Current:Home > StocksAttorneys for man charged with killing 2 teenage Indiana girls argue they died in ritual sacrifice-InfoLens
Attorneys for man charged with killing 2 teenage Indiana girls argue they died in ritual sacrifice
View Date:2024-12-23 12:01:22
DELPHI, Ind. (AP) — Attorneys for a northern Indiana man charged with killing two teenage girls contend in court documents filed Monday that their client had nothing to do with the crimes and that the girls actually died as part of a ritual sacrifice.
Attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi, who represent Richard Allen of Delphi, said in a 136-page document that 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German were killed by members of a pagan Norse religion and white nationalist group known as Odinists.
They also requested a hearing to present evidence that the search warrant for Allen’s house was based on faulty probable cause and should be suppressed.
“Members of a pagan Norse religion, called Odinism, hijacked by white nationalists, ritualistically sacrificed Abigail Williams and Liberty German,” the attorneys state said in the filing.
”(N)othing, absolutely nothing, links Richard Allen to Odinism or any religious cult,” they wrote.
The attorneys claim that two groups of Odinists, one from the Delphi area and one from the Rushville area in southeastern Indiana, were investigated for their involvement in the crimes. They say investigators found multiple ritualistic symbols at the crime scene, including the way Liberty’s body was positioned.
The Carroll County prosecutor’s office didn’t immediately reply to a Monday phone message seeking comment about the defense’s claims.
The two girls were found dead near the Monon High Bridge on Feb. 14, 2017. An autopsy showed that they had been stabbed.
In a search warrant request in March 2017, an FBI agent claimed the girls’ bodies appeared to have been “moved and staged” at the crime scene.
The defense filing claims possible “Odinism signatures” were left at the crime scene, but that investigators abandoned that angle.
The girls were killed after a relative dropped them off at a hiking trail near the Monon High Bridge just outside their hometown of Delphi, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis. Their bodies were found the next day in a rugged, heavily wooded area near the trail.
Allen has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The killings have haunted Delphi, a city of about 3,000 where Allen lived and worked at a drug store.
veryGood! (565)
Related
- Bev Priestman fired as Canada women’s soccer coach after review of Olympic drone scandal
- Illinois Environmental Groups Applaud Vetoes by Pritzker
- Titans cornerback Caleb Farley's father killed, another injured in explosion at NFL player's house
- TikToker VonViddy Dies by Suicide at 32
- Oklahoma school district adding anti-harassment policies after nonbinary teen’s death
- Blac Chyna Shares New Video Getting Facial Fillers Dissolved
- Dangerous heat wave from Texas to the Midwest strains infrastructure, transportation
- Trial for suspect in Idaho student stabbings postponed after right to speedy trial waived
- How to Build Your Target Fall Capsule Wardrobe: Budget-Friendly Must-Haves for Effortless Style
- South Side shake-up: White Sox fire VP Ken Williams, GM Rick Hahn amid 'very disappointing' year
Ranking
- Guns smuggled from the US are blamed for a surge in killings on more Caribbean islands
- Flash flooding at Grand Canyon's South Rim leads to evacuations, major traffic jam: It was amazing
- The Fukushima nuclear plant is ready to release radioactive wastewater into sea later Thursday
- FDA says to stop using 2 eye drop products because of serious health risks
- Karol G addresses backlash to '+57' lyric: 'I still have a lot to learn'
- Summer School 7: Negotiating and the empathetic nibble
- Dangerous heat wave from Texas to the Midwest strains infrastructure, transportation
- Bans on diverse board books? Young kids need to see their families represented, experts say
Recommendation
-
Elena Rose has made hits for JLo, Becky G and more. Now she's stepping into the spotlight.
-
Selena Gomez's Sex and the City Reenactment Gets the Ultimate Stamp of Approval From Kim Cattrall
-
Melissa Joan Hart was almost fired off 'Sabrina the Teenage Witch' after racy Maxim cover
-
Sam Levinson Reveals Plans for Zendaya in Euphoria Season 3
-
Sister Wives’ Christine Brown Shares Glimpse Into Honeymoon One Year After Marrying David Woolley
-
More than 100,000 people have been evacuated over 3 weeks from flooding in Pakistan
-
Aaron Rodgers no longer spokesperson for State Farm after 12-year partnership, per report
-
Mother of Army private in North Korea tells AP that her son ‘has so many reasons to come home’