Latest / Murder Files Unsealed / Delphi murder suspect's alleged phone confessions to wife played in court

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Delphi murder suspect's alleged phone confessions to wife played in court · Murder Files Unsealed

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  Speaker 1: All right, so are you ready to dive into some
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  more true prime today?
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  Speaker 2: Always?
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  Speaker 1: Okay, good, because this one is I think pretty fascinating. Yeah,
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  this is the Delphi murder's case, and I've got some
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  really interesting sources for us to dig into today, specifically
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  focusing on Richard Allen and these jailhouse phone calls where
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  he allegedly confesses to killing Libby German and Abby Williams. Right,
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  you know, this case has been going on for years,
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  since twenty seventeen. But what makes this really complicated is
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  his mental state while he was in custody, and so
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  that's going to be a big part of what we
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  unpacked him, oh for sure. Plus we've got this whole
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  Bridge Guy video ban evidence in how this is all
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  going to play out in court.
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  Speaker 2: So yeah, it sounds like there's a lot to cover.
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  Speaker 1: There is a lot to cover.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, well, let's get to it.
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  Speaker 1: Let's jump in right. So these phone calls sound like
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  the key piece of evidence here.
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  Speaker 2: They really do seem crucial.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, what did Alan actually say to his wife Kathy
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  and these calls?
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  Speaker 2: So in some of these calls he makes statements like
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  I did it, I killed Abby and Libby and even
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  like I need you to know I did.
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  Speaker 1: I mean, those sound like pretty clear confessions.
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  Speaker 2: They do, right, they really do. But then you have
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  Kathy's responses and it almost seems like she can't even
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  believe what she's hearing. Yeah, she says things like no,
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  you didn't and you're unwell.
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  Speaker 1: Which as his whole other layer of complexity, right, absolutely.
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  Speaker 2: Because it's not a straightforward confession where he's admitting guilt
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  and she's you know, confirming or it's accepting it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it's like she's trying to convince him that he
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  didn't do it almost.
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  Speaker 2: Almost, Yeah, and so that really makes you question, you know,
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  what his state of mind was at the time exactly.
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  Speaker 1: And that's where the psychologist's testimony comes in, right, and
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  this whole idea of situational psychosis. Yeah, so can you
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  just break down what that is for us and how
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  it might relate to being in solitary confinement?
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  Speaker 2: Okay. So basically situational psychosis is uh, it's basically a
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  temporary mental break okay, and it's often triggered by some
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  sort of extreme stress or trauma. In Allen's case, psychologists
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  suggests that thirteen months in solitary confinement, right, could have
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  caused him to experience these episodes of psychosis.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, Cause solitary confinement. We're not just talking you know,
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  being alone in your room for a while.
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  Speaker 2: Right, exactly.
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  Speaker 1: This is very specific, Yeah, like a highly restrictive. Yeah,
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  it can from of imprisonment.
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  Speaker 2: It can have really serious psychological effects on people. Right.
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  We're not talking just feeling lonely here. This is like
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  distorting someone's perception of reality.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, So it sounds like it could really mess you
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  up mentally, definitely. And there are reports that Alan was
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  exhibiting some pretty unusual behavior in jail. Yeah, you know,
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  things like banging his head on the wall, washing his
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  face in the toilet.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, there were reports of him refusing food, oh wow,
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  even eating paper and smearing feces.
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  Speaker 1: I mean those actions definitely point to like serious mental distress.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah they do.
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  Speaker 1: It's not just like, oh he's having a bad day,
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  you know.
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  Speaker 2: No, these are very troubling signs.
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  Speaker 1: And the psychologists actually testified that Alan had periods where
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  the psychosis would subside. Hmmm, and we call that.
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  Speaker 2: Remission, okay, So he would go back and forth.
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  Speaker 1: Almost Yeah, So it wasn't a constant state of psychosis. Right,
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  there were times when he seemed more lucid.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, but then how do we know when he was
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  actually in his right mind?
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  Speaker 1: Well, that's the million dollar question, isn't it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: Were these confessions made during moments of clarity or were
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  they made during these psychotic episodes?
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  Speaker 2: Right? And if it was during psychosis, Like, how much
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  weight can the jury really give to his words?
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  Speaker 1: That's what they're going to have to figure out.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, that's a huge dilemma. It is, like you have
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  these straightforward confessions on tape, Yeah, but then this massive
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  question mark hanging over them because of his mental state.
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  Speaker 1: Exactly, And that's going to be a big challenge for
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  the jury.
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  Speaker 2: It really throws a wrench into things, it does. Imagine
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  you're on that jury. Yeah, You've got these two conflicting
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  versions of Richard Allen.
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  Speaker 1: Like is he a lucid confessor or a man in
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  the midst of a mental break.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's a tough call, and I think both the
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  prosecution and the defense are going to have to handle
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  this very carefully in court.
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  Speaker 1: For the expert testimony here is going to be key, absolutely,
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  Like the psychologist's assessment of his mental state could really
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  make or broke this case. It could for either side.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it really highlights how important it is to consider
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  the human element in all of this.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: You know, we're not just dealing with facts and evidence here,
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  We're dealing with the complexities of the human mind and
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  especially under extreme stress.
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  Speaker 1: All Right, so we've got these jailhouse confessions, We've got
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  this potential situational psychosis. But let's move on to another
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  piece of this puzzle. Okay, the bridge guy video. Okay,
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  Now this is where it gets really interesting, I think.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely another layer to this whole mystery.
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  Speaker 1: So remind us what is the bridge guy video?
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  Speaker 2: Well, let be German actually managed to record a man
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  on the bridge and he ordered them down the hill.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, so she had the presence of mind to start recording.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, she was incredibly brave.
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  Speaker 1: Wow.
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  Speaker 2: And now Trooper Harshman, who reviewed hundreds of m calls, okay,
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  believes that the voice in that video is Alan.
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  Speaker 1: So we have a potential voice match.
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  Speaker 2: Right, and that connects back to what the psychologist testified
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  about Allan's potential intentions that day.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, what did he say to her?
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  Speaker 2: So apparently he told her that he had intended to
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  rape the girls. Wow, but he was startled by either
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  another person or a van and ran off.
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  Speaker 1: Hold on, so we have a possible confession to the
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  psychologist about what he wanted to do that day. Yes,
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  we have a video of a man on the bridge
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  ordering them down the hill and a possible voice match.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, this is a lot to unpack.
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  Speaker 1: It is a lot to unpack. But is this looking
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  bad for Alan or It.
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  Speaker 2: Definitely seems to point in a pretty damning direction. Yeah,
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  But of course it's never that simple, right. The prosecution
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  still needs to convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt, right,
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  and the defense is going to be fighting every step
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  of the way.
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  Speaker 1: So that brings us to the van. Well, can you
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  tell us about the van and how it fits into
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  all of this?
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  Speaker 2: Okay, So this is where the investigation takes another turn. Okay,
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  harsh is really focused on this van that belonged to
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  a local resident, a guy named Brad Weber, and it
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  seems like the timeline of Weber driving home from work
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  lines up suspiciously well with the timeline of the murders.
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  Speaker 1: Really.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so Harshman's theory is that maybe Weber's van startled Allan, Okay,
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  and that could explain his confession about being interrupted.
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  Speaker 1: So we've got a potential motive, we might have a
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  voice match, and now we've got a possible vehicle that
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  fits the timeline. So this is all starting to come.
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  Speaker 2: Together, it seems like it, but there's always more to
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  the story.
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  Speaker 1: Okay.
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  Speaker 2: The defense attorney is arguing that the police didn't even
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  investigate other vans and that multiple people were suspected of
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  being the bridge guy, including Webber himself. Oh wow, So
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  they're basically saying, don't jump to conclusions.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. So they're trying to cast doubt on the whole
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  idea that Allan is definitely the bridge guy exactly and
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  that this specific van was involved, right, I mean makes
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  you wonder were there other leads that the police may
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  be overlooked it does, or could someone else have been
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  on that bridge that day?
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  Speaker 2: That's the question the defense is going to want the
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  jury to consider. They're going to try to poke holes
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  in the prosecution's case, highlight these alternative explanations, and ultimately
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  raise that element of reasonable doubt.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, So this is getting really intense.
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  Speaker 2: It is.
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  Speaker 1: We've got these chilling confessions from Allen but we also
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  have his potential mental instability. Yeah, we've got the bridge
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  guy video and a van that seems to fit the timeline.
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  But then the defense saying, hold on, maybe the police
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  didn't do their due diligence exactly.
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  Speaker 2: And that's what makes this case so captivating. It's not
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  just a straightforward who doing it. There are all these
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  layers of complexity, these conflicting narratives and unanswered questions.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, it reminds you that justice can be a messy process.
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  Speaker 2: They can be, especially when you're dealing with something as
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  complicated as the human mind.
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  Speaker 1: Okay, well, we've covered a lot here, but I feel
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  like we've only just scratched the surface.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, there's still a lot more to unpack.
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  Speaker 1: There is this case. But before we move on, let's
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  just do a quick recap of what we've learned so far. Okay,
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  about the Delphi murders and the evidence against Richard Allen
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  sounds good.
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  Speaker 2: So we have Well, we've got those phone calls where
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  it sounds like he's admitting to it. Yeah, but then
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  the psychologist's testimony is saying he might have been experiencing psychosis, right,
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  throws a whole wrench into things. Like, did he really
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  even understand what he was saying in those calls? Or
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  was his mental state so bad that you can't take
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  his words at face value. It's a tough one and
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  the jury's going to have to figure that out.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, what a question for them to have to answer it,
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  It really is. Then you've got the Bridge guy video, right,
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  which is just chilling. Oh. You know, it's amazing that
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  Libby had the presence of mind to even record that encounter.
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  I know, it's incredible, But now we're trying to match
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  that voice to Alan, right. And on top of that, yeah,
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  he told the psychologists he was planning to rape them.
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  He did. But then the defense is saying, yeah, hold
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  on a second, right, there could be other explanations.
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  Speaker 2: Right, they're saying, don't just focus on Richard Allen. Yeah,
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  look at everything else that was going on. Right? Were
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  there are other vans around, right? Or there are other
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  people acting suspiciously?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah? Were there other potential bridge guys out there?
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  Speaker 2: Exactly? And did the police really investigate all of that thoroughly?
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  That's a good point, or did they just kind of
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  zero win on Allan too quickly and miss some other clues? Yeah?
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  Speaker 1: I mean that makes you think about this whole idea
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  of reasonable doubt. It does what does it actually take
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  to prove something beyond a reasonable doubt?
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  Speaker 2: Right? What does that even mean?
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  Speaker 1: Yeah? How much evidence is enough to really convince a jury?
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  Speaker 2: That's the big question, isn't it. I mean reasonable doubt.
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  It doesn't mean that there's like zero doubt, right, It
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  means if the jury has any doubts at all. Okay,
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  if there are other explanations that haven't been ruled out,
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  then they can't convict. All the defense has to do
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  is convince wonder wow, that there's some doubt. And that's
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  why they're working so hard to poke holes in the
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  prosecution's case.
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  Speaker 1: So even with the phone calls, even with maybe a
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  voice match, and even with the van right, the defense
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  could still argue that it's just not enough.
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  Speaker 2: They could.
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  Speaker 1: It's interesting how even what seems like strong evidence can
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  be challenged in court.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and that's how it should be. Everyone deserves a
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  fair chance to defend themselves. It's not about just automatically
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  assuming someone is guilty. The prosecution has to do their
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  job and the defense has to do their job, and
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  through that process, hopefully the truth comes out.
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  Speaker 1: So what do you think so far? That's a good question.
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  What stands out to you as the most important evidence
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  in this case?
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  Speaker 2: I mean it's hard to say. Every piece of evidence
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  has its own weight and its own problems. Like the
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  phone calls are really powerful, but if the jury believes
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  he wasn't in his right mind when he said those things,
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  they might not care about them that much. The video
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  is disturbing, Oh yeah, but voice idea isn't always perfect,
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  and the van is suspicious, but it's not like a
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  direct link.
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  Speaker 1: It is circumstantial. Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, it's all going to depend on how the lawyers
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  present their cases and how the jury sees it all.
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  It's like they're playing a strategy game, each side trying
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  to outsmart the other and using the evidence to their advantage.
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  Speaker 1: It's a legal chess match, it is.
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  Speaker 2: But it's important to remember this isn't just a game.
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  Oh absolutely, This is about two young girls who were murdered,
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  families whose lives were shattered, a community that's still traumatized.
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  We can't forget the human cost of this.
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  Speaker 1: The trial is important for justice, but it's also a
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  really painful reminder of everything that was lost.
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  Speaker 2: Absolutely, and I think it's important for us to keep
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  that in mind as we follow this case.
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  Speaker 1: So as we wait for the trial and all the
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  new information that's going to come out. What advice would
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  you give to someone who's trying to follow this case
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  and make sense of it all.
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  Speaker 2: I think the most important thing is to be patient, Okay,
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  be skeptical, and keep an open mind, right, don't just
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  jump to conclusions based on headlines or what you see
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  on social media. Look for the details, look for things
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  that don't add up, okay, and most importantly, remember this
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  isn't just a story. This is about real people, Yeah,
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  real lives and trying to find justice.
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  Speaker 1: That's really good advice because I think it's easy to
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  just want the simple answers. I want to know who's
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  right and who's wrong, who's guilty, who's innocent.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, we like things to be black and white. But
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  the truth is it's usually much more complicated than that.
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  Speaker 1: And this case definitely proves that it does. We've got confessions,
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  but questions about mental state. We've got strong evidence but
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  also holes in the case. We want justice, but we
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  also know the legal system isn't perfect exactly. It's like
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  we're trying to solve a puzzle. Yeah, but some of
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  the pieces are missing, right, and some of the pieces don't.
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  Speaker 2: Really fit exactly. And even if we get the whole picture, yeah,
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  we might still have questions.
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  Speaker 1: Right, So where we go from here?
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  Speaker 2: Good question.
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  Speaker 1: We've talked about the phone calls, the video, the van,
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  the psychologist, all the arguments. What's the next step in
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  this whole Delphi murders case.
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  Speaker 2: I think the next step is the trial, right, That's
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  where all this evidence is going to come out. Yea,
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  all the arguments, all the different sides of the story,
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  and then a jury is going to have to make
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  sense of it.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah. It'll be interesting to see how the prosecution presents
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  their case, right, and then how the defense tries to
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  poke holes in it.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah. And I think beyond just the legal strategy, we
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  have to think about the families of the victims. They've
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  been waiting so long for some kind of resolution, dealing
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  with this horrible loss and the frustration of not knowing
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  what happened, and now they have to go through this
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  very public trial. It's got to be incredibly difficult.
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  Speaker 1: I can't even imagine what they're going through.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, and now they have to relive that day. Yeah,
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  hear all the evidence and see the person accused of
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  killing their.
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  Speaker 1: Loved ones right in that court.
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  Speaker 2: Right there in front of them.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: It takes a lot of strength to face.
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  Speaker 1: That, it does. And I think it's important for all
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  of us as we follow this case to remember that
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  this is not just a story, right, These are real
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  people whose lives have been changed forever. Absolutely, So as
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  the trial gets started, Yeah, what are you going to
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  be watching for?
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  Speaker 2: Well, I think the biggest thing for me is how
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  the jury's going to understand the evidence about Allan's mental state.
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  If they believe that he was really having a psychotic
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  break when he made those confessions, are they going to
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  take those confessions seriously, that's a good question, yeah, Or
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  are they going to think that he wasn't in his
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  right mind and those confessions don't mean anything.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, And I imagine that defense is going to be
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  pushing that angle really hard.
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  Speaker 2: Oh.
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  Speaker 1: Absolutely, They're going to want to raise as much doubt
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  as possible, Yeah, about whether he was really competent.
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  Speaker 2: To confess, right, And they'll probably bring in their own experts,
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  oh yeah, to challenge the psychologists who testified for the
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  prosecution and try to find holes in her assessment. What
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  about the video the Bridge Guy video.
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  Speaker 1: Yeah, the Bridge Guy video, Yeah.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's another big question mark voice identification. It
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  can be pretty unreliable. The defense is definitely going to
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  try to challenge that, so.
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  Speaker 1: They might say it's not actually his voice on the video.
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  Speaker 2: They might, or they might try to get their own
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  experts to analyze the recording, point out problems with the
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  audio quality or something.
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  Speaker 1: So even a video can be open to interpretation. It's
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  not always as clear cut as we think.
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  Speaker 2: It really comes down to how the lawyers present it,
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  how the experts explain it, yeah, and then ultimately how
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  the jury weighs all of that. They have a really
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  tough job they do trying to sift through all of
• 16:00
  this and figure out what's really true.
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  Speaker 1: So, as we wrap up this deep dive, what's the
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  one thing you hope people take away from this conversation?
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  Speaker 2: I guess I hope they realize how complex the justice
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  system can be, how important it is to think critically
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  about everything, and to remember that there are real people
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  affected by all of this. Right, this isn't just a
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  story for entertainment. This is a real tragedy with real consequences.
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  Speaker 1: Well said, Thank you. I hope people will keep following
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  this case me too, and really think about all the
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  different angles and come to their own conclusions based on
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  the evidence.
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  Speaker 2: I think that's the best we can do, and.
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  Speaker 1: I hope everyone will keep the victims and their families
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  in their thoughts absolutely, because no matter what happens in
• 16:44
  the trial, they still have a long road to healing
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  ahead of them.
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  Speaker 2: That's true.
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  Speaker 1: We'll be watching the case closely, yeah, and we'll be
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  back with more analysis as it unfolds. Sounds good. Thanks
• 16:55
  for joining us for this deep dive into the Delphi murders.
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  Speaker 2: Thanks for having me here.