MONROE - Amy Uptegraw cried and was led out of the courtroom when it was announced Saturday afternoon that a jury had found Casey Shelton guilty of first-degree reckless homicide in the death of their son, Christopher.
"Justice was served for Christopher," Uptegraw said later, her eyes red from tears. "The jury did a good job and they made a good decision."
Shelton, 32, Brodhead, now faces up to 60 years in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. March 18 at the Green County Courthouse.
The jury, after almost nine hours of deliberations that began Friday night, determined Shelton caused the death of his 2-month-old son on Feb. 28, 2007. He was alone with the children that evening when he called 911 at about 6:30 p.m., requesting an ambulance to come to the residence in Decatur township because Christopher had stopped breathing.
Shelton said Christopher had begun choking as he was being fed. The infant was pronounced dead later that evening at Mercy Hospital in Janesville.
Uptegraw had left the residence for work at about 11 a.m. that day.
The jury of six men and six women returned with the verdict just a little more than an hour after it appeared it was deadlocked. The jury had sent a note at about 1 p.m. to Green County Circuit Court Judge James Beer, telling him it couldn't reach a decision. But Beer told the jury to continue discussions.
The jury had been given the case at about 8:15 p.m. Friday, then was sent home at 1:15 a.m. Saturday. Deliberations resumed at 10 a.m. Saturday, and a verdict was delivered at about 2 p.m.
Green County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Kohl said it was the longest jury deliberation in his career.
"You never know how it's going to come out (when the jury is deliberating)," he said.
There nearly wasn't a verdict. When Beer sent the jury back into deliberations, he told Kohl and Shelton's defense attorney, Michael Murphy, that if the jury didn't return with a verdict within two hours, he would declare a hung jury and the case would need to be tried again at a later date.
Kohl said the long deliberation meant the jury was working hard to return with a unanimous verdict. In criminal cases, all 12 jurors must be in agreement.
"The jury treated it seriously and took its time to come to the correct decision," Kohl said.
The weeklong trial included testimony from two forensic pathologists who viewed the cause of Christopher's death in very different terms.
Dr. Robert Corliss, a pathologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, testified that Christopher died of a brain injury which occurred shortly before his death. He said Christopher suffered from bleeding on both sides of his brain, which is common when a baby has been shaken.
Dr. John Plunkett testified for the defense that Christopher's injury could have taken place earlier, suggesting someone other than Shelton caused Christopher's death.
The differing opinions were the key to the trial, Kohl said, because no witnesses were in the apartment when Christopher died.
Kohl said Corliss's testimony proved to be the most influential of the two.
"The bottom line was the forensic evidence," he said. "The jury was able to assess the evidence and believed Corliss correctly assessed the injuries."
Murphy contended Shelton didn't kill his son and said the prosecution "rushed to judgment" in its early belief that Shelton was guilty.
Shelton also faces charges for injuries suffered by Christopher's twin brother, Charles. A three-day trial for those charges is scheduled to begin Feb. 4. Shelton is charged with two counts of child abuse, one a class G felony and the other a class H felony. He faces up to 16 years in prison and up to $25,000, if convicted.
He remains jailed on a $100,000 cash bond.
"Justice was served for Christopher," Uptegraw said later, her eyes red from tears. "The jury did a good job and they made a good decision."
Shelton, 32, Brodhead, now faces up to 60 years in prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. March 18 at the Green County Courthouse.
The jury, after almost nine hours of deliberations that began Friday night, determined Shelton caused the death of his 2-month-old son on Feb. 28, 2007. He was alone with the children that evening when he called 911 at about 6:30 p.m., requesting an ambulance to come to the residence in Decatur township because Christopher had stopped breathing.
Shelton said Christopher had begun choking as he was being fed. The infant was pronounced dead later that evening at Mercy Hospital in Janesville.
Uptegraw had left the residence for work at about 11 a.m. that day.
The jury of six men and six women returned with the verdict just a little more than an hour after it appeared it was deadlocked. The jury had sent a note at about 1 p.m. to Green County Circuit Court Judge James Beer, telling him it couldn't reach a decision. But Beer told the jury to continue discussions.
The jury had been given the case at about 8:15 p.m. Friday, then was sent home at 1:15 a.m. Saturday. Deliberations resumed at 10 a.m. Saturday, and a verdict was delivered at about 2 p.m.
Green County Assistant District Attorney Jeff Kohl said it was the longest jury deliberation in his career.
"You never know how it's going to come out (when the jury is deliberating)," he said.
There nearly wasn't a verdict. When Beer sent the jury back into deliberations, he told Kohl and Shelton's defense attorney, Michael Murphy, that if the jury didn't return with a verdict within two hours, he would declare a hung jury and the case would need to be tried again at a later date.
Kohl said the long deliberation meant the jury was working hard to return with a unanimous verdict. In criminal cases, all 12 jurors must be in agreement.
"The jury treated it seriously and took its time to come to the correct decision," Kohl said.
The weeklong trial included testimony from two forensic pathologists who viewed the cause of Christopher's death in very different terms.
Dr. Robert Corliss, a pathologist from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, testified that Christopher died of a brain injury which occurred shortly before his death. He said Christopher suffered from bleeding on both sides of his brain, which is common when a baby has been shaken.
Dr. John Plunkett testified for the defense that Christopher's injury could have taken place earlier, suggesting someone other than Shelton caused Christopher's death.
The differing opinions were the key to the trial, Kohl said, because no witnesses were in the apartment when Christopher died.
Kohl said Corliss's testimony proved to be the most influential of the two.
"The bottom line was the forensic evidence," he said. "The jury was able to assess the evidence and believed Corliss correctly assessed the injuries."
Murphy contended Shelton didn't kill his son and said the prosecution "rushed to judgment" in its early belief that Shelton was guilty.
Shelton also faces charges for injuries suffered by Christopher's twin brother, Charles. A three-day trial for those charges is scheduled to begin Feb. 4. Shelton is charged with two counts of child abuse, one a class G felony and the other a class H felony. He faces up to 16 years in prison and up to $25,000, if convicted.
He remains jailed on a $100,000 cash bond.