Alberto Solis Guzman Convicted in 4-Year-Old's Death; His Girlfriend Up on Murder of Her Son

​Read update with Guzman's sentence here.

Alberto Solis Guzman has been convicted of assaulting his girlfriend's 4-year-old son with great bodily injury to the child's head resulting in his death, but the 30-year-old's lover faces not only that charge but a murder rap and other felony counts at her trial.

Like Guzman, who is scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 14, 2011, Gabriela Mariana Morales, 28, of Santa Ana, could receive up to 34 years to life in state prison with a conviction.

Courtesy of Orange County District Attorney

Alberto Solis Guzman has been convicted.

​Morales' son Brandon lived a nightmarish short life. His 9-year-old brother testified during Guzman's trial that the mother's boyfriend repeatedly hit the younger child with his hands and a belt, and that the couple forced Brandon to sleep on the floor, refused to feed him and made him stand in a corner with his hands above his head for extended periods.

Guzman's conviction was largely based on evidence that showed on April 30, 2008, he repeatedly hit and punched the 4-year-old.

A month to the day later, Morales allegedly caused her pride and joy to fall unconscious from several blows to his head, according to prosecutors.

Courtesy of OCDA

Gabriela Marianna Morales may be next.

​However, the mother waited several hours before calling 9-1-1, authorities allege.

Paramedics had Brandon rushed to Children's Hospital of Orange County in Orange, where he was pronounced dead from blunt-force trauma to the head.

At the time of his arrest, police say, Guzman admitted to having hit Brandon before but claimed that it was never very hard and that Morales murdered her baby.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office statement on Guzman's conviction follows on the next page.