Here's what has happened so far in the Delphi murders trial

The verdict in the Delphi murders trial is in the hands of the jury. 

Before heading into the jury room to begin deliberations on whether Richard Allen is guilty or not guilty of the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German, both the prosecution and defense had a chance to deliver closing arguments in the case.

Prosecutor Nick McLeland laid out the state's entire case in chronological order, asking the jury to find Allen guilty on all four counts of murder.

"Richard Allen is 'Bridge Guy,' McLeland told the jury. "He kidnapped them and later murdered them. He stole the youth and life away from Abby and Libby."

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi told jurors the state hid a lot of information it did not want jurors to know about, because of what he called a state investigation that lacked credibility. He also spent a lot of time talking about Allen's treatment while being held in prison.

"Where’s the moral compass? You are the moral compass. We are asking you to set Richard Allen free and a verdict of not guilty," Rozzi told the jury.

The jury deliberated for two hours Thursday before ending for the day. They are expected to resume at 9 a.m. Friday.

Read more about the closing arguments and the beginning of jury deliberations here.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you've now heard all of the evidence in this case."

Judge Frances Gull uttered those words to the jury at 2:20 p.m. Wednesday, after 17 days of testimony in the Delphi murders trial. 

After the defense rested its case, the state brought back two witnesses for more questioning, as well as prison psychiatrist Dr. John Martin, who met with Richard Allen after Allen was diagnosed as psychotic.

Allen did not take the stand in his own defense, and the jury was reminded that he is not required to testify and that cannot be held against him.

Thursday, jurors will hear closing arguments, and they’ll get their jury instructions before deliberating on a verdict.

Click here for more details on the final day of testimony in the trial.

New digital data was provided Tuesday by Stacy Eldridge, a digital forensic examiner. She claims she used data pulled by Indiana State Police years ago from Libby German's cellphone to determine someone inserted a headphone jack into the phone on the evening the girls went missing. It was then pulled out about five hours later.

That's the first time ever we've heard the possibility of someone else tampering with Libby's phone that night. 

We also heard about two hours of testimony from a forensic scientist about the "cycled, unfired round" found at the crime scene between the girls' bodies. Dr. Eric Warren on Tuesday was critical of how state police handled the examination of the cartridge, essentially saying the findings were inconclusive.

Also on Tuesday, a psychiatrist who specializes in solitary confinement shared what he calls "common symptoms" of people who are confined for too long, including confusion and delirium.

After watching videos and listening to phone calls of Richard Allen in solitary confinement, the doctor concluded he was "absolutely" showing signs of delirium, supporting the defense's argument that Allen's mental health had deteriorated when he confessed to killing Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017.

Read more details about Day 16 of the Delphi murders trial here.

We heard crucial testimony for the defense inside the Carroll County Courthouse on Monday.

We learned more about Richard Allen's mental state while he's been in prison, as well as firsthand accounts from his own family in Delphi.

First to take the stand Monday was a neuropsychologist, Dr. Polly Westcott. Westcott said she met with Allen in prison to do a series of psychological exams, and after reviewing those exams, prison videos, phone calls and medical reports, she determined Allen suffered from major depressive disorder and psychosis when he confessed to killing the girls. She also determined he was not faking or exaggerating his mental health. That contradicts the most damaging evidence against Allen so far — his recorded phone call confessions to killing Abby Williams and Libby German in February 2017.

Jurors also watched two videos that showed Allen inside his prison cell. A witness said it showed Allen eating his own feces and banging his head against the wall of his cell. The defense is trying to prove Allen's mental health was deteriorating, driving him to make false confessions. The state claims the videos were used to get sympathy from the jury.

Afternoon testimony started with two of Richard Allen's relatives, his sister and his daughter.

The defense asked his sister, Jaime, "Did Richard Allen ever molest you?" "No, he did not" she said. "Did Richard Allen ever touch you?" the defense asked. "No, he did not," Jaime said. "Do you love him?" the defense asked. "Yes," Jaime said.

When Allen's daughter, Brittany, was on the stand, a juror asked, "Did you visit the High Bridge in your teens?" Brittany said, "Yes." That's when the state asked if she visited the bridge with her dad, and Brittany said, "Yes," again. When Prosecutor Nick McLeland asked if she was ever scared, Brittany said "Of the bridge, yes."

The final witness of the day Monday was a man who lives right next to the crime scene, Brad Weber. Allen's attorneys got him to admit in court he told differing stories to police in the days following the girls' murders, about whether or not he drove straight home after work on Feb. 13, 2017. That's important because if he did, that would put his white van at his home near the Monon High Bridge around the time the girls went missing, and that would match one of Allen's confessions in prison that a van scared him at the crime scene that day. 

The defense asked him: "You did not hear any screaming on Feb. 13?" Weber replied, "I did not."

Testimony wrapped up early, around 3:30 p.m. The judge was adamant that she will hold court on Election Day to keep the trial on track.

Read more details about Day 15 of the Delphi murders trial here.

Court starts late due to an in-chamber meeting. Gull met with Prosecutor Nick McLeland and Brad Rozzi to discuss presenting videos to the jury. 

The defense shared camcorder video of Richard Allen in prison and a master sheet for the videos.

The video monitor was angled so only the jury can see it. Gull said there were "explicit scenes" in the videos that the jury was about to see.

The 11th witness for the defense is defense intern Max Baker. 

Baker confirmed the videos are from April, May and June 2023. He said he made a new zip drive this morning for the jury with a total of 15 videos. 

The jury saw "movement" videos of Allen being moved through Westville Correctional Facility. 

Libby German's family was visibly upset. Some people in the courtroom questioned why Richard Allen's privacy was respected but the victims' privacy wasn't.

The 12th witness for the defense is Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter.

Dozens of agencies investigated the Delphi murders, and every contiguous police agency to Carroll County was involved. The FBI was no longer used in investigating in August 2021. 

It was Carter's decision to ask the FBI to return, and he asked the FBI to return all of their investigative materials. 

Read more details about Day 14 of the Delphi murders trial here.

A big blow for the defense Friday.  

Judge Frances Gull ruled Richard Allen's defense team cannot tell the jury about their alternate theory that the girls were killed in a pagan ritual. That also means the jury will not hear from people the defense was planning to call to testify about other potential suspects in the case.

Gull ruled Allen's defense team had not shown a direct connection between other potential suspects and the murders.

Friday, the defense also hoped to show the jury videos of Allen in prison around the time of his confessions to illustrate his mental anguish caused by the harsh conditions he was living under.

The judge ruled the jury cannot see those videos until the defense can confirm that the dates of the videos coincide with the time Allen confessed.

Former Carroll County Sheriff Tobe Leazenby testified that as late as August 20, 2023, he believed at least two people, maybe more, killed Abby and Libby. That's what he told the defense during a deposition 10 months after Allen had been arrested for the crime.

Leazenby also said lead detective Tony Liggett held a similar belief, but Leazenby told the jury Liggett now believes only Allen is responsible.

The defense also attacked investigators for missing videos of people investigators interviewed in the first month-and-a-half after the girls were killed.

Lead investigator Steve Mullin testified there were other videos missing from April 28 through June 2 of that year. When defense attorney Andrew Baldwin asked Mullin why missing evidence was important, Mullin said because of the integrity of the case.

The jury also heard from Mullin that over the years, investigators have received hundreds of calls from people who said they knew the voice on the video of "bridge guy."  On Monday, we're expected to hear again from Brad Weber, who testified this week for the state. He's the person who lives across the creek from where the girls' bodies were found. The state says he was coming home around the time of the murders and driving the van Allen talked about in his confessions.

Mullin testified that he was aware of inconsistencies in Weber’s story of whether he went home right after work. In 2017, Weber said after work, he went to service ATM devices. He testified earlier this week for the state that he went right home and was driving his white van, which would have put him right across from where Abby and Libby were being murdered. 

Mullin also testified about a trail camera about 200 yards away from the crime scene. It was pointed away from crime scene and recorded someone right in front of it on Feb. 14 and maybe Feb 13. 

Read more details about Day 13 of the Delphi murders trial here.

The state rested its case against Richard Allen Thursday. Before it did, the jury heard Allen in his own voice, in his own words, confess to his wife and mother on the phone that he killed Abby and Libby.

Thursday morning, the prosecution played seven phone calls Allen made from prison, five of them where he confesses to his wife Kathy that he committed the murders. In one of those calls, from April 2023, Allen tells his wife, “I did it…I killed Abby and Libby.”

The prosecution also replayed the video from Libby’s phone with “Bridge Guy” telling Abby and Libby, “down the hill.” Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland asked Indiana State Police Master Trooper Brian Harshman, who’s listened to all 700 calls Allen made from jail in the past two years, if he recognizes the voice on the video. Harshman looked right at the defendant and said: “It’s the voice of Richard Allen.”

Thursday afternoon, the defense began presenting its case, calling two witnesses. The first said she was on the Monon High Bridge the day of the murders with a friend and saw a man who didn’t respond when they said hi.

The second witness, who lives across the creek from where the girls’ bodies were found, testified she saw a man she didn’t recognize standing near a group of mailboxes near her house that day. She said she didn’t get a good look at the man’s face and has never seen him again.

Read more details about Day 12 of the Delphi murders trial here.

On Day 11 of the Delphi murders trial, a prison psychologist told jurors about alleged confessions made by Richard Allen that the prosecution says provide details only the killer would know.

Dr. Monica Wala, who treated Allen while he was at Westville Correctional Facility, told jurors she met almost daily with Allen and heard him confess to the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German several times. One of the confessions, she said, was very detailed, as she wrote in her clinical notes.

After Wala recounted her notes of the confession to the jury, defense attorneys got her to acknowledge she diagnosed Allen with "serious mental illness" and that he had an abrupt occurrence of psychotic behavior around the time he confessed.

The jury also heard of Wala's longtime fascination with the Delphi murders case and that she talked to Allen about what people had said about him online and in podcasts about the case.

Read more details about Day 11 of the Delphi murders trial here.

Richard Allen's own words — and his reported confessions to the murders of Abby Williams and Libby German — took center stage on Day 10 of his murder trial in Delphi.

The day started with hours of video showing Allen as he was being interrogated by police in October 2022, before his arrest. 

Jurors could see how Allen responded to police questioning. For the most part, he remained very calm and respectful, offering information willingly.

When police told him they wanted to search his phone, car and house, Allen remained polite, but said he needed to discuss that with his wife.

"Your attitude with me has definitely changed. This feels like you're interrogating me," Allen told police. "You've known from the beginning I was out there. I told you that."

"We're not mad at you. We're not upset with you. We're just trying to get to the truth," said state police investigator Steve Mullin.

Investigators then asked Allen if he was the man referred to as "Bridge Guy," captured on Libby German's phone.

"It's not me," Allen responded. "You're not going to convince me it's me. I had nothing to do with those murders." He then said, "We're done here. Arrest me or take me home."

Police took Allen home, but two weeks later, Indiana State Police Lt. Jerry Holeman interviewed him again, with test results showing a cartridge at the crime scene cycled through Allen's gun. 

Jurors saw that second video interrogation, where Holeman told Allen the science doesn't lie and that if he did not confess to the murders, the media would portray him as a monster. 

Throughout the questioning, Allen remained poised, saying over and over, "I did not murder two litte girls. You're trying to convince me to confess to something I didn't do."

He said that dozens of times, maintaining his innocence throughout both interrogations. When Allen stuck to his story and refused to confess, Holeman started screaming at him and eventually arrested Allen.

Warden, corrections officers testify

Tuesday afternoon, the jury heard about confessions Allen made while in prison. And not just one confession, but many of them.

The day's first witness was John Galipeau, the former warden at the Westville Correctional Facility. He told the jury Allen spoke to him several times while Allen was in a sucide watch cell at the maximum security prison. 

One of those times, he said Allen verbally confessed to the murders, telling Galipeau he later disposed of a boxcutter used in the murders in a dumpster. 

Galipeau also said Allen wrote him a note, stating, "I am ready to officially confess to killing Abby and Libby" and that note was showed the jury.

The jury also heard from prison guards assigned to suicide watch outside Allen's cell. The guards said they heard Allen make several more confessions. 

Corrections officer Michael Clemons told the jury what he overheard Allen saying. He logged in his notes:

"Offender says God, I'm so glad no one gave up on me after I killed Abby and Libby," and "I, Richard Matthew Allen, killed Abby and Libby by myself. No one helped me."

Another corrections officer, Michael Roberts, told the jury he heard Allen say, "I want to confess. I know a lot more," and "Why are you doing this? Do you know God? Do you know why I'm here? I killed Abby and Libby."

Corrections officer John Miller testified that Allen told him, "I got what I deserved for what I did and I hope I burn in hell for what I did."

Officer Raymond Smith testified to Allen talking to himself in the middle of the night, saying one time, "Kathy, I did it. I'm guilty. Run, Kathy, run. I did it."

The defense pushed back on the testimony, asking Galipeau and the guards about Allen's mental health at the time of the statements. They painted a picture of conditions inside the maximum security prison as a place that drove Allen to serious mental health problems at the time of the confessions, including behaviors like drinking out of the toilet in his cell and eating his own feces.

The jury will be hearing more confessions, including Richard Allen's own voice from some phone calls he made to his family.

Two witnesses testified on Day 9 of the Delphi murders trial on Monday, Oct. 28, both focusing on evidence at the crime scene.

First on the stand was Stacy Bozinovski, a DNA expert from the Indiana State Police Crime Lab. She told the jury she tested clothing from Abby Williams and Libby German found at the murder scene, as well as skin cells from under their fingernails and blood found on their bodies, on the ground and from a nearby tree. 

The big conclusions Bozinovski reached included that Richard Allen's DNA was not found anywhere at the crime scene, including on the cartridge the prosecutor claims came from one of Allen's guns.

Prosecuting attorney Jim Luttrell asked Bozinovski, "Did you find the DNA of Richard Allen on any of the items you tested?"

"No, I did not," Bozinovski responded.

She also concluded Abby and Libby's DNA was not found on any of the items taken from Allen's home when investigators served a search warrant. 

Keep in mind, the testimony came from a witness presented by the state, likely a move to lessen the impact of that testimony if the jury were to hear it first from the defense.

The defense asked Bozinovski about hair from the crime scene, some of which the lab held onto to possibly test at a later date. She said the decision was made not to test them at this time.

"But this is the time. Richard Allen is on trial now!" defense attorney Jennifer Auger said.

After Bozinovski's testimony, the state called LaPorte County Sheriff's Maj. Pat Cicero, a blood stain pattern expert who focused on the blood found at the murder scene. That meant the jury had to once again look at very graphic photos of the victims.

(WARNING: Cicero's testimony involves graphic descriptions of Abby and Libby's wounds and the scene where their bodies were found.)

Cicero was asked to help with the Delphi investigation on Feb. 12, 2024.

Cicero told jurors he believes Abby Williams was fatally injured right in the spot where her body was found. But he said there was no blood on her hands, which he said was "very unusual" and something he had never seen before.

He says Libby German was likely attacked very close to that spot, but he believes she bled to death a short distance away, based on where the most blood was found at the crime scene. He believes at one point she was "moving and basically walking in blood."

Cicero told the jury he thinks Libby’s body was then dragged a short distance to a large tree, perhaps to try to make the body harder to detect.

He also said Libby’s blood on a nearby tree was transferred there by some object. He testified that he believed Libby left a bloody handprint shaped like an upside-down "L" on one of the trees.

The jury really struggled seeing the crime scene images for a second time. 

At one point, Cicero said markings near Libby's eyes were consistent with tears. Libby's grandmother, Becky Patty, put her head down in her hands and wept.

Cicero told the jury it's possible one person killed the girls, but on cross-examination, he said he couldn't rule out that more people were involved.

After the jury was dismissed for the day, the state introduced a motion to bring in new evidence: Google search history. Prosecutors didn't say what the search history was about, but the defense said Allen's wife, Kathy, is prepared to testify about that motion.

Also Monday, Special Judge Frances Gull called out people who were sleeping in the courtroom.

"I do not conduct court in your bedrooms. I would appreciate you not sleeping in my courtroom," Gull said.

The eighth day of testimony in the Delphi murders trial Saturday centered around Richard Allen's interview with police prior to his arrest.

Indiana State Police Lt. Jerry Holeman said Allen became agitated when Holeman was interviewing him on Oct. 26, 2022. Holeman said he did not plan on arresting Allen that day.

As an interview technique, Holeman said he lied to Allen about experts saying the voice recorded on Libby's cellphone was his.

Holeman said Allen denied having a gun that day on the trail, ever knowing Abby Williams and Libby German, or having any involvement in their death.

Holeman testified Saturday morning that through his training, he noticed some signs of deception from Allen in the Oct. 26, 2022 interview. "Nothing obvious, very subtle," Holeman said, noting Allen was touching his own face, looking down.

Holeman said after the interview, he believed they had enough evidence to arrest Allen.

Holeman said Allen told him, "Take all your evidence and just arrest me."

Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin also asked Holeman if he believes one person committed the crime. Holeman responded that he believes that now, but that at some point, he thought there may have been more. Baldwin asked Holeman if he believes one person in an hour or so abducted the girls, killed them and undressed them. Holeman responded, "without a doubt."

Baldwin asked Holeman if any DNA was found in Allen's home or car connecting to the crime scene. Holeman said he didn't believe so.

Next week, the jury will see two videos of Richard Allen being questioned by police on Oct. 13, 2022, and Oct. 26, 2022.

The seventh day of testimony in the Delphi murders trial Friday centered around guns and ammunition.

As we've learned through the testimony so far, Abby Williams and Libby German died after someone slit their throats in February 2017, but an unfired bullet cartridge was found near their bodies. 

Earlier in the week, jurors heard about the cartridge, as well as a gun that police seized while serving a search warrant at Richard Allen's house in 2022. On Friday, the state tied those two items together with the help of a firearm examiner who used to work for Indiana State Police.

Firearm examiner Melissa Oberg testified for seven hours Friday, telling jurors how she compared the unfired bullet cartridge found at the crime scene with four test bullets that she fired through Allen's gun in the lab. Using a powerful microscope to inspect markings on the ammunition, she concluded the bullet at the crime scene did cycle through Allen's gun.

Oberg said she made that conclusion based on the quality and quantity of matching marks on the bullets.

The testimony was long – taking all day – and some of the jurors and others in the courtroom seemed confused because Oberg was asked to talk about lots of bullets and lots of different guns tested related to the Delphi murders case. The state didn't make it particularly clear at times which guns and bullets they were talking about.

Prosecutors also did not summarize the key expert's findings.

But the latest evidence and testimony for the jury is the state's way to directly place Allen at the murder scene.

The ballistics evidence is among the most compelling evidence the state has. During cross-examination Friday afternoon, the defense team pushed back on the state's conclusions.

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi highlighted that this type of firearm science called "tool mark analysis" is considered controversial. He also said the state's analysis was based on a bullet at the crime scene that was not fired, while the test bullets in the lab were fired.

He also got Oberg to admit that her analysis and conclusions presented to the jury are "subjective."

The jury saw a video and photos from under a lab microscope, showing marks on the edges of ammunition lined up to show how they matched.

Also on Friday, only 15 jurors returned to the courtroom after the lunch break, with an alternate juror missing for the afternoon session. 

After the court session ended, Special Judge Frances Gull told 13News the juror had a "family emergency," but she offered no further explanation. The juror missed approximately four hours of testimony. 

On the sixth day of the trial, jurors learned that Richard Allen met with an investigator at a Delphi grocery store after he voluntarily called the Delphi murders tip line to say he had been on the Monon trails — not far from the crime scene — on the afternoon of the murders.

DNR officer Dan Dulin, who conducted the first interview with Allen, testified on Day 6. He said he and Allen spoke within four days of the girls' murders and that Allen told him he was on the trails between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. the day Abby and Libby went missing. Allen said he self-reported seeing three girls on the trail.

Dulin said there was nothing unusual about the interview. In fact, following the interview, investigators said Allen was cleared. 

Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett, who was a detective at the time of the murders, testified Thursday that Allen's statement "got lost" and "fell through the cracks" until a file clerk happened to notice the information sitting in a box five years later.

That volunteer file clerk, Kathy Shank, was the first witness to testify on Day 6, telling the jury she found Allen's file in 2022 under an incorrect name and marked "cleared." She brought Allen's name back to the attention of police.

Former Delphi Police Chief Steve Mullin took the stand for the second time in the trial, explaining how the discovery jumpstarted the investigation and led to police zeroing in on Allen. 

Mullin said detectives discovered video showing Allen's car near the Monon trails on the day of the murders and interviewed him several times. During one of those interviews, Allen "got irritated and left the room."

During cross-examination, defense attorney Andrew Baldwin lashed out at Mullin, who is now a lead investigator for the prosecution.

"You are so desperate to place Richard Allen's car traveling west on 300 North that just before lunch, you lied to this jury," Baldwin said.

The attorney then got Mullin to admit that Allen did not tell him he traveled to the trails on the day of the murders along the route Mullin claimed he did, which would bring into question whether the state's surveillance video shows Allen's car or if the car belonged to someone else.

Investigators later executed a search warrant on Allen's house. The prosecution said during the search, officers found a gun that matches a bullet cartridge found at the crime scene.

During cross-examination of Liggett by defense attorney Brad Rozzi, the sheriff said police would have arrested Allen, even without the bullet cartridge, because four witnesses placed Allen at the crime scene. Rozzi brought up the witnesses, mentioning how they all gave wildly different descriptions of the man they say to be Richard Allen.

Also Thursday, jurors got to see the video of the "bridge guy" fully enhanced — our best look yet at the man who followed Abby and Libby on the bridge — and heard the girls and the man much more clearly than ever before.

Liggett told the jury what hears in the video, with Abby saying, "Is he right here? Don't leave me up here." Libby then says, "That be a gun. There's no path here."

The man can then be heard saying, "Guys," to which one of the girls says "Hi," then the man says, "Down the hill."

The state is now looking to connect all the pieces for the jury, trying to convince them that Richard Allen is the man on the bridge.

Allen's attorneys are citing testimony from the state's witnesses as they argue to allow their Odinism theory in the trial. The defense team believes the crime scene shows clear signs of ritual murder that point to a branch of Norse paganism called Odinism.

The state has argued that investigators dismissed that theory and successfully argued for special judge Frances Gull to block the defense from telling the jury about their alternative killer theory. 

In a new filing Oct. 23, the defense is again asking permission to tell the jury about the theory.

Wednesday's testimony from witnesses was both graphic, hearing details from the doctor who performed autopsies on Libby German and Abby Williams, and also technical, hearing from the state trooper who analyzed data on Libby's cellphone. Jurors also heard from a witness who says she saw "bridge guy" the day of the murders walking on the side the road.

The day started with testimony from Delphi resident Sarah Carbaugh, who said she saw "bridge guy" for 30 seconds, stating, "I saw a man covered in mud and blood walking on the side of the road." The defense showed her transcripts from previous police interviews in which she described the man as muddy but didn't mention blood.

Doctor Roland Kohr performed the autopsies, which showed Abby had one large gaping wound on her neck. Libby had three large deep wounds on her neck. Some jurors appeared visibly shaken when hearing about the girls' injuries.

Indiana State Police Sgt. Christopher Cecil told the jury about the data he got off Libby's cellphone, showing what she posted on Snapchat that day: a picture of the bridge, then a photo of Abby walking on the bridge.

You can read more about his testimony in our full report on Day 5 of the trial here.

13News uncovered a confession letter, allegedly signed by Allen and addressed to the warden of the prison he was held at, in the exhibits for the case. 

In Delphi, jurors were shown the evidence collected from the scene where Abby and Libby's bodies were found in 2017. 

Indiana State Police digital forensic examiner Brian Bunner testified on the cellphone extraction of Libby's cellphone, which was found at the crime scene.

Bunner was asked if it was true that every time data is extracted from a phone, some data is lost.

"We know that now but didn't know that in 2017," Bunner said, noting there is a possibility some data was lost, such as being overridden or had fallen off over time.

You can read our full report on Day 4 of the trial here. 

We learned that the defense file a motion related to how jurors will hear and see the video and audio recovered from Libby German’s cellphone on Sunday, Oct. 20. 

The motion does not try to prevent jurors from seeing and hearing the recordings, but the defense does want to create guidelines about how the jurors hear the recordings and what questions can be asked of witnesses on that topic. 

In court, jurors were shown sometimes graphic images of the crime scene where the bodies of Abby Williams and Libby German were found. 

At one point, a juror put their hand over their mouth as they were looking at the photos, and the mothers of both girls were crying.

Carroll County Sheriff's Office Detective Darron Giancola was the state's first witness of the day. 

"Both had lacerations to the throat," Giancola said. "Both had a substantial amount of blood on their person and underneath."

Sgt. Jason Page, a 24-year Indiana State Police veteran, was the next witness. 

Page said the day after the girls' bodies were found, the area was "saturated still with a large quantity of blood" on the ground.

Duane Datzman, who spent 20 years as a crime scene investigator with Indiana State Police and now works for the Benton County Sheriff's Office, was also called to the stand. 

Abby's mom looked away and Libby's mom kept her head down and was crying during this part of the testimony Monday, 13News senior investigative reporter Bob Segall noted in the courtroom.

Datzman described how investigators found a .40-caliber cartridge under the leaves near the girls' bodies, the only cartridge found at the crime scene. The cartridge was collected by ISP Sgt. Brian Olehy, who also testified Monday.

You can read more details on what happened in court on Day 3 of the trial here. 

Former Delphi Police Chief Steve Mullin takes the stand as the state's fourth witness. 

Mullins said he still had hope when the first round of searching ended on Feb. 13, 2017. 

"I still believed at that time they would returns home," Mullin said. 

The next witness was Jake Johns, who helped with the search for the missing girls. He wasn't the one that found them, but he did locate Libby's tie-dyed shirt. 

The third witness of the day was Pat Brown, the man who located Abby and Libby's bodies on Feb. 14. 

During his testimony, Brown told the jury, “First, I thought they were mannequins.” He then began crying as he told jurors he realized, “We found ‘em.” 

You can read more details on what happened in court on Day 2 of the trial here.

Special Judge Frances Gull read the jury their instructions, and both the prosecution and defense made their opening statements to the jury. 

Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland said the state's case centers on the man on the Monon High bridge, an unspent bullet found at the scene, and the murders of Abby and Libby. 

"The last face the girls saw before their throats were slit was Richard Allen's face," McLeland said.

Defense attorney Andrew Baldwin said the state's case was built on a faulty timeline and evidence that didn't match up. He highlighted witness statements and forensic evidence that cast doubt on the state's case. 

"Please wait," Baldwin said in closing. "Richard Allen is truly innocent."

The state's first witness was Becky Patty, Libby German's grandmother. Becky said the last thing she said to Libby was to wear a jacket, which Libby responded, "Grandma, I'll be OK." Becky wiped away tears as she recounted this.

Libby's sister, Kelsi Siebert, took the stand next. She was the one who drove the girls to the trail.  She said Libby "was more my best friend than my sister." 

Libby and Kelsi's dad, Derrick German, took the stand next. He told the jury he made the girls banana pancakes the day they disappeared. He was out searching for the girls when he learned they had been found. 

"I saw the coroner go by and saw 12 cop cars go by," Derrick remembered. "So I went to find Kelsi."

You can read more details on what happened in court on Day 1 of the trial here.