Man found guilty in Facebook murder case

Manuel Edmundo Guzman Jr., 19, was found guilty Wednesday for the murder of bantamweight boxer Eddie Leal.Guzman was convicted of murder in the first degree with a special circumstance allegation of lying in wait. The jury found the special circumstance to be true.

Guzman created a fake Facebook profile under the persona of “Rebecca Santhiago.” Guzman used photos of an east coast Internet model to create the fake profile.

Based on evidence in the case, Guzman used the profile to lure in young men.

On May, 30, 2011, Guzman used the fake profile to successfully convince Leal, who was 23, of SanJacinto to meet “Rebecca Santhiago” at a park in the area of Ivy Crest Drive inSan Jacinto.

Around 2 a.m. on the day of the attack, Leal drove his Toyota Corolla tothe 1900 block of Roanoke Street, near Ivy Crest Drive — about 100 yards from Guzman’s family residence. Shortly after arriving, the 23-year-old was shot five times in the back. He died at the scene.

Sheriff’s detectives seized the defendant’s home computer and confirmedthat he was the person who had established the bogus Facebook account,according to the prosecution. A search of Leal’s computer revealed he had beenin contact with that fictitious person.

Leal, a lifelong San Jacinto resident, was an avid boxer who had beentrained by his father and had just begun fighting professionally as abantamweight.

Guzman was 17 at the time of the murder and is therefore not eligible for the death penalty. He insteadfaces a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorney Daniel DeLimon of the DA’s Homicide Unit who described the murder as a “thrill kill.”