The Costa Rican man who has been held in detention since his arrest in early February following the gruesome murder of five university students in January in the northern Costa Rican city of Liberia, capital of Guanacaste will attend a preliminary hearing Thursday, said the Public Security Ministry.

The hearing, which was originally scheduled in Liberia for October 6, was postponed due to the national emergency surrounding Tropical Storm Nate at that time.

Gerardo Alonso Ríos Mairena, 33, has been charged with five counts of homicide, and with an attempted murder and sexual abuse. Rios is being held in La Reforma prison, in La Guacima, Alajuela for a one year pre-trial detention.

Rios is no stranger to jails and courts, having been sentenced to 8 years in prison for sending drugs on a bus on July 24, 2012. At that time received an early release from prison in Liberia for his good behavior.

Unfortunately for five students and their families, Rios’ criminal career appears to not have quite ended. The man was a next-door neighbor of the students who rented a small house in a modest neighborhood in Liberia. A search of his house and crime-scene evidence led investigative police to arrest him as the sole suspect in the slaying.

On January 19, it appears Rios entered the students’ house in the evening after they returned from a soccer game. The house showed no sign of having been broken into from the outside gates or interior doors. He appeared to have had an obsession with one or more of the female students. The suspect  slashed their necks with a knife.

The deceased students, some of whom were virtually beheaded, were Joseph Briones Solis, 22; and Ariel Antonio Vargas Cieza, Stephanie Hernandez Garcia, Dayana Vanessa Martínez Romero and Ingrid Massiel Méndez Serrano, all of whom were 24.

Rios lived at home with his mother and stepfather, next to the house of his grandparents, who were renting the place to the students. He did not have a steady job, but did occasional construction work.

In addition to the five murdered students, a 14-year-old girl was found on the scene with injuries.

Her testimony was crucial for identifying the alleged suspect and in providing important details on the violent events.

She was hospitalized for a week for her injuries, said police, and managed to survive.