Merced man pleads not guilty in girlfriend’s death

A 25-year-old Merced man accused of killing his girlfriend pleaded not guilty to murder on Tuesday.

Jose Angel Urena-Ortiz entered his plea before visiting Judge Donald Shaver in Merced Superior Court.

Urena-Ortiz is charged with the slaying of Catrina Fonseca-Martinez on Dec. 27. The 23-year-old woman died at Mercy Medical Center in Merced after suffering injuries at a home in the 200 block of Q Street, according to the Merced Police Department.

Investigators have not commented on the cause of death, but confirmed Fonseca-Martinez was not shot or stabbed.

Mathew Martinez, the deputy district attorney prosecuting the case, confirmed that an attorney representing Urena-Ortiz asked the judge on Tuesday to allow the defense to take its own photographs of the victim’s body. Martinez called the move unusual, saying he’d “never had a defendant make that request before.” He referred all other questions about the request to the attorney, Kevin Little.

Little could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

A hearing on the matter is set for Jan. 14.

Urena-Ortiz has been arrested at least three times on domestic violence charges and convicted once. A case in 2014 was reduced from a felony count of inflicting corporal injury to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace. Urena-Ortiz was arrested on suspicion of spousal abuse in October, but prosecutors declined to file charges, citing a lack of evidence, according to court records.

He remains in custody at the Merced County jail with bond set at $1 million.

This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Merced man pleads not guilty in girlfriend’s death."