Conshohocken, PA- Authorities have taken blood, saliva and hair samplings from Anthony J. Frederick, the photographer charged with the stabbing death of Canadian sex model Natel King.
The samplings, collected this week from Frederick at the Montgomery Correctional Facility where he has been held without bail since his arrest on March 24, will be submitted to a laboratory for DNA testing, according to county First Assistant District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman.
An autopsy performed on King indicated that she had had sexual relations prior to or at the time of her death although, because of the body’s decomposition, it was difficult to pin down any time as to when the sex may have occurred, said Ferman.
However, she said, authorities want to know whether Frederick had sex with her, said Ferman. One of the possible motives offered by county District Attorney Bruce L. Castor when he announced the arrest was an argument over sexual gratification.
Ferman said the autopsy did not reveal any evidence of rough sex. DNA testing also will be performed on material found underneath King’s fingernails and other trace evidence found on her body, added Ferman.
“We are continuing with our forensic investigation,” she said.
In a related matter, Montgomery County Judge William T. Nicholas Tuesday appointed defense attorney Steven Fairlie, a former county prosecutor, to represent Frederick, 46, of the 1100 block of Bayless Place, Lower Providence.
As a result, the preliminary hearing before District Justice Deborah A. Lukens for Frederick and his photo assistant, 29-year-old Janet Mitkus, has been postponed, with no rescheduled date yet available.
The body of the tall, blonde 23-year-old Canadian college student, who posed for adult entertainment photos and films to earn money for school, was discovered March 23 in Whitemarsh by a passerby walking along River Road near Harts Lane.
Wrapped in a blue backdrop commonly used by a photographer, the body appeared to have rolled down a steep embankment after being dumped over a guardrail, according to authorities. A ball gag and other bondage-type materials were found in the area.
King, who used the stage name of Taylor Sumers for her adult entertainment work, had traveled from her residence in Ontario to work with Frederick on a photo shoot on Feb. 29 at his rented apartment studio at 105 W. Third Ave in Conshohocken. She was reported missing by her Canadian roommate on March 4.
Some eight hours after King’s body was found, identified and a cause of death determined, authorities arrested Frederick and charged him with the slaying.
Mitkus, 29, who had a room at the Hampton Inn in Oaks, was charged with unsworn falsification to authorities and hindering apprehension for allegedly lying about her last contacts with King.