Delphi murder suspect case remains under seal. Experts weigh in on 'unusual' move
Even after the long-awaited news of an arrest in the killings of teens Abigail Williams and Liberty German more than five years ago in Delphi, some of the most pressing questions in the high-profile case remain.
How did police identify 50-year-old Richard M. Allen as a suspect?
What evidence is there?
How long have police been investigating that lead?
Law enforcement officials have so far declined to answer those questions, repeating they need to protect the integrity of the investigation as it continues. Further, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland on Monday said his office embarked on an “unusual” move asking a judge to seal the charging documents and the probable cause affidavit for the time being — which was granted. Such records, which are typically public, are how police present their case against a person in order for prosecutors to make a charging decision.
How common is it to seal records in a criminal case?
A local expert called the decision to seal such records uncommon, at least in Indiana, while a national criminal justice expert said it's standard procedure. Both surmised the sealing is likely to avoid key details of the case from entering the public and possibly jeopardizing the ongoing investigation or influencing future jurors.
Novella Nedeff, a clinical associate professor at Indiana University’s McKinney School of Law, said sealing court records after a defendant is in custody is unprecedented to her, and speculated the decision may be due to the possibility of others involved, or to avoid a piece of evidence from becoming widely known.
“I can appreciate while the case is being investigated keeping a lot of those details out of the public realm, so that if somebody gets accused, somebody makes a statement, nobody says ‘well they just repeated what they read in the press,’” she remarked.
She noted Allen’s charges do not appear to be listed online, which is standard practice, raising the question of whether he’s been charged with anything else in addition to the two counts of murder. Before the arrest last week, Allen's criminal past, at least in Carroll County, was nonexistent.
Law professor: Sealing records is standard
Maria Haberfeld, a professor of law and police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said sealing such records after an arrest is a justified, and standard, procedure.
“You don’t want to release information that the defense will use to disqualify witnesses or jurors or both and will compromise the integrity of the process,” she said in an emailed statement.
McLeland on Monday reiterated he made the decision to seal the court records protect Abby and Libby's case in particular, given the public attention it’s garnered across the country and even overseas.
Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen: Indiana town wants answers about man who 'blended in'
"It is unusual, we don't do it very often. While all cases are important, the nature of this case has some extra scrutiny with it,” he said. “My office, me, felt it was important to seal those records.”
Investigators have kept Delphi details from the public
The sealing of the court documents matches how tightlipped investigators have been since the girls’ deaths. Police for years have said they do not want to jeopardize the investigation by releasing details surrounding the killings. Searchers found their bodies on Valentine's Day in 2017, a day after the teens went for a walk on the Delphi Historic Trails and never arrived at their agreed-upon pickup spot later on.
McLeland said a hearing will be held later, on an unspecified date, to determine whether the records will continue to be sealed. He added there will be a public notice about the hearing beforehand. As of Wednesday that hearing date was not released.
Contact IndyStar reporter Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Delphi murders: Experts explain why arrest, court records are sealed
