Guilty on all counts

Alex Coolman

SANTA ANA -- The nightmare that began on May 3, 1999, for the parents

of 3-year-old Brandon Wiener and 4-year-old Sierra Soto moved toward a

conclusion Thursday as a Superior Court jury convicted Steven Allen

Abrams of murdering the two children.

In a tense courtroom crowded with the children’s parents, their

supporters and friends, a clerk read through the laundry list of charges

against Abrams: two counts of murder, seven counts of attempted murder

and three counts of causing grievous bodily injury.

He was found guilty on all counts.

As the verdicts were read, Abrams, 40, sat in the impassive, hunched

posture he had assumed since the trial began Aug. 17. He did not seem to

react to the words that were spoken or even look up from his hands in his

lap.

The families of the victims, though, were emotional. The mother of

Sierra, Cindy Soto, sobbed behind dark sunglasses, struggling to retain

her composure. Pamela Wiener, mother of Brandon, cradled a small

photograph of her son, holding it close to her face.

The victims’ family members declined to comment on the verdicts.

Attorneys in the case have requested that they refrain from speaking to

the press because additional stages in the trial -- to determine Abrams’

sanity and the appropriate punishment for his actions -- are still

pending and they hope to avoid a mistrial.

The jury of 10 women and two men arrived at its decision after just a

few hours of deliberation.

The verdicts brought a tentative type of closure to the story that

began in 1999 when Abrams steered his 1967 Cadillac onto the crowded

playground of the Southcoast Early Childhood Learning Center in Costa

Mesa.

In that incident, Abrams killed Sierra Soto and Brandon Wiener and

injured several other students and a teacher’s aide. Earlier in the day,

Abrams also rammed a car on the Costa Mesa Freeway, resulting in an

additional charge of attempted murder.

Abrams’ attorney, public defender Leonard Gumlia, had contended during

the trial that Abrams’ statements to police after the 1999 incident

indicated that he was psychotic. However, Gumlia did not present any

expert testimony to characterize Abrams’ mental condition.

In the wake of the guilty verdicts, the trial, which resumes Monday,

will shift to the determination of Abrams sanity. Gumlia is expected to

present testimony from mental health professionals as part of his

contention that the defendant suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.

Psychiatric records prepared by a court-appointed psychiatrist after

Abrams’ arrest characterize the defendant as exhibiting “a most severe

and major mental disorder” whose symptoms are “chronic, well-documented

and consistent.”

If Abrams is not found to be insane, he could face the death penalty.

Both Gumlia and Deputy Dist. Atty. Debora Lloyd declined to comment on

Thursday’s verdicts.