Last Updated: Tuesday, June 20, 2000, 2 p.m.

Preliminary hearing in Fitzhugh
case set for Thursday

The Fitzhugh murder case will return to court Thursday, when a Palo Alto judge decides whether prosecutors have enough evidence to hold Kenneth Fitzhugh over for trial.

During the preliminary hearing, prosecutors must show a crime was committed and that they have sufficient evidence to argue that the defendant committed the crime. In California, a preliminary hearing is required when prosecutors choose not to seek a grand jury indictment. Fitzhugh's wife, Kristine, was found dead May 5 in the couple's Palo Alto home. Fitzhugh was arrested for the crime two weeks later, and has pleaded not guilty to the charge of murder.

Superior Court Judge Charles Hayden will preside at Thursday's hearing, which is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. in the North County Courthouse in Palo Alto.