Three men facing murder charges in the death of a Newark transgender teenager entered not-guilty pleas Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court after weeks of detailed testimony about the killing. Michael Madgison, Jason Cazares and Jose Merel, all 23, are expected to be tried together in the Oct. 4 slaying of 17-year-old Eddie ``Gwen'' Araujo.

A fourth man, Jaron Nabors, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and agreed to testify against his friends.

The defendants and their attorneys will return to court April 25 to discuss a possible trial date. Chris Lamiero, a prosecutor, said he hopes to begin a trial in a year, adding that scheduling could be a challenge with three private attorneys representing the men.

In February and March, Nabors provided chilling testimony about Araujo's death, pointing to Madgison as the main aggressor who allegedly beat and strangled the teen they knew as Lida after discovering Araujo was biologically male. The friends buried Araujo in a wooded area near South Lake Tahoe.

A judge found probable cause for the three men to stand trial last month, leading to their arraignment Wednesday. Trial could start nine months to a year from now, said Gloria Allred, attorney for the victim's family.

The case arises from the Oct. 4 killing of Eddie ``Gwen'' Araujo, a 17-year-old who was born male but lived as a woman. The killing took place after Araujo's biological identity was unmasked at a party at the home of Jose Antonio Merel, 23, in Newark, a San Francisco suburb.

According to testimony at a preliminary hearing last month, Araujo was slapped, choked, beaten with a skillet, tied up and strangled in an attack that lasted for about two hours. Her body was driven to the Sierra foothills about 150 miles east and buried in a shallow grave.

Attorneys for the three men argued that they were carried away by passion after finding out that the beautiful girl they knew as Lida was a man. Two of the defendants had had sex with the teenager believing her to be a girl, according to court testimony.

It was after those encounters that suspicions arose about Araujo's gender, leading to the Oct. 4 confrontation, witnesses said.

However, a judge rejected those arguments.

Merel, along with 22-year-olds Jason Michael Cazares and Michael William Magidson all face charges of murder in a hate crime. A fourth man, Jaron Chase Nabors, 20, was also charged in the murder but struck a deal to plead guilty to voluntary manslaughter in return for testifying against his friends.

Once the trial starts, it likely will be closely followed, Allred said.

``Many transgender youths are in the closet. They live in fear. They are persecuted. They are humiliated. They are the victims of discriminatory acts and sometimes of violence,'' she said. ``So there will be many people in this country who are looking at this case and are hoping for justice in this case.''

Sylvia Guerrero, Araujo's mother, said she is ready for the trial to begin.

``The sooner the better,'' she said. ``The sooner my family will heal and we can move on.''