San Diego

A Navy man accused of poisoning his handicapped roommate and disposing of the body in a refrigerator in his back yard was ordered to stand trial Friday by Municipal Judge Robert J. Stahl Jr.

Petty Officer 1st Class Robert William Nydegger, 42, is charged with murdering Timothy Cudd, 39, whose badly decomposed body was discovered Sept. 18 after neighbors complained to police about the odor coming from Nydegger’s yard at 3431 Grogan Circle in South Bay.

Nydegger will be arraigned March 10, at which time a trial date will be set.

Police said Cudd was killed by an overdose of Benedryll, an antihistamine now available over the counter. They said an empty prescription bottle was found at Nydegger’s house.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Amador said Nydegger attempted suicide in 1984 after leaving a note that said, “I have taken Benedryll, and I am going to walk into the ocean.”

Amador also said that Nydegger wrote five checks on Cudd’s account, three of which were cashed before Cudd was killed.

Nydegger, who is being held in lieu of $500,000 bail, worked in the officer of the day’s office in the new Navy Hospital at the time of the slaying.