Richard Allen, the Indiana man recently charged with murder in the 2017 Delphi murders of two young girls, is requesting a public defender after realizing he could not afford a private one, according to local reports.
Indiana authorities have charged Allen, 50, with murder in connection with the Feb. 14, 2017, killings of Liberty "Libby" German, 14, and Abigail Williams, 13. He is being held on $20 million bond.
Allen, in a handwritten letter to the Carroll County Circuit Court obtained by FOX 59, said he is throwing himself "at the mercy of the court" and "begging" to be provided "with legal assistance in a Public Defender or whatever help is available."
The 50-year-old murder suspect said he initially asked to find private representation, but he "had no clue how expensive it would be just to talk to someone."
DELPHI MURDERS: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT SUSPECT RICHARD ALLEN
He added that he and his wife "have both been forced to immediately abandon employment, myself due to incarceration and my wife for her personal safety."
DELPHI MURDERS: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE 2017 KILLINGS OF LIBBY GERMAN AND ABBY WILLIAMS
"She has had to abandon our house for her own safety. What little reserve there is will fail to even maintain the original residence. Again I throw myself at the mercy of the court. Please provide me whatever assistance you may," he wrote.
German and Williams were found murdered more than five years ago after German's sister dropped the pair off at the entrance of a hiking trail the day prior.
Indiana police say German used her cellphone to snap images of a man walking across the railroad bridge shortly before her and Williams' bodies were found on Feb. 14 in a wooded area near the Delphi Historic Trail. German also recorded the man believed to be the killer ordering the pair "down the hill."
Authorities are asking anyone who may know anything about the case to contact law enforcement at abbyandlibbytip@cacoshrf.com or 765-822-3535.
Fox News' Rebecca Rosenberg and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.
