DELPHI, Ind. (AP) — The Indiana man accused of killing two teenage girls has requested a public defender in a letter to the court filed because both he and his wife can no longer work.

Richard M. Allen wrote in a letter to the Carroll Circuit Court, postmarked Nov. 7, that he did not know how expensive it would be to find an attorney.

He cited his incarceration and unspecified threats to his wife's personal safety as impediments to their employment.

The 50-year-old Delphi man is charged with two counts of murder in the slayings of 14-year-old Libby German and 13-year-old Abby Williams on Feb. 13, 2017.