Man pleads not guilty in killing of Covina woman

A man accused of murdering his cousin's wife and abandoning her body in a van parked beside Pomona City Hall pleaded not guilty to murder charges this morning.

Joseph Gary Orta, 34, was in custody during the brief hearing at Pomona Superior Court.

He is accused of stabbing and killing Eileen Nicole Ponce-Orta, 22, of Covina, in February.

Family members of Ponce-Orta said Joseph Orta stayed with the woman and her husband at their Covina home after he was paroled from prison.

Family members said Orta had romantic feelings for Ponce-Orta but she rejected him. They believe that motivated him to kill.