Man Guilty of Killing 3-Month-Old Son : Trial: Stanley Wyly, formerly of Laguna Beach, is convicted in 1991 beating death.

A former Laguna Beach man with a “short fuse” was convicted Monday of murdering his 3-month-old son four years ago.

An Orange County Superior Court jury deliberated about 2 1/2 hours before finding that Stanley Wyly, 50, inflicted the head injuries that killed Benjamin Wyly at the family’s home on April 30, 1991.

Wyly, a leather artisan, was found guilty of second-degree murder and felony child abuse charges stemming from two previous incidents. He faces a maximum of about 22 years to life in state prison when he is sentenced Nov. 30 by Judge Richard L. Weatherspoon.

The child suffered a fractured skull, rib injuries and brain swelling, suggesting he had been shaken severely. Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Molko said the killing took place while the boy’s mother, Pamela Park, was at a laundry facility.

Molko said the unmarried couple were on the verge of breaking up, had run out of money and faced eviction from their apartment later that week. Wyly told police he had a “short fuse” and stopped bonding with the baby because he expected Park to move away with the child, Molko told jurors.

“All the combination thereof came to a head that morning. Something went wrong. Maybe the baby cried,” Molko said after the verdict.

Wyly was arrested in Tennessee in 1993 after a two-year investigation. He and Park separated after the child’s death; Wyly moved to Georgia and then Tennessee, and Park moved to Arizona.

Wyly’s defense lawyer argued that it was more likely the child suffered the injuries that day while he was with Park at the laundry facility. Deputy Public Defender Nicholas S. Thompson told jurors that Park was a reluctant mother who might have “snapped” under the strains of her failing relationship and money woes.

“Everything in her life disintegrated to the point where she just couldn’t cope,” Thompson said in his closing argument.

The child died hours later at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.

Park testified she took the child to the laundry facility but dropped him off with Wyly before going back to get the clothes. She was gone 20 to 30 minutes and returned home to find the child in distress--rasping and appearing ashen--as Wyly was getting out of the shower, she said.

Molko said the child suffered head injuries two times before when he was left alone with Wyly, incidents that led to the child-abuse charges. About six weeks before the death, the child had suffered a skull fracture, Molko said.