Man Convicted of Murdering Girlfriend's Son

RIVERSIDE - A Banning man who beat his girlfriend's 2-year-old son to the point of causing fatal organ and brain damage was convicted today of second-degree murder.

Andrew Lee Payne, 24, faces 25 years to life in prison for the Nov. 11, 2011, death of Robert Voorhees.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Bernard Schwartz set sentencing for Nov. 2.

Along with murder, a Riverside jury found Payne guilty of assault on a child resulting in great bodily injury, falsifying a prescription and possession of illegal drugs. Jurors deliberated less than a day before announcing the verdicts.

A separate j...