Fall River Man Sentenced to Life for Christmas Eve 2019 Murder

FALL RIVER (WBSM) — A Fall River man was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to second degree murder in the Christmas Eve 2019 fatal stabbing of Gary Werra in Fall River.

Bristol County District Attorney Thomas M. Quinn III said Jose Amador-Ayala, 27, was sentenced to serve life in prison with the possibility of parole after 22 years in the killing of Werra, who was 39 at the time of his murder.

On December 24, 2019, at approximately 5:30 p.m., Fall River Police received a 911 call from a woman claiming Amador-Ayala had just killed someone. Police arrived and located him outside of 76 Angel Street with a knife and bloody clothing.

READ MORE: Fall River Man Indicted in Murder of Gary Werra

Amador-Ayala was taken into custody and police interviewed his sister, who told them her mother received a call earlier in the day from Jose asking her to pick him up at the Angel Street address. The sister arrived to find him yelling and in bloody clothing.

He then asked her to come to the basement, where she saw a lifeless human body hastily wrapped up, the D.A.’s Office said, which turned out to be Werra’s body.

Amador-Ayala then carried the body to his sister’s truck and ordered her to drive to a secluded area behind Gold Medal Bakery, where he then disposed of the body. He admitted to his sister during the ride that he had stabbed and killed Werra.

The sister later drove to her boyfriend’s house and told him and his mother what had happened. The boyfriend’s mother called 911 and the sister explained to police what happened and brought them to the site of where her brother had dumped the body.

Werra’s body was found wrapped up and dumped in a wooded area. It was determined he had suffered 68 stab wounds.

The subsequent investigation revealed that there was a love triangle between Amador-Ayala, Werra and a woman.

“This was a brutal and senseless killing which was apparently motivated by both of their affections for the same woman,” D.A. Quinn said. “I appreciate the family’s patience during the almost five-year court process. I hope the defendant accepting responsibility for the murder of their loved one will bring them some consolation.”