COSTA MESA : Sentencing Delayed in Baby-Slaying Case

Sentencing for Steven Delgado, the Santa Ana man convicted of second-degree murder in the death of his girlfriend’s infant daughter, was postponed Friday after the judge rejected arguments that Delgado should receive a new trial.

The key element in the defense plea for a retrial centered on recent confessions by Elizabeth Ruiz, the mother of 11-month-old Amanda Ortiz who was beaten to death a year ago.

Defense attorney Frederick L. McBride argued that Ruiz’s confessions that she killed her baby--statements made after Delgado was convicted--warranted a new trial.

McBride presented affidavits from Ruiz, one of her friends and from her therapist attesting to her account of the crime. Ruiz said in a statement that she knocked her daughter’s head against a door, threw her into the air, dropped her on the ground and beat her with her fists the night the child died.

But Dist. Atty. Robert C. Gannon countered that Ruiz’s confession was not new evidence, that the jury had known during the trial that the woman was a possible suspect and that Delgado had implicated himself throughout the trial.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Ragner Engebretsen concurred, and said he felt confident that the jury made the right decision.

Delgado’s sentencing was rescheduled for Oct. 26. He faces 15 years to life in prison.