GALVESTON, Texas — Editor's note: The video above is from when Chance Moseley was charged in 2015.
A teen facing a capital murder charge was found guilty Tuesday by a Galveston County jury. He was sentenced to life in prison.
Chance Michael Moseley was 14 on Sept. 26, 2015, when he stabbed his pregnant mother 57 times and then strangled her with an electrical cord to "put her out of her misery."
Thirty-three-year-old Nita Marie Moseley was 17 weeks pregnant at the time of the attack. Her unborn child also died. Her body was found by a neighbor days after her death.
Moseley testified in his own defense. He said after he stabbed and strangled his mother, he showered to remove her blood. He then went to meet friends to smoke marijuana. He took his mother's phone and removed the SIM card in order to avoid being tracked.
Chance Moseley's attorneys claimed he didn't intend to kill his mother's unborn child and pointed out that of the 57 stab wounds, none were on her abdomen. His attorneys also said Nita Moseley intended to abort the child.
The prosecution argued that a mother's instinct is to protect her child and there were “no stab wounds in her abdomen because she’s protecting her baby.”
Chance Moseley was originally accused of the offense in juvenile court, but he was deemed to be competent enough to understand what was going on and was able to assist his attorney in his own defense.
"The juvenile court concluded that the seriousness of the offense, Moseley’s background, and the welfare of the community required that Moseley be tried as an adult," according to a release from Galveston County authorities. "Since Moseley was younger than 18 when he murdered his mother and the unborn child, he is not eligible for life without parole. The law requires that he be considered for parole after actually serving 40 years."
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