The prosecutor handling the case of accused Delphi killer Richard Allen has moved to hold his attorneys in contempt over an evidence leak that included crime scene photos of the murders of teens Liberty German and Abigail Williams in 2017.
Carroll County Prosecutor Nick McLeland cited the “unmeasurable and incurable” harm caused by the egregious release of the information and its subsequent spread across the internet.
Attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Bradley Rozzi stepped down from the case last year after Special Judge Fran Gull called for their removal over the October 2023 leak, but they took the case to the Indiana Supreme Court and were reinstated earlier this month. The court did not, however, removed Gull from the case as Baldwin and Rozzi asked.
Allen Verified Info of Contempt by kc wildmoon on Scribd
Last week, the pair filed a motion seeking Gull’s removal that included a 22-page affidavit signed by their client, WXIN reported.
McLeland’s motion for contempt against the two attorneys, filed Monday, does not directly address the motion to remove Gull but it lays out what happened with the evidence leak, which ended up spread across the internet after sensitive documents made their way into the hands of a podcaster in violation of a protective order barring dissemination of materials to anyone not directly connected with the case.
Investigators learned from the podcaster that the documents came from a man he knew, Robert Fortson, who said he got the documents from Mitch Westerman, a man who formerly worked for Baldwin.
Baldwin intially said Westerman photographed the document — which included crime scene photos — without his knowledge but later “admitted that he voluntarily gave Mitch Westerman” and another person a copy of the document in question to review.
The state police investigation further revealed the Forston “had detailed real-time knowledge about when evience was submitted to the Defense and the contents of that evidence for weeks before the photos were leaded.”
Both Westerman and Forston declined to be interviewed for the investigation, and Forston killed himself shortly after police asked for the interview.
The prosecutor also noted an earlier leak in which Baldwin “accidentally” sent an email to a podcaster that contained an outline of discovery evidence, including names of juvenile witnesses.
McLeland wrote that the “amount of harm and revictimization that this has caused the families of the victims is unmeasurable and incurable.”
McCleland also included a press release from the attorneys proclaiming their client’s innocence and laying out details of their case while claiming they “do not want to try this case in the media.” He wrote that the press release and the leaked information “show a trend by Defense Counsels Brad Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin of not being completely honest with the Court, violating the Court’s Gag Order set in place to protect the integrity of the case, and failing to comply with the Protective Order put in place to protect the discovery in this case.”
The court issued the gag order immediately after the press release.
McCleland asked for a hearing on the matter.
German, 14, and Williams, 13, were found dead on February 14, 2017, a day after they took an outing to the Monon High Bridge. Allen, 50, was arrested on October 28, 2022, as CrimeOnline previously reported.
Late last year, Allen’s attorneys claimed that the girls were killed by “members of a pagan Norse religion, called Odinism, hijacked by white nationalists, [who] ritualistically sacrificed Abigail Williams and Liberty German.”
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[Featured image: Handout]
