NORRISTOWN — Photographer Anthony J. Frederick is scheduled to stand trial in February for the murder of Canadian adult film actress Natel King.

Montgomery County Judge William T. Nicholas scheduled the trial to begin on Feb. 28. The trial is expected to last about five days, according to the order handed down by the judge.

Also slated to be tried at the same time is Jennifer Mitkus, Frederick’s assistant who is charged with lying to authorities in connection with their investigation of the King stabbing death.

County Chief Public Defender Carolyn T. Carluccio, who is representing Mitkus, has filed a petition to have her client tried in a separate trial, claiming her client would be prejudiced against in a joint trial. That motion to sever is pending.

The body of the tall, blonde 23-year-old Canadian college student, who posed for adult entertainment photos and films under the name Taylor Sumers to earn money for school, was discovered March 23 in Whitemarsh by a passer-by walking along River Road near Harts Lane.

Wrapped in a blue backdrop commonly used by photographers, 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.

The coroner’s office ruled King’s death a homicide, saying she died from multiple stab wounds to the neck and upper body.

King had traveled from her home in Ontario to work with Frederick on a photo shoot on Feb. 29 at his rented apartment studio at 105 W. Third St., Conshohocken.She was reported missing by her roommate in Canada on March 4.

Mitkus told authorities she last saw King by her car outside the studio after the photo shoot had been completed. She and Frederick left the area before King, Mitkus reportedly told authorities.

County law enforcement officials contend that King never left the studio alive.

Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr., who is prosecuting the case, has speculated that the motive for the stabbing was that either Frederick, who had photographed King with a ball gag in her mouth, did not want to pay her for the photo shoot or that it was the result of making a snuff video.

Frederick, 46, of the 1100 block of Bayless Place, Lower Providence, is charged with first- and third-degree murder and related offenses in connection with King’s murder.Frederick has been held without bail in the county prison since his arrest in March.

Mitkus, 30, who had no permanent address at the time of her arrest and was living at motels in Oaks and the Pottstown area, as well as out of her car, is charged with unsworn falsifications to authorities and hindering apprehension. Held at the county prison since her arrest in March, Mitkus was released in September on nominal bail.