The trial of a Willits man accused of torturing and murdering his 84-year-old grandfather will remain in Mendocino County, Superior Court Judge John Behnke ruled Thursday, denying a motion to relocate the case.
The trial for Kenneth Wilkinson, 24, is scheduled to begin next week.
Wilkinson is accused of dragging Richard "Mel" Wilkinson behind a pickup truck for six miles along a winding mountain road before dumping his body down a 77-foot embankment in March 2012.
"This is a unique killing. This is a dragging where the victim was alive," Assistant District Attorney Paul Sequeira told Behnke during the hearing.
Public Defender Linda Thompson said her client believed his grandfather was dead when he tied him to the back of the truck. Her defense strategy also is expected to include that the killing was not premeditated because Wilkinson was impaired by drugs and mental defects at the time, according to Thursday's hearing arguments.
Thompson had sought to relocate the trial, saying pretrial publicity about the gruesome case would make it difficult for her client to get a fair trial in Mendocino County.
But Judge Behnke found that the coverage was not overly sensational and that relatively little information about the case had been revealed in news stories, largely because Wilkinson had waived his right to a preliminary hearing. The prosecution generally lays out the details of pending cases during preliminary hearings.
The press "didn't get a chance" to sensationalize the case, Sequeira said.
Behnke also said that the gravity and unique nature of the incident would likely generate publicity wherever it might be held.
He tentatively ruled Friday that jurors could be driven along the six-mile route along which the victim was dragged, leaving a trail of blood and body parts.
Jury selection in the case begins Monday. Opening statements are expected to take place Thursday.
You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com
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