“Bridge Guy” sighting, autopsy and digital forensics

DELPHI – Day five of the Delphi murder trial featured testimony from a witness who claims to have seen “Bridge Guy.”

Richard Allen is accused of killing Abby Williams and Libby German in 2017.

On Wednesday, the state called witness No. 19 Sarah Carbaugh to the stand. She gave an impassioned statement that lasted about an hour.

Carbaugh, who often walked her dog, said she was on the trail on Feb. 13, 2017, the day Abby and Libby were reported missing.

Carbaugh, who described herself as the “most local,” said she walked her dog on the trail daily.

She testified that around 4 p.m. that day she saw a man walking down the street covered in mud and blood.

“I looked at him, but he wasn’t making eye contact with me,” Carbaugh said on the witness stand.

“I’m going to call him ‘Bridge Guy’ because that’s how I know him,” she added. Carbaugh later said she was at home when she was informed of the AMBER alert.

Carbaugh said she recognized the picture on the news as the man she saw on the street.

Carbaugh reported contacting police three weeks later. She said she was traumatized by the murders. “My inaction caused me to overthink and panic. I had a moment,” she said.

Carbaugh encountered an officer accepting a tip at a roadblock. She called it “a sign from God” to report what she saw.

During cross-examination, the defense questioned the integrity of Carbaugh’s account and claimed she changed her story more than once during police interviews.

The forensic pathologist Dr. Roland Kohr., who conducted the girls’ autopsies, also testified on Wednesday.

Dr. Roland Kohr performed the autopsies on Libby German and Abby Williams. He testified that he performed 77,000 to 78,000 autopsies during his career, which included a stint as a medical examiner in Terra Haute. Kohr was called as a witness for the prosecution. His testimony began with a 30-minute narrative about what happens during an autopsy and what the examiner wants to find out.

The autopsy revealed that Williams had a five to six centimeter wound (approximately 2 inches long) on ​​the left side of her neck. Dr. However, Kohr said it was not a deep cut, but “just an inch deep,” in the doctor’s words. He stated that there was skin damage on the right side, which he said indicated that the cut was made from right to left.

Dr. Kohr said Abby suffered from hepatitis, which he described as purple areas where blood collects after a body is in the same position for an extended period of time. He says they found liver liver on her upper back and the back of Williams’ legs.

“She lay on her back for a long time after she died,” he said.

Kohr continued, saying that liver mortality occurs after a person has been dead for at least eight hours.

Dr. Kohr said there was what appeared to be a mark on one of Williams’ arms. He says that maybe that happened when she got Libby’s sweatshirt as a gift.

Many people in the courtroom were visibly shocked by the photos shown on the big screen. Family members often cried and observers said at least one juror had a hard time looking at the screen for more than a few seconds and looked like he was going to vomit.

Kohr also testified about the autopsy he performed on Libby German. He said German had four wounds to his neck and possibly a fifth. Two of these wounds overlapped. Kohr noted that there was an X-shaped pattern in the larger wound on German’s neck. Dr. Kohr says it’s likely two attempts were made to get this wound.

He wasn’t sure about the middle wound. He believed it might have been a second attack with the weapon, but wasn’t entirely sure. He also noticed a few small abrasions below German’s neck. He noted that there were changes in the pattern as a result of the cuts and suggested that changes could occur if one backed up while cutting.

There were five marks on the edge of Libby’s right wound. These marks were one millimeter wide with a space between them.

Dr. Kohr initially assumed a serrated knife was used to make the cuts, but says he has been thinking about the cut marks over the past few months and now believes a box cutter was used to make the cuts. Kohr did not prepare a supplementary report because, in his opinion, it was speculative but not definitive.

Dr. Kohr was asked what happens to a body with such wounds. He replied: “The bleeding will not be under pressure. She would be slower. (It) would happen over several minutes. When blood volume decreases significantly, the body goes into shock. Organs lose their function. (The person) loses consciousness, but not (they wouldn’t) die immediately.”

Dr. Kohr estimated that what he called a “very standardized schedule of the procedure” was related to the position of the body. “If you sit, it would take longer to lose enough blood, at least five to ten minutes, maybe longer. It would be quicker lying down than standing up.”

As for Libby, Kohr said her blood loss occurred more quickly than Williams’ and that she likely would have gone into shock more quickly. He also stated that she had blood on her hands.

He estimated she would have died in five to 10 minutes, but estimated it would have been closer to five minutes given the severity of her injuries.

Dr. Kohr also noticed that German had swelling in her brain due to reduced oxygen supply.

None of the girls showed signs of sexual trauma or defensive injuries.

Dr. Kohr testified that he only saw photos of the crime scene this year, after his reports were published.

He couldn’t determine the exact type or blade length of the weapon used, but said “everything from a pocket knife to a kitchen knife for Abby.” (There is) no way to tell whether they were right-handed or left-handed.”

For Libby, the doctor suggested Libby was dragged from another location based on the debris found on her legs. He also said that the jagged area could have come from the handle of an instrument (or weapon).

During the redirect, defense attorney Brad Rozzi asked Kohr, “You can’t say a box cutter was used?”

Kohr replied: “Not definitely, no.”

The state asked, “What is the minimum number of knives that could cause all of these wounds?”

Dr. Kohr replied: “One. Just because there are different markings doesn’t mean it’s a different instrument.”

When Kohr left the stand, the jury was released for lunch at 12:40 p.m

Judge Gull said it had been a difficult morning for the jury so she gave them a longer lunch to relax.

The final witness for Wednesday was ISP Sgt. Chris Cecil, who has examined digital evidence in hundreds of cases over his 20-year career in law enforcement.

Cecil volunteered to examine Libby’s iPhone 6 again. His first written report is from 2019.

The data revealed that both Abby and Libby used social media accounts on the phone.

Apple Health data recorded the last phone movement on February 13, 2017 at 2:32:39 p.m

A timeline of Libby’s phone interaction is as follows:

February 13, 2017
1:38:49 p.m.: Call to Daddy-o
1:39:08 p.m.: Phone was charging
1:39:24 p.m.: Call to Daddy-o ends
1:39:30 p.m.: 2. Interaction with the messaging app
1:39:45 p.m.: Snapchat view
1:41:44 p.m.: Libby posted a picture on Snapchat
1:43:49 p.m.: Picture of girl in car posted on Snapchat
2:05:20 p.m.: Snapchat image of a bridge with no people on it
2:07:20 p.m.: The phone was unlocked for the last time
2:13:57 p.m.: Video recorded: 43 seconds long
2:14:41 p.m.: Libby tried to unlock the phone with her fingerprint
10:32:26 p.m.: Phone probably broken
2:33 p.m.: Screen was off
4:06 p.m.: Receives a text from Becky Patty saying “You need to call me now!!!”

February 14, 2017
4:30am: 15-20 text messages arrive at once
No activity after 4:34am

Brian Bunner, a digital forensics expert at the ISP, rebooted the phone on February 15, 2017.

Cecil testified that there continued to be new updates to software and programs on the phone from 2019 to 2024.

The phone has been refurbished. When Bunner plugged the phone in to charge, it added data but didn’t change any information.

The second report began on May 10, 2024 and ended on August 18, 2024.

Cecil said there was no indication of when the phone was turned off between the last movement.

When Bunner turned off the phone on February 15, 2027, the power-on/off protocol was reset, which is why the defense said we would never know exactly when the phone was turned off.

Cecil also removed 23 devices from Allen’s home on November 8, 2022. He said there was no communication between his devices and the girls.

Cecil testified that he found Internet search history for Abby and Libby in news articles on Allen’s devices.

Prosecutor Mcleland submitted that Allen’s 2017 cell phone was not among the 23 devices seized.

The jury asked six questions.

VIEW | Testimony continues on the fourth day of the Delphi murder trial

Testimony continues on the fourth day of the Delphi murder trial