A Kansas appeals court has ruled that a Garden City man can be tried for first-degree murder in a 2011 stabbing death. The suspect, 32-year-old Fred Schmidt Jr., is a suspect in the March 2011 death of 25-year-old Jeffrey Nichols. Prosecutors have said Nichols died from 45 separate stab wounds after allegedly fighting with Schmidt. A Finney County judge previously ruled that there was not enough evidence to bind Schmidt over on a first-degree murder charge, but said he could be tried on second-degree murder. But the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled Friday that Schmidt can be tried for first-degree murder. Schmidt has claimed he stabbed Nichols in self-defense after Nichols attacked him.