What's happened so far in contempt hearing for Delphi murder suspect's defense attorneys

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Delphi murder suspect's attorneys are defending themselves against charges of contempt of court in a Fort Wayne courtroom Monday.

Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi, who represent Richard Allen, are themselves being represented by David Hennessy, who filed a series of prehearing motions, including motions for the prosecutor to recuse himself, motions for Special Judge Frances Gull to recuse herself and motions to postpone Monday's hearing.

All were denied.

Baldwin and Rozzi have been accused of violating a gag order with a news release they published, Dec. 1, 2022. Hennessy pointed out the judge's court order barring comments from attorneys or witnesses came a day after the release. Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland had requested the gag order Nov. 22, 2022.

Photos from the crime scene showing Libby German's and Abby Williams' bodies as they were found by police on Feb. 14, 2017, have been leaked. Hennessy claims that a former associate of Baldwin's took photographs of the crime scene while visiting Baldwin's office in Franklin.

McLeland's witnesses tied the leak back to that associate, Mitch Westerman, and another man who later died by suicide. Westerman faces a misdemeanor charge of criminal conversions for taking photographs of the crime scene photos. His case is pending in Johnson County.

Monday morning, McLeland showed that Baldwin mistakenly emailed case documents to a person not affiliated with it. Baldwin emailed the man who received the documents and told him to delete the file, but it appears from testimony that the man did not comply.

Hennessy is arguing that Baldwin and Rozzi should not be held in contempt for the mistaken email or the theft of the crime scene photos.

The hearing resumes at 1 p.m. Monday. This story will be updated after the afternoon hearing.

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

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Delphi murder suspect's attorneys fight against contempt allegations