A jury has found a man guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of an eastern Pennsylvania man whose body was found tied to a tree.
The Schuylkill County jury found 49-year-old Keith Reber not guilty of murder on Thursday evening. But they returned several guilty verdicts against him, including involuntary manslaughter, kidnapping, reckless endangerment and evidence tampering.
Reber was accused of gagging and shackling 26-year-old Bryan Smith to a tree for 20 hours on a hot day last May. Smith eventually died.
Prosecutors allege Reber suspected Smith of stealing from his girlfriend. They say he led him to woods behind his house, brandished a gun and used flex-ties to bind him to the tree.
Reber says he intended for Smith to have a "timeout" as a punishment for stealing.
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