MANHATTAN (CNN) — A New York jury Wednesday found former pharmaceutical executive Gigi Jordan guilty of manslaughter in the first degree under extreme emotional disturbance, for feeding a lethal drug concoction to her 8-year-old son.
At her trial, which started on Sept. 10, prosecutors described in chilling detail how the businesswoman who made a fortune in pharmaceuticals forced Jude Mirra — who had autism and a limited vocabulary — to swallow a cocktail of painkillers and anti-inflammatories on Feb. 5, 2010.
Crime scene photos, above, showed bags and bottles of pills strewn across the furniture in a room at the luxury Peninsula Hotel in Manhattan, where the crime took place.
It was there was police found the boy’s cold body.
An autopsy revealed four painkillers and anti-inflammatory medications used to kill the 8-year-old were found undigested in his stomach, prosecutors said. Orange juice and vodka were used to wash down the drugs.
Jude Mirra was an 8-year-old with autism who was killed by his mother Gigi Jordan. (Photo via CNN)
On the stand, Jordan admitted to purposefully ending her son’s short life but portrayed her actions as a mercy killing. Jordan said the boy was physically and sexually abused not only by his biological father but also by others.
“I made the decision I was going to end my life and Jude’s life,” she told the jury, placing her hand over her mouth.
But prosecutors said the boy’s death was far from merciful.
“He didn’t die fast,” said assistant district attorney Matt Bogdanos. “One by one, his vital organs shut down. It didn’t take minutes. It took hours to die.”
Jordan faces 15 years to life in prison now that she’s been convicted.
