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Jury finds teen guilty of manslaughter in Albany stabbing case
Posted at: 06/21/2012 12:23 PM
| Updated at: 06/21/2012 6:07 PM
By: Beth Wurtmann
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ALBANY - An Albany County jury found 17-year-old Jah-Lah Vanderhorst guilty of manslaughter in 1st degree in the stabbing death of Tyler Rhodes.
Vanderhorst stabbed Rhodes to death last April back in Hoffman Park in Albany.
Thursday was day four in deliberations with the jury. On two nights, they stayed up until 10 p.m. to try and reach a verdict. At times, they asked for read backs of testimony and definitions of the charges.
Several minutes leading up to and including the fatal stabbing were recorded on a cell phone by a witness with Rhodes wearing a blue and white track suit and Vanderhorst in a white shirt and cap with plaid shorts.
Vanderhorst testified that he swung the knife in self defense, fearing that Rhodes, who also had a knife, was going to kill him. The two teens had a long and escalating feud for months leading up to the incident.
The jury was considering three charges including murder in the second degree which carries 25 years to life in prison, manslaughter in the first degree which carries a sentence of up to 25 years and manslaughter in the second degree which carries 15 years.
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