Odinism, confessions, alleged judicial bias among issues Richard Allen could raise on appeal

Moments before Richard Allen's fate was announced in a packed downtown Delphi courtroom Monday, Special Judge Frances Gull gave a sobering assessment of the case that has haunted the small Indiana community for years.

"Regardless of what the verdict is," she said, "people will not be happy."

Sure enough, everyone has retreated to their silos. Outside the courthouse, those who believe Allen was guilty are relieved that justice has been served. And those who believe Allen has been railroaded while the real killers are at large are angry and in disbelief. Indeed, Allen's supporters seem to be already gearing up for the next phase of the legal fight: a lengthy appeals process. Within hours of the verdict, a website called "Justice for Rick Allen" began circulating on social media.

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"This isn't over at all," a visibly upset Kathy Allen, Richard Allen's wife, said as she left the courthouse Monday while accompanied by defense attorneys.

Is Odinism part of the picture? For Allen's supporters, he was convicted not because of the evidence that jurors saw but because of what they did not see.

Allen will most certainly appeal and when he does, Odinism and Gull's decision to not allow his defense team to present to jurors evidence pointing to an occult sacrifice will likely be a key part of it, legal experts say.

Allen's defense team aggressively pushed their theory that Odinists, members of a pagan Norse religion hijacked by white nationalists, killed the girls during a sacrificial ritual in the woods. They put together an explosive 136-page memorandum laying out what they believe to be compelling evidence pointing to Odinism. They argued that sticks and branches were arranged on the girls' bodies and a letter was painted on a tree using Libby's blood to resemble Odinist runes and symbols.

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They put forth names of purported Odinists who they say are viable suspects in the case, including a Logansport man whose son dated Abby and who, the defense alleged, posted cryptic images on social media resembling the crime scene. During a pretrial hearing in August, a former Indiana State Police detective who investigated the Odinism angle testified that Brad Holder's social media posts are " not a coincidence ." At that same hearing, an expert called by the defense testified that the teens' deaths are " textbook" examples of a ritualistic murder.

But ultimately, none of these were enough to convince Gull that jurors needed to hear about Odinism. She ruled that presenting such evidence would only cause confusion and could potentially mislead the jury. In his appeal, Allen could resurrect the issue of judicial bias ― that Gull was not a neutral arbiter but a judge who has shown explicit favoritism of the prosecution.

"That basically is what the defense thought hamstrung them," said Jody Madeira, an Indiana University law professor who's been following the case. "They couldn't present the narrative they wanted. There were still gaps that they could not fill. I think that's going to be a central focus of their appeal."

As the testimonies began last month, Gull also ruled that jurors would not see the two widely circulated composite sketches that police released in 2017 and 2019, siding with Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland that the artistic renderings were based on witnesses who described a variety of facial features but noted they were not certain of their identifications. Defense attorneys argued that the sketches showing two different men, neither of which resemble Allen, are highly relevant.

"I think the most appealable issue is that his attorneys attempted to bring in the fact that there were other possible suspects in the case and Judge Gull refused to allow that," said Indianapolis defense attorney Jeffrey Mendes, who's been following the case.

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What other issues could be raised on appeal? The incriminating statements that Allen made while awaiting trial at Westville Correctional Facility ― and Gull's decision to allow them to be presented to jurors ― also could be raised on appeal, experts say.

The case against Allen relied partly on the dozens of statements he gave to prison officials, his therapist and in many phone calls to his family. Prosecutors presented some of those confessions, including one he made to Dr. Monica Wala, his therapist at Westville. According to Wala's notes of that session with Allen, he said he'd intended to rape the girls, but he was spooked by a van driving on a private driveway nearby.

That vehicle, according to testimony , belonged to Brad Weber, who lives near the trail and who told jurors he was coming home from work in his white van at around 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017 ― a few minutes after the girls would have been forced off the trail and into the woods.

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That van, McLeland reiterated to jurors during his closing argument , was a detail "only the killer would know."

Before Allen's trial, his defense attorneys tried to keep his statements from being presented to jurors, arguing they were made involuntarily and in the throes of a severe mental health crisis while in solitary confinement. But Gull decided to allow the statements to be presented to jurors, ruling that the conditions of Allen's pretrial detention "were not intended to force confessions" from him.

Questions about whether those statements, many of which Allen made while receiving antipsychotic medication, should've been admitted into evidence will most likely be raised on appeal, Tompkins said.

Another issue that could be raised is Gull's decision to block a metallurgist from testifying, Tompkins said.

Dr. William Tobin's testimony was meant to challenge the state's findings that a bullet cartridge found 6 inches from Abby's feet had been cycled through Allen's Sig Sauer, Model P226, .40-caliber handgun. Prosecutors argued that while Tobin is a recognized expert in metallurgy, a field that studies metallic elements, he is "not a firearms expert, has had no training in firearms identification, and has never conducted firearms examination."

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That unspent round was the single piece of physical evidence connecting Allen to the crime scene, and jurors heard from an Indiana State Police firearms examiner whose analysis concluded that the cartridge was tied to Allen's gun.

"Once you let that forensic evidence in, not allowing the metallurgist to testify becomes an issue," Tompkins said.

How will the appeals process play out? Allen is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 20. He then has 30 days to file a notice to appeal his conviction and his sentence. His appellate attorneys and the state, which will be represented by the Attorney General's Office, will each file lengthy briefings laying out their arguments. And there will likely be a hearing before the Indiana Court of Appeals.

The possible outcomes, according to Mendes: The appeals court finds that there are no errors at the trial court level. Or it finds that there were errors, but they were not significant enough to impact the outcome of the trial. In both cases, Allen's conviction stands. Allen can then ask the Indiana Supreme Court to review the case.

Another possible outcome: The appeals court finds that there were several or significant errors in the case that Allen's conviction should be reversed. If this happens, the case will be sent back to Gull's court. McLeland will have to decide whether or not to try Allen again. This means McLeland, as the elected prosecutor, will have to ask Carroll County officials to spend more taxpayer dollars to put Allen back on trial. The Carroll County Council already appropriated a little over $4 million on the case.

There's another, albeit remote, possibility: A plea deal. If the case is sent back to Gull's court, the parties can decide to negotiate a plea deal to avoid yet another costly and controversial trial.

"That's a theoretical possibility," Tompkins said. But, he added: "This is a defendant whose defense was, 'I did not do this.' You don't, as a defense attorney, tell a client who is innocent to go in and plead anyway."

IndyStar reporters Sarah Nelson, Noe Padilla and Lafayette Journal &Courier reporter Ron Wilkins contributed to this story. Contact IndyStar reporter Kristine Phillips at (317) 444-3026 or at .