Man Found Guilty in Hospital Slaying of His Ex-Girlfriend

A 23-year-old Sylmar man who shot and killed his ex-girlfriend in front of a dozen of her co-workers at a Van Nuys hospital was convicted Friday of first-degree murder.

A nine-man, three-woman Van Nuys Superior Court jury deliberated 1 1/2 days before finding Adam Rey Espinoza guilty in the shooting death of Tina Guardiana, 24, also of Sylmar.

Espinoza went to Valley Hospital Medical Center where Guardiana worked as a billing clerk the morning of Dec. 8, 1986, grabbed her by the hair and shot her twice with a handgun after she refused to leave with him. She died a few minutes later. Espinoza surrendered to Los Angeles police the next day.

Espinoza sat quietly with his hands folded as court clerk Mark Nisall read the verdict. Judge Kathryne Ann Stoltz scheduled sentencing for Aug. 31. Espinoza could receive a maximum sentence of 25 years to life in prison.

Attorney’s Contention

Espinoza’s attorney, Peter Krupinsky, asked for a verdict of voluntary manslaughter, contending that the killing was obviously unpremeditated because Espinoza shot Guardiana in front of a roomful of witnesses.

He contended that Espinoza became enraged over Guardiana’s refusal to discuss a police report she had filed accusing Espinoza of raping her.

But Deputy Dist. Atty. Edward Nison argued that Espinoza deliberately killed Guardiana after she spurned him.

Guardiana’s relatives have filed a $5-million wrongful death suit in Van Nuys Superior Court accusing the hospital of negligent security.