UPDATE: Accused Delphi killer's attorneys withdraw from his case

Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier
Updated ·4 min read
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Richard Allen's attorneys took this photo April 4, 2023, of the man accused of the Delphi killings of teenagers Libby German and Abby Williams. He appears to have lost a significant amount of weight in his five months in prison segregation. He appears to have spittle on his shirt under his chin. Allen exhibits what his attorneys describe as "schizophrenic and delusional."

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Libby German and Abby Williams' accused killer, Richard Allen, is in need of new attorneys.

"We had an unexpected turn of events," Special Judge Frances Gull said at the start of the brief hearing Thursday in Allen County. "Earlier this afternoon, the defense attorneys have withdrawn the representation of Mr. Allen."

With no attorneys to represent him, Allen was taken back to the prison where he is in pretrial detention, Gull said.

Gull did not give any explanations for Andrew Baldwin or Brad Rozzi's withdraw.

Baldwin resigned by oral motion Thursday, Gull said, and Rozzi will be filing a written resignation in the coming days. As for Friday morning, Rozzi's resignation had not been filed, according to the online court docket.

Baldwin's attorney, David R. Hennessy of Indianapolis, filed a memorandum Thursday regarding possible disqualifications and sanctions against Baldwin.

The memorandum and news reports indicates someone in Baldwin's office leaked crime scene photos without Baldwin's knowledge.

"There is no case allowing disqualification when an individual not part of the attorney's office or staff surreptitiously purloins information from the attorney and disseminates it without permission or the attorney's knowledge," the memorandum states.

"Here the attorney's trust and office were violated without his knowledge," the memorandum states. "Attorney Baldwin did nothing wrong. He was snookered and abused.

"Mr. Baldwin trusted a friend to respect his office space. He was betrayed," the memorandum states.

"It should be considered that nothing has been disclosed that won't be disclosed at trial or hearings," the memorandum states.

Shortly before Thursday's hearing started, Rozzi entered the courtroom, spoke with Allen's wife and they both hastily left.

Allen was arrested Oct. 26, 2022, on suspicion of murder for the Feb. 13, 2017, killings of Libby and Abby. Prosecutors formally charged him on Oct. 28, 2022, and he has been incarcerated since then in isolation at an Indiana maximum-security prison in Westville.

Gull expects Allen's new public defenders to be appointed soon, and she retained the Oct. 31 hearing for pretrial motions.

The Jan. 8 trial dates, however, will be rescheduled, Gull said.

Gull said she asked Baldwin and Rozzi to return the discovery evidence to Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland, who will then release it to Allen's new attorneys when they are appointed.

Gull requested that Baldwin and Rozzi cooperate with their successors, but she noted that is only a request.

Gull apologized for the delay to those who had been waiting for hours for the hearing to begin.

Late last month, Allen's attorneys filed a motion for a hearing to determine if law enforcement misled the Carroll County Circuit Court in order to get a search warrant for Allen's home.

In a 136-page memorandum to support the request for hearing, Allen's defense presented the theory that Libby and Abby were killed in a ritual sacrifice by Odinist — an ancient Norse pagan religion.

The memorandum casts doubt on the prosecution's case that Allen is the sole killer of the teenage girls who were walking the trials near the Monon High Bridge on that unseasonably warm February afternoon. In fact, the memorandum says that Allen is not associated with Odinism and is not involved in the killings.

A short time after that memorandum became public, Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland filed a motion to seal filings from the public until the court reviews them to determine if the documents should be published.

Allen is accused of being the man seen in Libby's video walking on the Monon High Bridge. He is accused of forcing the girls off the trails, taking them to a bank on the north side of the Deer Creek, where prosecutors allege he killed them.

An unfired bullet found between the girls' bodies had tool markings indicating it was ejected from a pistol owned by Allen, according to prosecutors. That pistol was taken into evidence after the search of his house.

The now dismissed defense team suggested that because the search warrant was obtained by misleading the court, the evidence, including the pistol and its markings, should be thrown out.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: UPDATE: Accused Delphi killer's attorneys withdraw from his case