Couple Found Guilty of Son’s Murder

A Los Angeles couple were convicted Wednesday of torturing and murdering their 13-year-old son, whose nude and scarred body was found in a trash dump in a Mexican desert three years ago.

Superior Court Judge Curtis B. Rappe found Maria Tinoco, 37, guilty of first-degree murder for her son Edwin’s strangulation death, and her husband, Saul Tinoco, 39, guilty of second-degree murder.

Both were convicted of torture acts and child abuse involving their son and their nephew, who lived with them. Saul Tinoco was found guilty of sodomizing his son, but was acquitted of a charge of lewd conduct with a child.

The judge heard the case against the Tinocos because they waived their rights to a jury trial. Maria Tinoco may face 31 years to life in prison and Saul a possible term of 24 years and four months to life, said Deputy Dist. Atty. Victor Rodriguez. Sentencing was set for March 16.

“It was a very emotionally charged case, and we thought it would be better for the judge to deal with,” said Ilona Peltyn, Saul Tinoco’s attorney, who said her client was “very disappointed” with the verdict.

Peltyn said she may appeal.

Maria Tinoco’s lawyer, Michael Russo, declined to comment.

Rodriguez said the abuse started four months after the boys came from El Salvador to live with the Tinocos in 1995.

“They started beating both victims because they probably had different objectives for them, and the abuse became more intense,” Rodriguez said. “It became so frequent and they would laugh at the kids after beating them up. They would do things like tie up the victim, pour chili sauce on his eyes and wounds. It was simply sadistic.”

Rodriguez said the couple had headed toward Mexico after Maria Tinoco strangled Edwin with the cord of an electric iron. The nephew, who sat in the back seat with his cousin, said he died on the way, while they were driving through downtown Los Angeles.

The Tinocos dumped the nude body near Ciudad Obregon. The body was discovered in March 1998. Mexican officials could not identify the body, but said he was a victim of long-term physical abuse.

The case remained unsolved for a year until the nephew walked into the Los Angeles Police Department’s Wilshire Division station and reported what had happened. Detectives went to the Sonoran desert, where they contacted their counterparts in Mexico and learned about the corpse in the dump.

The Tinocos’ nephew testified during the weeklong trial and was in court for the verdict.