N.J. dad who tossed daughter into creek found guilty of murder

The New Jersey father who tossed his young daughter into a creek was found guilty on Thursday of murder.

Arthur Morgan III tossed his 2-year-old daughter Tierra Morgan-Glover into a creek while she was still strapped into her car seat, which was weighed down by a tire iron, almost three years ago. A jury finally found him guilty of murder, child endangerment and interference with custody after two days of deliberations, according to The Associated Press.

Morgan faces life in prison because the jury said he was found to have been "knowing or purposeful" when he killed his daughter. Prosecutors claimed the 29-year-old had killed the toddler as revenge towards the mother for ending their engagement.

As Morgan was taken out of the courtroom following the verdict, he smiled widely towards the rest of his daughter's family.

The Ashbury Park Press Morgan's attorneys say that while he is responsible for killing her, he should be found guilty of reckless manslaughter because he was not in the right frame of mind due to a lack of sleep, being homeless and having just lost his job only six days before.

That defense never really stuck, though, because Morgan spoke with police and said that he had used the tire iron to help weigh down the car seat, "like a ball and chain," and that he had no problem sleeping after killing her.

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