Defense team withdraws from case of two girls slain in Delphi, Indiana

CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- A Thursday hearing for Richard Allen, the man accused of killing two girls in Delphi, Indiana, in 2017 was  canceled after his attorneys announced they were withdrawing from the case.

Judge Fran Gull announced the defense team's withdrawal from the case when the hearing was supposed to start Thursday afternoon. No reason was given for their decision to step down from the case.

Allen's Jan. 8 trial in the slayings of 14-year-old Liberty German and 13-year-old Abigail Williams has been vacated and will have to be rescheduled. Allen is due back in court on Oct. 31, when new lawyers are expected to be assigned for Allen, and a new trial date likely will be set.

Trial to be delayed

Allen's former attorneys indicated that they would cooperate with his new attorneys, although they are not required to do so, Gull said. 

Thursday's hearing was expected to cover several topics, including leaked information being shared online. Allen's defense attorneys had taken responsibility for the leak and could have been removed from the case on Thursday before voluntarily withdrawing.

Search warrant dispute

In a separate issue, the defense was trying to have key evidence withheld from the trial. Defense attorneys have argued the search warrant for Allen's house was based on faulty probable cause and should be suppressed.

Liberty and Abigail were found stabbed to death on a hiking trail near an abandoned railroad bridge in February 2017.

Allen was arrested last October. Prosecutors have said Allen confessed in prison phone calls to his wife.

His attorneys have blamed four other people for the murders.

Defense pins blame on 'Odinism'

In court filings last month, defense attorneys accused investigators of ignoring critical evidence from the scene – linking the killings to a group called "Odinism."

"Members of a pagan Norse religion, called Odinism, hijacked by white nationalists, ritualistically sacrificed Abigail Williams and Liberty German," the attorneys state said in the filing.

"(N)othing, absolutely nothing, links Richard Allen to Odinism or any religious cult," they wrote.

The attorneys claim that two groups of Odinists, one from the Delphi area and one from the Rushville area in southeastern Indiana, were investigated for their involvement in the crimes. They say investigators found multiple ritualistic symbols at the crime scene, including how Liberty's body was positioned.

The defense filing claims possible "Odinism signatures," including ritualistic symbols, were left at the crime scene, but investigators abandoned that angle.

Allen's attorneys also named several potential suspects who have not been charged in the case.

Carroll County Prosecutor Nicholas McLeland called the theory a "fanciful defense for social media to devour" in response to the defense filing.