Miguel Solis described his daughter, 3-year-old Mila, as a girl who loved to laugh and eat. He said her favorite foods were chocolate-covered strawberries and Taco Bell.

However, in the months after Solis separated from Mila’s mother and she began a new relationship, he said his daughter became afraid and less outgoing.

“(She changed) from this little girl who loved to play to someone who was just timid,” Solis said.

He testified on the second day of the murder trial for the man suspected of killing his daughter, who died in February 2023. Elvis Alberto Lopez, the mother’s boyfriend, faces charges of murder and child abuse.

The toddler was found unconscious on Feb. 4, 2023, by medical personnel, who transported her to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

A medical autopsy determined that she had suffered injuries to her skull, and her spine had been severed, according to authorities.

In Tuesday’s testimony, the injury to the spine was described by Deputy District Attorney Sarah Barkley as coming from an “intentional violent blow to her back.”

Barkley and Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Karapetian are prosecuting the case, while Deputy Public Defender George Steele represents Lopez.

Lopez was watching the girl when 9-1-1 was called. He said he called after she fell off a bed, according to testimony. Authorities say other children were home at the time but were not in the room.

At the time of the toddler’s death, Lopez was dating her mother, Stephaney Valladares, according to testimony. The two began dating in late 2022, shortly after Solis and Valladares broke up.

Solis testified Wednesday that he and Valladares had dated for about 10 years and had talked about marriage. He said he found out that Valladares was dating Lopez about a month after they separated.

In the months after the breakup, Solis said he noticed a change in his daughter’s behavior. He said he and his mother also noticed bruises on his daughter that they began documenting with photos.

Those images were shared with the court and showed minor bruises in the months before the girl’s death.

Solis also testified that his daughter told him that Lopez had hit her before.

Steele questioned Solis about why he did not alert the authorities about the injuries. Solis responded that he did not realize how serious the situation was, and that he had never been in that situation before.

He also shared that he had started to see his daughter less as the relationship between Lopez and Valladares grew.

On the first day of the trial, the prosecution painted Lopez as a strict authoritarian. The prosecution shared a Ring video of Lopez pretending to spank Mila and Facebook posts of him talking about “a– whoopings.”

Eric Davis, an investigator for the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office, shared text messages between Lopez and Valladares. In the texts, Lopez encouraged Valladares to be stricter with her daughter and expressed frustration with Solis.

Davis also shared photos of the period leading up to the child’s death, and pointed out marks on her face that he believed to be bruises. Other marks that he suspected were injuries included her fingernails.

The criminal trial is scheduled to continue on Monday.

Lopez remains in the Santa Barbara County Jail with bail set at $4 million.