Lawyers for Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen have sensationally quit after gruesome crime scene photos were leaked to the public, forcing the judge to find a new trial date.
Richard Allen, 50, is accused of killing Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, as they hiked the Delphi Historic Trails in Indiana on February 13, 2017.
Their bodies were discovered the next day and the case baffled police for years — until a bullet found at the bloody crime scene linked Allen to the 2022 slayings.
Judge Fran Gull convened a hearing on Thursday to discuss “other matters that have recently arisen” after photos of the crime scene were made public, reportedly through a leak from the defense team.
But after a brief delay, Judge Gull announced that the hearing would not take place because the attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, had resigned.
Richard Allen, 50, is accused of killing Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13, as they hiked Indiana’s Delphi Historic Trails on Feb. 13, 2017.
Andrew Baldwin (left) and Bradley Rozzi (right) were appointed by a court to defend Richard Allen. They withdrew their counsel, forcing the trial to be postponed in January
They were court-appointed attorneys assigned to represent Allen in his murder case but withdrew their counsel today due to an “unexpected turn of events,” Gull said.
As a result, Allen was returned to the Westville Correctional Facility on Thursday. He will now need new lawyers to argue his case in court.
Allen’s trial was scheduled for January 8, 2024, but has now been postponed.
It was suspected that the trial would have been postponed anyway if the judge had determined that the serious leak of evidence had indeed come from the defense team. The images are said to come from a former employee of lawyer Andrew Baldwin.
Baldwin has not commented, citing a court-ordered silence order.
Ahead of today’s hearing, another attorney, David Hennessy, came to Baldwin’s defense, arguing in a legal filing that he should be allowed to continue defending Allen despite the leak.
Hennessy called the evidence leak a “horrendous tragedy caused by individuals unrelated to Mr. Allen’s defense.” Mr. Allen has developed a strong and trusting relationship with Mr. Baldwin.
“Disqualification of any of his court-appointed attorneys would seriously harm his right to counsel and a timely trial.”
Hennessy, who apparently filed the report before Baldwin ultimately decided to drop out, said the lawyer was “betrayed” and that Baldwin “kept all Delphi-related items locked in a room or a locked fireproof cupboard.”
Following the sensational turn of events, Judge Gull asked Allen’s former attorneys to assist his new defense team, and all evidence will be turned over to the state in the meantime.
There will be a new hearing on October 31.
Judge Fran Gull set a hearing for Thursday to discuss “other matters that have recently arisen” after photos of the crime scene were made public, reportedly through a leak from the defense team
This comes after lawyer Kevin Greenlee and journalist Aine Cain, who run the podcast ‘The Murder Sheet’, said they had received photos of the horrific scene from a source and had contacted police.
Cain described them as “some of the worst I have ever seen.” Very disturbing, very disturbing, not just what we see, but the fact that they got out.”
Before resigning, Allen’s attorneys for the suspected Delphi killer claim Liberty German and Abigail Williams were “ritually sacrificed” in court filings.
Unsealed legal documents sensationally claim that the two teens were murdered by members of a pagan Norse religion and white nationalist group called “Odinism.”
They asked Allen County Judge Frances Gull to throw out evidence collected during a search of his home before his arrest last year.
His previous team argued that authorities left out important information in their search warrant request, including its connection to Odinism.
The unsealed documents state: “Members of a pagan Norse religion called Odinism, hijacked by white nationalists, ritually sacrificed Abigail Williams and Liberty German.”
Libby German, 14, and Abby Williams, 13. Their bodies were discovered and the case confused police for years — until a bullet found at the bloody crime scene linked Allen to the 2022 murders
Their filing, which runs to more than 130 pages, has questioned the validity of the search warrant and is calling for Allen to be transferred to another facility in a separate motion.
It claims that an FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit report found that “the person(s) responsible for the murders were involved in Scandinavian beliefs.”
Libby’s iPhone was discovered under her body in 2017 and contained the 43-second video that helped investigators piece the case together.
Search warrants show investigators searched Allen’s home in Delphi, including outbuildings, a shed and his car, looking for firearms and knives.
They also searched the house looking for electronic devices, clothing and a specific cell phone.
Law enforcement recovered numerous items, including boots, multiple knives and sweatshirts, multiple cellphones, an iPod, a hard drive, laptop and other electronics.
An affidavit released in November 2022 shows that an unspent .40 caliber bullet was found among the teens’ bodies, and it was later linked by forensic evidence to Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226 firearm.
Prosecutors believe the gun directly links Allen to the case, after forensics determined that a bullet found next to the girl’s bodies had cycled through his gun.
Kathy Allen also confirmed to police that her husband owned several guns and knives, as well as a blue Carhartt jacket similar to that of “Bridge Guy.”
He has pleaded not guilty to both murders. His attorney Andrew Baldwin previously said Allen was the “wrong man” and that the sealed probable cause affidavit is “lackluster,” adding, “You’re expecting more than what I’ve seen.”
Prosecutors have not named any potential accomplices. Ron Logan, who died in 2022, was long the prime suspect in the murders after the girls’ bodies were found on his property, and Kegan Kline was also named as a possible killer.
The bodies of both girls were discovered on Logan’s property – just 400 meters from his home – and over the summer it was revealed that his alibi for the day of the murder was flawed.
His home was searched and he was arrested shortly after the murders, but he was released and never charged.
The voice in a clip released by police of a man talking to the girls shortly before their deaths was described as “not inconsistent” with Logan’s, the FBI investigation concluded.