An Alabama man joined the search for a girl after she vanished from her aunt’s house earlier this month — but authorities discovered it was all a ploy to hide that he was the person who'd murdered her, an investigator said in court Monday.

Christopher Madison was charged with capital murder on March 4 in the death of Amberly Barnett, whose body was discovered in the woods on March 2, a day after she was last seen at her aunt’s house in Mt. Vernon. Barnett had a blue rope wrapped around her neck.

A judge ruled Monday that prosecutors have probable cause in the murder case and sent it to a grand jury.

Chief investigator David Davis said in court testimony Monday that Madison — who lived in a mobile home next to Barnett’s residence — pretended to help police search for the 11-year-old the night she went missing, AL.com reported.

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Davis said Madison claimed he saw a vehicle pull into the driveway of the house and told police he searched the woods behind his home but didn’t spot Barnett.

Neighbors, however, said they never saw a vehicle in the driveway that night, the testimony stated. Police then located Barnett’s body in the woods about 4,000-feet away from Madison’s home, AL.com reported.

Investigators said they later uncovered several clues that indicated Madison had murdered the girl, including the same blue rope that was discovered around Barnett’s neck.

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Madison's girlfriend also told investigators the blue rope had been in the home a day before Barnett’s death. Investigators said they located a clamp and bolt in the floor used in "bondage" activity, blood spatters and more rope wrapped around Madison's knife.

A strand of long blonde hair similar to Barnett’s was found on a pine tree and in Madison’s tub, AL.com reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.