Stephen Johnson will stand trial for first-degree murder, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Johnson, 38, is accused of killing and dismembering Kelsey Felker, whose torso was found in a garbage bin outside a Kitchener apartment building in January 2013.

That discovery sparked a lengthy search for the rest of the 24-year-old’s remains, taking police to two parks elsewhere in the city.

Johnson, who lived in the apartment building where the torso was found, was arrested days after its discovery.

A two-week pretrial has since taken place. Its details are covered by a publication ban.

Wednesday, in a speech lasting more than an hour, a judge explained that a jury “could be capable of finding Johnson guilty” of first-degree murder.

“We’re very happy with (the decision). God has answered our prayers,” Lynn Cunningham, Felker’s sister, said outside court.

Defence lawyer Craig Parry told CTV News he and Johnson are still considering their next options.

“A decision has to made as to whether there will be any, for lack of a better word, appeal of the decision to commit on first-degree,” he said.

Johnson, who also faces a charge of committing an indignity to a dead body, returns to court in October.