LOS ANGELES - A man was convicted Thursday of killing his live-in boyfriend, whose severed head was found off a hiking trail near the Hollywood sign almost four years ago.
Jurors deliberated for a little more than a day before finding Gabriel Campos-Martinez guilty of first-degree murder in the death of 66-year-old Hervey Coronado Medellin.
Prosecutors said the 40-year-old Campos-Martinez could face 25 years to life in prison when he is sentenced Nov. 16.
Medellin, a retired airline ticketing agent, was strangled in 2011 and his head and other body parts were scattered near the hiking trail in Griffith Park.
Two women walking their dogs near the sign in 2012 found the head. A team of police and sheriff's investigators, aided by a cadaver dog, found hands and feet soon after.
During the investigation, Campos-Martinez moved to Texas to take a catering job but stayed in touch with authorities. He was arrested in San Antonio in 2014.
Deputy District Attorney Bobby Grace, who prosecuted the case, said Campos-Martinez had met Medellin in early 2011 and the two men had moved in together.
Close friends became concerned and contacted police when they were unable to reach Medellin.
Campos-Martinez filed a missing person's report after police visited the couple's apartment.
Grace said Campos-Martinez's inconsistent comments and suspicious statements turned the focus of the investigation to him.