A Warren County man will stand trial for murder in March in the beating death of his girlfriend.

Convicted felon Lorenzo Hull, 41, appeared before Circuit Court Judge Isadore Patrick this morning to be arraigned after an indictment by the Warren County Grand Jury for murder in the beating death on Dec. 6 of his live-in girlfriend, Angela Andrews.

Handcuffed and in an orange jail jumpsuit, Hull entered a plea of not guilty. He is represented by attorney John Bullard.

Hull, who has been in the Warren County Jail without bond since his arrest Dec. 5, was given a March 18 trial date by Patrick. If convicted by a jury, he could be sentenced to life in prison.

Patrick set bail for Hull at $150,000, though District Attorney Ricky Smith had asked Patrick to deny bail because Hull was indicted as a habitual offender.

Hull was convicted of sale of cocaine in 1993 and possession of cocaine in 2002.

Hull is accused of killing Andrews, 40, at their home, 10150 U.S. 61 South, Lot 10. Hull called 911 about 7:30 a.m. Dec. 5 and said Andrews would not wake up, Sheriff Martin Pace said.

Andrews was found unconscious and unresponsive, Pace said. She was taken to River Region Medical Center and flown to University Medical Center in Jackson, where she died of head trauma Dec. 6.

Andrews had been living with Hull for six or seven months at the time of her death, her sister Carolyn Andrews has said.

Angela Andrews had struggled with a drug problem and had served time in prison following a September 2008 jury trial conviction for possession of cocaine, Carolyn Andrews said.

The grand jury, which convened Monday at the Warren County Courthouse, was expected to complete work today or Friday on up to 100 criminal cases and routine tours of county buildings and operations.

Judge Patrick was expected to continue arraigning suspects indicted by the jury today and Friday.