After deliberating since Friday afternoon, a jury on Monday morning found Lacey Spears guilty of second degree murder in the death of her 5-year-old son, Garnett.
The trial lasted 14 days with emotions running high. So-called “mommy blogger” Spears was accused last year of poisoning Garnett with deadly doses of salt. Spears, who did not testify in the trial, will be sentenced on April 8.
While deliberating on Friday, the jurors requested clarification of “depraved indifference,” according a report from the Journal News. The meaning was pertinent to a possible charge of second-degree murder. First-degree manslaughter was also on the table.
Closing arguments began last Thursday morning, with the prosecution arguing that Spears forcefully injected lethal doses of salt into her son’s body via feeding tube. Garnett was pronounced dead on Jan. 23, 2014, from high levels of sodium, which led to swelling in his brain. Spears, 27, was charged with manslaughter and second degree murder last June. She pleaded not guilty.
All the medical experts who testified agreed that salt poisoning was the cause of death.
Since Garnett was a baby, Spears took to social media sites to share consistent updates on his heath, which led to the nickname ”mommy blogger.” Garnett had a feeding tube implanted when he was just nine months old, a decision experts found controversial. The prosecution, who deemed Spears a “calculating child killer,” argued that Spears documented false health updates.
Related: Disturbing testimony at ‘mommy blogger’ Lacey Spears trial Throughout the trial, friends and doctors described the mom as “flat” and “withdrawn” while her son, Garnett, was getting sicker in a hospital days leading up to his death. The jury saw 40 video tapes presented by the prosecution, including one that showed Spears taking Garnett into a hospital bathroom with what appeared to be a tube and then after, Garnett flailing in pain when he was back in his bed. The jury the reviewed tapes during deliberations, according to the Journal News. The defense argued throughout that there were no first-account witnesses or clear motives and in opening arguments, urged the court to “put emotions aside.” The team rebutted the tapes and evidence of feeding bags found in Spears’ apartment as invalid, saying the tapes could have been edited and the bags may have been tampered with as they were sitting in an unlocked apartment.
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