GRUNDY CENTER - A week after jurors delivered a guilty verdict in Michelle Kehoe's trial for first-degree murder, at least one says the case haunted his sleep, and he still thinks about the evidence.

Tony Beuter of Dike said testimony during the six-day event was difficult to listen to at times.

"It was kind of stressful," he said. "I know, me personally, I had some sleepless nights."

Jurors also convicted the 36-year-old mother from Coralville for attempted murder and child endangerment resulting in serious injury. They deliberated for a little more than 90 minutes.

Authorities said Kehoe drove her two sons, Seth, 2, and Sean, 7, to a secluded pond near Littleton on Oct. 28, 2008. She covered their eyes, noses and mouths with tape and sliced their throats. She then cut her own throat in what was described as a suicide attempt.

Seth died at the scene. Sean survived.

Given its notoriety, Beuter said, everyone on the panel had some knowledge of the case.

Jurors also realized how much attention was focused on proceedings. Television cameras and reporters were spread throughout the Grundy County Courthouse.

"It was hard to ignore," he said.

Beuter, who has two young children, said he will always remember the case but he hopes in time the aftershock fades.

Some of the evidence shown in the courtroom struck a nerve with him and other jurors. During the trial, some on the panel and people in the gallery averted their eyes when images of Seth's autopsy were projected on a screen. Photographs of the injuries to Sean and to Kehoe were also shown.

Anne Reed, a jury expert in Milwaukee, Wis., said several studies show jurors can exhibit symptoms of post-traumatic stress after an emotionally difficult trial.

"Even years later, many jurors say they're affected by the trauma," Reed said.

Judges and attorneys in the past paid little attention to the effect on jurors, she added.

Now courts around the country take steps to minimize potential harm. Attorneys may limit the number of gory photos displayed during the course of testimony or take other preventative measures, according to Reed. In Texas, state law allows counselling for jurors in criminal cases.

Prosecutors in the Kehoe case only showed six photos from Seth's autopsy and a few images of Sean's injuries because of their graphic nature.

Testimony of the three psychological experts helped flesh out Kehoe's background, but not a single one was more convincing than the others, Beuter added.

In the jury room, Beuter said their debate was limited to whether jurors thought Kehoe was able to distinguish the difference between right and wrong when she attacked her children. That was because virtually everything else - from planning the crime to knowing intended to kill the boys - was uncontested.

"We really had a narrow window of discussion," Beuter said.

And that's how the jury was able to come back with a verdict quickly, he said.

Reed noted people in stressful situations tend to make decisions faster. Firefighters and first-responders, for instance, learn to make snap judgments at a scene.

"They try to work very fast because they want to get it over with," she said.

That can apply to jury duty, too, though that doesn't mean jurors are avoiding deliberation, Reed said.

Other members of the Kehoe jury declined to comment or did not return calls seeking comment.

Kehoe's sentencing is set for Dec. 15 at the Buchanan County Courthouse. She is facing life in prison without the possibility of parole.