Man Gets 20 Years to Life for Killing 3-Month-Old Son

A leather artisan described as having a “short fuse” was sentenced to more than 20 years to life in prison Thursday for the murder of his 3-month-old son.

Stanley Wyly, 50, was convicted of inflicting the head injuries that killed Benjamin Wyly at the family’s Laguna Beach home April 30, 1991. In addition to second-degree murder, he was found guilty last month of felony child abuse charges stemming from two previous incidents involving the baby.

Superior Court Judge Richard Weatherspoon sentenced Wyly to 20 years and four months to life in state prison during a hearing in which the child’s mother read an emotional poem she wrote to the boy she called “Bennie.”

“The pain of death surrounds my soul and takes what it wants,” Pamela Park said, also talking about the joy and laughter her son brought in his brief life.

Wyly, who did not make any statement during the hearing, has maintained his innocence, and blamed the boy’s mother during the trial for the baby’s death. In a pre-sentencing report, he admitted injuring the boy twice before the death in what he described as “accidents.”

He said he feels “so bad about losing my little boy nothing can make me feel worse,” according to the report by the county Probation Department.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Molko described Wyly as a “manipulator who tries to talk his way out of situations.”

“This poor, defenseless child never had a chance in his life to have even a moment of peace,” Molko said in the report. “The defendant deserves nothing less than every single moment that can be imposed for multiple battery of this child resulting in his death.”

Park testified the boy was fine when she dropped him off with Wyly before heading to a coin-operated laundry. She said the child was gasping for breath when she returned about 30 minutes later.

The boy died hours later at Children’s Hospital of Orange County. He had suffered a fractured skull, rib injuries and brain swelling, according to trial testimony.

Wyly was arrested in Tennessee in 1993 after a two-year investigation. He and Park separated after the child’s death.