Billy Bob Thornton's Daughter Guilty of Manslaughter
Actor's daughter Amanda Brumfield was found guilty in death of child.
June 2, 2011— -- The estranged daughter of actor Billy Bob Thornton has been found guilty in the death of a 1-year-old child in Orlando.
Amanda Brumfield, 32, was convicted of aggravated manslaughter Friday. She will likely be sentenced in July, according to The Associated Press.
Brumfield was acquitted of first-degree murder and aggravated child-abuse charges.
Authorities said Brumfield killed her best friend's daughter, Olivia Madison Garcia, while she babysat her overnight in October 2008.
Brumfield claimed the toddler hit her head while trying to climb out of a playpen but that she ate bananas and acted normally afterward. She told police that she laid the child next to her on the couch and fell asleep, and when she awoke later she discovered the girl's body was limp.
In court, her lawyer suggested that the girl's fall may have aggravated a previous injury and caused her death.
But prosecutors said it was impossible that a fall from that height could cause a three-and-a-half inch fracture on the back of the girl's skull. An autopsy also revealed bleeding and swelling in the young girl's brain.
Brumfield is Thornton's eldest daughter by first wife Melissa Parish. Following news of the girl's death in 2008, Thornton's publicist Arnold Robinson told CNN that the actor had not been in touch with his daughter for quite some time.
In a statement to CNN, Robinson said, "When informed about this situation, he [Billy Bob] commented that, 'Anytime a baby's life is lost is an unimaginable tragedy and my heart goes out to the baby's family and loved ones.'"
Last year, Brumfield's mother Melissa Parish told The New York Post, "It's a tragic situation, she loved that little girl so much and it [her death] just crushed her, just devastated her."
"She was Olivia's godmother and the mother's best friend. It's just a horrible situation and it's being made worse and exploding even more just because of who my ex-husband is," Parish said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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