WAVERLY - After four hours of delibration, a jury convicted Sebastian Trimble of voluntary manslaughter.

The crime is a class C felony, and his sentence is not to exceed 10 years.

"It's a huge relief," said Trimble's mom, Linda Hackman.

Trimble, 17, of Sumner, was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Raymond Randall, 19, on Aug. 4, 2008, in Sumner. Randall died of a stab wound to the heart.

A first-degree murder conviction carries a mandatory life sentence.

The courtroom was filled with about 50 people Thursday morning as jurors heard closing arguments in the case.

Bremer County Sheriff's deputies said they are planning for extra security in the courtroom when the verdict is read.

EARLIER STORY

WAVERLY - A teenager's fate likely will be turned over to jurors today. Defense attorneys Melissa Anderson-Seeber and Tim Baldwin concluded their case Wednesday after calling three witnesses, including Sebastian Trimble's mother.

Trimble, 17, of Sumner, is charged with first-degree murder for fatally stabbing Raymond Randall, 18, with Randall's own knife. If convicted, Trimble faces life in prison.

Linda Hackman, 36, is a registered nurse and was the charge nurse overseeing the emergency room on Aug. 3, 2008, at Sumner Memorial Hospital. She testified Wednesday that she was keeping track of her son's whereabouts that evening by texting. They spoke on the telephone at about 11:30 p.m., and Trimble said he was at home.

Well after midnight, Hackman learned the ER should prepare for a stabbing victim. The person was reportedly an 18-year-old male. At about 2:30 a.m., her son called the hospital.

"I heard him say, 'Mom,' and he was crying," Hackman testified.

She told jurors she picked up bits and pieces of what happened from her emotional son, who was 16 years old at the time.

"'I'm so scared. I don't know what to do,'" Hackman recalled him saying.

She found a replacement at the hospital and never treated Randall. While driving home, she spoke to her son again. Hackman said he wanted to know about Randall's condition.

"'All I can tell you is he's not doing well,'" Hackman said.

She found her son in the middle of the street in front of their home on his knees, rocking, shaking and holding his head in his hands. Trimble left before Bremer County Sheriff Dewey Hildebrandt and deputy Sean Hartman arrived but later returned.

Another witness for the defense, Cody Caldwell, 18, of Hawkeye, said he and some friends went to Sumner late that evening to fight, and he met Trimble for the first time.

Caldwell said he watched Trimble pummel another young man, punching Zach Moran, stomping on his chest and hitting his head against the ground. Later, Randall confronted Trimble with a knife.

"I could see the blade," Caldwell testified.

"Where was it pointed?" Anderson-Seeber asked.

"Towards Sebastian's neck," Caldwell said.

During cross-examination, Bremer County Attorney Kasey Wadding repeatedly directed Caldwell to previous statements he made to authorities about the incident.

"You do remember the defendant said, 'Shut the (deleted) up,'" Wadding asked.

"Yes," Caldwell said.

And it was at that point in the argument that Randall raised the knife, Wadding added, which caused Trimble to become more agitated.

"Isn't that the way you described it, the defendant was screaming, 'Don't pull a (deleted) knife on me,'" Wadding asked.

"Yes," Caldwell said.

Wadding also reminded Caldwell that in previous statements he said Trimble threw Randall against the house, gave him a head butt and then took the knife.

"Yes," Caldwell said.

Sarah Cohenour, a witness for the defense, told jurors Randall "got up in" Trimble's face after the attack on Moran. But Wadding attempted to impeach her testimony by once again drawing on Cohenour's previous statements.

After the stabbing, Cohenour asked about blood on Trimble, according to earlier comments.

"'He was like, 'It's Raymond's blood. I got him,'" Cohenour told investigators.

Defense attorneys, however, scored a partial victory Wednesday. Judge Christopher Foy ruled prosecutors did not present sufficient evidence to support a theory of felony murder.

Foy said the attack on Moran and Randall did not constitute a predicate felony that results in death.

Prior to an Iowa Supreme Court decision in 2008, prosecutors could allege first-degree murder in cases where a separate felony, including willful injury, resulted in death.

Foy, however, ruled prosecutors could pursue the theory that Trimble acted willfully and with premeditation to commit murder.

After testimony concluded Wednesday, a pair of officers escorted Trimble, bound by ankle chains and handcuffs, to an elevator in the Bremer County Courthouse. Hackman, surrounded by family members, greeted her oldest child as he shuffled by in the hallway.

"Love you," she said.

Continue to check back for online updates and your Friday Courier for more information on this story.