Laura Garza Update: Sex Offender Michael Mele Pleads Not Guilty in Aspiring Dancer's Murder

NEW YORK (CBS/WCBS/AP) Sex offender Michael Mele pleaded not guilty on Monday to killing 25-year-old Laura Garza, an aspiring dancer who disappeared two years ago after leaving a New York City nightclub with him.

PICTURES: Laura Garza Found Dead

Mele, also 25, is charged with murder, manslaughter and evidence tampering, and could face 25 years to life in prison if  convicted of murder. Garza had moved from McAllen, Texas to New York five months before her disappearance in Dec. 2008. 

Mele pleaded not guilty through his attorney, John Ingrassia, who declined to comment afterward.

"He's continuing to exercise his right to remain silent," Orange County District Attorney Frank Phillips said outside court after he was asked whether Mele was uncooperative.

Mele was arraigned in Orange County, northwest of New York City, where authorities say Garza was killed.

Her skeletal remains were found in April in the woods in Mount Cobb, Pa., after what Phillips has called "the most intensive search mission I have ever seen."

The cause of Garza's was not made public.

Garza had been missing since Dec. 3, 2008, when surveillance cameras showed her leaving the Manhattan nightspot Marquee with Mele. They were also seen a couple of hours later a few miles from Mele's home in Wallkill, N.Y.

Mele, long considered the prime suspect, is already serving time for violating his parole as a sex offender, but that sentence formally ends on Dec. 24.

Mele had several sex-offense convictions in New York, most involving approaching women while masturbating, and he was wanted in New Jersey for similar crimes. He was denied release in March by a board that cited his "history of sexually deviant behavior."

The judge set Mele's next court appearance for March 7, 2011.