A Sioux Falls judge has ruled that similarities in a 2008 assault and rape of a woman and the slaying last year of Kari Anne Kirkegaard can be presented at the trial of the man accused of killing Kirkegaard.

Forty-one-year old Christopher Kryger has pleaded not guilty to murder, rape and burglary charges in the slaying of the 56-year old Kirkegaard, who was found dead in her bathtub on March 16, 2014.

Prosecutor Eric Johnson during a Monday court hearing said details of the 2008 case and the 2014 case are "strikingly similar." The 2008 case against Kryger was dismissed, and defense attorney Mark Kadi argued that bringing it up at Kryger's trial wouldn't be fair.

Judge Mark Salter sided with the prosecution.

The Associated Press contributed to this story

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