PHOENIX (AP) - An Arizona woman has been convicted of unlawful imprisonment in the 2009 disappearance of her infant son.
The Maricopa County jury returned the verdict Thursday against 26-year-old Elizabeth Johnson in the December 2009 disappearance of her then-8-month-old son, Gabriel.
Johnson also was found guilty of custodial interference and conspiracy to commit custodial inference. Jurors couldn't reach a verdict on the most serious charge, kidnapping. They deliberated for about a day and a half.
Authorities say Johnson told the boy's father that she killed the child and dumped him in a trash bin in San Antonio. She later recanted that story and told police she gave the baby to a couple at a San Antonio park. She never provided the couple's names. To this day, Gabriel has never been found.
A sentencing date has not been set. Johnson could now face between two to nine years in prison. Her attorney says he's seeking probation for his client, saying she's already spent nearly three years in jail. If Johnson was convicted of kidnapping, she could have been given a sentence of up to 30 years.
