Patrick Kane Accuser's Lawyer Drops Client over Evidence Bag Controversy

The lawyer representing Patrick Kane's accuser in his ongoing sexual assault investigation has walked away from the case, per CBS Chicago.

At issue for Thomas Eoannou is the way in which the accuser's family came to receive a tainted evidence bag connected to the investigation. He told the media he no longer has "confidence in the version that was provided to me."

Julie DiCaro of 670 The Score in Chicago provided a succinct summary of the situation:

Eoannou clarified that the recent development "does not reflect upon what occurred on the night in question," per Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times.

On Wednesday, Eoannou held a press conference during which he asserted a rape kit from the case was left on the porch of the accuser's mother, per Erik Brady of USA Today. The bag was ripped open, which means the rape kit could potentially be excluded as evidence.

"If it's true, it is a very significant breach of the chain of custody, which is a very important part of getting any piece of evidence admitted in court," Buffalo-area attorney Vincent Doyle III told Brady. "It's a necessary step in a judge's review of whether a piece of evidence should come in or not—whether it's been handled properly and securely by law enforcement."

According to Dan Herbeck and Lou Michel of the Buffalo News, the Hamburg (New York) Police Department disputed Eoannou's version of events, saying in a statement that "its handling of the evidence and the integrity of its chain of custody of evidence in this case is unassailable."

Buffalo news station WGRZ-TV reported Erie County (New York) District Attorney Frank Sedita III, the lead prosecutor in the Kane investigation, will hold a press conference at 11 a.m. ET on Friday about the allegations surrounding the rape kit.