Lawyers in Werkheiser Murder Want New Judge

Attorneys representing a woman accused of killing her ex-boyfriend in Williams Township are asking the judge in her death penalty murder trial to step down.

That's according to the Express-Times, which notes that the lawyers for Elizabeth Collazo want the death penalty removed from her case. They're also asking to have her trial rescheduled and moved to another county, and to have a new judge preside over the case.

Collazo is accused of killing Mark Werkheiser, the father of her four children, at his home in Williams Township earlier this year. Her trial was due to start next month, but her lawyers want it pushed back to May. 

Collazo's lawyers argue trial Judge Edward Smith also handled the protection-from-abuse order Werkheiser and Collazo filed against each other. They also say media coverage of the case has poisoned potential jurors against their client.

Werkheiser was shot to death in his home on Browns Drive on March 15. Collazo -- who was in the middle of a custody dispute with him -- was charged in his death a few weeks later.

At her preliminary hearing, prosecutors played a recording in which Collazo admits to the killing, and to taking steps to cover her tracks. 

Collazo's trial was scheduled to happen last month, but was delayed after her lawyers said they needed more time to prepare.