A 1-year-old boy died 44 years ago. His accused killer is now going to trial.

Joey Abernathy III was found slumped on his toy motorcycle one winter morning in 1972. The toddler had been hit in the abdomen, causing laceration of his liver, court records say.

 He died on Dec. 30, 1972, at the age of 1. A first-degree murder charge was filed the following year against his mother's ex-boyfriend, Gary Warwick, but was mysteriously dismissed.

For four decades, the case remained unsolved — until about three years ago, when Warwick was, again, arrested and charged in the death of the boy relatives still call Baby Joey. Warwick, 65, will now stand trial for murder, after the Illinois Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal to dismiss the case.