BATON ROUGE — Maurice Parms, the man accused of murdering 15-year-old Ja'Derrius Minnieweather before dumping the teenager’s body in a garbage can, pleaded not guilty in a downtown Baton Rouge courtroom Thursday morning. 

Parms, 51, pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, second-degree rape, trafficking and two counts of indecent behavior with a juvenile following an indictment on Oct. 7. 

During the Baton Rouge Police Department's investigation into Minnieweather's disappearance, they found messages between Parms and a 16-year-old girl. According to arrest documents, Parms said he was in a relationship with the 16-year-old girl.

Officials allege that Parms killed Minnieweather after a fight on June 4.