Delphi double murder trial: Graphic crime scene photos revealed in court
Alex Perez/ABC News
(NEW YORK) — Gruesome crime scene photographs were revealed in court on Monday during the trial of Richard Allen, who is accused of killing two teenage girls in 2017 on a hiking trail in the small town of Delphi, Indiana.
Carroll County sheriff’s deputy Darren Giancola, who was the first law enforcement officer on the scene after the bodies of Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, were discovered, was emotional as he took the stand for the prosecution on the third day of testimony.
Giancola said one of the girls was nude and the other was clothed when their bodies were located on Feb. 14, 2017.
“Both had large lacerations on their throat,” Giancola said. “They both had a substantial amount of blood on their person and underneath.”
Giancola was asked if lifesaving measures were performed, and he responded, “No. It was apparent they were deceased.”
The second witness called Monday was Jason Page of the Indiana State Police crime scene investigation unit, who photographed the crime scene.
The jury was shown graphic photos, including a close-up of Libby’s slashed throat and bloody face.
The families of Libby and Abby cried in the gallery and there were audible gasps in the courtroom when the images were shown.
Investigators had been tight-lipped about how the girls were killed for the last seven years, until prosecutor Nick McLeland revealed in his opening statement in court that both girls’ throats were cut.
Allen is accused of killing the two eighth graders while they walked on a hiking trail in their rural town on Feb. 13, 2017. Their bodies were discovered the next day.
Allen, a Delphi resident, was arrested in October 2022 and has pleaded not guilty to murder.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris said her heart is “full of resolve” after losing the presidential election to former President Donald Trump.
“My heart is full today — full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country and full of resolve,” Harris said Wednesday at her alma mater, Howard University, in Washington, D.C.
“The outcome of this election is not what we wanted, not what we fought for, not what we voted for. But … the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up,” Harris said.
Harris said she told Trump on the phone Wednesday that she’ll help with a peaceful transfer of power, which got a cheer from the crowd at Howard.
“We must accept the results of this election,” the vice president said.
“A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results,” Harris said, alluding to Trump’s refusal to acknowledge his loss of the 2020 election.
Harris stressed, “While I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign.”
“The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness and the dignity of all people — a fight for the ideals at the heart of our nation — the ideals that reflect America at our best,” she said.
Harris vowed that she’ll “never give up the fight for a future … where the women of America have the freedom to make decisions about their own body.”
“We will never give up the fight to protect our schools and our streets from gun violence,” she continued. “And America, we will never give up the fight for our democracy, for the rule of law, for equal justice, and for the sacred idea that every one of us, no matter who we are or where we start out, has certain fundamental rights and freedoms that must be respected and upheld.”
She said that fight will continue “in the voting booth, in the courts, and in the public square.”
“And we will also wage it in quieter ways, in how we live our lives, by treating one another with kindness and respect, by looking in the face of a stranger and seeing a neighbor,” she said. “By always using our strength to lift people up, to fight for the dignity that all people deserve.”
To her young supporters watching, the vice president said, “It is OK to feel sad and disappointed, but please know it’s gonna be OK.”
“Sometimes the fight takes a while. … The important thing is don’t ever give up,” she said.
“This is not a time to throw up our hands, this is a time to roll up our sleeves. This is a time to organize, to mobilize and to stay engaged for the sake of freedom and justice and the future that we all know we can build together,” she said.
Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff waved to the crowd after her remarks as Harris’ running mate, an emotional Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, looked on.
Harris’ family, Walz’s family, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Harris’ campaign staff were also in attendance.
Harris’ defeat came as Trump won the swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and Wisconsin overnight. Trump won another swing state, Michigan, on Wednesday.
Trump’s victory underscores just how deep voters’ frustrations were surrounding inflation and immigration, Republicans’ two top issues this election cycle as polls consistently showed Americans’ unhappiness with how President Joe Biden handled them. Trump’s return to the White House also suggests that Democrats were not motivated enough by the prospect of electing the first female president and that its base’s fury over the Supreme Court’s revocation of constitutional abortion protections has waned since 2022.
Biden plans to address the nation on Thursday.
ABC News’ Fritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will McDuffie and Tal Axelrod contributed to this report.
(WILMINGTON, Del.) — The federal judge who oversaw Hunter Biden’s conviction on gun charges in Delaware has again agreed to delay his sentencing.
At the request of prosecutors, Hunter Biden’s sentencing in Delaware will be pushed back one week, from Dec. 4 to Dec. 12, U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika ordered on Thursday.
Prosecutors in special counsel David Weiss’ office asked for the delay due to a conflict with their trial in the case against Alexander Smirnov, the FBI confidential source who is facing felony false statement and obstruction charges after authorities say he provided derogatory information about Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden.
That trial is scheduled to begin Dec. 3.
Judge Noreika previously pushed back Hunter Biden’s Delaware sentencing date from Nov. 13 to Dec. 4, to allow Hunter Biden more time for his attorneys to gather materials for his sentencing memorandum.
Hunter Biden was found guilty in June on three felony counts related to his purchase of a firearm in 2018 while allegedly addicted to drugs.
Earlier this month, in a separate case, he pleaded guilty to nine federal tax-related charges in Los Angeles, where he is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 16.
Former film producer Harvey Weinstein appears in Manhattan Criminal Court for a pretrial hearing, following his overturned sex crimes conviction, in New York City, July 19, 2024. (KENA BETANCUR/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
(NEW YORK) — Harvey Weinstein’s criminal sexual assault case is scheduled to return on Wednesday to a Manhattan courtroom — and if Weinstein shows up he will be arraigned on a new indictment.
The charges remain sealed until Weinstein appears. The former movie mogul missed his last court date after being rushed to the hospital for emergency heart surgery.
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office presented to the grand jury allegations of three separate women who said Weinstein sexually assaulted them. Their allegations were not part of the initial trial of Weinstein that ended in a conviction, which was later overturned on appeal.
“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” a spokeswoman for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement earlier this year, when the conviction was overturned.
Weinstein has denied all claims of sexual misconduct, saying his encounters were consensual.
