Mother Found Guilty Of Murdering Toddler That She Believed To Be Gay

A 25 year-old Oregon woman was today found guilty of murdering her four year-old son after the jury was shown Facebook messages in which the woman expressed revulsion because she believed that her child was destined to be gay.

Washington County jurors took a little more than an hour to reach a unanimous verdict. They found her guilty on all seven counts, including murder, murder by abuse and second-degree assault. Dutro showed no reaction to the decision, read about 5:15 p.m. Wednesday. The case drew widespread attention after prosecutors asked the court to allow Facebook messages from Dutro into evidence. In one message to her boyfriend, Brian Canady, Dutro wrote using a slur that Zachary would be gay. "He walks like it and talks like it ugh," she wrote. That made her angry, she added, and directed Canady to "work on" Zachary "big time." Prosecutors told the court the message showed Dutro's motive for subjecting Zachary to a pattern of abuse. Judge Don Letourneau deemed the messages admissible.

A description of the child's injuries are at the link and may be too much for you to bear.