial, arguing that the evidence is not strong enough to keep him behind bars. Prosecutors countered that the evidence “adds up to strong and obvious evidence of guilt” and believe Allen should remain in custody.