Associated Press
GERING, Neb. — A Wyoming teenager has been convicted of second-degree murder in the death of a jail guard he strangled when she entered his cell at a juvenile detention facility in Nebraska.
Dylan Cardeilhac, 16, faces at least 20 years in prison when sentenced in January for the death of 24-year-old Amanda Baker. Security video shows Baker entering the teen’s cell after he pointed to something on the floor, then him jumping on her after she got on her hands and knees to check.
Prosecutors had pushed for a conviction of first-degree murder, arguing that Cardeilhac planned the attack in an escape attempt at Scotts Bluff County Detention Center. They said the teen had told others at the detention center he was willing to kill a guard.
Defense attorneys said the death wasn’t intentional and asked jurors to consider a manslaughter charge.
After about seven hours of deliberation, jurors decided Wednesday that the death was without premeditation or malice and convicted Cardeilhac of second-degree murder, the Scottsbluff Star-Herald reported.
Cardeilhac, who is from Torrington, Wyoming, was 15 at the time of the attack.
Jurors were shown the jail security video Tuesday. It shows Baker entering Cardeilhac’s cell and Cardeilhac pointing to something on the floor at the edge of his bed. Baker gets on her hands and knees to check, then the teen jumps on her back as she tries to get up, puts her in a choke hold and pushes her back to the floor.
The video shows Baker struggling for more than a minute, but Cardeilhac not letting go until more than two minutes later.
Investigators said she never regained consciousness. She died on Feb. 16.
Cardeilhac was sentenced in May to a maximum of 15 years in prison on separate charges of armed robbery and use of a weapon in a convenience store robbery.