Judge Frances Gull Retires: The Delphi Rulings That Buried Richard Allen's Defense Are Now Under Appeal

The judge who controlled what the jury saw and heard in Richard Allen's trial just announced her retirement. Frances Gull will step down from the bench at the end of 2026 after nearly thirty years. Her press release talks about Drug Court, veterans, and "second chances." It says nothing about Delphi. Nothing about Abby and Libby. Nothing about Richard Allen.

But the 113-page appellant's brief filed last month says plenty.

According to the defense, Gull excluded Betsy Blair's composite sketch—the one where Bridge Guy is described as young, in his twenties, with poofy brown hair. Allen was 44 with short hair. The jury never saw it. She excluded William Tobin, a forensic expert with nearly 300 cases who could have challenged the bullet methodology the State relied on. She made the defense mute the audio on videos showing Allen screaming, delusional, and psychotic in solitary confinement. The jury saw strange behavior but never heard the context.

She excluded Dawn Perlmutter's testimony explaining the crime scene as a possible ritual killing—even though law enforcement investigated that theory from day one. She excluded all evidence of Brad Holder and Patrick Westfall, alternative suspects with documented ties to pagan rituals and the victim herself. She excluded evidence that police recorded over interviews and ignored tips.

But she admitted a Google search conducted during trial to rehabilitate the prosecution's timeline.

Now she's walking away. The appeals court will decide if what she built can stand.

#JudgeGull #FrancesGull #Delphi #DelphiMurders #RichardAllen #AbbyAndLibby #LibbyGerman #AbbyWilliams #DelphiTrial #DelphiIndiana

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This publication contains commentary and opinion based on publicly available information. All individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Nothing published here should be taken as a statement of fact, health or legal advice.