A 52-year-old man was convicted today of fatally stabbing the grandmother of his children at a park in 2013, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.

The jury deliberated for five hours before finding defendant Steven Dwayne Brown of Long Beach guilty of first-degree murder in case BA425401.

Jurors also found true a special allegation that the defendant personally used a deadly and dangerous weapon, a knife, during the commission of the crime.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced March 4 in Department S19 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Long Beach Branch. Brown faces a possible maximum sentence of 86 years to life in state prison.

Deputy District Attorney Diana Martinez, who prosecuted the case, said Brown had three children who were being cared for by their maternal grandmother, Kellye Lynnette Taylor. At the time of the crime, Taylor, 53, was working as a teacher at a Long Beach private elementary school.

On Oct. 11, 2013, Taylor and two other teachers took the elementary school students to Orizaba Park to play at the playground, the prosecutor said. As Taylor was watching the children, Brown walked up behind her and slit her throat, the prosecutor said.

As Taylor called out for help, another teacher went to her aid and Brown fled the scene, according to the prosecutor. The victim was taken to the hospital for medical treatment, but ultimately succumbed to her injuries.

Soon after the attack, Brown was arrested in connection with the killing.

Eyewitness testimony, as well as DNA on the knife, Brown's clothing and boot, linked the defendant to the fatal stabbing, the prosecutor added.

The case was investigated by the Long Beach Police Department.

Los Angeles County District Attorney / case BA425401 / January 27, 2016