Man Is Found Guilty of Murder in Baby’s Death

NEWPORT BEACH —  After deliberating for more than three days, a Superior Court jury found a Santa Ana man guilty Friday of second-degree murder in the beating death of his girlfriend’s 11-month-old daughter last September.

Steven Delgado, 22, bowed his head slightly as the verdict was read. He faces 15 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Aug. 20.

“Obviously, I disagree with the verdict,” said defense attorney Frederick L. McBride, who contended throughout the trial that his client was not in the victim’s apartment during the time the murder occurred. “But I realize that the jury worked very hard to come to their decision.”

Bail for Delgado was set at $500,000 despite a plea by McBride to have it set lower. He said he will appeal the ruling.

Jurors said they relied heavily on the testimony of the girl’s older brother, 5-year-old Johnny, in deciding Delgado’s guilt. The boy told jurors that he was in bed with his sister when Delgado entered the room, threw Amanda against a wall, beat her repeatedly with his fist and then hit him in the mouth. Amanda was discovered dead by her mother on Sept. 26.

Jury forewoman Rosie Maloos said that although some of the boy’s testimony was contradictory, she and fellow jurors took into consideration his age and a videotaped statement he made to police last fall.

The prosecution had sought a first-degree murder conviction, but Maloos said the jury settled on the lesser charge because members did not feel “there was an intent to kill.”

Testifying on his own behalf, Delgado had told jurors that the last time he saw the girl alive he had sung her to sleep with a lullaby.

Several members of the girl’s family wept as Delgado was taken into custody. They said they were angry that Judge Ragnar Engebretsen chose to set bail.

“My daughter’s dead and they still give him the chance to post . . . bail,” said Manuel Ortiz, the girl’s father.

“I have a 5-year-old son to worry about,” he said, clutching a picture of his daughter attached to his key chain. “This is all I have left of my daughter. And for what?”

An autopsy found that injuries to the girl’s abdomen were the primary cause of death. Authorities also found two skull fractures and multiple chest bruises, Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert C. Gannon told jurors during opening arguments in the trial. Gannon was not in court Friday because he was out of town.

Delgado had been romantically involved with Elizabeth Ruiz, the children’s mother, for five months before the girl’s death. She was separated from the children’s father at the time.

Delgado and Ruiz worked together at a Santa Ana insurance firm and had known each other since childhood.

Ruiz, who also was not present Friday, gave several contradictory accounts of the what transpired the night her daughter was killed. Maloos said “the mother was not a very credible witness.”

Times correspondent Jeanne Wright contributed to this story.