Schuylkill County District Attorney Michael O’Pake intends to seek the death penalty against Nathaniel Joseph Kimmel for the killing of April Mahmod of Shenandoah in August.

Mahmod was killed by Kimmel, her ex-boyfriend, Aug. 30 after he stabbed her numerous times, state police at Frackville said.

He is charged with first-, second- and third-degree murder, burglary, two charges each of aggravated assault and simple assault, criminal trespass, possessing instruments of crime and reckless endangering another person.

O’Pake filed the paperwork Nov. 25, something he said he didn’t do lightly.

He believes two reasons, burglary and torture, which are aggravating factors, warrant seeking the death penalty against Kimmel, 22, of Girardville, who is currently in the Schuylkill County Prison without bail.

“It was brought out during the preliminary hearing that there were 61 stab wounds. When I heard that there were 61 stab wounds inflicted upon the victim, I thought it was incumbent upon me to do the research necessary to see if that constituted torture.”

Torture is defined as “infliction of considerable amount of pain and suffering on a victim which is unnecessarily heinous, atrocious or callous manifesting exceptional depravity,” O’Pake said, citing a legal definition.

“I would not have filed it (the intent to seek the death penalty) if I did not think it had significant merit,” he said.

This will be his first time prosecuting a death penalty case as district attorney.

Kimmel’s attorney is Robert Kirwan II, of Reading, who is certified to try death penalty cases. Kirwan did not return a call for comment Wednesday. A 9 a.m. hearing is scheduled for Friday in front of Common Pleas Judge James Goodman to extend the time to respond to certain pretrial motions. O’Pake said he doesn’t object to additional time for such matters.

O’Pake didn’t want to estimate how long the trial could take.

“My best guess would be a week,” he said.