LOS ANGELES - A 72-year-old man pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that he murdered three women in Los Angeles in the 1980s.

Samuel Little, who appeared in court in a wheelchair pushed by a sheriff's deputy, is charged with three counts of murder for allegedly strangling:

-- Carol Alford, 41, whose body was found July 13, 1987, in an alley off east 27th Street
-- Audrey Nelson, 35, whose body was discovered Aug. 14, 1989, inside a trash bin on East Seventh Street
-- Guadalupe Apodaca, 46, who was found Sept. 3, 1989, inside a commercial garage in South Los Angeles

The murder charges also include the special circumstance allegation of multiple murders. Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Little.

He was arrested in Louisville, Ky., in September on an unrelated narcotics charge out of Los Angeles, and extradited to California. Police said he was linked to the killings through DNA evidence examined by LAPD cold case detectives.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled to be set on April 17.