Attorney Johnny Devine criticized Tallahassee police at a news conference, saying authorities blamed 23-year-old Rachel Hoffman for her own murder.
Hoffman's body was found Friday in rural Taylor County, two days after she went missing. Hoffman, who was facing several felony charges, had agreed to cooperate with narcotics officers and was posing as a buyer.
Police have said Hoffman didn't follow protocol when she left with Andrea J. Green and Deneilo Bradshaw, who are now suspects in her disappearance and death.
Green and Bradshaw both face kidnapping and armed robbery charges. Jail records show they have not made court appearances and bond has not been set.
Authorities should have done a better job protecting Hoffman, who was not a trained undercover officer, Devine said.
Officers established a safe zone in the area where Hoffman was supposed to purchase ecstasy, cocaine and a gun, Tallahassee police spokesman David McCranie said, and an investigator told her not to go to another location.
Devine, who represented Hoffman on previous drug charges, said neither he nor the state attorney's office knew about the arrangement.
Department policy did not call for the state attorney's office to be notified, and it was Hoffman's responsibility to inform her attorney of the situation, McCranie said.
