|
 Joseph Patterson, 29, faces a mandatory life sentence for the
conviction on second-degree murder in the death of Tyrese Ruffin,
who was the son of his then girlfriend and Peterson, prosecutors
said.
The jury deliberated about six hours before returning the verdict.
Patterson also was found guilty of first-degree manslaughter and
aggravated battery of an infant.
Prosecutors had said Ruffin suffered blows to the head while in
Patterson's care and died from hemorrhaging, while defense attorneys
had argued that the child's death was accidental and the result of
choking on snacks.
"I just wanted it to be about Ty," Assistant Attorney General Laura
Shattuck told reporters afterward.
Deputy Attorney General Robert Mayer said jurors ultimately put
their stock in the doctors who treated Ruffin over experts who
testified for Patterson's defense.
Patterson will be held in custody without bond until sentencing, he
said. No sentencing date has been set.
Police had said they were called to a Sioux Falls apartment in
October 2013 because Patterson reported that he found Ruffin slumped
over and unresponsive. Doctors determined that Ruffin's injuries
were consistent with abuse, police said.
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Ruffin died two days later, police said.
Peterson, the National Football League's most valuable player in
2012, told reporters he had learned about Ruffin only two months
before the incident and had been preparing to provide financial
assistance to his son and the child's mother.
The running back, who did not attend the trial, met Ruffin for the
first time at a hospital shortly before his death.
(Reporting by Lisa Maria Garza in Dallas; Editing by David Bailey,
Peter Cooney and Michael Perry)
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