San Diego

The trial of California Highway Patrol Officer Craig Peyer will begin Sept. 14, a judge decided Monday.

San Diego Superior Court Judge J. Richard Haden, also set a June 12 hearing for a status conference for Peyer, 37, of Poway.

Peyer is charged with strangling Cara Knott, 20, on Dec. 27 and throwing her body off the Old Highway 395 bridge. Knott was a San Diego State University student.

“What is your plea?” asked Haden.

“Not guilty, your honor,” said Peyer.

Afterward, Peyer’s attorney, Robert Grimes, said he will base a decision about seeking a change of venue on the results of a poll he has commissioned about the heavily publicized case.

“Once we get that information, we’ll present it to the court,” Grimes said.

Eighteen young women testified at Peyer’s preliminary hearing that Peyer stopped them at night on Interstate 15 and ordered them to pull off on Mercy Road ramp to a desolate, dark area.

Many of the women said Peyer questioned them about their personal lives for long periods.

Peyer remains free on bail of $1 million.