GRUNDY CENTER - It took a Grundy County jury just over two hours to convict Michelle Kehoe on charges she killed her 2-year-old son Seth and tried to kill her other 7-year-old son Sean.

Kehoe, 36, of Coralville, was found guilty of first-degree murder, attempted murder and child endangerment resulting in serious injury.

Kehoe's hands trembled before she wiped tears from her face as District Court Judge Bruce Zager read the verdict forms. Family members of her husband Gene Kehoe cried.

"This situation has been extremely traumatic for all involved," a statement from the family said. "We recognize there are no winners in this case and lives have been irreparably damaged."

Gene Kehoe showed no emotion after the verdict.

Jurors were given the case at 10:45 a.m., this morning and alerted the court they reached a verdict shortly before 12:30 p.m. It was read in court by 12:50 p.m. Testimony in the case lasted a week.

Kehoe is accused of killing her son Seth and injuring Sean at the Hook-N-Liner pond near Littleton on Oct. 26, 2008.

She cut their throats after covering their eyes, nose and mouths with duct tape. Sean survived his wounds.

She then tried to kill herself by cutting her own throat. She spent several weeks in the hospital for her injuries.

The defense asserted Kehoe wasn't criminally responsible for her actions because she was legally insane at the time of the incident.

Andrea Dryer, Kehoe's attorney, argued that Kehoe suffered from severe depression that prohibited her from being able to tell the difference between right and wrong.

"The one thing we are concerned with is Michelle Kehoe's capacity -- her mental capacity to tell right from wrong," Dryer said.

Dryer was not available for comment.

Andrew Prosser, an assistant attorney general, said he didn't know what to expect when the jury came back so soon.

"I think they had a tough job to do and I think they did their duty," he said.

Sentencing is set for 1:30 p.m., Dec. 15 at the Buchanan County Courthouse in Independence.

EARLIER STORY

Michelle Kehoe's first-degree murder case in the hands of jurors.

The case was handed over to the panel at 10:45 this morning after they heard closing arguments from both sides.

Kehoe, 36, of Coralville, is accused of killing her son Seth, 2, and trying to kill another son Sean, now 8, at the Hook-N-Liner pond near Littleton on Oct. 26, 2008. She is also charged with attempted murder and child endangerment causing serious injury.

Arguments hinged on the defense's assertion that Kehoe wasn't criminally responsible for her actions because she was legally insane at the time of the incident.

Andrea Dryer, Kehoe's attorney, argued that Kehoe suffered from severe depression that prohibited her from being able to tell the difference between right and wrong.

"The one thing we are concerned with is Michelle Kehoe's capacity --- her mental capacity to tell right from wrong," Dryer said.

A key to that defense was what Kehoe's mental state was at the commission of the crime, and not her statements before or after the incident.

Kehoe believed what she was doing was right because she would spare her children from a world she viewed as cruel and the pain of years of severe mental illness they may inherit, Dryer said.

Andrew Prosser, an assistant attorney general, argued Kehoe's actions before and after the killings proved she understood her actions clearly. He also discounted the idea that because she believed she was doing good, she must be insane.

"It's a big difference between lacking the capacity to understand and reasoning it out improperly," Prosser said.

Prosser also said that while her acts may be difficult to understand, that's not grounds enough for legal insanity.

"Folks, failing to comprehend why she did it does not mean she is legally insane," he said.

Kehoe is facing a mandatory life sentence if convicted. Her trial began on Oct. 28. Her trial was moved to Grundy County amid concerns about media coverage preventing her from receiving a fair trial in Buchanan County.