Hearing Delayed Again for Murder Suspect's Personal Assistant

A pretrial hearing was rescheduled again Wednesday for the man charged with accessory in the murder of Christopher Ryan Smith, slain in the office of a San Juan Capistrano business last summer.

Kenneth Roy Kraft, 34, of Laguna Niguel, made his 11th court appearance Wednesday morning in Santa Ana where an Orange County Superior Court judge scheduled the pretrial for Dec. 14.

This is the fourth time a pretrial has been scheduled for Kraft. Eventually, prosecutors will lay out their evidence for a judge, who will determine if the findings are enough for a trial.

Smith was a Laguna Beach resident who had been missing for nearly a year before .

According to the District Attorney's Office, Smith was murdered by his business partner Edward Younghoon Shin of Irvine.

The .

Both men have entered not guilty pleas. Kraft, dressed in a crisp grey suit and a burgundy gingham shirt Wednesday morning, is out on bail, while Shin remains in custody.

Kraft has retained private attorneys Daryl Thompson and Rodger M. Carey to represent him in the case. Carey is the same lawyer who recently defended the .

According to the Orange County Sheriff's Department, which investigated the case, Kraft helped Shin get rid of the victim's personal belongings, including Smith's car, a 2009 white Range Rover recovered this summer in San Jose.