Attorneys in the murder trial of Elvis Alberto Lopez of Santa Barbara, who is accused of killing 3-year-old Mila Solis, made their closing arguments on Tuesday, laying out their cases portraying her death either as a tragic accident or as a murder stemming from months of abuse.

Six days into the trial, a Santa Barbara County Superior Court jury began its deliberations.

In her closing argument, Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Karapetian stated that Mila, who died Feb. 4, 2023, was a happy and healthy little girl before her parents separated and her mother began a new relationship in November 2022.

“After that breakup, and after the defendant came into the picture, her life changed,” Karapetian said.

Lopez was dating the toddler’s mother, Stephaney Valladares, and was babysitting at the time of the girl’s death. Mila died of internal injuries from a severed spine and was declared dead after being transported to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara.

In his testimony, Lopez, 27, stated that Mila fell from a bed while the two of them were sleeping, and he woke up when he heard a loud noise. Prosecutors allege that the toddler’s injury came from an “intentional, violent blow to her back.” 

Prosecutors claim that the blow came after she refused to take a nap and Lopez struck her in anger with a punch or kick. Karapetian added that if the girl had survived the injury, she would have had medical issues or a disability for the rest of her life.

Karapetian laid out a timeline of injuries leading up to her death that she alleged were a result of abuse by Lopez.

The injuries included bruising to her cheeks, black eyes and cuts to her fingers that Karapetian said showed “repeated trauma” consistent with “grabbing and squeezing.”

The toddler’s father, Miguel Solis, testified earlier in the trial that he and his mother began noticing the injuries and had documented them by taking photos.

Karapetian also referred to the testimony from Dr. Manual Montez, a pathologist with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau, who compared the damage to a fall from a building or a car crash.

She argued that the injuries were not consistent with the defendant’s claim that the girl fell off the bed. She added that Mila could not generate enough force to harm her spine like that, and that the two other kids in the apartment were not strong enough to cause that kind of injury.

“Injuries like that don’t happen by accident,” Karapetian told the jury.

Montez testified that he found other wounds that he said were consistent with abuse, including bruising to the inside of her mouth and cheeks that could have come from someone holding her face tightly.

He also found multiple bruises on her skull deep enough to penetrate the hair and bruise the muscle, and he testified that some of the bruises were in a pattern that could have come from knuckles on a hand.

Karapetian argued that the injuries to Mila showed a pattern of abuse and that Lopez had lied repeatedly over the course of the trial. She alleged that the death came because of his anger over her refusal to take a nap, and he struck her as a result.

Deputy Public Defender George Steele, who is defending Lopez, responded by calling the event tragic, but said “tragedy is not proof.” Steele told the jury that there were no eyewitnesses in the room who saw Lopez strike the toddler.

Steele questioned the prosecution’s version of the event and stated that prosecutors could not confirm what kind of alleged blow was used to kill the 3-year-old.

“(It’s) exceedingly weak and light years away from beyond reasonable doubt,” Steele told the jury.

He added that the pathologist, Montez, also said he could not confirm whether Mila was hit with a punch or a kick. He added that no one heard any struggle or noises from the room despite the prosecution’s claims of a violent attack.

Steele acknowledged that Lopez has a history of mistakes. He got his girlfriend pregnant at age 14 because he wanted a child. Lopez also committed an assault in 2016 as a member of the Santa Barbara Westside Gang and later pleaded guilty.

However, Steele said, Lopez has a clean record as an adult. He added that Lopez has a daughter whom he loves and an adopted son from a previous relationship.

Steele also questioned why neither of Mila’s parents reported any abuse or took her for treatment.

In her response, Deputy District Attorney Sarah Barkley asked the jury to remember the autopsy and the severity of Mila’s injuries. She argued that there was no one else in the room who could have caused such an “immediate, violent, catastrophic injury.”

“Not an accident,” Barkley said. “Not an act of God. Not a preexisting condition. This was a murder.”