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Two true crime podcasters investigating the 2017 killings of two young Indiana girls found themselves at the center of the turbulent high-profile case after they received gruesome crime scene photos leaked from a defense attorneys office earlier this month.

The Murder Sheet co-hosts ine Cain and Kevin Greenlee, who had turned over the photos and other confidential evidence to authorities after receiving them on Oct. 5, were in the Fort Wayne courtroom Thursday when the judge made a surprise announcement: Bradley Rozzi and Andrew Baldwin, the court-appointed attorneys who had represented Richard Allen since his October 2022 arrest in connection with the deaths of eighth-graders Abby Williams and Libby German, had just abruptly resigned .

Just minutes after walking into the courtroom and hours after Baldwin admitted through his attorney that a friend had stolen the material from his office, but argued he should continue to represent Allen the judge ended the proceedings. The trial, scheduled to begin in January, was effectively derailed, just another stunning development in the beleaguered case. Even Cain and Greenlee, who knew more than most about what had gone on behind the scenes, were caught off-guard, and witnessed firsthand the confusion of the families and supporters of the victims and Allen himself.

Greenlee, an attorney in addition to a podcaster who filed a court briefing to secure the release of a trove of previously sealed documents , told HuffPost that he was disappointed that so much of what occurred [Thursday] happened behind closed doors. I think it would have been far better for the case if the hearing had actually been held, and witnesses had been heard, so the whole public could hear exactly what happened and could understand why it was so serious, and why the judge felt it was important for these attorneys to be off the case.

It remains to be seen whether Allens new defense team will press on with a theory presented by Rozzi and Baldwin in an explosive September memorandum that included previously undisclosed details about the crime scene and alleged that Abby, 13, and Libby, 14, were killed in a ritual sacrifice by Odinist cult members who painted a tree with the blood of one of the girls.

A photo of that tree was one of the images received by Cain, a journalist who previously worked for Business Insider, and Greenlee, the podcasting team told HuffPost Friday. (The following interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.)