Attorney wants murder trial moved

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The attorney for an Oklahoma man accused in the hammer slaying of a North Dakota man wants the trial moved out of Fargo.

Attorney Steven Mottinger made the request in paperwork filed Wednesday on behalf of Michael Nakvinda, who is accused of killing Philip Gattuso on Oct. 26 in Fargo.

Authorities say Nakvinda was working as a handyman for Gattuso's father-in-law, Gene Kirkpatrick, when the 63-year-old Kirkpatrick hired him to kill his son-in-law.

The 41-year-old Nakvinda has pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges and is scheduled for trial starting Aug. 10. Mottinger says news coverage in the case has been ``almost continuous' since the killing, and his client cannot get a fair trial in Fargo.

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