Jose Amador-Ayala at his arraignment Dec. 26, 2019.
A Fall River man has been ordered held without bail in the stabbing death of a man whose body was found in the woods on Christmas Eve.
Jose Amador-Ayala, 23, pleaded not guilty Thursday in the killing of Gary Werra.
The 39-year-old Fall River resident was found dead around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday in a wooded area near the railroad tracks behind the Gold Medal Bakery complex on Bay Street.
Amador-Ayala was arrested without incident Tuesday night at a home on County Street following an investigation.
Court documents obtained by WJAR-TV showed that Amador-Ayala was at Werra's house helping to fix a boiler when an argument broke out. That's when Amador-Ayala allegedly took a knife from the kitchen table and stabbed Werra repeatedly.
Authorities said Amador-Ayala then asked his sister, Dereliz Amador, to drive him a secluded location to dump the body.
The sister told police she complied out of fear, then immediately told her boyfriend and his family, who then contacted police.
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Amador-Ayala, who was provided a court-appointed attorney, is due back in court Jan. 22.
