LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The man charged in connection with the murders of Libby German and Abby Williams in Delpha, Indiana, wants to have his trial moved.

According to a report by FOX 59, the court-appointed attorneys for Richard Allen, 50, filed a request this week for a change of venue. Allen is charged with two counts of murder in connection with the Feb. 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German. Currently, court documents remain under seal at the request of Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland.

In a motion for the change of venue, Allen's attorneys cite, "extensive media attention" and the "highly publicized" nature of the case as reasons for the requested change. In the five years since the murders, the case has generated significant local, statewide and national media coverage. The motion also cites coverage on podcasts and social media as venues that extended the coverage.

"Although it could be argued that the amount of publicity that this particular case has received in the past 5+ years will make it difficult to find a jury that has not heard of this case, Richard Allen's defense team has gleaned statistical data that would strongly indicate that moving the case/trial just 150 miles away would significantly reduce the likelihood of obtaining a tainted jury pool," the motion stated.

Allen's attorneys also noted Google Trends data indicating that searches for their client's name "ranged between 1,000 and 10,000 searches for a county with just over 20,000 residents" during the month of October in Carroll County alone. On average, one in every two Carroll County residents searched his name after his arrest.

According to the FOX 59 story, the motion compared that data to Fort Wayne, which has a population of about 260,000, making it about 13 times the size of Carroll County in terms of population. The number of online searches for Allen's name ranged between 1,000 and 10,000 after his arrest, representing 1 in every 26 residents (or about 3.8%).

While Fort Wayne is less than 100 miles away from Delphi, the motion argued that search traffic dropped in communities further from Delphi. Allen's attorneys argued that moving the trial further away would increase the likelihood of finding jurors who weren't familiar with the case.

Delphi's relatively small population of about 3,000 residents would make it challenging to find an impartial jury, according to Allen's attorneys. Hundreds of Delphi residents were also involved in the search for the girls, making them potential witnesses and preventing them from joining the jury pool. In the event that they were called to serve as jurors, they could have information that could influence other members of the jury.

"It is common sense to presume that residents from counties further away from Carroll County will not have the same level of investment in the case and therefore will be able to more fairly decide the matter without concern about how their verdict may affect their relationships with other Carroll County residents," the motion stated.

The motion also cited Allen's past visibility in the community, noting that he worked at the CVS in Delphi. Many residents interacted with him or knew him personally, further limiting the number of available jurors.

Benjamin Diener, the Carroll County judge who initially oversaw the case, recused himself, citing the overwhelming number of requests related to the Delphi murders. Allen Superior Judge Frances Gull has since been assigned to oversee the proceedings. 

She is currently reviewing a request to unseal court documents after a Nov. 22 hearing.

The case has drawn local, state and national attention with the release of evidence, sketches and no shortage of theories. 

Within days of the killings, investigators released two grainy photos of a suspect walking on the abandoned railroad bridge the girls had visited and an audio recording of a man believed to be the suspect saying "down the hill."

Authorities have since released two sketches of the suspected killer, including one in April 2019 based on video from German's cellphone that's believed to be more accurate than a sketch released in July 2017.

Police also released video in April 2019 which shows the man suspected of killing the teens walking on the abandoned railroad bridge the girls had visited.

In December 2021, state police announced they were seeking information from people who had contact with someone who used a fictitious online profile to communicate with young girls.

State Police said at that time that investigators probing German and Williams' deaths had uncovered a fictitious online profile named "anthony_shots" that was used from 2016-17 on Snapchat, Instagram and other social media platforms.

The profile was traced to Kegan Kline, who police were investigating for a child exploitation case. Kline has been questioned in the case, but he has never been charged or named as a suspect. He is facing a trial on 30 counts of possession of child pornography. 

A statement from CVS said the company is “shocked and saddened to learn that one of our store employees was arrested as a suspect in these crimes. We stand ready to cooperate with the police investigation in any way we can.”

“We remain devastated by these murders and our hearts go out to the German and Williams families,” the statement said.

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