Richard Allen's phone call to his wife: 4 things we learned from Delphi court docs

Editor's note: We have redacted some names in the documents below to protect the identities of witnesses who were minors at the time of their statements, as well as to comply with the judge's orders in the case.

Months after he was moved to the Westville Correctional Facility, Richard Allen made a phone call to his wife.

Records recently released in the case show prosecutors believe that call could be a significant step in their case against Allen.

This week, filings that had been previously sealed in the murder case against Allen were posted online, bringing to light new information in the 2017 killings. Here's a look at a few things we learned from the documents.

Richard Allen case: Documents unsealed and posted online in Delphi murders

Delphi murder victims wounded by 'sharp object'

One of the 118 documents released includes an affidavit for a search warrant at Richard Allen's home. It included a sentence about the two girls' autopsies, stating "Autopsies of the girls stated their deaths as homicides and their wounds were caused by a sharp object."

Richard Allen reportedly told his wife he killed Delphi teens

In a motion to subpoena evidence, the prosecution outlines a phone call between Allen and his wife, Kathy Allen, as follows:

"On April 3, 2023, Richard M. Allen made a phone call to his wife Kathy Allen. In that phone call, Richard M. Allen admits several times that he killed Abby and Libby. Investigators had the phone call transcribed and the transcription confirms that Richard M. Allen admits that he committed the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German. He admits several times within the phone call that he committed the offenses as charged. His wife, Kathy Allen, ends the phone call abruptly."

Two days later, defense attorneys for Allen filed a motion that claimed his mental state had declined due to being incarcerated at the Westville Correctional Facility. It included photos showing him before his arrest and on April 4, the day after the phone call, meant to depict his deteriorating condition.

According to the court records, Allen stopped making phone calls after the April 3 conversation with his wife, and broke the tablet he used for communication. He also "was wetting down paperwork he had gotten from his attorneys and eating it, he was refusing to eat and refusing to sleep."

An inmate claimed Richard Allen has been mistreated at the Westville Correctional Facility

Another inmate at Westville, Robert P. Baston, wrote in a letter to court that Richard Allen was being "abused and mistreated along with other inmates in the Westville Control Unit Restrictive Housing."

Baston, who is a about quarter of the way through a 40-year sentence for child molestation, called the prison officers "corrupt." He wrote that they had been "calling Richard Allen a kid killer," among other allegations.

Mental health experts determined Richard Allen did not need to be moved

Records show that on April 14, two psychiatrists and one psychologist evaluated Richard Allen "to discuss his turn in behavior and whether or not there was a need for involuntary medication." There was not a need for involuntary medication, and he did not need to be moved, the panel determined.

"Since that meeting, Richard M. Allen has begun to eat again and has begun to sleep. (His) behavior has (begun) to return to what it was prior to making the admission on April 3, 2023," the court document reads.

Previously: Westville inmate claims 'corrupt officers' have mistreated Richard Allen

Journal & Courier reporters Ron Wilkins and Noe Padilla contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Delphi murders update: A possible murder weapon and a prison phone call