A Lancaster man will face a single count of criminal homicide in Lancaster County Court following a preliminary hearing Wednesday morning at Magisterial District Judge Brian E. Chudzik’s office in Lancaster.

Chudzik found the evidence presented was sufficient to hold over charges against Joel Ayala Jr., 20 of the 2900 block of Spring Valley Rd., regarding the shooting of 22-year-old Linnette Ayala on March 10.

Assistant District Attorney Mark Fetterman presented testimony from East Hempfield Township Police Officer Chad Nagel, who was first to respond to the scene, and Detective Sergeant Christopher Chase, who is leading the investigation and filed charges.

According to testimony, Joel Ayala Sr. had called police around 11:23 p.m. on March 10 for the report that he had found his daughter deceased in the garage of his home.

When officers arrived, they located the deceased victim partially wrapped in bedding in the garage, evidence of blood and spatter in the victim’s bedroom, and a mop bucket that smelled of bleach and appeared to have a red, blood-like liquid in it.

Both the defendant and victim lived in rooms in the basement of the home, which connected to the garage.

Additional testimony revealed that an initial 911 call had been made around 7:30 p.m. on March 10 for a mental health check made by Ayala Sr. after he returned home from running errands during the day. Ayala Sr. returned home to find Ayala Jr. possessing his AK-47 rifle, which has now been seized by police and is being sent to state police for testing.

At that time, Ayala Sr. was able to secure his gun from Ayala Jr. and it was agreed that he would go with his mother, who lives in Lebanon, to the Good Samaritan Hospital for a mental health check.

Police then left the scene at the East Hempfield Township home around 8:18 p.m. but returned around 11:23 p.m. when Ayala Sr. called after discovering the smell of bleach and finding red liquid in the mop bucket, attempting to call his daughter, finding her cell phone in her bedroom, and eventually discovering his daughter deceased in the garage.

Investigators then determined Ayala Jr. as a person of interest and went to Lebanon to bring him in for an interview and check on the welfare of the residents he was with. Police found him to be asleep in a second-floor bedroom and he voluntarily agreed to come speak with investigators at the East Hempfield Township Police Department.

During this interview, Ayala Jr. admitted he was home alone with his sister, used a mop and bucket, knew his sister was dead, and when asked if he was responsible for his sister’s death he responded, “Yes.”

Police observed Ayala Jr. to have a flat affect and was very quiet and the only additional information given was that his sister had made fun of him for being depressed.

The Lancaster County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of the victim’s death to be multiple gunshot wounds to the head and the manner to be homicide.

Ayala Jr.’s arraignment has yet to be scheduled. He is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sean McBryan, semcbryan@co.lancaster.pa.us; Twitter: @SeanMcBryanLanc.