Donnie Burgess (above) covered the Delphi murder trial for WIBC in Indianapolis. He joins the WFIU/WTIU news team as a local government reporter next week.
(Courtesy of Donnie Burgess)
A jury in Delphi, Indiana, found Richard Allen guilty Monday of murdering two middle school girls in 2017. Cameras and audio recording equipment weren’t allowed in the courtroom during the trial. Only a limited number of reporters were allowed inside. Donnie Burgess is a reporter from WIBC who has been covering this case for years. The trial was his final assignment before he joins WFIU's news team next week. Ethan Sandweiss talked to Donnie about the case and what it was like to cover the trial.
Sandweiss: Could you tell me a little bit about what the mood was like outside the courthouse waiting for that verdict?
Burgess: It may be hard to believe, but people waiting for the verdict, it was almost like a sporting event.
To put this picture in everyone's mind, outside of the Carroll County courthouse, the main sidewalk leading to the entrance was almost split into two parties: pro-Richard Allen and anti-Richard Allen. Because there's so much doubt in people's minds in this case, it really did drive a line between people.
The atmosphere outside of the courthouse was almost, ‘Did my team win?’ when we're waiting, and we're waiting. And the reason why people are waiting is because there's no electronics in the courtroom, no broadcasting of this trial live or even delayed. So people are waiting on eggshells, essentially, for pool reporters to come out of the courthouse to announce to the group.
Once they did, it was quite literally as if your home team just made a touchdown. It was an eruption throughout the streets of Delphi of cheers, and “Yes, he's guilty!” and “On all counts!” It was truly something remarkable to watch happen in front of you.
Sandweiss: Has that been pretty much the mood in the courthouse over the course of this whole trial?
Burgess: Oh, absolutely. Going all the way back to October of 2022 when Richard Allen was arrested, there was immediately a doubt on many sides of, “Is this the man? Does this evidence really match up?”
That has continued throughout the trial because of missteps and mistakes from the state, and the defense, and the judge (the state Supreme Court had to get involved at one point), and it's been so up and down that people have cultivated their own beliefs, and they are firm in the ground. And so it has created this wide array of opinions.
And another thing to consider there; this case has truly captured the imagination and participation of YouTubers, podcasters, content creators. There were people from out of state that were also among the crowd as well, and so that just further contributes to the sports-like atmosphere that took over the town of Delphi.
Sandweiss: I imagine for the families of the victims and for the family of Richard Allen, probably that was not the same reaction. Could you talk a little bit about how they were feeling, how they were expressing themselves on the day of the verdict?
Burgess: The families of the girls, Abigail Williams and liberty German, they embraced. They cried loudly. They hugged members of the prosecution and Superintendent Doug Carter of state police because this is a battle they have fought every single minute of every hour of every day for nearly eight years.
The family of Richard Allen truly believe that he is innocent, and it was immediate heartbreak from them. His wife dropped to her knees, and she left the courthouse through tears, saying, “This is not over.” And it's a strange melting pot of emotion to watch happen at the conclusion of not just a two-year case, but a seven-year story as well.
Sandweiss: This has been a really odd trial to witness. There's been so many turns that have happened in terms of this Odinist cult angle that got thrown on it, in terms of evidence being brought forward, graphic pictures being presented to the jury. What were some of the most shocking moments of the trial, or some of the moments of the trial where the reaction in the courtroom was the biggest?
Burgess: It was absolutely when the pictures of the girls were shown to the jury and to the audience in the courtroom as well, because they were absolutely brutal pictures, and for many people, it's the first time they have seen the pictures.
Now, there was a leak last year of the crime scene photos, but police were pretty quick to put a closed door on that, so to speak. So that was one that drew very strong reaction.
Also, when the defense showed in-prison videos of Richard Allen to the jury, that also it caused jury members to look away. They're covering their mouths and some of them taking furiously taking notes, noting down every little thing that they could see.
Those were some of the moments that that truly captured the jury and the courtroom, and I think when taking into account the photos, the videos of Allen inside of his prison, and the infamous "down the hill" video from Liberty German's phone, a lot of those things may have been the deciding factor for the jury.
Sandweiss: Donnie, thank you so much for joining me today.
Burgess: Thank you for giving me the time.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and conciseness.
