A Westfield resident has been arrested and transported to the Johnson County Jail for his possible role in leaking crime scene photos from the Delphi murder case, according to a news release Nov. 22 from the Indiana State Police.
A charge of one count of conversion was filed against Mitch Thomas Westerman, 41, in Johnson County Superior Court 3 Nov. 21. A Class A misdemeanor, conversion is described in Indiana Code as an attempt to “knowingly or intentionally exert unauthorized control over property of another.”
In the murder case, Richard Allen, 51, of Delphi, was arrested in October 2022 and charged with the 2017 murders of 13-year-old Abigail Williams and 14-year-old Liberty German, also of Delphi. Attorneys Andrew Baldwin and Brad Rozzi were assigned as his public defenders, and Allen has pleaded not guilty to the charges. Baldwin is a founder of Baldwin, Perry and Riley P.C., also known as The Criminal Defense Team, with offices in Franklin, Indianapolis and Noblesville. Brad Rozzi is a partner with Hillis, Hillis, Rozzi and Dean of Logansport,
According to online records, Westerman worked at Baldwin’s law firm from 2015 to 2017 as a legal assistant and operations manager. Although Westerman no longer works there, both he and Baldwin reportedly said he still stops by from time to time.
In a sworn affidavit dated Oct. 18, Westerman said he visited Baldwin’s law firm several months ago. While waiting to meet with Baldwin, Westerman saw photos from the Delphi murder case on a conference room table and took photos of them. Westerman and Baldwin both stated that neither Baldwin nor Rozzi gave him permission to take the photographs.
According to his affidavit, Westerman shared the photos with a man from Fishers, who may have served in the Indiana Air National Guard with Westerman. The unidentified Fishers man apparently shared the photos with an unidentified Texas man who then shared them with podcasters, journalist Áine Cain and attorney Kevin Greenlee of “The Murder Sheet” podcast. Cain and Greenlee purportedly contacted authorities once they realized the photos had been prohibited from release. Cain, Greenlee and the Texas man who sent them the photos are mentioned in the affidavit but not charged.
Indiana State Police were reportedly notified Oct. 5 and began an investigation.
According to court documents, Westerman admitted to Baldwin on Oct. 9 that he had taken the photos and shared them with the man from Fishers. On Oct. 12, Indiana State Police investigators allegedly went to the house of the Fishers man to question him about the leak. The man wouldn’t answer any questions without an attorney present and hours later died by suicide, according to investigators.
At an Oct. 19 hearing, Gull announced that Baldwin and Rozzi were withdrawing from the case because of evidence leaks.
An initial hearing for Westerman hasn’t been set.
