During the Oct. 19 status hearing for Richard Allen’s case where he remains as the suspect in the Delphi murders, Special Judge Frances Gull announced that Allen’s attorneys withdrew or were expected to withdraw their representation of Allen in his upcoming hearings.
In the approximately three-minute hearing, Gull announced that Andrew Baldwin withdrew his representation as Allen’s attorney, and Bradley Rozzi is expected to deliver a written withdrawal in the near future. Allen was accused of killing Abigail Williams, 13, and Libby German, 14, in 2017, and he has maintained his innocence throughout the proceedings.
“We’ve had an unexpected turn of events, ladies and gentlemen,” Judge Gull said. “Earlier this afternoon, the defense attorneys have withdrawn their representation of Mr. Allen. Mr. Baldwin made an oral motion to withdraw. I granted that oral motion to withdraw, and Mr. Rozzi will be submitting a written motion to withdraw, I’m assuming, within the next couple of days.”
Gull stated that Allen’s financial situation remains static, which qualifies him to be entitled to appointed counsel. Gull told the court that she will take action to appoint the public defender that will begin representing Allen for future hearings and the upcoming trial next year.
“I will reach out to public defenders to make that appointment,” Judge Gull said.
Gull requested to keep the Oct. 31 hearing for Allen on the docket in the Carroll Circuit Court, but she continued to request a rescheduling of the trial dates originally set for January 2024 due to the limited amount of time the new attorneys would have to prepare for the trial.
“I think at that point, we can have counsel appointed,” Judge Gull said. “I’d like to set a new trial date, obviously. I don’t believe counsel would be prepared within the next couple of months to try a case of this magnitude in January.”
Gull stated during the hearing that she requested Baldwin and Rozzi to cooperate with the successor counsel to help prepare the new representation with the information they gathered for the defense.
“I’ve also asked the defense attorneys to cooperate with successor counsel,” Gull said. “They’re not required to do that, but I think that they will in the best interest of Mr. Allen.”
Due to the withdrawal of Baldwin and Rozzi, Allen was ordered to be transported back to the Department of Corrections. According to Gull, the State held witnesses on standby for the hearing that will be reintroduced at the next hearings.
The announcement that Baldwin and Rozzi would be withdrawing from the case followed a few days after the Indiana State Police launched an investigation into a suspected information leak related to the case. According to previous court documents, weeks after Baldwin and Rozzi’s appointments, their team released a three-page press release about the case in favor of Allen. Gull issued a gag order for all parties following the release. The Indiana State Police investigation reportedly uncovered that the information leaked was sensitive crime scene information and defense strategies that were reportedly traced to a former professional associate of Baldwin.
The withdrawals came hours after David Hennessy, a defense lawyer unrelated to Allen’s case, filed a memorandum arguing that Baldwin should be permitted to continue serving as Allen’s attorney. Hennessey is reportedly serving as counsel for Baldwin. Hennessey stated in his memorandum that “the attorney’s trust and office were violated without his knowledge” and the leak was “a horrible tragedy created by persons not related to the defense of Mr. Allen.”
The Oct 31 hearing is set to continue in the Carroll Circuit Court. The trials scheduled to begin Jan. 8, 2024, are expected to be postponed as new counsel prepares a defense.
Note: All quotes were taken from the court hearing after Judge Gull permitted the presence of cameras in the courtroom and access to a stream of the proceedings 30 minutes after the hearing concluded.