Verdict reached in child murder case

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - After two weeks of testimony and more than 10 hours of deliberations, a Superior Court jury has reached a verdict in the trial of a Woonsocket man accused in the 2004 killing of 3-year-old Thomas "T.J." Wright.

The jury found Gilbert Delestre guilty of second-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The announcement was read in court Thursday around 3:15 p.m.

While he appreciates the jury's service, RI Attorney General Patrick Lynch said he was deeply disappointed with the verdict.

“The verdict returned against this vile and vicious murderer does not adequately address the depth of his involvement or the darkness of his crime," Lynch said. "Little TJ Wright’s last minutes, before he was declared brain dead, were minutes of absolute horror, terror, and torturous pain. Minutes that no one, and especially an innocent and defenseless toddler, should ever endure.”

Delestre was initially charged charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. His lawyer, Robert Mann, had asked jurors to acquit his client of murder, and instead find him guilty of manslaughter.

While on the stand, Delestre admitted to beating Wright because he had made a mess in the apartment he shared with Wright's aunt, Katherine Bunnell. However, he said he did not intend to kill the boy.

“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," said Lynch.

In May, a jury convicted Bunnell guilty of second-degree murder. She is currently serving a life sentence in prison with the possibility of parole.

Prosecutors said the beating happened after Bunnell and Delestre returned from a night of drinking. The pair intitially blamed the 15-year-old babysitter for the boy's injuries.

Wright was taken to the hospital with severe head trauma, but died the following day after being taken off life support.

Bunnell and Delestre were serving as foster parents to Wright and his two brothers because the boys' mother was in prison out of state.

The case sparked an investigation into the Department of Children, Youth and Families, which found the agency should never have left the boy's in Bunnell's care because she was unemployed, had two children of her own and had been known to use drugs.