Gilbert Delestre bows his head after hearing his fate in Superior Court after the jury found him guilty yesterday of second-degree murder in the death of T.J. Wright in Woonsocket.

The Providence Journal / Kathy Borchers

PROVIDENCE — Four years after he and his girlfriend took turns beating her 3-year-old nephew Thomas “T.J.” Wright for leaving a mess on the living room rug, a jury convicted Gilbert Delestre yesterday of second-degree murder and conspiracy.

Delestre displayed no emotion as the jury returned the verdict. T.J.’s mother, Karen Wright, who had attended the Superior Court trial for the past three weeks with her mother, Mary Bunnell, cried before and after the verdict. She would not talk to reporters. A drained Bunnell said of the verdict, “It’s what I thought would happen.”

Her daughter, Katherine Bunnell, was convicted in May of second-degree murder and conspiracy for her part in T.J.’s death and is serving a life sentence with the possibility of parole. She and Delestre blamed each other and were tried separately.

Delestre’s relatives, who had been in the courtroom earlier in the day, were not present when the verdict was read. Delestre was facing charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy. A first-degree murder charge includes a finding of premeditation while second-degree does not.

The jury deliberated for about 10 hours over two days before reaching a verdict in the emotional trial about a 32-pound boy with a brilliant smile, who died at the hands of the people entrusted to take care of him. Bunnell and Delestre took T.J. and his two brothers in while their mother, Karen Wright, served a prison term.

His death lead to criticism and a review of the Department of Children, Youth and Families, which was accused of ignoring signs that Delestre and Bunnell were unfit to be foster parents.

The jury heard 16 witnesses, viewed a videotaped confession by Gilbert Delestre, heard a 911-call and viewed a series of photographs that included a smiling T.J. and some from his autopsy.

One of the prosecution’s chief witnesses was baby sitter Kayla Roderick, who was watching T.J., his two brothers and the couple’s two daughters the night of the beating, Oct. 30, 2004.

Roderick, who was 15 at the time, testified that Bunnell and Delestre flew into a rage and took turns beating the boy after they got home from a night out and found yogurt and milk spilled on a new living room rug. Roderick said she saw T.J. flying through the air, coming from Delestre’s direction. T.J. landed with his left foot twisted under his belly.

T.J. suffered bruises and a broken femur, and had head injuries so severe that his brain shifted in his skull. A Fire Department rescue worker called to the 2229 Diamond Hill Rd. apartment where T.J. lived, said the boy was beaten so severely he looked like he had been in a boxing match. He was declared brain dead and died the following day.

The prosecution also used a videotaped confession that Delestre gave to retired Detective Sgt Todd Brien of the Woonsocket police on the day T.J. was taken to the hospital where he admitted to hitting T.J. and that he fell backwards down the stairs. Delestre knew Brien from a community basketball league when he was a child.

Delestre took the stand in his own defense and admitted hitting T.J. and causing him to fall down the stairs. But he said it was not intentional and that he did not mean to kill him. He also admitted he lied to several people about his role in T.J.’s death and tried to blame the baby sitter. His lawyer Robert Mann asked the jury to convict him of manslaughter.

Dr. Deena Isaac, a consulting pediatrician at Hasbro Children’s Hospital testified that T.J.’s severe injuries were not consistent with a fall down the stairs.

Mann said he would talk with Delestre before he decided whether to appeal the decision. During jury deliberations yesterday, Mann moved for a mistrial arguing that in explaining first-degree murder, Judge Netti C. Vogel instructed jurors Wednesday that malice was an indication of intent, but in her instructions on the same matter yesterday she had not said the same thing. Vogel rejected his proposal.

Mann said the case had been tragic for everyone.

“You grieve for both families. You grieve for T.J. Wright,” Mann said. “It’s a tragedy. My heart goes out to T.J. Wright’s family and to Gilbert Delestre.”

Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said in a statement: “This brutal baby-killer took the stand in his own defense in a cowardly attempt to convince the jury that he committed manslaughter, and not murder, and the jury did not buy it. They did not buy the defendant’s explanations just as another jury, earlier this year, did not believe the victim’s aunt as she proclaimed her innocence.”

“I am deeply disappointed that the verdict returned against this vile and vicious murderer does not adequately address the depth of his involvement and the darkness of his crime.”

Prosecutors Stacey Veroni and Scott Erickson, who tried Delestre’s and Bunnell’s cases, spoke to reporters on the steps of the courthouse after the verdict.

Veroni said, “We were hoping for first-degree murder. We’re disappointed, but we respect the jury’s decision. The judge gave instructions and the jury apparently felt that we failed to meet all the elements of murder one. This has been a painful experience. It is a difficult case to prosecute when you have children.”

Erickson added, “I think we proved what [Delestre] claimed really happened didn’t really happen.”

They could have avoided all of it, Erickson said. All they had to do was clean up the mess and go to bed.

tpina@projo.com