A Valencia man accused of strangling his boyfriend in 2017 appeared in court Friday for a pretrial hearing and was told to return next month to the same court for another pretrial hearing.
Christian Alexander Ortiz, 22, is charged with murder in the death of Brayan Rodriguez.
“Defendant Christian Ortiz is scheduled for a pretrial conference on Aug. 6, 2019, in Department E of San Fernando Court,” Shiara Davila-Morales, spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office, said Friday.
In October, following a daylong preliminary hearing, a judge ruled that Ortiz should stand trial for murder.
Prior to that decision being made, Ortiz saw his preliminary hearing postponed four times.
Over the course of the past year, defense lawyers have requested more time to prepare their case.
Ortiz remains in custody in the Twin Towers Correctional Facility with bail set at $2 million.
He was arrested on suspicion of murder by deputies of the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station about 3 a.m. on Sept. 25, 2017.
Rodriguez’s body was found inside a closet in a house on the 23600 block of Via Valer, near Valencia Glen Park, sometime before 4 p.m. on Sept. 24, 2017.
Rodriguez, 20, identified by prosecutors as the accused man’s boyfriend, was reported missing Sept. 22, 2017, prompting several searches to find him throughout that weekend.
661-287-5527
On Twitter
