A Canadian man, along with his wife, is guilty of murdering his 10-year-old son.

The jury held Garfield Boothe as well as his wife Nichelle Boothe guilty of the murder of Shakeil Boothe [Image]. The 10-year-old was killed by his father and stepmother. Even though the couple pleaded not guilty initially, defence lawyers confessed that the actions by the couple actually met the conditions for manslaughter, CBC News reported.

Shakeil's lifeless body was found in his father's house on May 27, 2011. It was two years after he moved from Jamaica to come to his father in Ontario to live with him. According to the statements from his father and stepmother, he died one day before he was found by paramedics. Prosecutors allege Mr Boothe and his wife of abusing their son which depriving him of food. They also allegedly kept him chained in his bed during the previous months before he died.

Garfield Boothe as well as his wife is accused of beating his so in a savage manner, which eventually led his to his death. The beating caused internal haemorrhage which was overwhelming to his feeble body. The couple was convicted of 2nd degree murder on Saturday April 5. While Nichelle Boothe cried after the verdict, Garfield Boothe seemed unperturbed. The couple did not look at one another, National Post reported.

The lawyer of Nichelle Boothe, however, asked the jury to free her, saying that she was forced to commit the crime. According to Boothe, her husband was physically violent to both her and his son. She said that she had tried stopping her husband. However, she did not try after a point as she was apprehensive of what Garfield Boothe might have done to her and her son, Shakeil's half-brother.

It took around 14 hours for the jury to come to a decision. Dozens of witnesses which included police officers, paramedics as well as the pathologist that examined the corpse of Shakeil participated in the trail which started on Feb. 3.