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AMERICAN FORK — A judge has ordered a Utah man to stand trial on charges that he killed his ex-girlfriend and her 3-year-old son, then buried them where investigators haven't yet found them.
Fourth District Judge Robert Lunnen ruled Friday that there is enough evidence for the case against Christopher Poulson, 28, of Smithfield, to move forward on each of five charges against him, court records show.
Poulson denies the charges of two counts of aggravated murder, a capital offense and first-degree felony; obstructing justice, a second-degree felony; and two counts of abuse or desecration of a human body, a third-degree felony. He pleaded not guilty to each count Friday.
The judge's ruling follows several days of a preliminary hearing, with testimony from investigators, forensic experts and the mother of Emily Quijano Almiron, who was reported missing in September 2015.
Prosecutors say Poulson wrapped Almiron and her son Gabriel in sheets and buried them, even though their bodies have never been recovered. Poulson was arrested in Hawaii in October 2017, where the state argues he moved after FBI investigators spoke to him about the case.
At the preliminary hearing, a letter from a friend and co-worker of Almiron's was read aloud in court, recalling that Almiron thought she may have been pregnant before her disappearance. Poulson visited her at work and urged her to get an abortion, but Almiron told him she would not, according to the letter.
Poulson returns to court Nov. 6.
