Conshohocken, Pa– An Eagleville man admitted Monday he stabbed a Canadian porn actress after a bondage photo shoot because he didn’t have the $900 to pay her.
Anthony Frederick, 47, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to stabbing 23-year-old Natel King and leaving her body at the bottom of a Whitemarsh Township hillside a year ago.
Frederick faces a maximum sentence of 25 1/2 to 51 1/2 years in state prison. His sentencing will take place in about three months.
He pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, lying to authorities, abuse of a corpse and unlawful possession of an instrument of a crime. He also pleaded guilty to a charge added Monday by prosecutors: conspiracy to commit abuse of a corpse.
Prosecutors dropped first-degree murder charges in exchange for Frederick’s agreeing to testify against Jennifer Mitkus.
Mitkus, 30, who has no fixed address, said she was hired as Frederick’s assistant the day of King’s photo shoot on Feb. 29, 2004. Mitkus is charged with lying to police and abusing King’s corpse by stabbing it twice.
Frederick wanted to plead guilty so he could move on with his life, said his defense attorney, Richard Winters. Until his sentencing, Frederick will remain in the county prison.
District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. said he was pleased with Frederick’s plea.
Frederick said he agreed to pay King $900 to shoot bondage photos in the basement of his Conshohocken studio. Frederick sold adult photos over a Web site he owned, according to court documents.
He admitted Monday that after shooting about 20 photos of King nude, he told her he didn’t have the money to pay her, Castor said.
Frederick said King threatened him with a knife and when he was able to wrestle the weapon away, he stabbed her at least six times in the chest, neck and face, Castor said.
Prosecutors presented evidence of recorded phone conversations between Frederick and his wife about the murder.
While in prison, Frederick admitted to his wife that King’s dead body had been in his car and he didn’t clean the car afterward, Castor said.
According to court documents, Frederick said after he killed King, he wrapped her body in a backdrop and blankets and dumped it over a guardrail in Whitemarsh.
The body was found last March. It was nude and dressed in bondage accessories.
No new court date has been set for Mitkus, who waived her preliminary hearing Feb. 22. She was released from the county prison Feb. 18 because she had already served six months in prison.
She’s charged with abusing King’s corpse by stabbing it twice and with helping Frederick clean the bloody crime scene. She is free on $75,000 unsecured bail.