Lawyers for a northern Indiana man accused of killing two teenagers They maintain in court papers 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 Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, were murdered by members of a Norse pagan religion and a group white nationalist. known as odinists.
They also requested a hearing to present evidence that the search warrant for Allen's home was based on flawed probable cause and should be suppressed.
“Members of a Norse pagan religion, called Odinism, hijacked by white nationalists, ritually sacrificed Abigail Williams and Liberty German,” the lawyers said in the document.
"(N)othing, absolutely nothing, links Richard Allen to Odinism or any religious cult," they wrote.
Attorneys say two Odinist groups, one from the Delphi area and another from the Rushville area in southeastern Indiana, were investigated for their involvement in the crimes. They say investigators found multiple ritual symbols at the crime scene, including the way Liberty's body was positioned.
The Carroll County prosecutor's office did not immediately respond to a phone message Monday seeking comment on the defense claims.
The two girls were found dead near the Monon High Bridge on February 14, 2017. An autopsy showed that had been stabbed .
In a search warrant request in March 2017, an FBI agent stated that the girls' bodies appeared to have been “moved and prepared” In the crime scene.
The defense filing claims that possible “signatures of Odinism,” including ritual symbols, were left at the crime scene, but that investigators abandoned that angle.
Allen's attorneys also named several potential suspects who have not been charged in the case.
The girls were killed after a relative left them on a hiking trail near the Monon High Bridge, outside their hometown of Delphi, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis. Their bodies were found the next day in a rugged, densely forested area near the trail.
Allen has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The Murders have haunted Delphi a city of about 3,000 people where Allen lived and worked in a pharmacy.
