Conshohocken, Pa – The judge slated to preside in the criminal case against Jennifer Mitkus, who is charged with participating in the cover-up of last year’s murder of Canadian sex model Natel King, has taken himself off the case.

Montgomery County Judge William T. Nicholas Tuesday handed down an order recusing himself as trial judge in the case and directing that the matter be reassigned to Judge William R. Carpenter. The judge offered no explanation for his decision.

Nicholas’ order comes one day after photographer Anthony J. Frederick, 47, of the 1100 block of Bayless Place, Lower Providence, pleaded guilty before Nicholas to third-degree murder and related offenses in connection with the Feb. 29, 2003, stabbing death of King in his Conshohocken photo studio.

Frederick, who faces a maximum sentence of 25 1/2 to 51 years in prison, is expected to be the major witness against the 30-year-old Mitkus, who was acting as his assistant on the day of the photo shoot.

Mitkus initially was charged with lying to authorities and hindering apprehension. The District Attorney’s Office, however, filed additional charges against her last month after Frederick gave a statement to authorities implicating Mitkus much more in the cover-up of the murder.

Frederick, in his statement to county detectives, said Mitkus helped him clean up the studio after he stabbed King to death following an alleged argument he had with King when he told her he did not have enough money to pay her for the photo session. Mitkus also helped him carry King’s body to his car, according to Frederick.

In that same statement to detectives, Frederick said Mitkus told him she had twice stabbed King’s lifeless body, using the knife he had used to kill her.

Mitkus, who was living at motels in the Oaks and Pottstown areas and in her car at the time of the killing, has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her including abuse of a corpse.

No trial date has yet been slated for Mitkus.