Yellowknife (Oct 27/04) - A Yellowknife man has been ordered to stand trial on a charge of second degree murder in connection with a killing earlier this year in a sparsely populated area outside the city.

Timothee Caisse, 55, waived his right to a preliminary hearing during a brief appearance in territorial court Wednesday morning. In addition to the murder count, Caisse faces a single charge of illegal possession of a firearm.

Police found the body of David Austin, 33, on April 16 in small wooden house on Highway 3, roughly 30 kilometres from Yellowknife.

A court ordered publication ban was placed on the details surrounding Austin's death.

A date for the trial, which will take place in Supreme Court, has yet to be set. Caisse has been released pending the trial.