Jerimie Hicks was convicted in the death of 3-year-old Kaelyn Bray on Monday evening, putting to rest an emotional weeklong trial and a harrowing nine months for Kaelyn's mother and family.
Hicks, 22, was found guilty of one count of deliberate homicide and one count of solicitation to tamper with evidence. Cascade County Attorney John Parker said he will seek a life sentence without parole.
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Bray sat in the front row with her mother and 10-year-old son, surrounded by family and friends, many of whom wore pink during the entire trial. When the verdict was read, Bray sobbed and hugged family members.
"I'm just so happy," she said.
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The 12-member jury, made up of five men and seven women, began deliberation shortly after 3 p.m. and returned a verdict shortly before 6 p.m. Parker said the amount of time the jury spent deliberating, less than three hours, was a "pleasant surprise."
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"The truth only happened one way, but the lie can change a million times," Parker said after the verdict was read. "The jury was able to turn aside the curtain of lies."
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Referring often to Hicks' videotaped interview with police hours after the incident, Parker depicted a guilty man who continually changed his story to "evade justice." Parker cited testimony from Great Falls Police officers who said Hicks initially told them that Kaelyn tripped on their puppy and fell down the stairs.
Once they got permission from Jessica Bray to search the house, Hicks then amended his story to include that he had thrown their puppy against the wall upon finding the girl at the bottom of the stairs, which caused a dent in the wall.
Later, when police questioned the stairs claim, Hicks told them that he got frustrated with Kaelyn and shoved her against the wall and said that action caused the dent. She later went upstairs and then fell after tripping on the puppy.
"It's a sham," Parker said. "It's a bogus alibi meant to shield and conceal the truth and evade justice."
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Hicks will face sentencing in six weeks. His possible penalty ranges from 10 years in prison to life without parole on the homicide charge and up to 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine for the solicitation charge.