A Valencia man accused of strangling his boyfriend to death appeared in court Wednesday for the continuation of his pretrial hearings over two years after the original crime, according to officials.

Christian Ortiz, 23, is suspected of strangling Brayan “Brian” Rodriguez, 20, and hiding his body at his Valencia home in September 2017.

The couple had been arguing the last time Rodriguez was seen, according to Rodriguez’s family.

His family initially reported him missing Sept. 22, 2017.

Several days later, a search party was sent out to attempt to find Rodriguez, at which time Ortiz identified himself to a KHTS reporter as the victim’s boyfriend.

Rodriguez was eventually found later that day, dead inside of Ortiz’s Valencia home.

See Related: More Delays In Case Of Valencia Man Accused Of Murdering Boyfriend

Ortiz was arrested the following morning in relation to the murder and went on to plead not guilty in Feb. 2018.

If convicted, Ortiz could face up to a maximum life sentence in state prison.

In the meantime, Ortiz continues to be held at the Twin Tower Correctional Facility in lieu of a $2 million bail.

He is scheduled to return to court on Monday for his pretrial.

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