VERDICT WATCH Abby & Libby - The Delphi Murders - Richard Allen Arrested - #213

[MassGuy]

I disagree. He actually is quite strong mentally. He has withstood some of the worst conditions possible and did not surrender to the pressure to off himself.

The unsaid reason that he was housed in solitary confinement for 13 months needs to be addressed.

The whole point of his custody conditions was to ensure he couldn’t kill himself even if he tried.

That’s why he’s alive.

 

[WildHuncher]

Two things can be true, the investigation was lacking and they are still able to prove their case.

One man says he was there that day during the specific time in question.

One man other people saw that day.

One man who admitted to (almost certainly) seeing the people who saw him.

One man who was admittedly dressed as BG.

One man whose car was caught on camera.

One man whose phone was suspiciously not caught up in the geofence despite his claims that he was using it.

One man admitted to drinking alcohol, going to the bridge, spotting the girls, following them, planning on raping them, getting disrupted,"cutting their necks," making sure they were dead, and covering them with sticks.

One man owned a .40 caliber handgun that matched the unspent cartridge found between the bodies.

One man confessed over and over.

One man said he stole a boxcutter from work, used it in the murders, and disposed of it in a CVS dumpster.

One man whose mental health declined after the murders.

One man who conveniently changed his timeline after he knew he was a suspect.

One man who ticks practically every box in regards to someone who has historically committed this type of crime (suicidal, substance abuse, depression, admittedly under the influence at the time of the crime).

They’ll never find a better suspect than that.

From the moment I read the Probable Cause Affidavit I’ve been sure.

 

[tlcya]

[snipped by tlcya for focus]

It's also quite strange that he would say he was trying to cover them up with those branches, because, per the drawings we have seen in the media, there were very few sticks and they were quite obviously "arranged" vs haphazardly placed. It also doesn't make sense that he wouldn't use the easily available dead foliage around, but rather waste even more time collecting tree branches that range in size and weight.

I disagree that anything was quite obviously "arranged". I'm not even sure what "arranged" means in this context. As to why the dead foliage nearby wasn't used I speculate that scooping up dead leaves nearby might have been made difficult or less attractive as an option because - bloody. Much easier to drag a limb from nearby or roll it onto Libby and then grab whatever decent size branches that could be found nearby and try to make the bodies look less body like when viewed from a distance. JMO

 

[rhino]

What’s the general consensus regarding the elevation change from the Apple Health data? I thought the Defense scored a huge point when they noted out that the distance from the bridge to the river is 60’ but the data only showed an elevation change of 20’ (which is roughly the distance from the bridge to the driveway). MOO

Apple health doesn’t measure elevation change, just elevation gain.

I’d be pretty annoyed after a day hillwalking to see I hadn’t had any change in elevation because I’d returned to the same place…

 

[fred&edna]

In my opinion, not a snowball’s chance in hell that happens. This case is dead forever, with a guilty man walking in their eyes. No evidence is going to magically appear that is more compelling than we have here.

I wish they had more, but that’s the reality.

I guess it would be too much expense on the state for the DA/LE to attempt to reinforce their case and try him again?

 

[Inthedetails]

If he’s found not guilty, can he sue LE for defamation?

No.

I am not a lawyer.

jmo

 

[Arkay]

From my own experience back in college, an eyewitness can be spot on some details while completely blurry on others.

I was crossing a street near the edge of my college campus in broad daylight when a car slowed down a few feet away from me. The male driver had his window down and asked me for directions to McDonalds. I walked forward until I was about a foot away from him, kind of looking up at the sky as I tried to formulate directions. When I looked back down, I saw into the car and he was exposing himself and furiously self-pleasuring. I screamed, backed off, he started to speed away and I began to run to the nearest building. The whole encounter lasted.....30-45 seconds?

But anger flooded me--I stopped and stared at his license plate and memorized it until I couldn't see it any more. I chanted it to myself while I ran into the building across the street, ran to my boyfriend's office, and wrote it down. Called campus police right away.

What did I have clear visual memory of at that moment? The license plate number and state. The color of the car. His smirk and shape of his nose. His genitalia (please no line-up of that!) and his hand.

Less detailed memories: general kind of car (I was not a car person...best I could get was 4 door sedan...no make or model). Specific hair color--just dark, either brown or lighter black. Dark eyes. General shape and expression of face. Distinct feeling that he bore a resemblance to Pee Wee Herman's mug shot when he was arrested in an adult movie theater (that had happened just about 2 months earlier and the photo had been in magazines and tv news). Sort of age--late 20s-30s? As a 19 year old, all I knew was he was older than me, but not "old".

Things I couldn't remember at all: his voice, other than nondescript (I remembered his exact words, though). Any details of the car like make, model, dents, bumper stickers. What he was wearing. Specifics of his hairstyle,

I gave the campus police as much info as I could. They were so excited to hear I had the plate number and told me that this guy had done it at least 5 other times on campus--but I was the first to get the plates. I tried for an hour to come up with any other specific details. I tried to describe his clothes without a lot of success.

They called me back that night and had me come look at a photo line up. My heart sank when I looked at it, because all I could see in my head at that moment was Pee Wee Herman, which my brain had started to superimpose over his features in my memory because of the resemblance. I did start to study one picture more, but I couldn't be sure. The officer noticed that and said that it might help me if I used my hand to cover up the hair on each photo and just look at the face.

And that's when I recognized him. The vague resemblance to Pee Wee Herman's mug shot was there, but not as strong as my mind had started to insist it was. I realized also that my brain had been putting him in a white t-shirt like Pee Wee's mug shot--but that it had actually been a dark color that contrasted with his arm.

It was him--the license plate matched to his girlfriend's car.

I don't know that I would have been able to help a sketch artist get a recognizable drawing of him, if I hadn't got the plates or been given a photo lineup. It would have been close-ish, but not great. And the one thing my mind had an absolute crystal clear memory of definitely wouldn't have been put on a suspect drawing.

When I saw him at court, he of course looked completely different. Different hair cut, got rid of the goatee, suit, etc. He even had a pair of glasses he kept putting on.

And I got put through the ringer by the defense when I was on the stand--their first question was what was I wearing when it happened (ah, the good old days of 1992..I was wearing knee length cut off jean shorts and an oversized tshirt). What was I even doing in that location at that time of day (um, going to the computer lab on campus where my boyfriend worked at 5 pm.). How did I know that it was his actual male organ that I saw and not his thumb--I can't even remember how I managed to answer that in a non snarky way because I was dumbfounded by the nerve of the defense attorney. Why hadn't I noticed and reported that his client was shaking like crazy (because he had told police he had taken 1/2 a bottle of caffeine pills that day)--um, because he wasn't and that was a stupid lie he told.

Same, sister.
Some creep in a car pulled up right next to me with his passenger window open to ask directions…then I saw he was masturbating, and he had a drooling, twisted facial expression.
I was a teenager and it was the 1970s when most people did not report such incidents to police.
I could have described his face and hair but not the car nor anything else.

I’ve had other incidents as the years went by and I know that in shock and disgust I just tried to get away, without studying the details of these perverts.

The only one I could’ve described was when I was 14 and in 10th grade. My homeroom teacher attacked me in the wardrobe closet when I went to get my coat and no other students were there. But that easy identification was only because I saw him every day and of course knew his name.

I’m checking on and off here and can’t keep up, but I do hope today is the day.

 

[TristanP]

I sure hope the one who wrote 'We love you Ricky' next to 'Justice for Libby & Abby' does... MOO

No one should be unloved. Period.

I have worked in mental health treatment, substance abuse, and corrections. I've provided health care for people who have done some heinous things. But the care I provide to them speaks about me, not about them.

 

[MassGuy]

I guess it would too much expense on the state for the DA/LE to attempt to reinforce their case and try him again?

Oh no. I do think they’ll retry if the jury is hung. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, as they could do some things to solidify the case.

Maybe we’d even get a new judge!

 

[INfisherman]

I have never found an answer to the question about that large branch and if it was on the water side of the crime scene (I think it is from the little I know about the CS area)..

If that large branch that was beside and partially on Libby was placed there to obstruct the view if someone was coming the same way he took the girls from the bridge and across the water. Let's say someone crossing the bridge looking for the missing girls.. and looking over in the direction of the crime scene would see that large branch and NOT see the girls. Could be why that branch was where it was.

Unsure if this was addressed, if you have a direction shown in the diagram/sketch of the CS from media notes, the creek was generally south of the bodies. I seem to recall north was defined somewhere on the sketch.

JMO

 

[Mitch1]

But the care I provide to them speaks about me, not about them.

Yep-something I teach and remind my own child of all the time too

 

[Myvice]

I'm sure some streaming service would happily pay him handsomely to participate in a documentary. He could even be a crusader for prison reform.

Maybe they will build a statue of him and paint murals all over the buildings.

 

[katydid23]

What’s the general consensus regarding the elevation change from the Apple Health data? I thought the Defense scored a huge point when they noted out that the distance from the bridge to the river is 60’ but the data only showed an elevation change of 20’ (which is roughly the distance from the bridge to the driveway). MOO

I'm confused---Distance and elevation are different. The distance can be 60 feet and the elevation could be a change of 20, no conflict, imo.

 

[SouthEnd]

No one should be unloved. Period.

I have worked in mental health treatment, substance abuse, and corrections. I've provided health care for people who have done some heinous things. But the care I provide to them speaks about me, not about them.

If he is guilty, I hope his family accepts it, and loves the human he used to be, still.

If he is guilty, it is vile to see love declarations on his name placed on top of the names of his victims. Occasion matters. Context matters. All MOO.

 

[Davemac1]

The other thing the Jury are hearing and we aren't privvy to is Allen's voice.
From the reports I've seen from those that are there is that it sounds uncannily like Bridge Guys voice.

 

[Sillybilly]

Okay folks, please sprint on over to Thread #214.

This thread is now closed.