The Indiana attorney general’s office is telling state appellate judges there is no reason to reopen the Delphi murder case. In a formal response filed March 26, 2026, the office urged the Indiana Court of Appeals to leave Richard Allen’s conviction untouched. Allen was found guilty in November 2024 of killing Abigail "Abby" Williams and Liberty "Libby" German and later received a 130-year prison sentence. The new filing counters defense claims that flawed searches, tainted statements and bad evidentiary calls robbed Allen of a fair trial.
According to WISH-TV, the response, signed by the Indiana attorney general and two deputy attorneys general, asks the appeals court to reject Allen’s bid for a new trial and to affirm the Carroll County jury’s verdict. The filing dismisses alternative-suspect theories and claims of a ritualistic motive as "too speculative and unsupported" and argues that, even if some evidence rulings were mistaken, the proof of Allen’s guilt remains overwhelming.
Defense brief points to a flawed warrant and coerced statements
Allen’s legal team has staked its appeal on allegations of serious constitutional errors and restrictions on its ability to fully present a defense. A 113-page appellant’s brief filed on Dec. 17, 2025 contends that the search warrant used in the case relied on misleading information and that Allen’s extended pretrial solitary confinement left him "gravely disabled," producing statements that were not voluntary, according to Scribd.
The defense formally launched the appeal in March 2025, when attorneys filed their initial notice asking the court to revisit the conviction, as reported by The Indiana Lawyer.
State defends the search and contested confessions
In its answer to those arguments, the state maintains that investigators acted lawfully when they searched Allen’s home and that his incriminating remarks to relatives, jail staff and a psychologist were not the product of coercion. Prosecutors argue that the defense’s talk of other potential suspects and ritual-style motives is speculative and that, "even if some evidence rulings were errors the evidence of guilt is overwhelming," according to WISH-TV. The filing urges the Court of Appeals to defer to the trial judge’s calls and deny Allen any relief.
Conviction and sentence remain central
A jury convicted Allen on Nov. 11, 2024 of two counts of murder and two counts of felony murder in the deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German. On Dec. 20, 2024, the trial judge imposed a total sentence of 130 years. At trial, prosecutors leaned heavily on Allen’s recorded statements and other evidence to link him to the killings, while the defense argued that his mental state and harsh pretrial confinement undercut the reliability of those admissions. AP News reported on the convictions and the sentencing.
What comes next in the appeal
With the attorney general’s brief now lodged, the Court of Appeals will decide whether it wants to hear oral argument or can resolve the case strictly on written submissions, and whether any challenged rulings rise to the level of requiring a new trial. If the appellate judges conclude the search warrant was improperly obtained or that key statements were involuntary, they could send the case back for another trial. The state insists that such a step is unnecessary.
Reporting on the appellate docket notes that Allen’s challenge began with the March 2025 notice of appeal and moved forward with the December 2025 appellant’s brief, according to The Indiana Lawyer. The full brief, available on Scribd, lays out the issues the court will weigh.
Community and defense response
Allen’s trial attorneys have said they remain determined to press every possible appellate claim and argue that crucial defense evidence was improperly kept from jurors, according to WRTV. Family members of the victims and many Delphi residents have said the guilty verdicts brought a measure of relief after years of uncertainty, while legal observers point out that the appeal turns on technical yet high-stakes questions about the search warrant and the voluntariness of Allen’s statements. The Court of Appeals has not set a date for its decision.
