You may have noticed “electronic eyeglasses” are now listed as items banned from the courtroom during the trial of accused Delphi murders suspect Richard Allen. There’s a reason for that listing and the person involved wants to clear the air.
When Indiana State Police held a private logistics meeting with news media representatives in September, issues with broadcast and electronic device restrictions made by Special Judge Fran Gull were raised before ISP public information officers.
Those officers informed media of two incidents that apparently angered Judge Gull and eventually led to her written statement earlier this year of “no longer having faith” in the media to cover the case appropriately.
The first issue was CourtTV’s delayed broadcast of the October 2023 court hearing, in which Judge Gull surprised Allen’s attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi with the proposal of either disqualifying them in front of the courtroom or allowing them to step down on their own. Gull was apparently angered by CourtTV’s brief broadcast of a hallway within the Allen County Courthouse.
Since then, no hearing has been allowed to be broadcast by news media.
The second issue is the whole “electronic eyeglasses” situation.
In September, ISP relayed to media that they had heard someone showed up to a Delphi murders court hearing wearing something akin to “Google Glasses” to record the hearing.
That statement was repeated during Thursday’s WIBC Hammer and Nigel show discussion regarding Delphi. Now, the woman behind the glasses, Christiana Stewart, has come forward to say her Ray-Ban glasses should have never been a cause for concern.
“I never used them,” said Stewart during a Friday conversation with WIBC Radio/Network Indiana, “they were not being used to record anyone, they were not being used to do any of that. I mean, at the end of the day, they’re simply a pair of sunglasses. Literally.”
Stewart, an independent reporter and content creator, has attended several Delphi court hearings. She plans to go to the trial proper beginning October 14th, and also raised concerns about transparency in the court proceedings.
Also in Carroll County, over two-million-dollars more is being requested to fund the trial. That story from our news-gathering partners at WISH-TV.
Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday, October 14th in Allen County. Testimony should begin Friday, October 18th, but that date could change to Thursday, October 17th if jury selection and transportation is more efficient than expected.
Richard Allen faces four counts of murder for the 2017 deaths of Abigail Williams and Liberty German.
