Jury begins deliberations in murder trial for woman's stabbing

POMONA - A prosecutor told jurors today that Joseph Gary Orta's murder case comes down to witness credibility.

And Orta, who in his trial testimony denied stabbing his cousin's 22-year-old wife to death in Pomona two years ago, "told you lie after lie after lie on that stand," said Deputy District Attorney Stacy Okun-Wiese.

A jury of seven men and five women seated to hear Orta's trial began their deliberations this afternoon after hearing closing arguments in Pomona Superior Court from attorneys in the case.

Prosecutors accuse Orta, 36, of fatally stabbing Eileen Nicole Ponce-Orta in February 2008 and leaving the Covina woman's body in a van that was abandoned beside the courthouse.

Orta's attorney, Lesley Sandra Gordon, attacked the credibility of one of the prosecution's key witnesses. Albert Matthew Sandoval testified that he saw Orta with the dead woman they day before her body was discovered.

Sandoval, 22, only came forward with information after he was charged with murder in a separate Pomona killing. Gordon called Sandoval a liar and said he would say anything to "save his skin" in his murder case.

Sandoval reached an agreement with prosecutors to testify in Orta's trial in exchange for a plea bargain that carries a three-year prison sentence. He potentially faced life in prison.

"With his testimony here, Albert went from life to three years - pretty amazing," Gordon said.

Orta and Ponce-Orta began a romantic relationship after Orta, of Azusa, moved into his cousin and Ponce-Orta's apartment the month before her death.

Orta moved out after a week or two, but he testified that he and Ponce-Orta's romantic relationship continued. They spent three days together prior to the woman's death.

Orta testified that Ponce-Orta left him and the woman's two-year-old daughter at a park in Pomona the day before her body was found. According to Orta, Ponce-Orta said she planned to buy marijuana. He claims he never saw her again.

During his testimony Monday, Orta said he cried and was "heartbroken" when he learned two days later that Ponce-Orta had been killed.

Okun-Wiese called Orta's testimony a "fairy tale." Ponce-Orta's relatives testified the woman wouldn't have left her daughter with Orta, and Orta said he never saw Ponce-Orta leave her daughter under similar circumstances.

Prosecutors also disputed Orta's testimony that Ponce-Orta smoked marijuana.

"We know that there was no trace of marijuana in Eileen's system when the autopsy was completed," Okun-Wiese said.

Okun-Wiese told jurors that Sandoval's testimony about seeing Ponce-Orta's body was consistent with evidence in the case. Sandoval accurately identified the color of the woman's toenail polish, as well as the positioning of her body inside the van, Okun-Wiese said.

"This is information that only someone who saw her body would know," Okun-Wiese said.

The prosecutor also highlighted similarities between Ponce-Orta's killing - she was stabbed in the neck - and Orta's stabbing of his stepfather in 2001. Orta was convicted of assault with a deadly weapon in that case, and was released from prison three months before Ponce-Orta's death.

Orta testified that after Ponce-Orta left him at the park with her daughter, he saw an old friend who offered him a ride - first to look for Ponce-Orta, and later to visit several of his relatives.

Prosecutors believe Orta lied about the man. Sandoval and other witnesses testified that they saw Orta with Ponce-Orta's van the day before it was abandoned beside the courthouse.

And Orta's friend - whose full name Orta couldn't remember - was not called as a witness in the trial.

"He's not here," Okun-Wiese said. "And do you know why? Because he doesn't exist. He is made up."