Delphi Murders Update (Sept. 2026): Richard Allen's Appeal Is Heard Sept. 21

Two weeks from Monday, the Delphi case gets its first real test on appeal. Here are the dates that matter before anything else.

What is happening on Sept. 21?

A three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals of Indiana will hear oral arguments in Allen's appeal at 10 a.m. in the Supreme Court Courtroom at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. Each side gets 30 minutes.

Allen's lawyers asked for the hearing; the court granted it in May. Appeals are usually decided on the briefs alone, so a court agreeing to hear argument is a signal that the panel wants the lawyers to talk it through.

It is worth being clear about what that signal is not. Granting argument is not a hint about the outcome.

What are Allen's three arguments?

The 113-page appellant's brief raises three issues:

• The search. That the 2022 warrant for his home rested on material omissions about witness descriptions, making the search unconstitutional and the evidence from it inadmissible.
• The confessions. That statements he made while held in prolonged isolation should have been kept out, because of the condition he was in when he made them.
• The defense he could not present. That the trial judge's exclusion of his lawyers' alternative-suspect theory left the jury hearing, in the defense's framing, half the story.

What is the state's answer?

The attorney general's office filed its brief on March 26, 2026, asking the panel to leave the conviction untouched. Its position is that the warrant was valid, the statements were properly admitted, and the trial judge acted within his discretion in limiting the alternative-suspect evidence.

Could the conviction actually be overturned?

It could, but reversal is the exception rather than the rule in Indiana direct appeals, and Allen has to win on an issue big enough to have affected the verdict.

The realistic range of outcomes: the panel affirms; it orders a new trial on one of the three issues; or it sends a narrower question back to the trial court. Whichever way it goes, the losing side can ask the Indiana Supreme Court to take the case.

There is no deadline for a ruling. Panels commonly take a few months after argument.

Where is Richard Allen now?

He is serving his 130-year sentence in Indiana Department of Correction custody, and he has maintained his innocence since his arrest.

👉 Even a full win on appeal would not release him — it would mean a new trial.

Who were Abby and Libby?

Abigail Williams and Liberty German were eighth-graders in Delphi, a town of about 3,000 in Carroll County. They were dropped off to walk a trail on a Monday afternoon in February 2017 and did not come home.

Libby's phone recorded the video and audio that became the case's best-known evidence. Nine and a half years after that February afternoon, Sept. 21 will be the first time an appeals court hears the case argued out loud.

FAQ

When is the Delphi appeal hearing?
Monday, Sept. 21, 2026, at 10 a.m. Eastern, at the Indiana Statehouse.

Is Richard Allen getting a new trial?
Not at this stage. He is asking for one; the Court of Appeals has not ruled.

How long is his sentence?
130 years, imposed in December 2024.

Sources

• WISH-TV — Court to hear arguments in appeal of Delphi murders conviction
• WTHR — Oral argument date set in Richard Allen's appeal
• Fox59 — Court of Appeals will hear arguments in Delphi murders this September
• WNDU — State argues Allen's convictions should stand
• CBS News Chicago — Attorneys file brief seeking to overturn the conviction

More from our desk: the Lindsay Clancy mistrial and Friday's 20/20 special, the Kouri Richins restitution order, Friday's Dateline, and Saturday's 48 Hours. Air times for all three shows are in our viewing guide; the rest of our case files are in Case Updates.

By the True Crime On Air desk · Updated 8:50 a.m. ET