Judge dismisses lawsuit brought against Pomona by murdered woman's relatives

Pictured: Eileen Nicole Ponce-Orta and her daughter Alina.

LOS ANGELES -- A judge today dismissed a lawsuit brought against the city of Pomona by the family of a murdered woman whose relatives discovered her body inside an abandoned van.

Relatives of Eileen Nicole Ponce-Orta discovered her body on the floor of her van on Feb. 15, 2008 after Pomona police called her husband to pick up the vehicle, which was left beside Pomona Superior Court.

As part of an earlier missing-person's report for Ponce-Orta, her family members informed police that the van was also missing.

Joseph Gary Orta, a 37-year-old cousin of Ponce-Orta's husband, was convicted of first-degree murder last year for Ponce-Orta's slaying. The Azusa man was sentenced to 56 years to life in prison.

The lawsuit dismissed today was brought by the three people who discovered Ponce-Orta's body: her husband, Nicolas Ponce; her mother, Tracy Ponce; and her brother, Enrique Ponce.

All three claim they suffered emotional distress when they found the Covina woman's body, which was covered by sheets inside the van.

Tracy Ponce said this afternoon that the officer who found the van failed to search it before its release despite evidence of foul play. Ponce-Orta's purse was left on the passenger seat and its contents were dumped out, Ponce said.

"All the officer had to do was get his butt off the car and look through the window," Ponce said.

Ponce and the lawyer for the plaintiffs, Kurt E. Kananen, said they plan to appeal Judge James R. Dunn's ruling, which was made in the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center in downtown Los Angeles.

In explaining his ruling, Dunn said police officers are immune from civil liability for actions taken during missing-persons investigations, Kananen said.

"Of course we believe that his ruling was not correct, and, in more detail, we believe that he unfairly expanded the immunities for police officers for their negligence in dealing with regular citizens," Kananen said.

Though she disagreed with the judge's ruling, Ponce said her main concern was seeing Orta prosecuted for her daughter's slaying.

"Honestly, we're moving on with our lives," she said. "My granddaughter Alina (Ponce-Orta's daughter) is doing great. ... I'm thankful we had justice in the murder case."