Trial set for Beaumont man accused of causing death of girlfriend’s daughter

Pretrial motions are slated to get underway Tuesday ahead of jury selection for the trial of a Beaumont man accused of causing the death of his girlfriend's 4-year-old daughter, whose body was found in an apartment with him and the woman after they had overdosed on drugs.  

Tyler Lawrence Finley, 29, was arrested in 2020 following a Beaumont Police Department investigation.

Finely is charged with second-degree murder, child abuse and a sentence-enhancing allegation of inflicting great bodily injury or death on a minor.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Jay Kiel previously set trial proceedings for Tuesday at the Banning Justice Center, provided both the prosecution and defense are prepared to move forward. The two sides will appear before Kiel Tuesday morning to confirm whether they're still on track, or require additional time before seeking rulings on motions and going ahead with screening of prospective jurors.  

The defendant is being held without bail at the Byrd Detention Center in Murrieta.  

According to Beaumont police, on the afternoon of Dec. 16, 2020, officers and paramedics went to Finley's apartment in the 800 block of East Sixth Street, near Palm Avenue, after receiving reports of an occupant in medical distress.

First responders found the dead girl, whose name was not released, as well as Finley and the woman, 24-year-old Cheyenne Blackerby, who were unconscious and near death from an overdose of unspecified drugs, police said.   

Blackerby and Finley were taken to nearby San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital, where the woman later died. The defendant staged a recovery, after which he was booked into jail.

No other details were disclosed, including the specific drugs tied to the child's death.

Finley has no documented prior felony convictions in Riverside County.