Two men pleaded not guilty Thursday in the death of man whose body was found burning in the woods of Manorville.
Prosecutors said Bryan Rosales-Mejia, 21, and his friend Orlen Soliz-Galvez, 18, confessed to brutally murdering 36-year-old German Cuzman earlier this month and setting his body on fire.
Officials said the initial attack occurred in a vacant cottage behind Rosales-Mejia's Amityville home.
"They began to stab him with a knife and then a screwdriver and continued punching and kicking him until he died," said Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Creighton. "After which, they dragged him into his own car and left him there overnight -- then returned the following afternoon to drive him out to Manorville."
Creighton said the men plotted through text messages to murder Guzman before they lured him to Amityville. She said the two took pictures and video as he lay dying on the ground.
Guzman's burning body was found in the brush on Manor Road in Manorville by a driver who called the police.
Soliz-Galvez was arrested two days later driving the victim's car.
Prosecutors said the men all knew each other, but they are not releasing a motive for the murder.
Both men are charged with second-degree murder. They are being held on $10 million bail.