On Monday, the lawyers for the man accused of killing two teenagers on a trail outside Delphi, Indiana, more than six years ago filed court paperwork contending that their client was not responsible for the killings but rather members of a Norse religion with white supremacist links.
Nearly a year ago, police located and arrested Richard Allen on suspicion of murder in the deaths of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, both at the Delphi Historic Trails in February 2017. An unfired bullet from Allen’s gun was found among the dead, corroborating his previous admission that he had been on the trails the day before.
Multiple media sites reported in June that he had admitted to the killings numerous times.
In a 136-page complaint made on Monday, however, Allen’s attorneys claim the fatalities were ritual sacrifices carried out by followers of the pagan religion and white supremacist movement known as Odinists.
The attorneys claim that authorities considered two groups of Odinists, one based in the Delphi area and the other in the Rushville area, possible crime suspects before dismissing the idea because Allen has no ties to Odinism.
The blood of one of the girls was used to paint a sign connected with Odinism on trees, and a suspected member of the cult had access to information about the crime site that hadn’t been made public.
Westville Correctional Facility, where Allen is being housed, reportedly has prison guards wearing patches with apparent Odinistic emblems, including one that reads “In Odin We Trust.”
On Monday, Allen’s legal team also requested a hearing to argue that the probable cause to secure a search warrant for his home was insufficient.
On February 13, 2017, the two girls were dropped off near the “Monon High Bridge,” an abandoned railroad, to go hiking. Liberty snapped a picture of Abigail on the bridge and shared it on Snapchat. The following morning, searchers discovered their bodies.
Allen’s trial is set to begin in January, per court documents.
