ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. — The attorneys representing Delphi murder suspect Richard Allen have withdrawn from the case, a judge announced Thursday afternoon.
Allen, who is charged with two counts of murder in the February 2017 deaths of Abby Williams and Libby German near the Monon High Bridge in Delphi, was scheduled to make an appearance in Allen County court at 2 p.m. Thursday.
However, Allen was not present around 2:30 p.m. when Special Judge Fran Gull began the court proceedings after a half-hour delay in what the judge called an “unexpected turn of events.”
After apologizing for the delay, Judge Gull said that the reason for Allen’s absence was that his attorneys, Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi, had withdrawn from the case.
Thus, Allen was already being transported back to Westville Correctional Facility due to a lack of counsel. He remains in the custody of the Indiana Department of Correction.
During Thursday’s court proceedings, which lasted less than three minutes in total, Judge Gull said that Baldwin and Rozzi have advised that the suspect’s income is still “static” and he is still eligible for a court-appointed attorney. However, they will no longer represent the suspect.
Additionally, Judge Gull said that she has ordered the attorneys to turn over all discovery evidence to the state, which will hold it until Allen gets new representation. She also requested that Allen’s former attorneys assist his new defense team, although they are not required to do so.
Gull ordered the hearing last week, saying it was to discuss another hearing on Oct. 31 along with “other matters which have recently arisen.”
FOX59/CBS4 has previously reported that there had been some evidence leaks from Baldwin and Rozzi’s defense team, although those claims were not addressed during Thursday’s hearing.
While Gull did say Thursday that the next court date scheduled for Oct. 31 will remain, she added that it is likely that a new defense team will not have ample time to prepare for a case of this magnitude by the original Jan. 8, 2024, date.
When asked Thursday for any official comments on the record, Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland said that he and his team will wait for the Oct. 31 date to make a statement.
For a full breakdown of the goings-on inside the courtroom Thursday, click here.
Thursday marked the first time in the case that cameras were allowed in the courtroom. While media outlets were not allowed to livestream the hearing, the proceedings were allowed to be shown on a 30-minute delay. A full video of Thursday’s hearing can be viewed above.
Although the hearing was captured live by Court TV, Judge Gull has not yet decided whether cameras will be allowed in the trial courtroom.
