Jury deliberations will continue Friday morning for the woman charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the 2015 death of 5-year-old Lucas Dillion in Jasper, Tenn.
Steve Strain, 12th Judicial District assistant district attorney and lead prosecutor, said Thursday night in a text message, “we are done with proof” and the jury had gone to the motel.
Holly Rutledge was arrested on Feb. 5, 2016, for allegedly battering the child to death. At the time, Rutledge was the girlfriend of Lucas’ father, Nathan Dillon. She was watching the boy while his father was at work, authorities said.
Lucas suffered injuries to his head, neck and shoulder, and when responders found him lying in the home on Jewell Lane Road in Whitwell, Tenn., he was unresponsive. Doctors at a local hospital were able to restart Lucas’ heart, but he was taken off life support a day later, the Times Free Press reported in 2016.
Contact staff writer Rosana Hughes at rhughes@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6327. Follow her on Twitter @HughesRosana.