Judge rules that Delphi murders trial won't be moved, but jurors to be drawn from other county

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- A judge has ruled that the trial of the man accused of killing two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, will be held in Carroll County -- the jurisdiction where the murders occurred -- but the jurors will be brought in from another county.

Richard Allen appeared in Carroll Circuit Court for a hearing Friday morning. He is charged with the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German, whose bodies were found on Feb. 14, 2017, in a rugged, heavily wooded area near a trail just outside of Delphi, Indiana, one day after a relative dropped them off.

The case has garnered national attention, prompting Allen's attorneys to request a change of venue, which would move the trial to another location.

But according to a report by Matt Adams of FOX 59, Judge Frances Gull opted to deny this request Friday morning, saying she couldn't see a way for the trial to be held outside of Carroll County. She said the witnesses would be inconvenienced by the move and the costs of moving the case would be "extraordinary."

At the same time, Judge Gull said she couldn't see how the trial could involve jurors from Carroll County, as it would be "difficult if not impossible" to find jurors who had not been involved in the case in some capacity.

The solution, she said, is to bring jurors in from an outside county. Judge Gull gave the prosecution and defense a week to agree on a suitable county from which to pull jurors. Those jurors will then be bused into Carroll County an sequestered for the trial.

Judge Gull also said a gag order currently in effect will continue, although attorneys from both sides can discuss procedural issues, as well as a bail hearing set for Feb. 17.

The judge also agreed to hear arguments during that bail hearing about whether the trial can proceed as scheduled for March 23, although she said there are "thousands upon thousands" of pages of discovery for the state to turn over to Allen's defense lawyers.

She also cited the "extraordinary, voluminous evidence" in the case that must be turned over to the defense, although she added that the state had been "diligent" in turning over material to Allen's lawyers.

After the hearing, defense lawyers met with Gull in her chambers. They returned to the courtroom for a hearing on public funding for investigators. Those proceedings were closed to the public.

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