Lawyers for Richard Allen, the man accused of murdering two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana, made shocking new allegations in a new court filing Monday — claiming there is “overwhelming” evidence that Abby Williams and Libby German were not slaughtered by Allen, but were instead “ritualistically sacrificed” by a religious cult run by white nationalists.
Defense attorneys wrote that German, 14, and Williams, 13, were killed by cult members in a sick ritual that included multiple people in 2017 — though they claimed Allen was not present at the time. Their lawyers said the alleged killers practice the Nordic pagan religion Odinism, which was “hijacked by white nationalists.”
Citing a letter sent to police in 2019, the defense said German and Williams were targeted because one of their parents, who is white, was dating someone of another race.
The distorted allegation came as Allen’s defense attempted to disqualify evidence collected in a raid on his home, which included the discovery of a handgun linking him to the crime. The defense asserts that the judge who signed the search warrant was unaware of the double homicide’s alleged ties to Odinism – making the probable cause case for Allen’s search warrant flawed.
“Nothing links Richard Allen to any of the Odinite suspects: the same Odinite suspects that the evidence strongly supports the sacrifice of Abby and Libby in some kind of pagan ritual,” the lawsuit said. “Richard Allen had nothing to do with this crime, but he is an innocent man; a police scapegoat, arrested 26 days before an election.”
Lawyers backed up their bombshell claims by pointing to strange observations police officers made at the crime scene. This included the discovery of sticks that formed Germanic letters – symbols supposedly associated with Odinism. The lawsuit claimed that the sticks were painted with the blood of the massacred girls and that the sticks were placed in Abby’s hair which “grossly imitated horns or antlers.”
The lawsuit said there were clear “runes” left at the site, which a state trooper wrote in a report appeared to be a “satanic type of worship.”
“These murderous Odinites left obvious signatures and symbols,” the defense lawyers said.
Monday’s document also cited the FBI’s crime scene analysis, which allegedly said the girls’ murder was carried out by someone or several people “involved in Norse beliefs.” The defense named five men who insist the officers cleared them as non-suspects too quickly.
“Due to incompetence or concerted willfulness, those responsible for the investigation refused to arrest or even properly investigate these obvious suspects,” the document states.
The defense questioned the officers for abandoning the possibility that the teens were killed in a sacrifice, despite there being “an obscene amount of evidence linking Odinism to the crime scene.” The lawsuit listed 92 different reasons why the defense claims German and Williams could not have been massacred by a single person, like Allen.
The motion, filed by attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi, totaled 136 pages. The defense hopes that a judge will grant a hearing that will allow them to expose the investigators’ alleged shortcomings and that the evidence against Allen will be dismissed.
Allen is accused of kidnapping the teenagers as they walked the historic trails of Delphi, Indiana, and brutally murdering them in February 2017. Prosecutors allege he killed the girls before moving in and placed their bloodied bodies on the edge of a private farm property.
The case instantly attracted national attention, which was revived in October when police arrested Allen, a 50-year-old former pharmacy technician and married father of two. Prosecutors said in June that Allen confessed to killing the girls in several jailhouse calls with his wife.
Also linking Allen to the murders was an unspent .40 caliber bullet that was found among the teens’ bodies. Prosecutors allege the bullet was linked to Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226 firearm through forensic evidence, which revealed the cartridge had been “passed” through his gun at some point. Authorities said the gun was recovered by police in last year’s raid of Allen’s home, along with numerous knives, sheaths and potentially incriminating items of clothing.
Allen’s wife said her husband had a blue jacket that appeared to be similar to the one the girls’ alleged killer wore on Feb. 13, 2017. The teens recorded a video that showed a man — now believed to be Allen — walking toward Allen . them on a narrow bridge. “Down the hill,” the man can be heard saying.
Allen has pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder. He is the only person facing charges in the double homicide, but prosecutors have not ruled out the possibility that others could eventually be charged.
In a separate motion Monday, defense attorneys asked that Allen be transferred to another prison while he awaits trial. They said he “lives in hell” and saw prison guards wearing “In Odin We Trust” patches on their uniforms, which made him fear for his safety.