HEATHER ROMANCE - 2 yo (2006) - Tampa/St Pete FL

TAMPA -- For 17 hours over three days, the mother of a 2-year-old
girl who was killed in 2006 by a blow to her head agonized as a jury
seemed stalled in deliberations over a first-degree murder charge
against the child's babysitter.When jurors came back Thursday
afternoon with a verdict of guilty, the mother and prosecutor clutched
each other across a courtroom railing in tears."This was
wrenching for everyone involved," said Hillsborough County Assistant
State Attorney Rita Peters, who had sought the conviction for almost
five years. "We want to be the voice for children who no longer have
one."The jurors who began deliberations on Tuesday pronounced
Eric James Tate, 23, the babysitter of toddler Heather Romance, guilty
of first-degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse.Circuit
Judge William Fuente immediately sentenced Tate to life imprisonment
without parole on the murder charge and 30 years in prison on the child
abuse charge.Tate gave no reaction. Heather's mother, Amy
Romance, looked overwhelmed, tears streaming down her face. "None of us
got any sleep this week," she said. "But I stayed confident."
http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/babysitter-found-guilty-in-2-year-olds-death/1174452