After hearing testimony from three former roommates who found a gay man’s body encased in a cement rock sculpture in their backyard, a judge ordered Thomas Jeffrey Brooks to stand trial for murder on and the special circumstance of murder for financial gain on Dec. 8.

The roommates, who used to live at an Alabama Street house in North Park, were among many witnesses heard by San Diego Superior Court Judge Melinda Lasater in the 4-day preliminary hearing concerning the 2008 death of Edward Andrews, 80. Andrews was strangled and a belt was found tight around his neck.

Brooks, 41, is also believed to be gay and claimed at times to be a boyfriend of Andrews, who met Brooks in 2007 after he was paroled from federal prison, said Deputy District Attorney Dino Paraskevopoulos.

Andrews and Brooks became “pen pals” after Brooks placed a personal ad in a magazine.

District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis has not yet decided whether to seek the death penalty against Brooks or a life sentence in prison without parole if he is convicted of first-degree murder. His attorney, Gary Gibson, said he wanted to give Dumanis enough time to decide the penalty before his next hearing on March 22, 2010.

“He’s in no rush,” Gibson said.

Brooks waived his right to have a speedy trial. He has already pleaded not guilty. Brooks showed no reaction to any of the witnesses or the ruling and didn’t look at any pictures that were displayed in court.

Brooks was also ordered to stand trial on 87 other felony charges that included multiple use of Andrews’ bank and credit cards, grand theft, forgery, receiving stolen property and burglary. Arlo Elizarraraz, 20, of Chula Vista, pleaded guilty to accessory to murder after the fact by helping carry the egg-shaped rock sculpture to the North Park house.

Brooks met Elizarraraz on CraigsList. Elizarraraz also pleaded guilty to 38 other charges involving forgery, grand theft, and receiving stolen property in the scheme with Brooks. Elizarraraz faces a maximum 39-year prison term when he is sentenced on Jan. 21.

Brooks roommates Benjamin Mason, David Martinez and Andrew Rymer testified about the strange sculpture that was there for months behind their house on the 3400 block of Alabama Street.

Mason testified and said he had the most contact with Brooks, who was using an alias at the time. Mason said Brooks did landscaping around the house voluntarily, saying “he found it relaxing.” He said Brooks raked leaves and trimmed trees. “He wanted to put in a rock garden,” Mason said.

“He told me it was peaceful and serene in the back yard. He had a green thumb,” Mason said. “I thought it was odd he was doing landscaping for free. People are odd.”

“(Brooks) was making a concrete egg. It looked like a lot of newspapers wrapped with chicken wire. I was a little surprised. He made a mess,” Mason said.

“It looked ugly. He said it would be the centerpiece of the formation,” Mason said. “It looked like he was making a paper mache rock. It didn’t look like he knew what he was doing.”

“I tried to help him move it. That thing was heavy, maybe 300 pounds. That thing was ugly,” Mason said.

Mason and Martinez testified and that they became aware of Brooks’ arrest on Aug. 8, 2008 in La Jolla while trying to use someone’s credit card.

They also said they heard of Andrews’ disappearance along with a theft of $92,000. Both said they wondered if money or jewels were hidden inside the concrete egg, and some referred to it as the “Easter egg.”

Martinez told Lasater he borrowed a sledgehammer from work so he could get inside the concrete orb on Sept. 5, 2008. “I had the day off and that’s when I decided to break it open. My curiosity peaked. To be perfectly honest, I thought there would be something of value (inside).”

Martinez said he hit the structure hard several times and dislodged some of the cement, when it then produced “a very strong odor.”

Martinez said he called Mason and asked him to return home immediately.

“I’d never smelled anything like that before,” he said.

Mason returned home, and they called their third roommate to look at the egg before calling police. Both Mason and Martinez said they first wondered if the stench came from “rotting leaves and stale water.”

“It was one of those weird ‘Twilight Zone’ moments,” Mason said.

“It was a grotesque scene. I almost lost my innards. I almost puked,” he said.

The roommates cut the egg more and found plastic, and then stopped when Mason saw “a shriveled foot” inside. They then called police, and officers roped off the crime scene area and separated the roommates to interview them. Mason said officers kept them up all night, questioning them.

“It was a long night,” Mason said.

The murder victim lived in a mobile home in Hemet, and Brooks lived there with him as a caretaker since only those who were more than 55 years of age could live there, according to testimony.

A neighbor, Ron Flury, testified and said that Andrews was lonely and was aware that Brooks was on parole. “Ed would tell me he was unhappy with him. He couldn’t trust him. (Brooks) was using him for something,” Flury said.

After Andrews disappeared on May 31, 2008, Flury went over to the trailer and found that Andrews had left all his medications and his cat behind. “He worshipped that cat,” Flury said.

Another neighbor, Nancy Graham, testified she got a typed letter that said it was from Andrews, but her first name was spelled “Nacy” throughout the letter. The letter stated that he and Brooks were lovers and were traveling overseas.

Graham said the signature didn’t match Andrews’ signature, and there was “bad spelling, wording” that made her more suspicious, and she turned it over to Riverside sheriff’s deputies.

The victim’s daughter, Linda Runions, testified and said she knew her father was gay and had “a lot of pen pals.” She said Brooks sent her friendly e-mails. She said she didn’t believe her father was traveling overseas because he couldn’t get a passport and because he had no birth certificate. She said she found a good home for Andrews’ cat.

An 80-year-old gay man named Dale testified that Brooks befriended him after the defendant said he broke up with an older man with whom he had sexual relations.

Dale testified and said he loaned Brooks $2,000 to buy a computer and borrowed heavy duty gloves from him. When Brooks returned the gloves, they had dried cement on them, Dale said.

Brooks remains in the Downtown Central Jail on $3 million bail.