SHARON A judge has denied a motion for change of venue in the case of the dismemberment of a transgender teen in Mercer County on Friday.

According to the filing, the motion asking for a change of venue in the case of Dashawn Watkins, who is accused of killing and dismembering 14-year-old Pauly Likens was denied.

Watkins's attorneys had asked for a change of venue due to the amount of attention Likens's killing was getting from local media outlets and the community at large.

Judge Daniel Wallace said while there was extensive coverage of the case immediately following Likens's death, there has since been a "cooling off period," so the standard for "pervasive pretrial publicity" had not been met.

However, Judge Wallace went on to say in the event that "extensive, sustained and perv

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