SANTA ANA (CBS) — A man accused of poisoning his wife to death with nicotine 17 years ago will face a trial in Orange County.

KNX 1070′s Mike Landa reports a Superior Court judge said Wednesday there is enough evidence to put Paul Curry on trial.

Curry, a Kansas building inspector, is accused of murdering his wife Linda in San Clemente in 1994 in what has been until recently a cold case for investigators.

Orange County prosecutor Brahim Baytieh says Linda Curry was a non-smoker who died of an overdose of nicotine.

“Nicotine is one of the strongest poisons available,” said Baytieh.

Curry allegedly injected his wife with a fatal dose and then collected $400,000 in life insurance.

“I think in his mind he felt she was worth more to him dead than alive,” Baytieh said.

Curry is charged with special circumstances murder for financial gain and murder by poisoning.

If convicted, he faces life in prison without parole.