SAN DIEGO — A judge ruled Monday afternoon that prosecutors have enough evidence to try Richard Tuite for the murder of Stephanie Crowe.

Judge Gale Kaneshiro's ruling brushed aside — at least for now — defense claims that controversial confessions by the victim's brother and another teen are enough to set Tuite free.

Kaneshiro did not cite specific evidence in her ruling from the bench, but said that during the 13-day hearing prosecutors presented a case that would lead a "reasonable man" to harbor "a strong suspicion of the defendant's guilt," the standard for preliminary hearings in California.

No members of Stephanie's family were in the courtroom for the ruling. Tuite, a 33-year-old drifter who takes medication to control his schizophrenia, showed no reaction to the judge's decision. His sister, Kerri, who attended most of the hearing, ran from the courtroom in tears.

Tuite's lawyer, Brad Patton, said he was disappointed, but had expected Kaneshiro's decision.

"The evidence standard is very low," he said. "It would have been highly unusual for the judge to take a contrary approach."

Stephanie, a 12-year-old honor student from Escondido, was found stabbed nine times in her bedroom the morning of Jan. 21, 1998. Her parents, grandmother, brother and sister told police they had heard nothing unusual during the night, and the house showed no signs of forced entry.

Police detectives initially focused on Stephanie's 14-year-old brother, Michael, and his two friends, Aaron Houser and Joshua Treadway. After marathon interrogation sessions, both Michael Crowe and Treadway confessed to the killing and the trio was charged with murder.

They soon recanted and a judge threw out portions of their confessions as coerced. On the eve of their trial, DNA tests by the defense showed Stephanie's blood on a shirt worn by Tuite, who had been seen wandering in the Crowes' neighborhood before the murder.

The teenagers and their families filed a federal suit against the law enforcement agencies, and a reinvestigation by the county sheriff and state prosecutors resulted in Tuite's arrest last May.

Stephanie Crowe

During the hearing, prosecution witnesses concentrated on the blood evidence and Tuite's proximity to the crime scene. The lead investigator in the case said Tuite approached home after home in the Crowes' neighborhood looking for a friend named Tracy.

Prosecutor David Druliner suggested in arguments to the judge Monday that Tuite was becoming increasingly frustrated and by the time he arrived at the Crowe's secluded home was primed for murder.

"It's not a coincidence that the individual that was killed was a young female. It's quite probative," said Druliner.

The defense claims the blood evidence is the result of contamination, but during the hearing the lawyers focused solely on the confession of Joshua Treadway. Kaneshiro reviewed 22 hours of his videotaped interrogations, and Treadway himself took the stand for three days. He insisted police threats of prison combined with lack of sleep and access to his parents, restrooms and food led him to make false statements. He said the elaborate confession he gave police was as fantastical as the Dungeons & Dragons games he loved.

His account was bolstered by the testimony of an expert in false confessions who testified for the prosecution. Richard Leo told Kaneshiro that Treadway's interrogation was among the most coercive he had ever seen in his career.

Before the judge's ruling Monday, the defense called a string of witnesses to undermine Treadway's credibility. Treadway's own brother, Zachary, cast doubt on his alibi, saying he went to bed at 10:30 p.m. the night of the killing as opposed to talking with his brother until 2 a.m., as Joshua Treadway testified.

One former detective in the Escondido police department disputed Treadway's claim that a detective threatened him in a police lab out of camera range with sensational descriptions of prison rape.

"That never happened, sir," said former detective George Durking. He later admitted, however, that he had "heartburn" over the way the Crowe case was transferred from his former department and acknowledged barring a sheriff's officer from entering his house during interviews to prepare the case against Tuite.

Tuite's trial will likely begin this summer and last two months. Prosecutors said they had only presented a fraction of their case.

"This is only the tip of the iceberg," said prosecutor Gary Schons.

Tuite's lawyer said the defense would continue to argue that the teenagers were the real killers, but claimed they would present scientific evidence indicating the crime scene was a "very carefully crafted crime scene not consistent with a mentally deranged person carrying out a spontaneous violent crime."

Tuite will be held in the county jail pending the trial.