A Santa Cruz County Superior Court judge determined there was enough evidence against Rocha to warrant a trial, which will continue with another arraignment hearing in May.
John Osborne received the maximum sentence after a jury in November found him guilty of murder, along with a special allegation of using a firearm in the commission of a crime.
The suspect's attorney argued that 46-year-old Nancy Romero was shot in a moment of passion, but jurors decided her boyfriend was guilty of murder, not manslaughter.