Tasha Bates heads back into detention during a lunch break Thursday in Judge Amy Reedy’s courtroom during her trial on charges related to last summer’s hyperthermia death of her two sons, three-year-old River Bates and five-year-old Leland Bates.
Tasha Bates stands in front of potential jurors during jury selection in Judge Amy Reedy’s Bradley County criminal courtroom Tuesday.VIDEO
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Tasha Bates is guilty of first degree murder and aggravated child neglect in her young sons’ deaths last year in a searingly hot automobile, a Bradley County jury decided Thursday evening.
Bates, 27, was charged with murder, child abuse and methamphetamine offenses in the deaths of 3-year-old River and 5-year-old Leland last year.
At her trial this week, prosecutors tried to portray her as a neglectful mother, living in a dirty, trash-filled home where prosecutors found traces of heroin and methamphetamine.
Bates’ attorneys argued that the evidence could be explained by others visiting the house who were involved with drugs.