DELPHI, Ind. — People close to the Delphi case will no longer be able to talk about it at least until after a January hearing.
On Friday, Judge Frances Gull issued an order granting the state’s motion for a gag order in the Richard Allen case. The order was issued after Allen’s defense released a press release Thursday speaking out against the evidence presented by the recently-released probable cause affidavit.
The prosecutor in the case previously asked for a large gag order to be filed which would bar Allen, all attorneys connected to the case, law enforcement, court staff, the coroner and even family members from making “extra-judicial statements by means of public communication.”
The gag order will be in place pending a hearing on January 13. That is when Judge Gull previously said she would consider the motion. On that day, she will also consider another motion in the case.
Allen’s defense asked Judge Gull for a change in venue, citing “extensive media attention” and the “highly publicized” nature of the case as reasons to move the trial 150 miles away in order to “reduce the likelihood of obtaining a tainted jury pool.”
Violations of the gag order are punishable as contempt of court and subject the violator to a fine or even incarceration.
