IN - Abby & Libby - The Delphi Murders - Richard Allen Arrested - #170

[k-mac]

Welcome back!

It's actually Good news: This Judge is being called to task BEFORE trial ... so the People of the State of Indiana can be assured the fair trial here does happen and that any conviction holds up under appeal.

(Sometimes you get a stinker of a Judge and don't realize it until it's too late.)

Emma
you have me intrigued!
I need to do some catch up reading here!

thank you xx

 

[Emma Peel]

[sbbm]

That last part is unknown.I don't think it's accurate to state that the person got handed the photos and merely being in possession of them caused the act. We do not know. The hearsay sentence in the email attached as one of the exhibits "if he tells the truth he'll be okay" is alarming. Imoo, it needs to be investigated. If the act was linked to the photos why? I realize there are some who think the investigation is complete and RA is the guy but statements like this make people like me wonder if that is so.

jmo

"If I tell the truth I'll be okay."
- suicide victim quote (to wife) about having to speak to ISP investigator about the LEAK.
(Q: what could make leaking the photos "okay" in the eyes of an ISP investigator?)

I read that but didn't focus on it until now.
Great.
Another sleepless night.


i wonder if the investigation has his phone and computer ...
talk me out of this brain worm pls.

 

[Emma Peel]

gasp!
Why is Mitch Westerman's affidavit sealed?

 

[twall]

gasp!
Why is Mitch Westerman's affidavit sealed?

You will have to take that up with the judge!

My husband is working on a bldg. about 5 blocks from the Allen Co. courthouse. I will have him stop over there tomorrow and ask her for you and me! Deal?

 

[Emma Peel]

You will have to take that up with the judge!

My husband is working on a bldg. about 5 blocks from the Allen Co. courthouse. I will have him stop over there tomorrow and ask her for me! Deal?

Excellent!!!

(Please tell him to ask her if is it b/c Westerman told the "truth" that the other leaker was talkin' about? )

 

[twall]

Excellent!!!

(Please tell him to ask her if is it b/c Westerman told the "truth" that the other leaker was talkin' about? )

Sure thing, will do! (Do you have bail money?!) She might get upset and lock him up!

 

[Jurisprudence]

You will have to take that up with the judge!

sbm
Yep. That's what she said. (That was good post, lol)

 

[Batgirl 2.0]

How to keep your law firm secure:

2023 Law Firm Data Security Guide: How to Keep Your Law Firm Secure

I hate that it’s devolved to this, taking away from the true focus of the case. But I’m d*** tired of AB being portrayed as the “snookered victim.”

Particular emphasis on #6 & #7

Like @MistyWaters said, AB liked to engage in the “collaborative approach”. He failed to CYA, IMO, by engaging with someone outside his firm and without proper rules of engagement. Not a victim, IMO, negligent. MOO!

IMO

 

[Batgirl 2.0]

How to keep your law firm secure:

2023 Law Firm Data Security Guide: How to Keep Your Law Firm Secure

I hate that it’s devolved to this, taking away from the true focus of the case. But I’m d*** tired of AB being portrayed as the “snookered victim.”

Particular emphasis on #6 & #7

Like @MistyWaters said, AB liked to engage in the “collaborative approach”. He failed to CYA, IMO, by engaging with someone outside his firm and without proper rules of engagement. Not a victim, IMO, negligent. MOO!

IMO

 

[Batgirl 2.0]

Sincere question to the attorneys on here: do you have a WISP? I do, in my field.

 

[katydid23]

How to keep your law firm secure:

2023 Law Firm Data Security Guide: How to Keep Your Law Firm Secure

I hate that it’s devolved to this, taking away from the true focus of the case. But I’m d*** tired of AB being portrayed as the “snookered victim.”

Particular emphasis on #6 & #7

Like @MistyWaters said, AB liked to engage in the “collaborative approach”. He failed to CYA, IMO, by engaging with someone outside his firm and without proper rules of engagement. Not a victim, IMO, negligent. MOO!

IMO

And the guy he was 'collaborating' with on these legal strategies never passed his bar exams. So he was not an attorney. Yet he was allowed to be in and around all of that sealed evidence, including photos of 2 murdered young girls.

AB was not snookered. He was grossly negligent and highly irresponsible. JMO

 

[katydid23]

"If I tell the truth I'll be okay."
- suicide victim quote (to wife) about having to speak to ISP investigator about the LEAK.
(Q: what could make leaking the photos "okay" in the eyes of an ISP investigator?)

I read that but didn't focus on it until now.
Great.
Another sleepless night.


i wonder if the investigation has his phone and computer ...
talk me out of this brain worm pls.

He may not have really believed that it would be OK if he told the truth---maybe he was trying to calm his wife while he quietly panicked.

If he really thought he'd be OK by telling the truth, why kill himself?

I think he was terrified that he was going to be charged and arrested, humiliating his family, losing his job, etc. JMO

 

[mrjitty]

As best as I understand it, the ex-employee and trusted friend of B’s was invited to discuss the case as the office often engages in a collaborative approach. But instead he was snookered by this trusted friend who copied photos and shared confidential info with a 2nd friend.

RSBM

If this is what happened, the guy should be nowhere near this case.

 

[girlhasnoname]

I've been wondering if The Innocence Project is following this case, for the oddities, if nothing else. Here they weigh in on tool mark analysis. This is from Dec, 2022
(Snips)
Tania Brief, a senior staff attorney with The Innocence Project, is talking about a type of commonly used forensic examination accepted by law enforcement and courts for decades: tool mark analysis.
...
To understand how such a match is determined, we talked with Chris Monturo who has 26 years of experience and a forensic consulting and testing company in the Cincinnati area.
... Monturo responded that he’s “absolutely confident” because of his training and experience.

(more at the link)

Linking of Richard Allen’s gun to Delphi crime scene ‘not science’ says The Innocence Project

The Innocence Project is pressing on against tool mark evidence, claiming it’s “not settled science.”

fox59.com

There will be experts (paid) from both the State and the Defense who will present evidence that tool mark analysis is/isn't relevant in this case. It happens all the time, I personally will appreciate hearing both sides of the argument.

moo

 

[sunshineray]

The court's reasoning is very much in line with what's happening here. Discovery being confidential or protected is different from sealing a document on the docket but I'm not sure why you raise this since it was not the reason the defendant was granted a new trial.

It was one of two other things besides the denied continuation mentioned by the SC in linked case that you commented on.

 

[sunshineray]

As best as I understand it, the ex-employee and trusted friend of B’s was invited to discuss the case as the office often engages in a collaborative approach. But instead he was snookered by this trusted friend who copied photos and shared confidential info with a 2nd friend. This 2nd friend shared it with one or more other people, who passed it along to Murder Sheet. At that point the 3rd party involved agreed with MS that the matter be turned over to LE including the FB messages illustrating the chain of events.

There was an earlier leak B had admitted to involving an email listing discovery docs and photos that was sent to a guy who B had earlier been in contact with, who was very vocal on FB and had filed a lawsuit against LE in Delphi. The FB messages pertaining to this latest leak indicated a plot to frame this same guy to make it appear as if he was the leaker, thereby protecting the identity of those who were involved.

What was the purpose? That’s not real clear but MS stated depending on what one believed, one could probably see whatever they wanted to validate an opinion.

Shortly after LE questioned the 2nd guy, he tragically took his life. Will the trusted friend of B be charged? Hasn’t happened yet, who knows.

This is just my perception the information which I read, others may disagree.

Kinda bellows, where there's smoke there's fire, doesn't it? JMO

 

[FrostedGlass]

There will be experts (paid) from both the State and the Defense who will present evidence that tool mark analysis is/isn't relevant in this case. It happens all the time, I personally will appreciate hearing both sides of the argument.

moo

If you feel like wading through 129 pages, here is the appeal opinion from Kobina Ebo Abruquah v. State of Maryland, No. 10, September Term, 2022. Opinion byFader, C.J.

Here's a bit from it:
At the trial of the petitioner, Kobina Ebo Abruquah, the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County permitted a firearms examiner to testify, without qualification, that bullets left at a murder scene were fired from a gun that Mr. Abruquah had acknowledged was his. Based on reports, studies, and testimony calling into question the reliability of firearms identification analysis, Mr. Abruquah contends that the circuit court abused its discretion in permitting the firearms examiner’s testimony. The State, relying on different studies and testimony, contends that the examiner’s opinion was properly admitted.

https://mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/coa/2023/10a22.pdf

 

[sunshineray]

If you feel like wading through 129 pages, here is the appeal opinion from Kobina Ebo Abruquah v. State of Maryland, No. 10, September Term, 2022. Opinion byFader, C.J.

Here's a bit from it:
At the trial of the petitioner, Kobina Ebo Abruquah, the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County permitted a firearms examiner to testify, without qualification, that bullets left at a murder scene were fired from a gun that Mr. Abruquah had acknowledged was his. Based on reports, studies, and testimony calling into question the reliability of firearms identification analysis, Mr. Abruquah contends that the circuit court abused its discretion in permitting the firearms examiner’s testimony. The State, relying on different studies and testimony, contends that the examiner’s opinion was properly admitted.

https://mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/coa/2023/10a22.pdf

What was the bar set of qualification that the testifying examiner didn't meet I wonder? Seems this was an error by the prosecutor's office for not calling a qualified witness to testify, not a judgement that the science wasn't sound?

 

[girlhasnoname]

R&B's careers are all but over IMO:
<snipped & BBM>
Rozzi and Baldwin both stopped to acknowledge Allen’s wife and mother seated closest to the courtroom door to the public hallway near the media as Baldwin assured the women, “The whole world is watching.”

It also appears Defendant Allen is looking better these days..
<snipped & BBM>
Slowly Allen made his way to the defense table, having put on a bit more weight, adding a little color to his face and appearing more engaged with this hearing as opposed to his last public court appearance in the spring

Baldwin making one more end run at the media:
<snipped & BBM>
Outside the courtroom, none of the participants spoke to the media save for Baldwin who rushed through a clutch of reporters with cameras and microphones. “Journalism,” he said. “Now is the time for journalists to do their jobs.”
Presumably, he meant further inquiry into the legal precedent and practice that Judge Gull relied on to dismiss the original defense team.

Judge confirms defense attorney dismissals in Delphi double murder case

moo

 

[girlhasnoname]

If you feel like wading through 129 pages, here is the appeal opinion from Kobina Ebo Abruquah v. State of Maryland, No. 10, September Term, 2022. Opinion byFader, C.J.

Here's a bit from it:
At the trial of the petitioner, Kobina Ebo Abruquah, the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County permitted a firearms examiner to testify, without qualification, that bullets left at a murder scene were fired from a gun that Mr. Abruquah had acknowledged was his. Based on reports, studies, and testimony calling into question the reliability of firearms identification analysis, Mr. Abruquah contends that the circuit court abused its discretion in permitting the firearms examiner’s testimony. The State, relying on different studies and testimony, contends that the examiner’s opinion was properly admitted.

https://mdcourts.gov/data/opinions/coa/2023/10a22.pdf

RS&BBM
At the trial of the petitioner, Kobina Ebo Abruquah, the Circuit Court for Prince George’s County permitted a firearms examiner to testify, without qualification, that bullets left at a murder scene were fired from a gun that Mr. Abruquah had acknowledged was his

Right here is the biggest problem I see immediately without wading into the whole appeal. I agree there will be arguments for/against this testimony, but it's still allowed in Court so the jurors will be the ones to listen and decide whom they think presents a more believable argument.

moo