Richard Allen, the man currently standing trial for the deaths of Delphi teenagers Abigail Williams and Liberty German, was interviewed by investigators within one week of the murders and originally labeled “cleared.”

So far today the jury has heard from two witnesses: Kathy Shank, retired Department of Child Services worker and Captain Dan Dulin with the Department of Natural Resources.

Kathy Shank

Shank is the woman who found Allen’s 2017 discussion with Captain Dulin. Shank was volunteering to help with administrative duties having to do with file management. She testified to handling around 14,000 tips related to the Delphi murders investigation.

Shank testified that she stumbled upon a folder that was not with the others that she was tasked with managing. That folder was labeled “Richard Allen Whiteman.”

This individual, later corrected to Richard Allen, reported being on the trails during the day of February 13th, 2017, when Abby and Libby are said to have gone missing and then killed, according to the State’s timeline. Shank alerted Carroll County Sheriff Tony Liggett, now lead investigator, of the file. The file was labeled “cleared.”

Shank could not answer why the file incorrectly listed the name “Richard Allen Whiteman.”

Captain Dan Dulin

Captain Dan Dulin was up next. He testified to being assigned with assisting investigators with any leads after the murders took place. Allen and Dulin agreed to meet at the Save-A-Lot parking lot on February 18th, 2017. Allen denied the idea of conducting the interview at his home or a police station.

Allen reported he lived on Whiteman Street, and that he “self-reported” he was in the area of the Monon High Bridge between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. on February 13th, 2017. Allen later corrected that timeframe to 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., but claimed he wasn’t really paying attention to anything on the trail.

Allen reported seeing three girls, but he was more focused on watching the stock ticker on his phone. Allen also confirmed he parked near the Hoosier Haverstore.

Dulin testified that the conversation lasted around 10 minutes and that he typed up the notes in his car and filed the Word document into “the system.”

Dulin testified to never thinking about the conversation again until he was contacted by investigators in 2022 after Shank found Allen’s file.

Dulin testified to going into DNR files in 2022 to see if there was anything more that he could find relating to Allen, which led to the discovery of Allen’s fishing license application. Allen had reported a change of height from 5 foot 4 inches tall to 5 foot 6 inches tall. Dulin found that change unusual.

Dulin also testified to collecting information off of Richard Allen’s phone in 2017 but did not look at the contents.

The end of testimony Tuesday revealed the State of Indiana collected 23 electronic devices from Allen when he was arrested. Nothing relating back to the murders of Abigail Williams and Liberty German was found on those devices. Allen’s phone from 2017 was apparently not included with those devices as he no longer has it.

During cross-examination, Dulin confirmed he did not ask Allen what he was wearing on February 13th, 2017, doesn’t know who changed Allen’s height on his fishing license application, and Dulin also confirmed he was the person who told police to go collect the blood-covered sticks from the crime scene weeks later.

Dulin also testified that it would not be uncommon to find ammunition in the woods. Allen’s defense team has been trying to build grounds for reasonable doubt by pointing to several other potential sources for the .40 caliber unspent cartridge found near the bodies of Abby and Libby.