DELPHI, Ind. – A motion from Richard Allen’s defense team prompted a response from the prosecution—and led to the release of crime scene photos never before seen outside of court.

In November, a jury convicted Allen of murder in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German near the Monon High Bridge. Special Judge Fran Gull sentenced him to 130 years during a hearing in December.

Last month, Allen’s defense team filed a “Motion to Correct Errors” maintaining their client’s conviction should be vacated. The defense cited a purported confession from another man and the disputed timeline of a passing van that proved key to the case.

Another factor brought up by Allen’s attorneys: expert testimony from a defense witness who said activity logged from Libby German’s iPhone 6s showed someone had inserted and removed headphones from the auxiliary jack.

The logged activity happened between 5:44 p.m. to 10:32 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017—the day the girls were killed. The testimony came from Stacy Eldridge, a digital forensics expert who took the stand for the defense.

In response, Sgt. Chris Cecil, an Indiana State Police phone expert who testified for the state, said it was possible water or dirt may have been responsible for the logged activity. Cecil told the court he had performed a Google search during a court break before offering his opinion.

In his response to the defense’s motion, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland cast doubt on Eldridge’s findings, saying she didn’t file a report, log or other information to support her testimony. McLeland also noted the bulk of her expertise was in computer and network forensics—not cellphone forensics.

McLeland wrote that investigators didn’t find any headphones at the murder scene.

He also found it “unlikely” that someone returned to the crime scene after 2:32 p.m.—the moment the phone stopped moving—removed the phone from underneath Abby Williams’ body (where the phone was later found), plugged in headphones, kept them plugged in for five hours and then placed the phone back under Abby’s body—all without logging any movement.

McLeland wrote that Eldridge didn’t examine the phone herself and had no way of determining whether or not the phone sustained any water damage.

In support of his response, McLeland included multiple exhibits. Three of them—State Exhibits 9, 10 and 11—show Libby German’s iPhone 6s at the crime scene. The photos were shown at trial, but only court observers and the jury were able to see them.

The photos appear to show the phone’s screen covered with droplets of moisture as the phone sat among sticks, leaves and, presumably, dirt.

The phone was absolutely central to the Delphi murders case. Libby German used it to record a 43-second video showing the girls’ encounter with “Bridge Guy.” Activity data also showed the phone stopped moving at 2:32 p.m. on Feb. 13, 2017, which the state believes marked the moment the girls were killed.

Cecil did see photos of the phone showing the condition in which it was found. He based his conclusion, in part, on those photos along with how long the iPhone was outside and his “knowledge and experience as a forensic phone examiner,” McLeland wrote.

The prosecutor said the defense could have called a witness to rebut Cecil’s testimony about the impact dirt and water could have on the phone. However, the defense didn’t call such a witness, he said.

McLeland noted that none of it constituted new information that would overturn the result of Allen’s trial. In fact, the information came from discovery materials and he believes it should have been brought up during the trial to challenge Cecil’s testimony.

As such, the prosecutor said the phone evidence–and the other issues raised by the defense–didn’t constitute a basis for a “Motion to Correct Errors” and asked the court to reject the defense’s motion without a hearing.