Attorneys for an Evergreen man accused of killing his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son have requested that his trial be held outside Flathead County because media coverage and vigilantism from the community allegedly have tainted the jury pool.

The public defenders representing Brandon Lee Walter Newberry, 21, also have asked for a hearing Nov. 16 to seal documents in the case from public view. Flathead District Judge Heidi Ulbricht denied an earlier request to seal the files.

The case is on track for a March 2016 trial.

Attorneys Vicki Frazier and Greg Rapkoch, in a written request for a venue change, pointed out that Newberry’s arraignment in February attracted a standing-room-only crowd, where people had to be screened with metal detectors. Newberry was fitted with a bulletproof vest for the hearing.

Newberry’s vehicle also was vandalized in February, with the tires slashed, the windows broken and the phrase “Burn In Hell Brandon” spray-painted on the side of the vehicle.

“Clearly passions are running high against the defendant in Flathead County,” Frazier and Rapkoch wrote. “Defendant cannot receive a fair trial within the community, and the court must change the venue.”

The attorneys cite multiple news articles from local media that they claim have tainted the jury pool because they included statements from people who assume that Newberry is guilty and talked about how they want him punished.

“In this case, misinformation, rumors and inflammatory news articles abound throughout the county,” Frazier and Rapkoch wrote. “Accordingly, the court must move the trial to a populated area, distinct and apart from the Mission and Flathead valleys.”

Newberry was charged with deliberate homicide after the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office received a call about on unresponsive child on Feb. 17.

According to court documents, Newberry was heard screaming, “It’s my fault, it’s my fault” during the call.

Deputies found 2-year-old Forrest Groshelle with bruising, scratching and abrasions on his body. An autopsy concluded the Groshelle was hit in the abdomen, which caused a fatal laceration of the small intestine.

The child’s mother told deputies that she had left Groshelle with Newberry during the day while she worked. Newberry admitted to investigators that he had been “roughhousing” with Groshelle a day prior to the child’s death.

If convicted, Newberry faces up to 100 years in prison. He remains in the Flathead County Detention Center.

Reporter Megan Strickland can be reached at 758-4459 or [email protected].