MURRIETA - A Murrieta man was convicted today of voluntary manslaughter and assault charges in the death of his girlfriend's 16-month-old daughter.

Jurors rejected first- and second-degree murder charges, instead finding 30-year-old Ryan Christopher Mickey guilty of the lesser counts of voluntary manslaughter and assault on a child causing death.

Members of the six-man, six-woman panel, which reached the verdict after about eight days of deliberations, declined to speak about the case afterward.

Mickey faces a maximum of 36 years to life behind bars -- 25 years to life on the assault count and 11 for manslaughter -- when he is sentenced April 9.

Kerianne Bradley died on Feb. 5, 2006, at Rady Children's Hospital-San Diego, a day after paramedics were summoned to the home that her mother shared with Mickey on Broken Arrow Way.

Mickey was performing CPR on the child when medics arrived.

When the first verdict was read, the toddler's mother, Jennifer, and father, Nick, thought Mickey had been acquitted of all charges and ran out of the courtroom in anger.

When they learned from other family members that Mickey had been found guilty on the assault and manslaughter charges, their tears of rage quickly turned to tears of joy.

"It was an emotional roller coaster,'' Nick Bradley said outside court. Jennifer Bradley said her family and friends were "banking on'' Mickey suffering in prison.

The prosecution contended that Mickey beat the child after learning that his then-girlfriend was planning to reunite with her husband, Nick, when he was released from prison.

The defense maintained that the child had been hurt earlier in the week, and her condition deteriorated until she went into cardiac arrest. Brown told jurors that the youngster's abdominal and facial injuries occurred while Mickey was trying to resuscitate her.

The San Diego County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy testified the child suffered head and abdominal injuries consistent with a beating.

Defense attorney James Brown told jurors the child's mother did not take proper care of her and refused to fill her prescriptions.

The day the girl stopped breathing, his client had taken the toddler home, bathed and dressed her and then noticed her gasping for air and wheezing, Brown said.

He said Mickey called the child's mother to ask where to find her daughter's inhaler -- which she had for a pre-existing condition -- and she hung up on him, so he called 911.

Outside court, defense co-counsel Mark Simowitz said he could not understand the jury's thinking on the verdicts.

Acquitting his client of murder but convicting him on the child abuse causing death charge was an "inconsistent verdict,'' Simowitz said.

"I don't know how that's much different,'' he said. "I don't know why they didn't believe the theory of a pre-existing head injury.''

MURRIETA - A Murrieta man was convicted today of voluntary manslaughter and assault charges in the death of his girlfriend's 16-month-old daughter.

Jurors rejected first- and second-degree murder charges, instead finding 30-year-old Ryan Christopher Mickey guilty of the lesser counts of voluntary manslaughter and assault on a child causing death.

The six-man, six-woman panel reached its verdict soon after beginning its eighth day of deliberations.

Divided jury resumes deliberations on fate of Murrieta man accused in beating death of 16-month-old

MURRIETA - A divided jury resumed deliberations today on the fate of a Murrieta man accused of fatally beating his girlfriend\\\'s 16-month-old daughter.

Ryan Christopher Mickey, 30, is charged with first-degree murder and assault on a child with injury or death. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 25 years to life in prison.

On Thursday, the jury indicated it had reached a verdict on the first-degree murder charge but was at an impasse on the child abuse charge and also lesser charges, such as manslaughter.

A defense motion to declare a mistrial on the lesser charge and the abuse charge was denied. Following a conference in chambers with the attorneys, the judge ordered the jury back to court today to resume deliberations.

Today marks the eighth day of deliberations for the jury, which last week asked for readback of doctors\' testimony and clarification on what constitutes provocation in second-degree murder.

A second-degree murder conviction would bring less prison time than a first-degree conviction and manslaughter would result in even less.

Kerianne Bradley died on Feb. 5, 2006, at Rady Children\'s Hospital-San Diego, a day after paramedics were summoned to the home that her mother shared with Mickey on Broken Arrow Way.

The San Diego County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy testified the child suffered head and abdominal injuries consistent with a beating.

Prosecutor Jess Walsh told the jury in his closing argument that Mickey was angered to learn his girlfriend intended to bring her husband back into her life when he got out of prison and, after drinking a beer, pummeled her child.

Walsh rejected a defense argument that the toddler had been injured earlier in the week or had a pre-existing condition that led to cardiac arrest.

Defense attorney James Brown said the baby stopped breathing because of some other injury or illness, and that Mickey inflicted other injuries while trying to resuscitate her.

Brown told jurors the child\'s own mother did not take proper care of her and refused to fill her prescriptions.

The day the girl stopped breathing, his client had taken the toddler home, bathed and dressed her and then noticed her gasping for air and wheezing, Brown said. He said Mickey called the child\'s mother to ask where to find her

daughter\'s inhaler -- which she had for a pre-existing condition -- and she hung up on him, so he called 911.

No verdict yet for alleged murder of 16-month-old girl

MURRIETA - Jurors went home for the weekend today without deciding the fate of a Murrieta man accused of fatally beating his girlfriend\'s 16-month-old daughter.

The panel, in its fourth day of deliberations, put in a half-day behind closed doors, and will resume its work on Monday afternoon.

Ryan Christopher Mickey, 30, is charged with first-degree murder and assault on a child with injury or death. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 25 years to life in prison.

Kerianne Bradley died on Feb. 5, 2006, at Rady Children\'s Hospital-San Diego, a day after paramedics were summoned to the home her mother shared with Mickey on Broken Arrow Way.

The San Diego County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy testified the child suffered head and abdominal injuries consistent with a beating.

Jurors today had various doctors\' testimony read back to them, according to prosecutor Jess Walsh.

He told the panel in his closing argument that Mickey was angered to learn his girlfriend intended to bring her husband back into her life when he got out of prison and, after drinking a beer, pummeled her child.

Walsh rejected a defense argument that the toddler had been injured earlier in the week or had a pre-existing condition that led to cardiac arrest.

\"If she was hurt like this before, somebody would have noticed,\" he said, telling jurors not to be distracted by \"red herrings.\"

Defense attorney James Brown argued the baby stopped breathing because of illness, and that Mickey inflicted the injuries while trying to resuscitate her.

\"Ryan Mickey did not kill, nor did he intentionally harm this child,\" Brown said.

The defense attorney told jurors the child\'s own mother did not take proper care of her and refused to fill her prescriptions.

The day the girl stopped breathing, his client had taken the toddler home, bathed and dressed her and then noticed her gasping for air and wheezing, Brown said.

He said Mickey called the child\'s mother to ask where to find her daughter\'s inhaler -- which she had for a pre-existing condition -- and she hung up on him, so he called 911.

Jurors resume deliberations for fatal beating of 16-month-old

MURRIETA - A jury today is set to resume its closed-door discussion of the fate of a Murrieta man charged with fatally beating his girlfriend\'s 16-month-old daughter.

Ryan Christopher Mickey, 30, accused of killing 16- month-old Kerianne Bradley, is charged with first-degree murder and assault on a child with injury or death. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 25 years to life in state prison.

The toddler died on Feb. 5, 2006, at Rady Children\'s Hospital-San Diego, a day after paramedics were summoned to the home her mother shared with Mickey on Broken Arrow Way.

The San Diego County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy testified that the child suffered head and abdominal injuries consistent with a beating.

This afternoon, jurors asked for copies of the witness\' autopsy report, but the full document was not submitted as evidence at the trial and the request was denied, prosecutor Jess Walsh said outside court.

During closing arguments, Walsh told the jury that Mickey had learned his girlfriend intended to bring her husband back into her life when he was released from prison. That angered Mickey and, after drinking a beer, he pummeled the child, Walsh alleged.

\"At some point, this man had a chance to think about, `What am I doing?\"\' Walsh said.

Walsh rejected a defense argument that the child had been injured earlier in the week or had a pre-existing condition that led to cardiac arrest.

\"If she was hurt like this before, somebody would have noticed,\" he said, telling jurors not to be distracted by \"red herrings.\"

The defense argued the baby stopped breathing because of illness, and that Mickey inflicted the injuries while trying to resuscitate her.

\"Ryan Mickey did not kill, nor did he intentionally harm this child,\" defense attorney James Brown said.

Brown said Kerianne had been ill earlier in the week and had vomited, was lethargic and did not want to eat.

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[ Chatton and Associates ] Brown said a nurse practitioner who saw the child earlier in the week diagnosed an intestinal problem but never took any cultures, blood or even her temperature.

\"Not once did she say this is a symptom of a head injury,\" Brown said of the nurse\'s diagnosis, which her doctor said he never signed off on.

Brown said the child\'s own mother did not take proper care of her and refused to fill her prescriptions.

The day the girl stopped breathing, the defendant had taken the baby home, bathed and dressed her and then noticed the child began gasping for air and was wheezing, Brown said.

Mickey called the child\'s mother to find out where to find her daughter\'s inhaler -- which she had for a pre-existing condition -- and she hung up on him, so he called 911, Brown said.

Mickey is in custody in lieu of $2.04 million bail.

MURRIETA - Jurors today completed a second full day of deliberations without reaching a verdict in the trial of a Murrieta man accused of fatally beating his girlfriend\'s 16-month-old daughter.

The jury is due back at 10 a.m. Thursday to resume its closed-door discussion on the fate of Ryan Christopher Mickey, who is accused of killing 16-month-old Kerianne Bradley.

The 30-year-old defendant is charged with first-degree murder and assault on a child with injury or death. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 25 years to life in state prison.

The toddler died on Feb. 5, 2006, at Rady Children\'s Hospital-San Diego, a day after paramedics were summoned to the home her mother shared with Mickey on Broken Arrow Way.

The San Diego County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy testified that the child suffered head and abdominal injuries consistent with a beating.

This afternoon, jurors asked for copies of the witness\' autopsy report, but thefull document was not submitted as evidence at the trial and request was denied, prosecutor Jess Walsh said outside court.

During closing arguments, Walsh told the jury that Mickey had learned his girlfriend intended to bring her husband back into her life when he was released from prison. That angered Mickey and, after drinking a beer, he pummeled the child, Walsh alleged.

\"At some point, this man had a chance to think about, `What am I doing?\"\' Walsh said.

Walsh rejected a defense argument that the child had been injured earlier in the week or had a pre-existing condition that led to cardiac arrest.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If she was hurt like this before, somebody would have noticed,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" he said, telling jurors not to be distracted by \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"red herrings.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

The defense argued the baby stopped breathing because of illness, and that Mickey inflicted the injuries while trying to resuscitate her.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Ryan Mickey did not kill, nor did he intentionally harm this child,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" defense attorney James Brown said.

Brown said Kerianne had been ill earlier in the week and had vomited, was lethargic and did not want to eat.

Brown said a nurse practitioner who saw the child earlier in the week diagnosed an intestinal problem but never took any cultures, blood or even her temperature.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Not once did she say this is a symptom of a head injury,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Brown said of the nurse\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s diagnosis, which her doctor said he never signed off on.

Brown said the child\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s own mother did not take proper care of her and refused to fill her prescriptions.

The day the girl stopped breathing, the defendant had taken the baby home, bathed and dressed her and then noticed the child began gasping for air and was wheezing, Brown said.

Mickey called the child\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mother to find out where to find her daughter\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s inhaler -- which she had for a pre-existing condition -- and she hung up on him, so he called 911, Brown said.

Mickey is in custody in lieu of $2.04 million bail.

Jurors end second day of deliberations without verdict for fatal beating of 16-month-old

MURRIETA - Jurors ended their first day of deliberations today without reaching a verdict in the trial of a Murrieta man accused of fatally beating his girlfriend\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s 16-month-old daughter.

Deliberations will resume Wednesday morning in the trial of 30-year-old Ryan Christopher Mickey, who is in custody in lieu of $2.04 million bail.

He faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of killing 16-month-old Kerianne Bradley, who died Feb. 5, 2006, at Rady Children\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Hospital-San Diego, a day after paramedics were summoned to the home her mother shared with Mickey on Broken Arrow Way.

The San Diego County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy said the toddler suffered severe head and abdominal injuries consistent with a beating.

During closing arguments, prosecutor Jess Walsh told the jury that Mickey had learned his girlfriend intended to bring her husband back into her life when he was released from prison.

That angered Mickey, and after drinking a beer, he pummeled the child, Walsh alleged.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"At some point this man had a chance to think about, `What am I doing?\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\' Walsh said.

Walsh rejected a defense argument that the child had been injured earlier in the week or had a pre-existing condition that led to cardiac arrest.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"If she was hurt like this before, somebody would have noticed,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" he said, cautioning jurors not to be distracted by \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"red herrings.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

The defense argued that the baby stopped breathing because of illness, and that Mickey inflicted injuries while trying to resuscitate her.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Ryan Mickey did not kill, nor did he intentionally harm this child,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" defense attorney James Brown said.

Brown said Kerianne had been ill earlier in the week and had vomited, was lethargic and did not want to eat.

Brown said a nurse practitioner who saw the child earlier in the week diagnosed an intestinal problem but never took any cultures, blood or even her temperature.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"Not once did she say this is a symptom of a head injury,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Brown said of the nurse\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s diagnosis, which her doctor said he never signed off on.

Brown said the child\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s own mother did not take proper care of her and refused to fill her prescriptions.

The day the girl stopped breathing, the defendant had taken the baby home, bathed and dressed her and then noticed the child began gasping for air and was wheezing, Brown said.

Mickey called the child\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s mother to find out where to find her daughter\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s inhaler -- which she had for a pre-existing condition -- and she hung up on him, so he called 911, Brown said.

Closing arguments set today in trial of fatal beating of toddler

MURRIETA - Closing arguments are set to get under way today in the case of a man accused of fatally beating his girlfriend\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s 16-month-old daughter at their Murrieta home.

Ryan Christopher Mickey is charged with murder and assault on a child causing injury or death.

The 30-year-old defendant, who is being held in lieu of $2.04 million bail, faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of killing 16-month-old Kerianne Bradley.

The toddler died Feb. 5, 2006, at Rady Children\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Hospital-San Diego, where she was airlifted from another medical center a day after paramedics were summoned to the home her mother shared with the defendant on Broken Arrow Way.

A San Diego County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy said the youngster suffered severe head and abdominal injuries consistent with a beating.

The defense has attempted to show that the baby stopped breathing because of illness, and that Mickey inflicted injuries while trying to resuscitate her.

Dr. Kenneth Carr, who practices at Tri-City Hospital and Rady Children\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Hospital in San Diego County, testified that tests indicated that the infant suffered from internal bleeding and was dehydrated -- most likely from being sick for days.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"She was just not resuscitated vigorously enough,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" said Carr, who said doctors should also have administered medication to promote clotting. The baby had a \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"depletion of the building products of blood clotting,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" he said.

The doctor said the toddler also developed \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"a very severe pneumonia at Children\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Hospital.\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"

Under direct examination by defense attorney James Brown, the cardiologist said bruises which appeared on the child\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s face could have gotten worse because of her internal bleeding.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\"The bruises got deeper as time went on,\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\" Carr said. Before the trial began, the judge granted a defense motion to exclude evidence of an elbow fracture suffered by the child prior to her death.

MURRIETA - Closing arguments are set to begin Monday in the case of a man accused of fatally beating his girlfriend\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s 16-month-old daughter at their Murrieta home.

Ryan Christopher Mickey, 30, is charged with murder and assault on a child causing injury or death.

He is being held in lieu of $2.04 million bail and faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of killing 16-month-old Kerianne Bradley.

The toddler died Feb. 5, 2006, at Rady Children\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Hospital-San Diego, where she was airlifted from Rancho Springs Medical Center a day after paramedics were summoned to the home her mother shared with the defendant on Broken Arrow Way.

A San Diego County deputy medical examiner who performed the autopsy said the youngster suffered severe head and abdominal injuries consistent with a beating.

The defense has attempted to show that the baby stopped breathing because of illness, and that Mickey injured the toddler while trying to resuscitate her.

Dr. Kenneth Carr, who practices at Tri-City Hospital and Rady Children\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\'s Hospital in San Diego County, testified for the defense that medical tests indicated the child was dehydrated -- most likely from being sick for days -- and asserted that Rancho Springs Medical Center personnel did not do enough to resuscitate her.

Before the trial began, the judge granted a defense motion to exclude evidence of an elbow fracture suffered by the child prior to her death.