But jurors say they had no choice: The only charge both Killpacks faced was second-degree felony child-abuse homicide. They agreed that Richard Killpack, 37, was innocent of that charge.

"He wasn't guilty of homicide. He was guilty of child abuse," the jury's foreman, who wished to remain anonymous, told The Salt Lake Tribune.

Jurors had to either find Richard Killpack guilty of child-abuse homicide or declare him innocent.

"We all said it was the hardest decision we ever had to make," another juror, who also asked to remain anonymous, said. When they reached the verdict, jurors began to cry: "It was extremely hard," the juror said.

Said the foreman of the five-woman, three-man jury, "There are some others that I am sure are battling with it."

Seven members of the jury recently collaborated on a statement that outlines how they reached their decision in 4th District Court in Provo after deliberating about six hours on Oct. 11.

They found that the Killpacks' adopted daughter Cassandra had died from water intoxication, the foreman said. They then determined Jennete Killpack, 29, was the one who forced the girl to drink the water on June 9, 2002. To discipline Cassandra, Jennete Killpack says she gave the child excessive amounts of water.

Then, the jurors moved on to Richard Killpack, and spent at least twice as long debating his fate than they had spent on his wife's.

"We couldn't quite decide what to do with Rick," the foreman said, adding that some members of the jury "didn't want him to get off scot-free" and two jurors were leaning toward finding him guilty.

"I think we were all looking for a child abuse conviction and that wasn't an option," he said.

Based on testimony from the Killpacks and one of their daughters, jurors found that it was Richard Killpack who ultimately stopped his wife from giving Cassandra more water the day she was given the fatal amount of water.

The girl never consumed water while Richard Killpack was present, the jurors found.

"Therefore, since we had already established that too much water is what led to her death, we couldn't find him guilty of child abuse homicide," the jurors' statement read in part. "It was a technicality."

The statement also notes the decision was "very, very hard" for them to reach.

"Not one of us were pleased with our findings," the statement reads.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Sherry Ragan, one of the attorneys who prosecuted the Killpacks, said she thought the prosecution had presented enough evidence for jurors to find Richard Killpack guilty.

"I feel OK about that. I'm not going to second-guess what I did," she said on Monday.

Jennete Killpack's attorney, Michael Esplin, rebutted jurors' findings that child abuse had been committed, saying "there wasn't any child abuse, either."

"These folks [the Killpacks] didn't understand their conduct would result in serious physical injury," he said, adding the couple were taking the conviction "one day at a time."

"They've been quite resilient, so far. Hopefully they will continue to do so," Esplin said.

Jennete Killpack is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 7 by 4th District Judge Claudia Laycock. The second-degree felony count carries a maximum sentence of one to 15 years in prison.

"It's a family that suffered a lot," said a third juror interviewed by the Tribune. "I don't think they intended to kill her. I don't think they intended for her to die."

Nonetheless, jurors are confident they made the right decision.

"I am pleased with the way we did our duty, our decision," the juror said. "I can hold my head up high. I don't second-guess anything we have done."

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Tribune reporter Stephen Hunt contributed to this story.