*NEWS RELEASE*

MAN CONVICTED OF MURDER IN DEATH OF 9-MONTH-OLD GIRL

CORONA - A Moreno Valley man has been convicted in the 2006 murder of his girlfriend's 9- month-old daughter.

Robert Thomas Finley, 39, was convicted on July 28, 2009, in the Corona courtroom of Judge Patrick Magers. Finley was found guilty of murder and assault on a child causing death. He faces two life terms when he returns to court on Aug. 14, 2009, to be sentenced.

"These are our most vulnerable victims and our protection of them has to be even greater than that of most," said Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco. "This man was entrusted to be take care of this little girl and instead murdered her. The jury held him accountable for his deplorable actions."

In August 2006, Finley was supposed to be babysitting his girlfriend's four children at her Moreno Valley home while she went to work. Instead, Finley smoked methamphetamine and worked on his car's sound system.

Something enraged Finley to the extent that he brutally assaulted the victim, 9-month-old Ednanda. During the trial, a veteran forensic pathologist testified that it was the worst case of abusive head trauma he has ever seen. Ednanda's skull fractured in three places and the horrible attack caused her brain to come apart.

The case, RIF136966, was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Ambrosio Rodriguez.

"I thank the jury for their service and for holding this baby killer accountable. She was only nine months old," Rodriguez said.