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Pharmaceutical Exec Convicted of Manslaughter in Death of Autistic Son

By Trevor Kapp | November 5, 2014 1:59pm
 Gigi Jordan was found guilty of manslaughter Wednesday, but dodged a murder charge.
Gigi Jordan was found guilty of manslaughter Wednesday, but dodged a murder charge.
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DNAinfo/John Marshall Mantel

MANHATTAN SUPREME COURT—The multimillionaire pharmaceutical executive charged with killing her autistic son was found guilty of manslaughter Wednesday, but was not convicted of murder.

Gigi Jordan, 53, was convicted in the death of her 8-year-old son, Jude Mirra, who she fed a toxic combination of pills inside a 16th-floor room in the lavish Peninsula Hotel in February 2010, before unsuccessfully trying to kill herself, the District Attorney’s office said.

But jurors stopped short of convicting her of murder in her son's death.

Mirra, who was non-verbal, was discovered by police unresponsive in the room with dozens of pills and alcohol bottles nearby. Jordan wrote a suicide note claiming her son’s death was the only way to protect him from his abusive father, prosecutors said.

Wednesday’s verdict capped the end of the tumultuous nine-week trial during which prosecutors portrayed Jordan as a cash-crazed mother who was more concerned about finances than little Jude.

Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance praised the verdict.

"The jury, by its verdict of guilty to manslaughter in the first degree, has finally held the defendant accountable for killing her non-verbal, autistic child," Vance said in a statement. "Gigi Jordan showed no mercy to her son, and should receive none at the time of her sentencing."

Jordan now faces between five and 25 years in prison at her sentencing.