NORTHWOOD — The man arrested early last month in the murder of a Northwood woman pleaded not guilty Tuesday in Worth County District Court.

Tyrone Washington Jr., 39, faces a first-degree murder charge. At the arraignment Tuesday, Judge Colleen Weiland set a trial to begin at 9 a.m. Oct. 30.

Washington allegedly stabbed Justina Marie Smith, 30, to death on the morning of Aug. 5 in Northwood’s Swensrud Park before reportedly going on the lam in Smith’s 2003 Pontiac Grand Prix. Iowa State Patrol troopers arrested Washington in Scott County, Iowa, that afternoon.

According to an autopsy, Smith died from what has been described as “multiple sharp-force injuries.”

Washington was Smith’s live-in boyfriend, but Smith had requested a restraining order in July after Washington allegedly assaulted and strangled her.

He remains in the Worth County jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond. At the arraignment, Washington’s defender made a bail motion, but Weiland opted to rule on it later.

The Iowa Attorney General’s Office is prosecuting the case with the assistance of the Worth County attorney.