A RETIRED detective who investigated the Delphi murders doesn’t believe Richard Allen is responsible for the infamous killings – but he also doesn’t buy the defense’s claims the two teen victims were killed as part of a ritual sacrifice.

Former Rushville Assistant Chief of Police Todd Click spoke to The Murder Sheet podcast late last month about his beliefs, shortly after Allen’s attorneys filed a bombshell memorandum claiming the 2017 murders of Libby German and Abigail Williams had been carried out by members of a Nordic cult.

In the filing, Allen’s team reiterated his claims of innocence and instead pointed a finger of suspicion at a group of local men they accused of being members of a pagan Norse religion called Odinism.

The attorneys claimed that two groups of Odinists, one from the Delphi area and one from the Rushville area in southeastern Indiana, killed the girls as part of a religious sacrifice.

To further their allegations, they claimed investigators found multiple ritualistic symbols at the crime scene, including sticks placed over Abby and Libby’s bodies at the crime scene to form Germanic letters associated with Odinism; a letter painted on a tree with Libby’s blood; and faux antlers created with sticks and branches placed above Abby’s head.

Additionally, some of the branches had been precut with a power saw, suggesting they were prepared before the killings, according to the memorandum.

“This stick configuration is a spot-on resemblance for the rune (letter) called ‘Hagal’,” a footnote in the memorandum states.

“This rune is used to depict the word ‘Hail.’ Therefore, the combination of the Hagal rune found on Abby and the Ansuz rune found on the tree when combined would proclaim ‘Hail Odin.’ ”

“Delphi investigators seemingly, and quickly, abandoned the obvious correlation between the crime scene and Odinism, despite an obscene amount of evidence linking Odinism to the crime scene,” the memorandum further states.

TOP COP: SACRIFICE CLAIMS ‘SENSATIONALISM’

Click is named in the memorandum as one of three officers who aggressively probed and championed the Odinist line of inquiry.

They credit Click and his two colleagues with continuing to “pursue the truth.”

“Because of their curiosity and investigative efforts, the evidence establishing the names of the likely murdering members of this Odinite cult became known to the Delphi investigative leadership no later than February 2018,” reads the document.

“Due to either incompetence or a concerted intentionality, those in charge of the investigation refused to arrest or even properly investigate these obvious suspects.”

Months after Allen’s arrest for murder in October 2022, Click penned a letter to Prosecutor Nick McLeland in May this year, stating his belief there was more compelling evidence against the group of men now named in the defense’s memorandum than there is against Allen.

In the filing, the defense claimed McLeland purposely withheld the existence of the letter from them for four months. They claim the letter contains exculpatory evidence that is essential for Allen’s defense.

However, during an interview with The Murder Sheet on September 23, Click told hosts Aine Cane and Kevin Greenlee that he doesn’t believe Abby and Libby were killed during a ritual sacrifice – and nor does anyone else in local law enforcement.

He accused the defense of “twisting facts for sensationalism.”

When asked by the hosts if it’s correct that he disagrees with the defense on the motive for the murders but agrees with them on who is responsible, Click responded: “Yes, that is accurate.”

After being prompted to elaborate on the details he deemed to be sensationalized, Click continued: “Like I said before, it would be impossible for me to explain anything further without compromising details of the investigation. The defense team seemingly put Ferency, Murphy, and I on a pedestal. We did nothing extraordinary. We just did our jobs and followed every lead that we had. 

“We conducted our investigation the way investigations need to be completed. Granted, we were very dedicated to this investigation because the families of Abby and Libby and the community of Delphi deserve justice.”

Recounting their conversation with Click, Cain told The U.S. Sun: “What he indicated to us is that he feels like the people they’re essentially accusing of the murders are spot on and fits with his theory of the crime.

“But at the same time, he’s saying that he does not believe the underlying motive was religious sacrifice.

“He has not told us on the record what his view of the motive was, but he just provided that clarity saying that he’s essentially disputing elements of the way the defense rolled it out and also perhaps the underlying motive but he’s not disputing who they’re accusing.”

Reading between the lines of Click’s words, Cain said it was clear to her that he didn’t believe Allen was responsible for the murders, or at the very least solely responsible.

Prosecutors said after Allen’s arrest that they were still investigating other potential suspects and hadn’t closed the door on the idea that he may not have acted alone.

And last week, the defense claimed that investigators had reopened their probe into the Odinist angle, in the wake of their bombshell memorandum.

However, Greenlee and Cain say they believe that investigation never stopped.

“I think the spin that is reopened is incorrect,” said Greenlee. “I think it’s never been closed.

“And we even saw that publicly, where prosecutor Nicholas McClelland and Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter, right after Richard Allen’s arrest, said the case will remain open.

“I think it’s fair for the defense to say that it certainly sounds like – and they would have no reason to lie – that investigators re-interviewed some of these alleged Odinists and are looking back into it. 

“And I think that’s just due diligence when you have a case like this, maybe going back and saying, ‘Okay, you gave us a statement five years ago, let’s make sure that all matches up.’

“And investigators should do that because now they know the defense intends to pursue that theory, it’s important that they are more fully prepared to deal with that in the trial with fresh interviews and a fresh look at the evidence.”

JURY FACES ‘RORSCHACH TEST’

The Murder Sheet was the first to reveal that the scene of Abby and Libby’s murders appeared to have been “staged”, that their bodies had been “posed”, and that both girls had lost a lot of blood.

The revelation was made last year after the couple obtained a copy of a police warrant to search a property belonging to Ron Logan, a prior person of interest in the case who has since died.

After Allen was arrested months later, prosecutors revealed that an unspent .40-caliber bullet found between the girls’ bodies was used to link him to the crime scene.

Ballistics analysis showed the round had been cycled through a SIG-Sauer P226 handgun belonging to Allen, investigators claim.

Allen had also placed himself at the trails on the day of the murder during various interviews with police and described wearing almost identical clothing to the man captured by Libby on video, urging the girls “down the hill.”

In a trove of documents released in June, it was revealed for the first time that both Abby and Libby were believed to have been killed with a knife, having suffered an undisclosed number of wounds caused by a “sharp object.”

Much of the prosecution’s evidence remains under seal and a strict gag order has been put in place by a judge, preventing families, officials, and attorneys from sharing what they know to the media.

The defense’s 136-page memorandum shared intimate details about the crime scene for the first time.

Read Related Also: Cornell Professor Who Was 'Exhilarated' by Hamas's Attacks Is Now So Very Sorry (but Is He Really?)

Those details, including the alleged Odnisist iconography and apparent posing of the girls’ bodies, will serve as a Rorschach test for the jury during Allen’s trial, Caine says.

“I think this is maybe going to turn into a Rorschach test, where the jury looks at the sticks, the runes, and the way the crime scene is, and do they see posing in a religious or sacrificial sense? Or do they see disturbed mind perhaps covering up the bodies or doing something that’s bizarre and only makes sense to the killer?” Cain told The U.S. Sun

“And so I think it’s going to be interpretations of the same evidence but through different lenses – and whatever lens is more compelling [to the jury] will ultimately win.

“And I think that’s going to be a concern for the prosecution. Even perhaps if there isn’t a lot of evidence to support the Odinist theory, people may prefer that story because it’s more interesting – which could spell trouble.”

So far, Cain and Greenlee believe Allen’s team has made a “great splash” in the court of public opinion, but the damage they’ve done to the prosecution’s case and how much reasonable doubt they’ve been able to raise remains to be seen.

Among their audience, they say the reaction to the filing has been “mixed”, with some adopting the defense’s narrative as gospel and others shunning it completely.

Some fellow podcasters, including the true crime series Defense Diaries, have also voiced concerns that something “stinks” in the state’s case and Allen’s trial could be on the verge of collapse as the defense continues to alleged prosecutorial misconduct.

Cain and Greenlee don’t agree, believing any such hysteria is beyond premature.

Greenlee said: “When people say things like something stinks in the case or it’s on the verge of collapse, that at the very least is very premature, just like it would be premature on the day the arrest of Richard Allen was announced and say, ‘Oh, this man is obviously guilty.’

“We have to wait until we get not only the charges but the answers to the charges. 

“It’s possible the prosecution has no good answer to these charges. If that’s true, then maybe the case will fall apart.

“But it’s also just as possible that the prosecution has an excellent answer to these charges that will make them blow away.

“So it’s really impossible to say, what’s going to happen with the case or what should happen to the case until we get that response to the prosecution.”

Cain shared Greenlee’s point of view, and pointed to an early motion filed by the defense, requesting for Allen to be moved from the high-security correctional facility he’s currently being housed, in which the defense raised issues about his “declining” mental and physical health and claimed he was being deprived of certain rights.

“Like the Frank’s hearing document, you had a lot of controversy around the transport order from the defense,” said Cain.

“A lot of photos ran of Richard Allen in the news media. There was a lot of debate about that. And eventually, the prosecutor kind of came back and maybe gave his side of the story, and a lot of things changed.

“When the defense throws accusations of the prosecution, weighing in before they’ve had a chance to respond and before we really get the whole story, that doesn’t seem the most responsible thing to do.

“I would say, from my own perspective, when we saw the transport order cycle of news develop, I believe there was a very splashy initial defense motion that got a lot of attention […] and then there was more clarity provided by Nick McCleland at a hearing where he was able to kind of call witnesses bring different perspectives into it.

“If something similar happens here, we may see a Frank’s Hearing where there will be an opportunity for both sides to really come out strong and advocate for their respective position.”

‘UNFOUNDED CLAIMS’

In filing the memorandum, Allen’s attorneys requested a Frank’s Hearing, a court proceeding held to determine whether investigators lied to obtain a search warrant from a judge.

Allen’s legal team has alleged prosecutorial misconduct, accusing
McLeland of purposely withholding and ignoring exculpatory evidence against their client.

In response, the prosecution has sought to discredit the vast majority of the defense’s claims, calling the memorandum “colorful, dramatic, and highly unprofessional.”

“It’s not completely true,” wrote prosecutor Nick McLeland of the defense’s claims, adding that the allegations made “are not supported by evidence…Sheriff Tony Liggett did not intentionally or recklessly omit evidence or lie about evidence in the probable cause affidavit to support the search warrant.”

McLeland further claimed only 13 pages of the defense’s 136-page filing was relevant to their request for a Frank’s Hearing and the “remaining 90% of the Memorandum outlines its fanciful defense for social media to devour.”

In a filing on Tuesday, McLeland once again sought to pour cold water on the claims, calling them “unfounded allegations” supported by “absolutely no proof.”

He accused the defense of “consuming the limited resources of the office and this court with repetitive motions that lack any factual basis.”

EVIDENCE LEAK PROBED

Richard Allen’s murder trial is due to go ahead in January next year. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.

Allen will next appear in court at the Allen County Courthouse on October 19. The hearing was just recently scheduled.

According to the court, the purpose of the proceeding is to discuss an upcoming Oct. 31 hearing and “other matters which have recently arisen.”

Over the weekend, it was revealed that Indiana State Police are investigating an alleged leak of crime scene photos from Abby and Libby’s murders.

The leak is speculated to have stemmed from Allen’s legal team.

Cain and Greenlee made the connection to the defense after they were approached by a source on social media who had inside knowledge of Allen’s attorneys’ strategies.

The podcasters told Fox59 that the source alleged the defense had acquired certain evidence that was “not published.”

Fox 59 has also reportedly confirmed a connection with the defense team through a review of Facebook messages.

The messages were sent between two people, one man from Indiana who allegedly received information from Baldwin’s former associate and a man from Texas who went on to share it.

During the exchange, the Indiana man reportedly wrote, “defense just got girls’ phone records.”

He also reportedly wrote, “they are saying that there [sic] is stuff good for Rick.”

In another exchange, the Texas man reportedly wrote that he was traveling to Franklin, Indiana, and noted he wanted a “fair fight” for the defense.

He reportedly also criticized the prosecution in the same message.

When they spoke to The U.S. Sun last week, Greenlee and Cain were torn over Allen’s trial going ahead as scheduled in January, in light of weeks of back and forth between the prosecution and defense.

The investigation into the apparent leaks gives additional cause for a potential delay.

Allen’s attorneys face potentially being removed as his council by the judge and it could take months or even years to set a new trial date.