By Carson Gerber, CNHI News Indiana

DELPHI, Ind. — Prosecutors in the Richard Allen murder case are asking that the jury not be allowed to see or hear about the widely spread composite sketches released to the public as part of an effort to find the killer.

Law enforcement released the first sketch five months after discovering the bodies of Abigail Williams, 13, and Liberty German, 14, near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi on Feb. 14, 2017.

The sketch depicted a bearded man wearing a hat and was based on reports of witnesses who saw the man in the area.

The second sketch was released in April 2019 during an Indiana State Police news conference, along with video and audio clips of the suspect. The new drawing showed a younger man with wavy hair.

Carrol County Prosecutor Nick McLeland in a Tuesday filing asked Special Judge Frances Gull to prevent the defense or any of its witnesses from referencing those sketches during the trial without express permission from the judge.

“The composite sketches prepared were intended as an investigative tool to generate leads to identify a suspect and in fact these sketches were not related to the identification of Richard Allen as a suspect,” the filing claims. “Therefore, the sketches would not be relevant.”

The motion also argues the sketches represent “hearsay” because they are based on “a subjective rendering by one person using the subjective description by another person/witness.” The images could mislead or confuse the jury, the filing states.

Allen’s defense team has not yet responded to the filing. Gull is expected to make a ruling on the motion Thursday morning.

Both sketches fueled an avalanche of social media posts attempting to link a specific person to the suspects depicted in the drawings. State police made a public statement at the time asking people to refrain from online accusations.