Mother acquitted of homicide

GREAT FALLS — A Cascade County jury has acquitted Jasmine Eskew of deliberate homicide in the 2012 death of her 6-month-old daughter but found her guilty of assault on a minor.

Jurors delivered the verdict late Tuesday after a trial that lasted 2 1/2 weeks.

Police say Eskew told them she had violently shaken the infant, but her lawyers argued it was a false confession prompted by leading questions.

Eskew’s lawyers also argued a medical examiner concluded the infant died from blunt force trauma, not shaking.

Defense attorneys told jurors it was possible Eskew’s boyfriend at the time inflicted the fatal injuries.