Delphi murders trial, Day 9: DNA doesn’t come back to Richard Allen, state witness says
Results of DNA testing, blood pattern evidence key during Day 9. Plus, changes proposed to West Lafayette’s metered parking plan near Purdue. And satellite polling places expand starting Tuesday
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DELPHI MURDERS TRIAL, DAY 9: DNA DOESN’T COME BACK TO RICHARD ALLEN
Day 9 in the trial of Richard Allen, charged in the 2017 murders of Delphi teens Abby Williams and Libby German, included testimony that Allen’s DNA was not found at the scene and the return of a blood pattern expert whose time on the stand during August pretrial hearing provided a harrowing description of what he said likely were girls’ final moments.
Here were takeaways Monday pulled from media pool notes and reports from inside a crowded Carroll Circuit Court.
DNA ANALYST ON THE STAND: Stacy Bozinovski, a forensic scientist and DNA analyst with the Indiana State Police Lab, testified that she went through all of the swabs and fibers tested following the 2017 murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German.
Bozinovski testified that hairs found around the fingers of Abby Williams – a discovered first introduced by Allen’s attorney Andrew Baldwin during jury selection – was from Libby’s sister Kelsi German.
Bozinovski also testified that male DNA was found on some swabs, but she clarified that finding male DNA on some of the areas swabbed was “not necessarily an unusual result.” Swabs also indicated possible semen, but no semen was officially detected.
Bozinovski testified that DNA testing on an unspent Winchester .40-caliber Smith and Wesson found at the crime scene – one an ISP lab determined was cycled through a gun owned by Allen – was “insufficient for further analysis.” She testified that DNA can be hard to pull from cartridges because they’re so small.
Three hairs collected at the scene were not consistent with Abby and Libby, Bozinovski testified. She said there are tests that could analyze hairs without a root, but the lab was afraid of destroying the samples, so they did not move forward with testing. Bozinovski said hair tests of this nature also yielded low success rates.
Bozinovski testified that for DNA on a shoe and clothing found in Deer Creek, water had the potential to dilute it.
She also testified that tests found DNA from Libby German’s blood on tree branches found at the scene.
Asked by the state whether she found DNA from Richard Allen on items she tested, Bozinovski said: “No, I did not.” That was a point Jennifer Auger, one of Allen’s attorneys, leaned into during cross examination Monday afternoon.
Auger asked her whether tests of clothing and items found during an October 2022 search of Allen’s Delphi home had turned up DNA from Abby or Libby, Bozinovski they hadn’t.
From WISH: “Expert says Richard Allen’s DNA was not found during testing.”
From Fox59: “State’s forensic expert says no DNA from Allen found.”
From WRTV: “DNA and Blood Spatter experts take the stand: Allen's DNA not found at scene.”
THE BLOOD PATTERN EXPERT: Major Patrick Cicero, a crime scene investigator with the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office, reprised chilling testimony he offered during pretrial hearings this summer about the blood found at the crime scene and what he said it told about how the girls were killed on Feb. 13, 2017.
Against a graphic backdrop of crime scene photos showing the girls, Cicero – hired in 2024 as an expert witness for the state, not as an investigator on the scene – described that the scene indicated that Libby German was killed or unconscious before someone dragged her 20 feet to the spot where she was found.
Cicero testified that crime scene evidence indicates that Libby was likely slashed in the neck near a tree, accounting for blood stains found that. He testified that evidence indicates Libby grabbed her throat, leaving blood on her hands. Blood on her foot likely came from her stepping through it before, at some point, going into a sitting position, based on blood found on her thighs. As he did this summer, Cicero testified that bloody marks on a nearby tree likely came from Libby’s hand.
Cicero testified that he believed that Abby died in the same spot where she cut. He testified that it was unusual that Abby’s hands had no blood, saying he hadn’t seen that in cases that didn’t include someone’s hands being restrained. He testified that it could have been that Abby was unconscious when someone cut her throat.
Asked by the defense whether any of the evidence he reviewed pointed to Richard Allen, Cicero said no.
Here are more accounts from reporters in the courtroom Monday:
From WISH: “Former CSI could not link Allen to crime scene, believes Libby was moved after death.”
From WTHR: “Blood pattern expert says Libby German's body was moved.”
From Fox59: “Blood spatter expert weighs in on girls’ final moments.”
STATE MOVES TO INTRODUCE ALLEN’S SEARCH HISTORY: After the jury left for the day, the prosecutor told Judge Fran Gull that the state wanted to introduce internet search history tied to an account of Richard Allen’s, according to pool media reports. Allen’s defense team objected, questioning whether prosecutors could show that Allen was the only one with access to the account. Per media pool, Gull took the matter under advisement.
JUDGE CATCHES GALLERY NAPPING: This was moment in Monday morning’s testimony, according to media pool reports: Judge Fran Gull took exception to seeing several people sacking out in the gallery.
“I don't conduct court in your bedroom,” Gull said. “I would appreciate you not sleeping in my courtroom.”
Who was seen sleeping in the 72-seat gallery wasn’t clear. Of those seats, 28 went to the general public after 12 credentialled media, 30 family members and others reserved for the state and the defense were taken. The last person in the courtroom Monday got in line at 5 a.m. (On the scene note: I was there at about 5:45 a.m. and was the last one without a seat for the day.) Media members without that day’s credentials, various content creators with podcasts, YouTube channels and the like, and others interested in being inside to hear testimony for themselves started lining up as early 11 p.m. Sunday and camped out on a walkway leading into the Carroll County Courthouse.
WHAT’S NEXT: Court resumes at 9 a.m. Tuesday. The trial, which opened Oct. 18, is scheduled until Nov. 15.
MORE COVERAGE
Day 7: How investigation tied a bullet found at scene to Richard Allen’s gun
Day 6: How attention turned to a tip Richard Allen gave in the days after the murders
Day 5: Autopsy photos, another ‘Bridge Guy’ witness and new info from Libby’s phone
Day 2: Delphi murder trial: Family friend who found Abby, Libby tells about that day
Day 1: Families testify about Abby, Libby’s last day as Delphi murder trial opens
Final day, pretrial: Composite sketches, other unresolved issues before opening statements Friday
PROPOSED AMENDMENT WOULD CHANGE HOW METERED PARKING RULES ROLL OUT IN WEST LAFAYETTE
With a final city council vote pending next week, a proposal that would allow metered parking in some parts of West Lafayette – particularly near the heart of Purdue’s campus – would put many of the details into the hands of the city’s board of works.
A first draft of the ordinance – given initial approval by the city council in September – focused on roughly 1,000 spaces in the blocks tucked between Purdue’s residence halls and main academic campus — typically referred to as “The Island” — in and around the Purdue Discovery Park District. It also listed in the parking area at Wabash Landing and along sections of State Street/Mitch Daniels Boulevard.
A proposed amendment would wipe out a list of streets and suggested time restrictions in the original ordinance and leave implementation to the discretion of the board of works, a body that meets weekly to consider administrative decisions.
On Oct. 7, the city council pulled back on a final vote on the ordinance to give more time to talk through issues for merchants and others who a near the blocks on the proposed list.
West Lafayette Mayor Erin Easter said the move was suggested “only because (the board of works) is more nimble, and we can easily add or subtract roads as needed.”
“Many things work that way here,” Easter said. “But the timeline will require that any rollout is mid-year next year.”
The plan has met resistance from students who live in and near the Island or use spaces there for classes.
The proposal wouldn’t mean installation of physical parking meters. Instead, the city would use a parking app that drivers would use to pay for parking. According to the proposal, parking would cost no less than $1 an hour and no more than $3 an hour.
Gone would be parking signs that offered two hours before tickets are written on designated streets, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday, according to the proposed ordinance.
If you go: The West Lafayette City Council will meet to consider the changes and the proposed metered parking ordinance at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, at City Hall, 222 N. Chauncey Ave.
PURDUE FRESHMAN, CC GRAD FOUND DEAD IN WILEY HALL: Connor Simmons, a 2024 Lafayette Central Catholic graduate, was found dead Sunday afternoon at Purdue’s Wiley Hall, Tippecanoe County Coroner Carrie Costello confirmed Monday. Costello said a call came at 4:36 p.m. Sunday. The coroner said the cause of death was pending but that there were no signs of significant injuries or foul play. Purdue listed Simmons, 18, of Lafayette, as a first-year student in exploratory studies. Monday evening, Central Catholic High School held a prayer vigil for Simmons in the school’s McHale Gym.
ABOUT THAT ELECTION …
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS FORUM, A CLARIFICATION: Monday, this space had a notice about a candidate forum in a pair of Tippecanoe County commissioner races at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 30, at the West Lafayette Public Library, 208 W. Columbia St. Commissioners David Byers and Tom Murtaugh, running for re-election to seats in District 2 and District 3, say they have conflicts Wednesday and let organizers know that a few weeks ago. David Sanders – a West Lafayette City Council member and a leader with the Wabash River Conservancy, which is hosting the candidate forum – said Tuesday that was the case. On Tuesday, Sanders said that Steven Mayoras, a Libertarian challenging Byers in District 2, also had to bow out for due to another commitment. Republican Tom Murtaugh faces a challenge from Libertarian Jaime Ortiz in District 3.
EARLY VOTING OPPORTUNITIES THIS WEEK: With a little more than a week until Election Day, three additional satellite early vote centers – the Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds in Lafayette, the John Dennis Wellness Center in West Lafayette and Eastside Assembly of God just east of Lafayette – will open Tuesday through Saturday.
Here’s a look at remaining early voting sites open through Monday, Nov. 4, in Tippecanoe County.
Oct. 29-Nov. 1, 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
Oct. 29-Nov. 1, noon-6 p.m., Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South, Lafayette; Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette.
Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-3 p.m., Tippecanoe County Fairgrounds, 1406 Teal Road, Lafayette; Wea Ridge Baptist Church, 1051 E. County Road 430 South, Lafayette; Eastside Assembly of God, 6121 E. County Road 50 South, Lafayette; John Dennis Wellness Center, 1101 Kalberer Road, West Lafayette.
Nov. 2, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
Nov. 4, 8 a.m.-noon, Tippecanoe County Office Building, 20 N. Third St., Lafayette
For more about finding what races are on your ballot, candidate Q&As and a complete list of where to vote on or before Nov. 5, check this voter guide.
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