After more than two days of deliberation, the 11-person jury decided 63-year old Samantha Dittmer was not guilty of murdering her son, but was guilty of the lesser included charge of manslaughter.
Her lawyer Brian Coleman said while he was hoping for an acquittal, he accepts the jury’s decision.
“From my perspective I think it was a reasonable decision,” he said. “I was hoping for an acquittal. I don’t think there was ever any intention for her to kill her son. Never.”
Coleman maintained throughout the month-long trial that the shooting of 37-year old Jesse McPhee was not deliberate, but a tragic accident.
Dittmer was released until her sentencing hearing, which probably won’t happen until the new year.
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