DALLAS (January 18, 2013)—Tina Marie Alberson was convicted Friday in the dehydration death of her 10-year-old stepson.
Jurors deliberated for more than two hours Friday before finding Alberson guilty of second-degree felony injury to a child in the July 2011 death of Jonathan James.
She was originally charged with first-degree felony injury to a child, in which someone knowingly causes harm, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The lesser charge carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
Investigators say the boy collapsed at home after he was denied water for days during the hot summer.
Alberson, who testified in her own defense, told jurors that she limited Jonathan's water intake a few times as punishment for misbehaving, but saw no sign that he was in medical distress.
