FARGO - The lawyer for a man accused of murder says prosecutors have no physical evidence that he killed and dismembered a Wisconsin man and their case is based on testimony of an eyewitness who changed her story.

Dennis Gaede, 42, pleaded not guilty on Thursday in the death of Timothy Wicks, 48, of Hales Corners, Wis. Authorities said Wicks was killed in Gaede's home north of Fargo in December 2001, and his dismembered body was later discovered near the Wisconsin-Michigan border.

East Central District Judge Steven McCullough ordered Gaede to stand trial, but not before defense attorney Steven Mottinger asked whether "we should even be here today."

"Sometimes I wonder if we have developed a habit of playing fast and loose with contested preliminary hearings," Mottinger told the judge.

Assistant Cass County State's Attorney Mark Boening told McCullough there was enough evidence to go to trial.

Gaede's former wife, Diana Fruge, is the only eyewitness to the murder, authorities said. Mottinger said her testimony is not believable because she originally claimed she was the one who shot Wicks.

"There just isn't enough (evidence) here," Mottinger said.

Gaede recently finished a four-year prison sentence in North Dakota for identity and property theft. Authorities said he used Wicks' name to buy a home, obtain credit and eventually embezzle money from a Fargo company.

Gaede was charged with Wicks' murder shortly before he was set to be transferred to Wisconsin to serve a five-year prison sentence.

Boening said Fruge first told authorities she shot Wicks with a shotgun, but evidence showed that another type of weapon was used. Fruge later told police that Gaede was responsible for the murder.

Cass County Sheriff's Lt. Rick Majerus, the lead investigator in the case, testified that authorities ultimately found Fruge's testimony "to be more believable than his." Majerus said Gaede also told jailmates he killed Wicks.

"So your case rests on the testimony of an ex-wife who said she shot Wicks and a bunch of jailhouse snitches," Mottinger said.

Under questioning from the defense attorney, Majerus acknowledged authorities have no "conclusive evidence" to show Wicks was killed at Gaede's house in Gardner, north of Fargo.

Wicks' decapitated body was found Jan. 2, 2002, near the Michigan side of the Menominee River, along the Wisconsin state line. His head was found two weeks later, about 35 miles away in the same river, near Niagara, Wis.

Majerus said authorities believe Gaede rented a trailer to transport the body. He told Mottinger there was no physical evidence found in the trailer, but authorities identified it through rental records, a gas station videotape and witnesses.

Boening said afterward that he did not want to publicly argue specific evidence presented in the preliminary hearing, but he said prosecutors are ready to try the case.

"Arguably, there's different types of evidence," Boening said.