RADFORD -- The city's commonwealth's attorney will remain as the prosecutor in the high-profile case against Radford photographer Bob Shell, and the trial will begin Monday as scheduled, a judge ruled Thursday.

Shell's defense attorney, Jonathon Venzie, had filed a motion asking Circuit Judge Joey Showalter to recuse Commonwealth's Attorney Chris Rehak from the case, saying Rehak attempted to tamper with a witness. The motion was denied by Showalter at a Thursday afternoon motions hearing, the last such hearing before Shell's trial, which is expected to last at least two weeks.

Shell, 60, faces a felony homicide charge as well as sex and drug charges in connection with the June 3, 2003, death of 19-year-old Marion Franklin. Franklin, a model, was found unresponsive in Shell's West Main Street studio after a photo shoot there.

Shell is charged with giving her the morphine that killed her.

At Thursday's motions hearing, Venzie repeated his argument from a motions hearing last week that Rehak should be removed from the case because of an e-mail he sent a defense witness.

In an e-mail to Tina Piazza, Rehak wrote that he wanted to talk with her "about what Bob did to Marion and why." The e-mail went on to say, "I would hate for you to come to VA and find out things about Bob that you weren't aware of and them being a complete shock to you."

"It is an implicit encouragement for this witness to withhold her evidence," Venzie said in court.

Rehak said he had a friendly conversation with Piazza after she received the e-mail. She still plans to testify at the trial, he said.

Venzie and Rehak also argued over a letter sent to out-of-state defense witnesses by the circuit court clerk's office. The letter informed witnesses that subpoenas sent to them by the defense were not "proper, binding" subpoenas.

Subpoenas aren't binding until they are served within the state of Virginia. But Venzie argued that sending out such a letter "was an invitation for them not to show up."

Rehak said he didn't tell the clerk's office to send the letters. He did send the clerk an e-mail letting her know he had gotten calls from confused witnesses who didn't know what to do with the subpoenas, he said.

Rehak said the defense has sent its subpoenas improperly, choosing not to follow a more appropriate but complicated method of sending them.

"This again is much ado about nothing," and an attempt to divert attention from the upcoming trial, Rehak said.

Also at Thursday's hearing, Showalter decided to keep under advisement a defense motion to exclude a morphine bottle from being presented as evidence during the trial.

Because of conflicting testimony, Venzie said, it's unclear who had access to the bottle and therefore who could have tampered with it.