Fourth District Judge Lynn Davis called the evidence against Timmy Brent Olsen "far more compelling" than that against Christopher Neal Jeppson, adding that prosecution against Jeppson is close to being "groundless and improvident."

Davis said he bound Jeppson over for trial on first-degree felony murder charges primarily because of the testimony of his ex-wife, Jeanine Jeppson, and former girlfriend Karen Knudsen. Each woman testified that during an intimate, light-hearted moment, Jeppson had confessed to killing Kiplyn and burying her body, then claimed he was only joking.

The probable cause standard that must be met to take a case to trial is one of the lowest standards in law, Davis said, noting that the prosecution has no body, no forensic evidence, no eye witness to foul play and no confession made to law enforcement.

What implicates Olsen is the seven witnesses who testified they heard him claim to have murdered Kiplyn, Davis said.

Deputy County Attorney Mariane O'Bryant argued that those statements were more than enough evidence.

"I don't know how many confessions somebody needs to make for a probable cause hearing," she said. "I would think that one would be sufficient."

Jeppson's defense attorney said he was more confident than ever following the judge's ruling, and that he thought the case might never go to trial.

"There's absolutely no way Christopher Jeppson could be convicted beyond a reasonable doubt given the state of the evidence," attorney Scott C. Williams told reporters after the hearing.

But Kiplyn's father, Richard Davis, told reporters he saw the hearings as one more hurdle cleared, and said he hopes now someone will come forward with Kiplyn's location.

"We just want Kiplyn brought home. We want closure to what we started 13 years ago," he said. "We'll continue to fight; we'll continue to keep our porch light on."

Kiplyn was last seen around noon on May 2, 1995, at Spanish Fork High School.

O'Bryant argued that there is no logical explanation for Kiplyn's disappearance but murder. She had no money, credit cards, or driver license, O'Bryant said, and couldn't have gone far by herself. She described her as "happy and bubbly," and said that if she had an accident or had improbably committed suicide, her body would have been found in 13 years of searching.

Williams argued that without knowing for sure where Jeppson was that day, it is impossible to infer that he was with Kiplyn. He also said it was "untenable" to use the fact that Jeppson liked Kiplyn to infer that he killed her.

Olsen's attorney, Dana Facemeyer, focused his arguments on the unreliability of witnesses who claim to have heard him admit to the murder, pointing out that most of them said there was alcohol involved when those confessions were made.

Davis called the case "unique and exceptional" in the amount of time that has lapsed since Kiplyn's disappearance and the contradictory testimonies given by witnesses.

"This is the most interesting case I've ever had in terms of changed stories and inconsistencies," he said.

Both Olsen and Jeppson entered not guilty pleas and a pre-trial status conference was set for Jan. 30.