Man pleads guilty to inflicting corporal injuries to girlfriend in Hotel Circle hotel room

A man who called police to report his girlfriend was unconscious and not breathing in a Hotel Circle hotel room pleaded guilty Wednesday to inflicting corporal injuries to her before she died from another cause.

The cause of death was not the result of injuries that Vivian Avila, 24, suffered from Victor A. Cruz, 20, said Deputy District Attorney Eva Kilamyan outside the courtroom.

Police officers observed Avila had visible injuries from apparent domestic violence, but that did not cause her death, said the prosecutor. Cruz also pleaded guilty to felony assault.

Kilamyan said she will file the official cause of death in a document with the state Department of Corrections before Cruz is sentenced on Feb. 6, 2026.

Cruz also pleaded guilty to two counts of drunk driving in a hearing before San Diego Superior Court Judge Polly Shamoon. He waived his right to a speedy sentencing.

The maximum sentence Cruz faces is nine years in prison, but the judge indicated she would sentence Cruz to between five to seven years in prison.

Charges of homicide or manslaughter were never filed against Cruz, and only assault and inflicting corporal injuries against his girlfriend were the charges involving her beating.

Police were called Jan. 17 to a hotel in the 2400 block of Hotel Circle North and found Avila unconscious and not breathing. Paramedics determined at 1:46 a.m. that she was dead.

Police said the woman had “obvious trauma-related injuries,” according to a press release, but that was before an autopsy had been conducted. Officers talked to another man in the same motel room and took Cruz into custody.

Cruz, of Linda Vista, remains in the George Bailey Detention Facility without bail.