Current:Home > FinanceAttorneys for man charged with killing 2 teenage Indiana girls argue they died in ritual sacrifice-LoTradeCoin
Attorneys for man charged with killing 2 teenage Indiana girls argue they died in ritual sacrifice
View Date:2024-12-24 00:38:44
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! (6657)
Related
- Horoscopes Today, November 10, 2024
- Vivek Ramaswamy reaches donor threshold for first Republican presidential primary debate
- Maya Millete's family, friends continue the search for missing mom: I want her to be found
- Human remains found in luggage in separate Texas, Florida incidents
- Former Disney Star Skai Jackson Is Pregnant, Expecting First Baby With Her Boyfriend
- The loneliness of Fox News' Bret Baier
- Across the Boreal Forest, Scientists Are Tracking Warming’s Toll
- Video: Aerial Detectives Dive Deep Into North Carolina’s Hog and Poultry Waste Problem
- Texas’ 90,000 DACA recipients can sign up for Affordable Care Act coverage — for now
- Gallaudet University holds graduation ceremony for segregated Black deaf students and teachers
Ranking
- Democrat Janelle Bynum flips Oregon’s 5th District, will be state’s first Black member of Congress
- Christy Carlson Romano Reacts to Chrissy Teigen and John Legend’s Even Stevens-Approved Baby Name
- Christie Brinkley Calls Out Wrinkle Brigade Critics for Sending Mean Messages
- Illinois Solar Companies Say They Are ‘Held Hostage’ by Statehouse Gridlock
- Controversial comedian Shane Gillis announces his 'biggest tour yet'
- YouTuber Adam McIntyre Reacts to Evil Colleen Ballinger's Video Addressing Miranda Sings Allegations
- Timeline: The disappearance of Maya Millete
- Travis Scott Will Not Face Criminal Charges Over Astroworld Tragedy
Recommendation
-
Mike Tomlin's widely questioned QB switch to Russell Wilson has quieted Steelers' critics
-
UN Report Says Humanity Has Altered 70 Percent of the Earth’s Land, Putting the Planet on a ‘Crisis Footing’
-
An indicator that often points to recession could be giving a false signal this time
-
Proof Pregnant Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker Already Chose Their Baby Boy’s Name
-
Dogecoin soars after Trump's Elon Musk announcement: What to know about the cryptocurrency
-
The loneliness of Fox News' Bret Baier
-
Activists Take Aim at an Expressway Project in Karachi, Saying it Will Only Heighten Climate Threats
-
New Reports Show Forests Need Far More Funding to Help the Climate, and Even Then, They Can’t Do It All