Though no body has ever been found, San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Craig van Rooyen ruled Wednesday that there was probable cause that Paul Flores killed Smart and his father Ruben Flores helped to hide her body.

Paul Flores was the last person seen with Smart before she went missing and will stand trial on a murder charge for her suspected death. Ruben Flores will face an accomplice charge for his alleged assistance in burying her body, according to AP.

Witnesses said they saw Paul Flores walking an intoxicated Smart back to her dorm on May 25, 1996. Prosecutors argued that he killed Smart in his dorm room while attempting to rape her.

The prosecutors introduced evidence that her body may have been under a deck at Ruben Flores’ house, though they said it has since been moved.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

Van Rooyen said there was “strong suspicion” Smart was murdered and buried under the deck, which was shielded from view by lattice.

Defense attorneys said prosecutors did not present enough evidence during a 22-day preliminary hearing to support the criminal charges. But van Rooyen said there was probable cause, a lesser standard of proof than beyond a reasonable doubt, which prosecutors will have to prove at trial.

Both men have pleaded not guilty.

During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors presented evidence that cadaver dogs stopped at Flores’ room and alerted to the scent of death near his bed.

Archaeologists who used ground penetrating radar and dug up soil beneath Ruben Flores’ deck said they found indications the ground had been disturbed in a way similar to a gravesite.

Cindy Arrington, an archaeologist with Natural Investigations, Inc., said she found a “clear subsurface disturbance” and “a large anomaly” that was “large enough to fit human remains into,” the Tribune of San Luis Obispo reported.

Under cross-examination, she said there were no bones or teeth. Arrington said that she had never examined a burial site where no remains were found. Prosecutors have said the body was moved.

Van Rooyen prevented prosecutors from presenting evidence at the hearing alleging Paul Flores drugged and raped four women and engaged in dozens of acts including stalking, unwanted touching and aggressive sexual behavior.

Some women told police that Flores was referred to as “Chester the molester” and “psycho Paul,” the prosecutors said.

The judge said the evidence had limited relevance to the murder case and risked creating greater prejudice against Flores.

When Flores first spoke with police, he downplayed his interactions with Smart at the party and on the walk home. He said she walked to her dorm under her own power, though other witnesses said Flores was helping hold her up and that she had passed out earlier in the night.

William Hanley, head of the district attorney’s investigative bureau in 1996, said Flores eventually stopped cooperating with authorities.

When Hanley asked Flores what he thought happened to Smart, he said she probably left with somebody and “he thinks she’s dead,” Hanley said.

Defense lawyer Robert Sanger, who represents Paul Flores, said there was no real evidence in the case.

Defense attorney Harold Mesick, who represents the father, said prosecutors tried to paint “lipstick on a pig,” KSBY-TV reported.