Delphi murder trial: No DNA ties suspect or anyone else to crime scene, expert says

(DELPHI, Ind.) — No DNA was found at the site of the Delphi, Indiana, double murders to tie the suspect, Richard Allen, or anyone else to the crime scene, a forensic scientist testified Monday during Allen’s trial.

Best friends Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, were walking along a hiking trail in rural Delphi when they were stabbed to death and left in the woods on Feb. 13, 2017. Allen was arrested in 2022 and has pleaded not guilty to murder.

Rape kits were performed on Abby and Libby; no semen was found and there was no DNA evidence the girls were sexually assaulted, Indiana State Police forensic scientist Stacy Bozinovski said on the stand Monday.

Some swabs showed a possible presence of male DNA, Bozinovski said, but the amount was insufficient, and she told the court she didn’t do a confirmatory test because she wanted to make the most of the sample.

Bozinovski noted that she did find male DNA in genital swabs and fingernails, but she said that is not entirely unusual because it could have come from shared clothing. She said it yielded very little DNA.

Bozinovski said hair found in Abby’s hand matched Libby’s sister.

According to police analysis, a .40-caliber unspent round discovered by the girls’ bodies came from Allen’s gun.

Bozinovski said she tested the unspent round found at the crime scene, but the DNA found on the cartridge was insufficient for further testing.

Allen has admitted to being on the trail the day the girls were killed but he denies any involvement in the murders.

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