Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen’s lawyers have sensationally quit after gruesome pictures of the crime scene 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, while they were hiking through Indiana’s Delphi Historic Trails on 13 February 2017.
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Their bodies were discovered the next day and the case puzzled police for years – until a bullet found at the bloody crime scene linked Allen to the slayings in 2022.
Judge Fran Gull called a hearing on Thursday to address ‘other matters which have recently arisen’ after pictures of the crime scene were made public, allegedly via a leak from the defense team.
But after a short delay, Judge Gull announced that the hearing wouldn’t be taking place – because the defense attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, had quit.
They were court-appointed attorneys set to represent Allen in his murder trial, but withdrew their counsel today in an ‘unexpected turn of events,’ Gull said.
Allen was sent back to Westville Correctional Facility on Thursday as a result. He will now have to be given new attorneys to plead his case in court.
Allen’s trial was set for January 8, 2024 – but this will now be delayed.
It was suspected that the trial may have been delayed anyway if the judge found that the serious evidence leak indeed did come from the defense team. The images allegedly came from a former employee of attorney Andrew Baldwin.
Baldwin has not commented, citing a court-enforced gag order.
Ahead of today’s hearing, another defense lawyer David Hennessy came to the aid of Baldwin and argued in a legal filing that he should be allowed to continue defending Allen, despite the leak.
Hennessy called the evidence leak a ‘horrible tragedy created by persons not related to the defense of Mr. Allen. Mr. Allen has developed a strong and trusting bond with Mr. Baldwin.
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‘Disqualification of either of his court appointed attorneys would greatly prejudice his right to counsel and a timely trial.’
Hennessy, who clearly made the filing before Baldwin ultimately decided quit, said the lawyer was ‘betrayed’ and that Baldwin kept ‘all Delphi-related items locked in a room or a locked fireproof cabinet.’
Following the sensational turn of events, Judge Gull requested that Allen’s former attorneys assist his new defense team, and all evidence gets handed over to the state in the interim.
There will be a new hearing on October 31.
This comes after lawyer Kevin Greenlee and journalist Aine Cain who run ‘The Murder Sheet’ podcast said they were sent the horrible scene photos from a source and contacted the police.
Cain described them as ‘some of the worst I have ever seen. Very very disturbing, very upsetting not only what we are seeing but also the fact that they got out.’
Before quitting, Allen’s attorneys for the suspected Delphi killer claim that Liberty German and Abigail Williams were ‘ritualistically sacrificed’ in bombshell court filings.
Unsealed legal documents sensationally claim that the two teenagers were killed 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 request for a search warrant, including the link to Odinism.
The unsealed filings state: ‘Members of a pagan Norse religion, called Odinism, hijacked by white nationalists, ritualistically sacrificed Abigail Williams and Liberty German.’
Their filing, which is more than 130 pages, have questioned the validity of the search warrant and is pushing for Allen to be moved to a different facility, in a separate motion.
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It claims that a report by the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit found the ‘individual(s) responsible for the homicides were involved in Nordic 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 that investigators searched Allen’s home in Delphi, including outbuildings, a shed and his car, looking for firearms and knives.
They also scoured the home for electronic devices, clothing and a specific cell phone.
Law enforcement recovered numerous items, including boots, multiple knives and sweatshirts, multiple cell phones, an iPod, a hard drive, laptop and other electronics.
An affidavit released in November 2022 shows that an unspent .40 caliber round was found between the teenagers’ bodies, and it was later linked to Allen’s Sig Sauer Model P226 firearm through forensic evidence.
Prosecutors believe the gun links Allen directly to the case, after forensics determined 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 the one worn by ‘Bridge Guy.’
He has pleaded not guilty to both counts of murder, his defense attorney Andrew Baldwin previously said Allen was the ‘wrong guy’ and the sealed probable cause affidavit is ‘flimsy’ adding: ‘You expect more than what I saw.’
Prosecutors have not named any potential accomplices. Ron Logan, who died in 2022, had long been the prime suspect in the killings after the girls’ bodies were found on his property, and Kegan Kline was also named as a possible murderer.
Both girls’ bodies were discovered on Logan’s property – just 1,400ft from his house – and it was revealed over the summer that his alibi for the day of the murder did not line up.
His home was searched and he was arrested shortly after the killings, 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 being ‘not inconsistent’ with that of Logan, the FBI investigation concluded.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHY
