VISTA, Calif. -- A preliminary hearing is scheduled Monday for a Mexican national accused of raping and killing an 84-year-old retired psychiatrist at a North County senior housing complex nearly nine years ago.

Alejandro Avalos Fernandez, 33, is charged with murder, rape, torture and other charges in the 2001 death of Gladys Conrad at Carlsbad-by-the-Sea retirement village.



A friend found Conrad's body the afternoon of Sept. 1, 2001. Carlsbad police said she had been sexually assaulted and strangled early that morning or late the previous night by a man who apparently entered the home through an unlocked door or window.

There was no indication that the victim knew Fernandez, who worked odd jobs in the area and may have been staying with friends in the vicinity, said Carlsbad police Lt. Kelly Cain.

Fernandez was identified as a suspect in 2008 after he was arrested on a narcotics charge in Los Angeles and a DNA check allegedly tied him to Conrad's death.

At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, a judge will determine whether enough evidence was presented for Fernandez to stand trial.

He faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted.

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