Kris Zocco will stand trial in death of Kelly Dwyer

A man accused of strangling his girlfriend to death and hiding her corpse learned Thursday he will stand trial.

The burden of proof just got more difficult for the state after convincing the court there is probable cause that Kris Zocco murdered his girlfriend Kelly Dwyer in 2013.

The state’s case relies almost exclusively on circumstantial evidence. They claim the two engaged in sexual acts including strangling which is how Dwyer died.

A cadaver dog also traced human remains to Zocco’s apartment and the trunk of his car.

The defense's argued that there isn't enough hard evidence to go to trial, but the judge didn't agree. The defense says their arguments will hold up better in trial, “proof beyond a reasonable doubt is much greater than any plausible theory that a crime has occurred, which is what the standard was today.  So yes we're not surprised, but this is very preliminary, and the state just made it through that stage," said defense attorney Craig Mastantuono.

Zocco was already serving a 19 year sentence on unrelated child pornography charges. His next court date for the homicide charge is in October.