Mendocino County's public defender wants to relocate the trial of a man charged with torturing and murdering his 84-year-old grandfather.
Kenneth Wilkinson, 24, is accused of dragging Richard "Mel" Wilkinson behind a pickup truck for several miles before dumping his body down an embankment in March 2012.
Public Defender Linda Thompson said pre-trial publicity about the case would make it difficult for Kenneth Wilkinson to get a fair trial in Mendocino County.
The motion for a change of venue is scheduled to be heard April 10, she said. Wilkinson's trial was scheduled for April 14.
Wilkinson is charged with murder and torture for the March 2012 incident.
He was watching his grandfather, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease, the night of the killing.
The elder Wilkinson a retired lumber mill worker, had been living with his daughter and son-in-law in their Willits area home, family said at the time.
Kenneth Wilkinson, who had drug and alcohol abuse problems, was staying in a trailer on the property and on occasion watched his grandfather, according to his step-father.
Wilkinson's parents were gone about two hours when they got a call from another son, who said the elder Wilkinson was missing, according to family.
When they questioned Kenneth Wilkinson, he eventually admitted to taking his grandfather from the house.
Wilkinson seemed to think he was doing them a favor by getting rid of the elderly man, his stepfather, Steven Tharp, said in 2012.
Another family member said Kenneth Wilkinson had been acting increasingly strange during the eight months prior to the killing.
You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com.
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