Donald and William Feldhoff were committed to stand trial on Wednesday for their involvement in a cold-case murder that happened in Barrie in 1978.

Donald Feldhoff, 57, has been committed to trial for the first-degree murder and indignity to the body of Michael Traynor, while his father, William Feldhoff, 77, has been committed to trial for accessory to murder after the fact and indignity to a body.

Justice Enno Meijers (Enno Myers) made the ruling to send the case to trial in a higher court after hearing several weeks of evidence in a preliminary hearing. There is a publication ban on the details of that hearing.

Donald Feldhoff is also committed to trial for the possession of explosives and endangering life while the William is already serving a four-year prison sentence for similar offences after he pleaded guilty to 16 counts including possession of explosives, bombs, booby traps and firearms.

The charges began with an incident in 1978 when the body of Michael Traynor was found in a shallow grave off of St. Vincent Street.

Traynor was last seen at around 3:00 a.m. September 13, 1978 at a bar with some friends in Barrie. His body was found by a hunter a month later. He had been shot twice and his arms and legs were bound with copper wire.

Police had exhausted all leads and the case remained cold until July 12, 2012 when police say Donald Feldhoff went to police and gave them information that lead to the arrests of both him and his father. Both men have been in custody since then.

At that time police also learned about an arsenal of bombs, explosives and firearms that were found throughout the Feldhoff home and in a back yard bunker. Court heard the William Feldhoff, who grew up in war-torn Germany, was obsessed with protecting his home from a world war.

They will be back in court December 5 to set a date for pretrial motions.