Trial in Case of Beaten Toddler Begins Today

Opening statements are scheduled today in the trial of a man accused of fatally beating his live-in girlfriend's 7-month-old son in the East County.

David Christopher Cruz, 24, is charged with murder and child abuse in the March 2011 death of Cordero Izaiah Cisneros.

Cruz was arrested about 13 hours after paramedics were called to tend to the unresponsive infant at the Cabo Verde Apartments on Hart Drive in an unincorporated area of El Cajon.

Cordero was put on life support at Rady Children's Hospital for several days until his father, who was in the Navy, was able to fly to San Diego from the Middle East to say goodbye.

At the time, the father told reporters that he deployed when his son was around three months old and a month into his deployment, the baby's mother broke up with him. He said he didn't know his ex was living with another man until he flew back to say goodbye to his son.

Cruz faces up to 50 years to life in prison if convicted.

-- City News Service