An Anchorage jury found a man guilty of manslaughter but acquitted him on a more serious second-degree murder charge in a 2010 beating death over a backpack full of money.
Prosecutors said Philip Floor, 26, helped two others beat and pistol whip Harvey Albright, 23. The state charged Floor with murder under the theory that he showed an extreme indifference to human life. Floor's attorney argued that his client didn't think the beating would kill Albright.
After starting deliberations Wednesday, the jury returned its verdict Friday just after noon. Floor's alleged accomplices -- Carl Leedom and Kenneth Upton -- are set to be tried together on murder charges in June.
Police said the trio beat Albright with fists, then a gun, because they believed he stole Leedom's backpack, which had thousands of dollars inside. Albright stopped breathing after Leedom began hitting him with a handgun, police said. His body was found just outside Anchorage along a riverbank.
Albright's mother, Brenda Albright, called the manslaughter conviction "a joke." She held a green bag holding an urn with her son's ashes outside the courtroom.
"In Philip's own words, he hit him five times," she said. "(Floor) has never said he was sorry, never showed remorse."
To Floor's alleged accomplices, Brenda Albright said, "I'm coming for you. It ain't over."
By CASEY GROVE
Anchorage Daily News