MILFORD, PA — Lawyers for accused cop killer Eric Frein have petitioned the court to have the case moved out of Pike County, saying their client can’t get a fair trial there. The motion filed by Michael Weinstein and William Ruzzo says that on May 1, District Attorney Ray Tonkin mailed some 4,500 fliers to Republican voters, with a picture of Frein who appears “bruised and bloody.”

The complaint explains that Tonkin, who is being challenged in the Republican primary, cannot be trusted to prosecute Frein fairly, and the word “murderer” is used twice in the flier, as is the word “murder,” “providing a clear indication that Eric Frein is guilty of murder without being tried, removing the cloak of innocence from the defendant and removing the burden of proof from the prosecution.”

The complaint goes on to explain that Tonkin’s flier further contaminated the jury pool, which has already been subject in numerous television, radio, print and web reports about the shooting of the two police officers in Pike County. Along with asking for a change of venue, the motion also requests that the court order Tonkin not to use Frein’s name or likeness in any further campaign materials.

Despite an enormous amount of evidence against him generated in the high-profile manhunt for Frein last fall, including notes in which he appeared to spell out his motive for the shooting, Frein pleaded not guilty to various charges against him in January.

Tonkin has said publicly that he will seek the death penalty in the case, and he called the motion for a change of venue a political stunt, which he will oppose.

Tonkin is being challenged in the May 19 primary by Kelly Gaughan, a Milford-based attorney. Tonkin has stressed that he has prosecuted murderers while Gaughan has not; she has the endorsement of the Pennsylvania State Troopers Association and Tonkin does not.