Carlis Ball found guilty of neglect in the death of his 2 year old son

Tuesday, February 21st 2006, 5:32 am

By: News On 6

A Tulsa County district court jury reaches a verdict in the case of a father accused of scalding his son to death. Carlis Ball was found guilty of murder and could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

6 in the Morning reporter Omar Villafranca says the jury heard two days of testimony, then deliberated for almost four hours before they found 25-year old Carlis Ball guilty of murdering his 2 year old son, Keenan Taylor.

He now faces life in prison, without the possibility of parole. Ball cried uncontrollably back in June of last year when officers responded to the initial call, but Ball didn't show any emotion last night when the guilty verdict was read. The jury also found him guilty of neglect, for scalding Keenan with boiling water, then waiting 20 hours before calling for help.

Keenan's mother, Tammy Taylor says it was a difficult trial, but that Ball received the justice he deserved. "He's going to spend the rest of his life in prison and I don't know how to feel about that. Should I be happy? Or should I be sad? I don't know. But I know he didn't have any sympathy for what he'd done to his child and my child."

Ball's family didn't want to speak on camera, but did say they thought the verdict was unfair.

Ball's attorney does plan on appealing the verdict. Formal sentencing for Ball is scheduled for March 27th.