Guilty verdict in the torture death of girl
Mom and her friend convicted of murder, abuse

Bailiffs never bothered to take the handcuffs off Ferosa Bluff and Andrew G. Fedorowicz when they walked into the courtroom to hear the verdict.

A two-woman, six-man jury deliberated 90 minutes over lunch Friday before deciding Bluff, 27, and Fedorowicz, 46, are guilty of torturing Bluff's 3-year-old daughter, Rebecca, to death last year.The jury found them guilty of murder, a first-degree felony; child abuse, a second-degree felony; and sexual abuse of a child, a second-degree felony. They could be ordered to spend up to life in prison at their sentencing, scheduled for Aug. 20.

Two jurors interviewed by the Deseret News said they were "overwhelmed" by nine photographs that showed Rebecca's body covered with bruises.

"I've never seen anything like it," said one male juror who preferred not to be named. "I never thought anything could happen like that. Some of those pictures would bring tears to your eyes. They were so bad."

"The photo evidence was overwhelming. It was very graphic," the other juror said.

Prosecutors Robert Stott and James Cope also showed the jury a cat-o'-nine-tails whip, two chains and several buckled leather straps found in the apartment Bluff shared with Andrew Fedorowicz and his wife, Suzanne Fedorowicz, 46. They also introduced testimony about a videotape that shows the threesome engaged in acts using similar instruments.

The medical examiner who conducted an autopsy on Rebecca concluded that many of the marks on her body could have been caused by those instruments. Two other medical experts who examined the body agreed that the bruises could not have been accidental.

One of the jurors interviewed said that even with no medical experience, he was insulted by the defendants' claim that Rebecca suffered her injuries by falling down a flight of carpeted stairs.

"I've had children that have fallen down them, and I've fallen down them -- nothing, no bruises. Carpeted stairs could not do that much damage," he said.

Neither Bluff nor Fedorowicz showed any visible reaction when the verdict was read. Bluff's attorney, Ed Brass, said she was "stunned" and "disappointed" by the verdict but does not want to quit fighting to prove her innocence.

Fedorowicz "accepts" the verdict, but "he still maintains his innocence; by no means does he admit that he did what he's accused of," said his attorney, Gil Athay. He too will appeal.