Richard Allen’s defence attorneys have quit the high-profile Delphi murders case amid a scandal over the leak of graphic crime scene photos.
Graphic photos of the scene where teenage best friends Libby German and Abby Williams were found brutally murdered in February 2017 have been circulating among members of a social media community, The Murder Sheet podcast revealed this week.
In a bombshell twist, it emerged that the leak allegedly originated from a man close to the defence team representing Mr Allen – the 51-year-old local man now charged with the murders.
Now, Mr Allen’s attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi have withdrawn from the case – throwing the trial into disarray.
A brief court hearing was held in Allen County, Indiana, on Thursday, where Special Judge Fran Gull was set to preside over several matters including the leak of the images.
Within minutes of the hearing starting, the judge said that Mr Allen’s attorneys had both withdrawn from the case, leaving the accused killer without legal representation.
“We’ve had an unexpected turn of events, ladies and gentlemen,” said Judge Gull.
“Earlier this afternoon, the defence attorneys have withdrawn their representation of Mr Allen.”
Mr Baldwin made an oral motion to withdraw from the case, while Mr Rozzi will be submitting a written motion to withdraw.
The scheduled trial date of 8 January 2024 will now almost certainly be delayed, as the married father-of-two will need to be assigned a new set of public defenders to represent him.
It marks the latest twist in the tragic case which began in 2017 when Libby German and Abby Williams were found brutally murdered on a walk along the Monon High Bridge in their hometown of Delphi, Indiana.
In October 2022 – over five years later – Mr Allen was arrested and charged with their murders.
