Jury hears testimony on bullet found by Libby's and Abby's bodies | Trial Day 7 | DELPHI DEBRIEF

The seventh day of testimony in the Delphi murders trial Friday centered around guns and ammunition.

As we've learned through the testimony so far, Abby Williams and Libby German died after someone slit their throats in February 2017, but an unfired bullet cartridge was found near their bodies.

Earlier in the week, jurors heard about the cartridge, as well as a gun that police seized while serving a search warrant at Richard Allen's house in 2022. On Friday, the state tied those two items together with the help of a firearm examiner who used to work for Indiana State Police.

Firearm examiner Melissa Oberg testified for seven hours Friday, telling jurors how she compared the unfired bullet cartridge found at the crime scene with four test bullets that she fired through Allen's gun in the lab. Using a powerful microscope to inspect markings on the ammunition, she concluded the bullet at the crime scene did cycle through Allen's gun.

Oberg said she made that conclusion based on the quality and quantity of matching marks on the bullets.

The testimony was long – taking all day – and some of the jurors and others in the courtroom seemed confused because Oberg was asked to talk about lots of bullets and lots of different guns tested related to the Delphi murders case. The state didn't make it particularly clear at times which guns and bullets they were talking about.

Prosecutors also did not summarize the key expert's findings.

But the latest evidence and testimony for the jury is the state's way to directly place Allen at the murder scene.

The ballistics evidence is among the most compelling evidence the state has. During cross-examination Friday afternoon, the defense team pushed back on the state's conclusions.

Defense attorney Brad Rozzi highlighted that this type of firearm science called "tool mark analysis" is considered controversial. He also said the state's analysis was based on a bullet at the crime scene that was not fired, while the test bullets in the lab were fired.

He also got Oberg to admit that her analysis and conclusions presented to the jury are "subjective."

The jury saw a video and photos from under a lab microscope, showing marks on the edges of ammunition lined up to show how they matched.

Also on Friday, only 15 jurors returned to the courtroom after the lunch break, with an alternate juror missing for the afternoon session.

After the court session ended, Special Judge Frances Gull told 13News the juror had a "family emergency," but she offered no further explanation. The juror missed approximately four hours of testimony.

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