Delphi deaths called ritualistic
Defense claims white supremacist cult killed teens
DELPHI — The 2017 deaths of Abigail “Abby” Williams and Liberty “Libby” German are “textbook” examples of a ritualistic murder, an expert witness testified Thursday, as suspect Richard Allen’s defense attorneys pushed their theory that Odinists — members of a pagan Norse religion hijacked by white nationalists — killed the Delphi teenagers during a sacrificial ritual.
Dawn Perlmutter, who wrote a book on ritualistic crime scene investigation, said the teens’ deaths have “all the elements” of a murder done as part of a ritual. Branches were placed on the girls’ staged bodies in a way that resembles symbols, Perlmutter said. They were found in the woods near a body of water, and their throats were slit — both of which, she said, are typical of killings perpetrated by people with magical beliefs.
Perlmutter, however, acknowledged during intense questioning by Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland that her findings were based on a review of a limited set of evidence. McLeland also sought to discredit Perlmutter by eliciting testimony that she reached the same conclusion a year ago, when she appeared on Court TV and before she even saw any evidence in the case.
The testimony came on the last day of marathon hearings on several critical issues in the Delphi case, including whether Allen’s defense attorneys can present jurors with evidence that Odinists from the Logansport and Rushville areas killed the girls. Thursday’s hearing focused on McLeland’s request to prevent the defense team from doing so.
Andrew Baldwin, one of Allen’s attorneys, argued that the alleged Odinists are “viable” suspects in the deaths. But at the end of the nearly 12-hour hearing, McLeland said the defense team had failed to place any of the alleged Odinists at the crime scene on Feb. 13, 2017, when the teens disappeared while hiking along the Monon High Bridge trail.
How Special Judge Frances Gull rules on this and the other motions could significantly impact the outcome of the high-profile case, which is set to go to trial in October.
The teens’ deaths on Feb. 13, 2017, and Allen’s arrest more than five years later have attracted international attention, but the case has also been bogged down by delays, controversies and seemingly
endless legal and procedural rights.
Allen, who’s facing four murder charges in the two deaths, appeared in court in an orange jumpsuit, handcuffs and shackles. His mother, wife and sister sat a few feet behind him, while the girls’ family members sat on the opposite side of the nearly packed courtroom in downtown Delphi.
Allen has been in the custody of the Indiana Department of Corrections almost since his arrest in October 2022. But on Thursday, Gull granted his attorneys’ request to move him back to the custody of the Carroll County Sheriff’s Department.
Pushing the Odinist theory
Testimonies elicited by the defense sought to reinforce their theory that someone else other than Allen killed the girls. But with witness after witness, McLeland drove home the point that there was nothing tying the alleged Odinists to the crime scene.
Perlmutter, director of the Pennsylvania-based Symbol Intelligence Group, testified that the “careful placement and positioning” of the bodies and the use of natural objects like branches or sticks are “classic” indicators of a ritualistic murder.
She said she reviewed autopsy records, crime scene photos and social media posts of some of the alleged Odinists
that showed images of runes and symbols. When asked if she has any doubt that the girls were sacrificed as part of a ritual, she said, “None at all.”
But when questioned by McLeland, she acknowledged she did not examine other pieces of evidence, including Allen’s confessions to the crime. She also did not look at the alibi of Brad Holder, a Logansport man who the defense alleges should’ve been the primary suspect.
Kevin Murphy, a former Indiana State Police detective who looked into the Odinism angle, testified that the early consensus among investigators was that two to six people were involved in the killings. Murphy, who was involved in the case from 2017 to 2019, focused his investigation mainly on another alleged Odinist whose sister told investigators that he’d confessed to the crime.
Elvis Fields’ sister, Murphy testified, provided “very specific” information that only someone who was at the crime scene would’ve known. Murphy also recalled a recorded phone call between Fields and his sister, during which she blurted out, “Elvis, why did you kill those girls?”
Fields denied killing the girls when interviewed by detectives. But Murphy recounted an interaction that caught him off guard: After Fields consented to a swab test, he asked Murphy if he would get in trouble if his spit was found on the girls.
Referring to a cryptic picture that Holder, the other alleged Odinist, shared on Facebook, Murphy said a post
Defense attorneys have alleged that the killers used Libby’s blood to paint a letter F — another clue tying the crimes to Odinism. But an expert witness from the prosecution sought to discredit that theory.
showing symbolism mimicking a crime scene “is not a coincidence.”
Murphy, though, acknowledged there was no physical evidence linking the men at the crime. Fields’ phone also remained in Rushville at the time of the murders.
Todd Click, a former police officer for the Rushville Police Department who helped Murphy with the investigation, said he believes the girls were killed after inadvertently walking in on an Odinistic ritual. He said he believes Holder and another alleged Odinist, Patrick Westfall, were on the Monon High Bridge trail the day the girls were killed, although he acknowledged there was no “smoking gun” linking them to the crimes.
Amber Holder, who was briefly married to Brad Holder in 2018, testified about Westfall’s confession that he killed Abby. But Amber Holder also admitted she only heard about the supposed confession from her ex-husband, who was drinking at the time.
Providing an alternative explanation
One of the most haunting images of the crime scene that has been leaked to the public is that of Libby’s blood on a tree. Defense attorneys have alleged that the killers used Libby’s blood to paint a letter F — another clue tying the crimes to Odinism. But an expert witness from the prosecution sought to discredit that theory.
Maj. Patrick Cicero, a blood specialist and forensics expert from the LaPorte County Sheriff’s Office who was consulted by the state earlier this year, said the letter — which he said looked more like an upside down L — was likely a “transfer stain” that resulted from contact with Libby’s bloody hand.
Cicero said painting the letter using Libby’s blood would’ve been “impossible” and would’ve required repeatedly dipping into the source of the blood. Cicero, when questioned by defense attorney Jennifer Jones Auger, acknowledged his testimony just provides an alternative explanation and he does not know how Libby’s blood made it on the tree.
Gull also heard arguments Tuesday on the defense team’s motion to dismiss the case based on allegations the prosecution has withheld evidence that could point to other suspects or exonerate Allen.
On Wednesday, Gull heard testimony on a defense motion to suppress more than 60 incriminating statements Allen made in early 2023 to his family and others at the prison where he was kept in solitary confinement.
The judge will issue rulings on the motions at a later time.