Who is Fran Gull? Delphi murders case judge passes gag order on all parties, mulls change of trial venue
DELPHI, INDIANA: An Indiana judge issued a gag order on Friday, December 2 in the Delphi murders case where a 50-year-old man has been arrested as a suspect. In 2017, two teenagers Liberty German and Abigail William, aged 14 and 13 respectively, were found dead in Delphi. Richard Allen was criminally charged with murdering the teens and arrested on October 26, 2022, six years after the incident.
Allen County Judge Fran Gull's gag order is applicable to the attorneys, court personnel, law enforcement officials, the coroner, and the teenagers' family members, preventing them from speaking or posting any further updates on the Delphi murder case, reports the Daily Mail.
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Who is Fran Gull?
Serving since January 1, 1997, Judge Frances C Gull has served as a Criminal Administrative Judge at the Allen Superior Court. According to her biography on the Allen Superior Court, the judge has been reelected four times since her first election in 1996. With nearly 25 years of experience on the bench, Judge Gull began her career as a law clerk in the Family and Criminal divisions in Allen Superior Court in 1983 and 1984.
Judge Gull has served both Allen Circuit and Superior Courts during her judicial career. Throughout the years of her duty, she has been a recipient of many honors and awards for her contributions to the criminal justice system.
According to the Journal Gazette, when Benjamin Diener, the original judge with jurisdiction in the case, recused himself by submitting a request to disqualify him from the Delphi murders case, Gull was appointed as a special judge on November 3 to oversee this high-profile cold case trial.
Now, Judge Gull has issued a gag order preventing public disclosure of the murder case by the attorneys, law enforcement officials, court personnel, the coroner, and the family of the murdered teenagers; they could be charged with contempt of court and fined or incarcerated if they violate the order. The order prevents them "from commenting on this case to the public and to the media, directly or indirectly, by themselves or through any intermediary, in any form, including any social media platforms," reports the Daily Mail.
The gag order was imposed when the prosecutors requested the judge to issue an order to prevent further disclosure as the case has faced intense media scrutiny.
Meanwhile, a three-page statement was released by Allen's lawyers defending their client.
The review of the order will be made by Gull at a hearing on January 13. As per the Daily Mail, the defense argued that in Carrol County, it will be difficult to find impartial jurors, to which Gull said she would also consider a change of venue at the hearing as the defense has requested in wanting the trial conducted at least 150 miles from Delphi.