CANCUN, Mexico (AP) — A judge in Mexico has ordered a man to stand trial in the death of a Missouri woman in the Caribbean resort city of Playa del Carmen.

A prosecutor’s office employee said Thursday the judge ordered John Loveless to stand trial for allegedly killing his girlfriend Tamra Turpin of the St. Louis suburb of Union. The employee was not authorized to be quoted by name and spoke on condition of anonymity.

The woman was found dead last week in a condo the couple had rented, and a forensic examination concluded she died of asphyxia by strangulation.

Loveless told the woman’s sister that Turpin overdosed on prescription medications during a suicide attempt after an argument.

According to the prosecutors’ office in Quintana Roo state, where both Playa del Carmen and Cancun are located, Loveless faces charges of criminal homicide.