Joshua Wirgau, left, and Brad Srebnik appear in photos provided by the Alpena County Sheriff's Office and the Michigan State Police.

ALPENA — Attorneys have until the week before Christmas to review thousands of pages related to murder charges filed against Alpena men Brad Srebnik and Joshua Wirgau.

The Michigan Attorney General’s Office and Alpena County Prosecutor Cynthia Muszynski last month charged both men with murder in the deaths of Alpena teen Brynn Bills and Alpena woman Abby Hill last year.

Wirgau, 35, and Srebnik, 36, have entered not-guilty pleas.

On Thursday, Judge Alan Curtis in Alpena’s 88th District Court set Dec. 19-21 for Wirgau and Srebnik’s preliminary exam, at which the prosecution presents evidence and a judge decides whether the case — or, in the current instance, cases — can continue toward trial.

The two cases will be heard jointly for the preliminary exam, but attorney Rick Steiger, representing Wirgau, said previously that he will request separate trials for the men.

Defense attorney Patrick Cherry, of Cadillac, appeared at Thursday’s hearing on behalf of Srebnik. Cherry was assigned to represent Srebnik because Alpena-area attorneys either lacked adequate experience to handle a life-offense case or had a conflict of interest.

Assistant Attorney General Danielle Hagaman-Clark, appearing remotely at the hearing, said attorneys will need to examine electronic documents representing nine investigative subpoenas, two medical examiner reports, multiple investigative reports of about 400 pages each, and other materials — or the equivalent of about 5,000 pieces of paper — in preparation for the exam.

Originally scheduled for next week, the exam will begin at 8:30 a.m. on Dec. 19 and is expected to last three days.

Exams for serious crimes such as rapes typically take several hours.

Police believe Srebnik killed Bills in August of 2021, shortly before her 18th birthday.

They say both men later killed Hill to protect themselves because she knew about Bills’ death.

Prosecutors last month charged Srebnik and Wirgau with first-degree murder, disinterment and mutilation of a body, and weapons charges and charged Wirgau as an accessory to a felony.

This story has been edited to reflect that Rick Steiger represents Joshua Wirgau and Patrick Cherry represents Brad Srebnik. That information was incorrect in a previous version of the story.