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FORT WORTH – Norma Jean Roberts sobbed and wailed throughout most of her four-day murder trial but looked ahead stoically after a jury found her guilty of murdering her daughter.

The panel rejected the argument that the Keller woman was insane last August when she suffocated 11-year-old Kelsey Roberts at the home they shared in the 1900 block of Stallion Court.

Norma Jean Roberts

Jurors deliberated nearly three hours before their verdict. They'll return today to state District Judge Robert Gill's courtroom to determine punishment. Mrs. Roberts, 50, could receive a life sentence or anywhere from five to 99 years in prison.

Prosecutors said Mrs. Roberts and her then-estranged husband, Steve Roberts, were embroiled in custody and divorce issues at the time of the killing.

Mrs. Roberts said she was severely depressed and pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

On Aug. 5, she ingested a large quantity of drugs and cut a wrist. Mr. Roberts and a family friend found her unconscious in a bedroom.

Kelsey, who was to enter sixth grade at South Keller Intermediate School, was lying in a bedroom doorway with abrasions around her mouth. A sheet was tucked around her body. She had been suffocated.

Defense attorneys Reagan Wynn and Lance Evans told the jury that Mrs. Roberts unraveled after learning that her marriage was failing.

"This case is not a referendum on whether Norma is going to hell, whether she is a good person," Mr. Wynn said. "What you see is an evolving mental illness – evolved to the breaking point."

Prosecutors portrayed Mrs. Roberts as manipulative, histrionic and controlling.

Phelesa Guy, an assistant district attorney for Tarrant County, told the jury not to be influenced by Mrs. Roberts' tears.

"This woman is not insane," Ms. Guy said. "She's a murderer. She's trying to manipulate even now."

Mitchell Dunn, a Dallas psychiatrist called by prosecutors, testified that Mrs. Roberts has a personality disorder but lacked the sustained sadness characteristic of depression.

"With depressive disorder, you feel bad for extended periods," Dr. Dunn said.

Hours before Kelsey was killed, Mrs. Roberts went shopping.

Among the evidence was a dining room table on which Mrs. Roberts scribbled a message to her estranged husband.

"I can't live with the pain you have caused me & Kelsey," it read. "Now she'll always be happy and in one place."

Dr. Dunn said the carving took a lot of time.

"It indicates she spent time doing this," he testified. "The message is one of wrongfulness but one of incredible anger."

Mr. Roberts, who was called by defense attorneys and prosecutors, testified that Mrs. Roberts routinely resorted to name-calling and fits to get her way. He said he went along with her boorish behavior to save their marriage.

He said he sought a divorce in February 2005 because his daughter was being raised in an unhealthy environment. But he had no reservations about leaving Kelsey with her mother, he said. He told jurors that he never thought Mrs. Roberts would harm the girl.

His daughter, he said, was the most important person in his life.

"I made choices based on her," Mr. Roberts said. "My hurt is beyond description."

He declined to comment on the verdict. He left the courtroom in tears, accompanied by family and friends.

E-mail debdennis@dallasnews.com