UPDATE: 4/25 at 9:40 a.m.
OCONTO, Wis. (AP) -- A former Oconto Falls man has pleaded not guilty in a cold-case homicide.
Prosecutors charged 52-year-old Peter Hanson last month with being party to first-degree intentional homicide.
Hanson is accused in the death of 19-year-old Chad McLean of Green Bay, who disappeared in 1998 after a night of partying. His body was found a month later beneath a bridge.
In Oconto County court Wednesday, Hanson waived his right to a preliminary hearing and entered his not-guilty plea.
WLUK-TV reports Hanson's attorney had no comment after court. McLean's family also declined to comment.
Hanson is being held on $500,000 bond. He has been in the Oconto County Jail since November on unrelated charges.
His next court appearance is scheduled for June 4. Trial is set for December.
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UPDATE: 3/28 at 4:44 p.m
The man charged with 1998 homicide of a Green Bay man is behind bars on a $500,000 cash bond.
Peter Hanson, 52, of Oconto, was charged with 1st degree intentional homicide Thursday in Oconto County Circuit Court.
Hanson will return to court April 24 for a preliminary hearing.
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ORIGINAL STORY: 3/22 at 10:51 a.m.
A suspect in the 1998 murder of a then 19-year-old Green Bay is expected to be charged next week in Oconto County Court.
Friday, multiple law enforcement agencies held a joint press conference on the 15th anniversary of finding Chad McLean's body. McLean's body was found in on March 22, 1998, in the Pensaukee River in Abrams. He had been missing for about a month after acquaintances dropped him off at a roadside restaurant.
Peter Hanson, 52, is behind bars in connection to the death. Investigators says the two had not meet prior to that night, but did have mutual friends.
Investigators says they hope this case shows offenders that detectives work around the clock to help bring closure to families and justice for the victims.
