A central Illinois judge has found a man guilty but mentally ill of attempted murder and child abduction after authorities said he left his 6-month-old baby daughter to die by abandoning her in a bean field.
24-year-old Thomas Boitnott of St. Joseph was convicted Wednesday. The prosecution and defense expected the judge to find Boitnott not guilty by reason of insanity, based on a psychiatrist's opinion that Boitnott didn't understand his actions were criminal.
The baby girl was found alive in a muddy field in June.
Boitnott would have gone to a Department of Human Services facility for treatment if acquitted based on insanity. Under his conviction, he will serve six to 30 years in prison, where he will get mental health services.
