Libby German's phone data analyzed at Delphi double-murder trial: 'You need to call me now!'
DELPHI, Ind. -- The family of two eighth graders killed in Delphi, Indiana prepare for day six of a grueling trial against the man accused of killing the girls.
Testimony in the double murder trial of Richard Allen focused on data found on Libby German's phone Wednesday afternoon.
Allen is charged with killing German and Abby Williams in 2017.
The girls went missing on Feb. 13th. Their bodies were found the next day near the Monon High Trail.
Indiana State Police Sergeant Christopher Cecil reanalyzed Libby's cell phone and SIM card in 2019. He told jurors investigators used cell phone towers to ping Libby's phone.
Libby and Abby were dropped off on the trail on at about 1:40 p.m.
Cecil said cell phone pings confirmed Libby's cell phone was in the vicinity of the bridge at 2:05 p.m.
Then at 2:14 p.m., Libby took the infamous "Bridge Guy" video that captures a man walking behind the girls and telling them, "Guys, down the hill."
At 2:31 p.m., Cecil said cell phone records note a change in longitude, altitude and elevation which means the phone was moving.
By 2:32 p.m., Cecil testified the phone stopped and never moved again. He told the court it didn't ping anywhere outside the trails, Deer Creek and the site where the girls' bodies were found the next day.
Investigators say Libby's phone was found under Abby's body.
Cecil testified the phone gradually powered down throughout the night and died at 10:32 p.m., then woke with a spike at 4:33 a.m. He says that is when the phone received 15 to 20 text messages all at once.
One of the messages had been sent nearly 12 hours earlier from Libby's grandmother, it said, "You need to call me now!!!"
Prosecutors asked Cecil, "Why the gap in time?"
He answered, "I don't know."
The state told the court they seized 23 devices from Richard Allen home in 2022. Cecil testified they didn't find anything that tied Allen to the girls or the crime scene.
Allen, a Delphi resident, was arrested in 2022 and has pleaded not guilty to murder. Allen has admitted to police that he was on the trail that day, but he denied any involvement in the murders, according to court documents.
Mis-filed information
One of Wednesday's witnesses was a clerk who filed information on the murders.
She found a file on Allen in 2022 that was mis-filed, which brought him back to the attention of investigators.
Allen was originally questioned by police in 2017. He told police then he had been in the area the day the girls were killed, but that he was not involved in their deaths.
READ ALSO | Delphi murders trial: Defense files to introduce ritualistic killing theory to jury
Ritualistic killing theory
On Wednesday, Allen's attorneys once again filed a motion to introduce evidence they believe is connected to Odinism, Norse Paganism and a ritualistic killing.
Allen's attorneys are citing testimony from one of the state's witnesses, Indiana State Police crime scene investigator Brian Olehy, who said sticks over the bodies of Libby and Abby were meant to hide their bodies.
On Tuesday Olehy testified "They appeared to be placed there by an individual." Olehy also noted it seemed to be an "attempt at concealment".
The defense also wants to allow testimony from Odinism expert Dr. Dawn Perlmutter.
The attorneys argue that blocking the Odinism theory and explanation would violate Allen's constitutional right to provide alternative explanations to the ones the state plans to present in the case.
The judge has ruled previously that the defense can not present the theory to the jury because of a lack of evidence.
It's not clear when there will be a ruling on the motion.
READ ALSO | Attorneys for Delphi murders suspect claim 'white nationalist group' is responsible
'Down The Hill' video
A 30-second video filmed by Libby just before she was murdered was played for the jury on Tuesday in Allen's trial.
The video -- played during testimony from Indiana State Police digital forensic examiner Brian Bunner -- showed Libby filming herself and Abby walking on the Monon High Bridge. At one point, the camera panned up, and no one was behind Abby. In a later shot, the video shows a man walking behind her.
According to Indianapolis ABC affiliate WRTV, a girl's voice is heard on the video saying, "There's no path -- the trail ends here, so we have to go down here?"
Libby's mother cried in court when she heard the voice.
The video, which was not enhanced, was played just once for the jury.
Libby posted a photo of Abby on Snapchat as they walked over the Monon High Bridge, prosecutor Nick McLeland told the jury last week in his opening statement. After the girls crossed the bridge, they saw a man behind them, and Libby started a recording on her phone at 2:13 p.m., he said.
The man pulled out a gun and ordered the girls to go "down the hill," McLeland said. The girls complied, he said, and then the video on Libby's phone stopped recording.
The eighth graders' bodies were discovered near the trail one day later.
Delphi murders trial: Jury gasps after seeing graphic crime scene photos of girl's bodies in court
ABC News' Janel Klein contributed to this report.
ABC7 Chicago contributed to this report.
