Prosecutor wants assurances Allen's attorneys won't publish sensitive evidence
DELPHI, Ind. — Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland wants a court order barring Richard Allen's defense attorneys from publishing sensitive evidence to the public before releasing the material as part of discovery.
McLeland charged Allen, 50, of Delphi, on Oct. 28 with killing Libby German and Abby Williams on Feb. 13, 2017. He is awaiting trial on two counts of murder.
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The teenage girls' killings have garnered national and international media attention since the girls' bodies were discovered Feb. 14, 2017, along the north banks of the Deer Creek, about a quarter-of-a-mile east of the Monon High Bridge.
Prosecutor files motion in Delphi case
McLeland filed the motion for a court order on Monday, requesting, "That the discovery material shall not be publicly exhibited, displayed, shown or used for educational, research or demonstrative purposes or used in any other manner, except in judicial proceedings in the above referenced action."
The prosecutor's motion also asks that the court limit the viewing and copying of the evidence to only Allen, his attorneys or the defense's expert witnesses or investigators. The evidence is not to be shown to any person who is not supposed to view it, including witnesses, Allen's family members, relatives or friends, according to the motion.
Special Judge Frances Gull has not ruled on that motion as of Monday afternoon.
There also were two other motions filed Monday in the case.
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What else was filed in the Delphi murder case?
McLeland filed a motion in response to Allen's request to continue Friday's hearing on whether to set bond for Allen and to move the back his trial date.
McLeland's motion did not object to either requests to postpone Friday's hearing and to resetting the trial.
The third motion filed Monday was from the media, including Gannett, the Journal & Courier's parent company.
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Initially, the media filed a motion to intervene in November, requesting the court to unseal Allen's probable cause affidavit, his charging information, as well as McLeland's Oct. 28 motion requesting that the documents remain confidential.
In November, Gull, citing court record rules, ordered the charging information and the probable cause affidavit be released with minor tweaks of redacting the names of the witnesses from the documents, according to the media's motion filed Monday. The motion argues that Gull ruled on the documents using a court rule.
Gull, however, did not specifically make a ruling on the media's request under the Indiana Access to Public Record Act as to unsealing McLeland's original request to seal the charging information and affidavit.
Media renews request to unseal records
The media, including Hoosier State Press Association, the Indiana Broadcasters Association and the Associated Press, renewed their request in Monday's motion, asking that McLeland's Oct. 28 motion be made public.
"Because the Court had already ruled on the Request and denied the Request in-part (with the exception of witness names and Defendant's personal information), the Request itself now should be released," the media's motion states.
"There is no longer any legal basis or reason to exclude the Request — a quintessential court records — from the public eye," the motion states.
The motion requests the court allow the media's counsel "to intervene for the purpose of seeking the release of the State's Verified Request to Prohibit Public Access to the public and order the clerk the release the Request to the public."
Gull has not ruled on the media's renewed request as of Monday.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Delphi murders: Motions filed by prosecutor, media in Richard Allen case
