Prosecutors and defense attorneys met Wednesday afternoon to discuss several early matters in the case of Joel Hollendorfer, a Black Forest man accused of first-degree murder in the death of Kara Nichols, who went missing nearly 10 years ago.

After the case was reassigned to Fourth Judicial District Chief Judge William Bain during a first appearance hearing last week, defense attorneys and prosecutors on Wednesday argued several motions related to preserving and collecting evidence and communication with authorities.

Hollendorfer, 46, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Nichols, whose remains were discovered earlier this month on Hollendorfer’s property after she disappeared nearly 10 years ago.

Among the motions considered Wednesday was a request from defense attorneys for law enforcement agencies to preserve physical evidence, as well as a request for the preservation of notes, recordings and other correspondence from authorities related to the case.

Bain ordered the physical evidence preserved, as well as all correspondence, noting authorities didn’t need to gather the correspondence — they just should not delete it. His order extended to the Federal Bureau of Investigations, which also investigated the case.

Bain further ordered that Hollendorfer be notified ahead of time about requests for evidence with privacy concerns, such as medical records, and that such evidence be gathered through search warrants or subpoenas. He allowed a request from defense attorneys prohibiting law enforcement from contact with Hollendorfer that isn’t coordinated through his attorneys.

“He does not wish to speak to law enforcement about this or any other matter,” defense attorney Charlotte Ankeny said.

Bain also ruled that all abide by Colorado Rules of Professional Conduct, which limit pre-trial conversations with media that could be publicly released and affect the case. He said there have already been several requests for expanded media coverage, and Ankeny said the defense had a standing objection to such requests.

With prosecutor Christina Perroni saying neither she nor the defense have yet received discovery in the case, Bain set Hollendorfer’s next hearing for the afternoon of April 6, which will partially be used to decide based on evidence all sides will have received by then when to hold a preliminary hearing, which would determine whether Hollendorfer would go to trial.

Hollenorfer was arrested Feb. 7 on an unrelated warrant. According to an arrest affidavit filed in his murder case, that was the same day investigators began a search on a property in the 9600 block of Burgess Road, where they discovered human remains later identified as Nichols. That discovery was preceded by an interview with a woman who previously did not cooperate with the original investigation into Nichols’ disappearance, according to the affidavit, but who said Hollendorfer had confessed to killing Nichols and burying her remains on a horse grave on the property years before.