CINCINNATI — After a bench trial that lasted roughly a week, Judge Virginia Tallent found Warren Houston guilty on all counts.
Houston was charged with with involuntary manslaughter, endangering children and reckless endangerment after his two dogs mauled his 3-year-old daughter, Kingsley Wright, in his home, killing her. Houston was remanded into police custody following the verdict; he will be sentenced on May 22.
Prosecuting attorneys said Kingsley was asleep when Houston's two dogs attacked her and she wasn't discovered until the next morning.
Video of the attack was shown in court, captured on a camera inside Houston's home.
Prior to the video being shown in court, the judge ruled that the media was prohibited from recording any audio or video of the attack. However, the public and media were allowed to remain in the courtroom.
The video showed the attack, which lasted roughly 30 minutes. In the video, the dogs could be heard barking and the girl was heard yelling and crying.
A few minutes into the video being played in court, Houston began wailing while listening to it. Houston then waived his right to be present in the courtroom, allowing him to leave the room as they played the video.
In court, the prosecution also played video from the initial interview with detectives and Houston.
In that interview, Houston told detectives he and Kingsley spent most of the day watching cartoons. Houston also admitted to taking a shot of alcohol and smoking weed that night.
Houston told detectives he eventually fell asleep on his chair in the living room while watching TV with his daughter. He said he later woke up and made his way to the bedroom with his girlfriend.
Houston told detectives Kingsley was asleep on the couch when he went to bed and that both dogs were in their cages.
“I should’ve heard anything, I should have heard something," Houston said in the interview. "No way in hell I sleep that hard.”
In the video, Houston was adamant with detectives that the dogs were locked in their cages when he went to bed.
WATCH: Prosecutors show video of Houston's initial interview with detectives
Houston told detectives that he had rescued one of the dogs a year ago. He said when he rescued the dog, it was in rough shape, because it had been trained for fighting.
"I never fully trusted the dog," Houston said.
Detective Jeff Smallwood was on the stand throughout Thursday's trial. Smallwood is one of the detectives who interviewed Houston and is investigating the case.
Smallwood provided insight into the investigation and was asked questions about Houston's initial interview.
Smallwood said the dog was clearly a threat and that he didn't think Houston did enough to provide a safe environment for his child.
"There was nothing that he did, no overt action that he did, to provide a space for her," Smallwood said. "There were no changes that were made to the condition of the cage, the condition of which he lived his life and the dogs were kept."
