The Region - News from Nov. 3, 1986

A Wilshire area man was convicted of first-degree murder by means of torture in the death of a 4-year-old boy whose malnourished and severely burned, bruised and lacerated body was found a year ago in a shallow grave near Fontana. Jorge Manzanares, who had been asked by a friend to look after young Jose Reyes, originally told police the child had disappeared at Disneyland. He subsequently said the boy had died of unknown causes and led police to the grave, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. Nicholas Koumjian. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Roger Boren found Manzanares guilty after a non-jury trial and set sentencing for Nov. 21. The defendant’s common-law wife, Victoria Ramos, 29, pleaded guilty last May to child abuse and was sentenced to four years in prison.