The woman who prosecutors said showed no emotion in the days after her child’s death sobbed uncontrollably in court Friday night as she was found guilty by a jury of murdering the boy.

Vickie Faye Linson, 37, was given two life sentences - for malice murder and felony murder - for the death of 16-month old Zi’Terrian Linson, who was found beaten to death at her Benjamin Harvey Hill Homes apartment on Jan. 2, 2008. She also was sentenced to 20 years in prison for first-degree cruelty to children.

Her co-defendant, Mario Johnson, 24, was acquitted of all three charges.

“The jury reached the right verdict,” said Monique Kirby, the assistant district attorney who prosecuted the case. “They spoke the truth about Vickie, which is what the verdict is supposed to do.”

Jurors deliberated for more than two hours, until after 7 p.m., but Troup Superior Court Judge Quillian Baldwin left the 12-member panel with just one option for Johnson, Linson’s live-in boyfriend at the time of the child’s death. After closing arguments in the case, Baldwin had issued a directed verdict acquitting Johnson of the two murder charges.

“Justice was served,” said Morris Fair, Johnson’s attorney.

Public defender Julianne Lynn said Linson, her client, will appeal.

“We’re very disappointed, especially with the judge taking it out of the jury’s hands,” she said.

Linson and Johnson each had tried to convince the jury the other was responsible for the crime.

Linson was unable to stand after the verdict was read, and jury members were polled on their unanimous verdict over the sound of her sobs.

Supporters of Johnson had to be quieted by the judge and nine Troup County sheriff’s deputies in the courtroom after he was given his freedom.

Police and paramedics were called to Linson’s apartment about 9 a.m. the day of the incident by a neighbor and found Zi’Terrian, whom family members called Zi, bruised from head to toe. He died of blunt force trauma, bruised intestines and a liver laceration so deep that one prosecution witness said he could have bled to death within minutes.

Linson and Johnson, questioned by police a number of times, were arrested on the day of Zi’s funeral. Both had been in the apartment the night before authorities were called.

The trial, which began Tuesday, began its final day with a delay of more than an hour after attorneys learned of a “surprise witness” and took time to interview her. Lindy East, who had been jailed with Linson, told jurors she’d had a conversation with the defendant while at Troup County Jail. East said Linson told her she was ready to “plead out” - plead guilty - to the charges and go home on probation.

“She came in my room and said she’d had it,” said East, who was in jail on a probation violation and has since been released. “She was ready to call her lawyer and her family and plead out.”

When Linson took the stand in her own defense Friday morning, prosecutors pounced on what her attorney called an “odd statement.” Linson told two police investigators and a witness at Zi’terrian’s funeral visitation that she knew her child was dead when she left her apartment on the day of the incident.

“You said, ‘I knew my baby was dying when I walked out that door,’ ” Kirby told Linson. “You said, ‘My motherly instinct told me not to go back up the stairs, that was the last time I’d hear my child cry.’”

Linson called her words “a mistake.”

“It was a mistake to make that statement,” she said. “I was under stress and strain. I didn’t know what to do. I was trying to stay strong.”

Lynn told jurors in her closing argument that the statement “doesn’t make sense,” but asked them not to convict Linson on the fact she showed little emotion at the house and in the days after Zi’s death. On the stand, Linson did wipe away tears and refused to look at Zi’s autopsy photos as Kirby put the images in front of her.

“A mother who loves her child can’t control how she acts,” Lynn told the jurors. “To me, that’s an honest emotion. When she didn’t act a certain way, to say she’s guilty? Come on.”

Linson blamed stress for her questionable behavior and lack of emotion in the days after Zi’Terrian’s death.

“I was arrested as soon as they put my son in the ground,” she said. “I’ve never been to his grave site. I’ve never mourned his death. I’ve never said good-bye.”

Linson said police at her apartment would not let her upstairs to see her son and wouldn’t let her ride in the ambulance with Zi because they wanted to question her. She also said she wasn’t allowed to see her son after he was pronounced dead at West Georgia Medical Center, although the lead investigator on the case was put back on the stand and said Linson spent 45 minutes in the room with her deceased son.

Linson said witnesses, including police investigators, who had testified against her were lying.

Lynn said after closing arguments Linson took the stand and “did the best she could.”

“It was important to let the jury know she didn’t do anything wrong,” Lynn said.

Johnson, who was expected to testify, wound up not taking the stand after East’s statements to the jury.

“I felt like there had been no evidence to suggest he was guilty, and I didn’t want him to get on the stand and get tripped up,” Fair said.

Jennifer Shrader may be reached at jshrader@ agrangenews.com or at (706) 884-7311, Ext. 236.