Gas City woman guilty of murder in stepdaughter's slaying

A jury has convicted a northern Indiana woman of the strangulation death of her 10-year-old stepdaughter.

The Grant County jury deliberated about three hours Friday afternoon before finding Amanda Carmack of Gas City guilty of murder, strangulation, neglect of a dependent resulting in death and domestic battery resulting in death to a person under 14.

The jury will reconvene Monday to consider whether Carmack should be sentenced to life in prison without parole, WANE-TV reported.

Police found Skylea Carmack’s body in a shed in September 2019. She had last been seen that Aug. 31, and days later, Carmack admitted to strangling the girl to death in a shed behind the family’s home. The body was found stashed in plastic trash bags in the shed.

Carmack’s first trial ended with a mistrial last November after several people involved in the case tested positive for COVID-19.