Ex-con Orta denies Pomona murder charge

Joseph Gary Orta pleaded not guilty in Pomona Superior Court this morning to charges that he murdered his cousin's wife.

Orta is next due in court Aug. 10 for a trial-readiness hearing. A trial date was set this morning for Aug. 12, according to a clerk in the courtroom where this morning's hearing was held.

Read the account of his preliminary hearing below for more detail on the case.

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Man ordered to stand trial in Pomona stabbing death

Inland Valley Daily Bulletin (Ontario, CA) - Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Author: Will Bigham, Staff Writer

POMONA - A judge ruled Tuesday that a 35-year-old ex-convict accused of stabbing his cousin's wife to death last year must stand trial on murder charges.

The ruling by judge George Genesta that Joseph Gary Orta must stand trial came after 10 witnesses were called to testify by prosecutors during a four-hour preliminary hearing in Pomona Superior Court.

Over the course of 10 witnesses, Deputy District Attorney Stacy Weise presented a timeline of Orta 's movements in the days preceeding and following the Feb. 15, 2008 discovery of Eileen Nicole Ponce- Orta 's body in a parking lot beside Pomona Superior Court.

But what remains unclear following Tuesday's hearing are the direct circumstances of Ponce- Orta 's death.

Prosecutors did not present evidence to indicate where the death occurred. There were no witnesses to the killing itself, and no one who saw Orta near the van where Ponce- Orta 's body was found wrapped in a blanket.

The murder weapon has not been found, and a search of Joseph Orta 's residence following his arrest yielded few clues into the killing.

According to several family members of Orta and Ponce- Orta who testified Tuesday, Eileen Nicole Ponce- Orta and her husband Nicolas Orta had been having marital problems.

Family members suspected Eileen Nicole Ponce- Orta and Joseph Orta may have had a romantic relationship.

On the morning of Feb. 12, 2008, Eileen Nicole Ponce- Orta dropped off Nicolas Orta at his job, but failed to pick him up when his shift ended, Nicolas Orta told police investigators, according to testimony Tuesday from Pomona police detective Jennifer Turpin.

Nicolas Orta told police it was the last time he saw her alive, Turpin testified.

On Feb. 13, Joseph Orta , Ponce- Orta and Ponce- Orta 's young daughter visited Orta 's mother's home in Fontana and spent the night there, according to testimony from family members. They left the morning of Feb. 14.

At about 1:30 p.m. Feb. 14, Orta visited another relative's home in Azusa with Ponce- Orta 's young daughter.

Orta told relatives he and Ponce- Orta had gotten into a fight at a nearby park. He dropped off the young girl and left, apparently to look for Ponce- Orta .

The rest of the day, he was seen at his father's house briefly in Covina, and spent the afternoon and evening at another relative's home in Pomona.

At 5:30 a.m. on Feb. 15, video footage shows the van containing Ponce- Orta 's body being dropped off at the parking lot beside Pomona Superior Court.

Her body was discovered by her family members when police called them to pick up the van later that morning. Police had briefly searched the van but failed to find the body.

Ponce- Orta died from a stab wound to the neck, Pomona police detective Danny Kono testified.

Following the testimony, Orta 's defense attorney, Lesley Sandra Gordon, moved to dismiss the charges based on the insuffiency of evidence. Genesta denied the motion.