Man sentenced to 25 years to life for fatally beating girlfriend's son

A 24-year-old man was sentenced May 11 to 25 years to life in prison for severely beating a 13-month-old boy, who later died, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. 

On March 28, a jury found Rodrigo Hernandez guilty of second-degree murder in the death of Smith Fernando Garcia Rodriguez Jr., 1, as well as assault on a child causing death. 

Prosecutors said that on June 7, 2015, Hernandez was watching his girlfriend’s son while the mother was in another room in her East Compton apartment. 

Soon after, family members alerted the mother that the child was acting strangely. When the mother went to the child, the boy began to have seizures. Additionally, bruising started to develop on his body, prosecutors said. 

Paramedics were called, and the toddler was taken to the hospital where he remained until his death on June 26, 2015. According to coroner’s records, the child died of blunt force trauma to the abdomen. 

Contact the Homicide Report. Follow @jeromercampbell and @latimeshomicide on Twitter.