SAN DIEGO COURTS: A San Diego man who punched his 3-year-old stepdaughter in the stomach, resulting in her death, has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.

Christopher Simmons told authorities he punched the child April 27 because he was frustrated and trying to discipline her after she urinated on a comforter.

He faces 15 years to life in state prison when he is sentenced Dec. 18.

The girl's mother, English Simmons, did not report the abuse, and she faces 10 years in prison if convicted of felony child abuse charges. Her trial is scheduled for Dec. 12.

A deputy medical examiner testified that the child suffered a lacerated liver and a damaged pancreas and died from blunt-force trauma. –AP