An Indiana man has been charged with leaking evidence related to the high-profile murder of two Delphi teenagers.
Mitchell Westerman, 41, has been charged with one count of conversion after admitting that he took pictures of crime scene evidence related to the 2017 murders of 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German, WSBT reported. Westerman also said he leaked the photos online.
Westerman worked at the law firm of Andrew Baldwin, who was one of the original defense attorneys. The leak led to Judge Fran Gull dismissing Baldwin from the case. Westerman reportedly said he no longer worked for Baldwin but would frequently visit the attorney and his staff at their office.
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Westerman said he told Baldwin four days after he leaked the photos that he had done so, saying he found the photos spread out on a conference table in Baldwin’s law office and used his phone to capture the images. Westerman then reportedly shared those photos with a man in Fishers, Indiana. That man then shared the images with a man from Texas, who then distributed the photos to YouTube and podcast creators.
The man from Fishers reportedly took his own life after being questioned by police about the leak, WSBT reported.
The leak was reported on October 5. Weeks later, Judge Gull met with Baldwin, his fellow defense attorney Brad Rozzi, and Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland. The group discussed the leak, but Judge Gull stated that was not the only reason she wanted the attorneys removed from representing Richard Allen, who has been charged in the Delphi murders. Gull said the attorneys “potentially” violated the Rules of Professional Responsibility. She told Baldwin he was “grossly negligent” for sending a sensitive email to a “Brad” who was not Rozzi, and questioned whether the two attorneys had fully cooperated with a gag order she had filed. She also said she had evidence the attorneys “left materials all over a conference-room table, accessible to anyone.”
“It pains me to say this, but the totality of these circumstances demonstrate gross negligence and incompetence on the part of the defense team,” Gull said. “I am unsatisfied with your representation of Mr. Allen. I am gravely concerned about his rights to have competent, non-negligent representation. He currently doesn’t have that right now.”
Gull then said she told them this information privately but would say it in open court if they didn’t withdraw. From the transcript of the meeting, which was first obtained by WTHR:
Rozzi: “So basically, what you’re saying is ‘You guys either quit on your own accord or you make me fire you?’ That’s what-“
Gull: “No. I’m saying to you that this is my this is what [I] plan to say in court on the record when we convene at two o’clock.”
Rozzi: “Well, so are – is the culmination of that that you’re removing us from the case?”
Gull: “I will, based on what I’ve just shared with you.”
A little later in the conversation, Rozzi told Gull she had “ambushed” him and Baldwin into a “forced resignation” without giving them a real opportunity to prepare for the meeting.
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Rozzi and Baldwin did withdraw from the case but tried to represent Allen pro bono. Judge Gull denied them that opportunity.
In response, concerned attorneys not directly affiliated with the case petitioned the Indiana Supreme Court to replace Gull.