A Henry County, Alabama grand jury indicted Karen Halstead on charges of manslaughter and abuse of a corpse in connection with the death of her 19-year-old son, Logan Halstead [1]. The case proceeded to trial before Circuit Judge Henry D. "Butch" Binford in Abbeville [1]. Before the case reached the jury, Judge Binford granted a directed verdict of acquittal on the manslaughter count, finding that the prosecution had not produced sufficient evidence to establish that Halstead contributed to her son's death [1].
The jury then deliberated on the remaining charge and returned a verdict of guilty on abuse of a corpse [1]. The central allegation was that Halstead stored Logan's remains in a non-functioning chest freezer rather than reporting his death to authorities [1]. The manslaughter dismissal left the jury to consider only the question of what happened to the body after Logan died, not the circumstances of his death itself [1].
Halstead faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison on the abuse-of-a-corpse conviction [1]. Judge Binford is scheduled to impose sentence next month, though a specific sentencing date was not reported [1].
No immediate post-trial motions or notice of appeal were reported as of the verdict date. Defense and prosecution counsel were not identified in available reporting.