NATIONAL CITY, Calif. -- Robert Nydegger was serving a life sentence at Solano State Prison for the 1988 poison-murder of his roommate, Timothy Cudd, when he was charged with the 1987 murder of Crispino Buzon, a hospital corpsman.

Nydegger was ordered held without bail and ordered back to court Nov. 2 to get a date for a preliminary hearing.

According to the National City Police Department, the 25-year-old Buzon went to dinner with Nydegger on April 24, 1987, and was never seen again. Nydegger was Buzon's supervisor at the Balboa Naval Hospital.

Buzon was scheduled to take a military flight to the Philippines to bring his wife back to the United States -- a process Nydegger was helping with -- but he never made the flight, police said.

"It was clear that he (Buzon) was with Mr. Nydegger, that was his plans," prosecutor Robert Amador said outside court.

A month later, identification and personal items belonging to the victim were found in a pond near Victorville in San Bernardino County, near where the defendant's wife lived. Police said then that Nydegger was a person of interest, but no charges were filed.

The next year, Nydegger was arrested in connection with the death of his roommate, and was eventually sentenced to life in prison.

Investigators reopened the Buzon case in 2005. His skeletal remains were found in San Bernardino County on May 14, 2008.

"We've really been looking at this case and the final piece of the puzzle was finding the body of Crispino Buzon," Amador said.

The San Diego County District Attorney's Office, National City Police Department, Naval Criminal Investigative Service and San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department were involved in the investigation.

Buzon's brother, Carlos, attended Nydegger's arraignment and spoke to reporters outside court.

"I'm really glad we're at this stage," he said. "I never thought it would come to here where I can see some closure to everything that's happened. I just wish the rest of my family were here, especially my parents, who were torn by this, when Cris vanished over 20 years ago."

Carlos Buzon said it was "surreal" when he saw Nydegger in court.

Nydegger is charged with first-degree murder and special circumstance allegations of being previously convicted of murder and murder during a robbery.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis will decide after the preliminary hearing if Nydegger will face the death penalty if convicted.