NEW YORK – In a Manhattan courtroom where prosecutors described their evidence against him – including videotape of him selling cocaine to an undercover police officer – Robert Chambers pleaded not guilty to drug charges Thursday and was ordered held without bail until a hearing next week.

Still wearing the same clothes they had on when they were arrested Monday, Chambers, 41 – who gained notoriety decades ago as the “Preppy Killer” – and live-in girlfriend Shawn Kovell, 39, each pleaded not guilty before Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Charles Solomon.

The prosecution asked that bail be set at $50,000 each, but the judge put off a decision and ordered both held until a bail hearing Monday.

Chambers and Kovell, who have both said they are too poor to afford a private attorney, were represented by public defenders.

It appeared that no family or friends of either suspect were in the courtroom Thursday morning as an unshaven Chambers, in a black t-shirt and black jeans, entered with his head held high. He spoke in a soft voice when he pronounced the words “not guilty.”

Kovell, by contrast, entered with head bowed, but spoke to the judge in a clear, loud voice. Her lawyer has asked that her case be treated as that of an ordinary first-time defendant with no prior arrest record, and that she be released on her own recognizance.

Chambers’ lawyer, Valerie Van Leer-Greenberg, asked the court to provide money for an investigator to look into evidence cited so far by the prosecution, including a videotape of a drug transaction at the couple’s East Side apartment, as well as audiotape evidence and still photographs.

Corvell’s lawyer, Franklin Rothman, said he believes his client will be released on her own recognizance because she has no prior arrest record.

Chambers’ journey, from pampered Upper East Side prep school playboy to killer, made headlines worldwide 20 years ago. Chambers served 15 years for strangling Jennifer Levin, 18, during a tryst in Central Park. He claimed it happened during rough sex.

Released on Valentine’s Day 2003, Chambers has been in and out of trouble since, but his current brush with the law could land him behind bars for 150 years if convicted, in part because of his previous record.

Chambers and Kovell were accused of dealing cocaine out of their Manhattan apartment for the past three months, during which time Chambers sold about a half-pound of cocaine – worth about $20,000 – in the course of seven transactions with a New York Police Department undercover operation, authorities said. Kovell was present during one such transaction, authorities said.

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(Staff writer Joseph Mallia contributed to this story.)

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AP-NY-10-25-07 1958EDT