She was punched and kicked to death by a man high, drunk, and deprived of sleep.

On Wednesday, a jury found 25-year-old James Gould guilty of manslaughter in the beating death of 18-year-old Karina Esquivel.

He was charged with second degree murder. Manslaughter means the prosecution can not prove the intention to kill; with second degree murder, the intention to kill is there, but it was not a planned killing.

The death

Esquivel died on Apr. 23, 2007 at a small house party held by Gould's then-girlfriend Imane Akraif.

The night before Esquivel's death, Gould told the court he had taken 13 pills of Ecstasy. Between that night and Esquivel's death the next night, he also drank a case of beer, smoked pot, and did shooters. He told the court he had not slept.

At the house party on Apr. 23, 2007, the trouble started with a simple suggestion: Esquivel wanted to go out with Akraif, but Gould didn't want his girlfriend to go. Although they invited him to come along, he was forcefully not interested.

As the fight escalated, Esquivel tried to intervene. For her efforts, she was punched, and fell to the floor.

Gould then turned his rage back to Akraif, wrestling her to the ground. Then he went back to Esquivel, hitting and kicking her. Her skull was fractured in the fight.

When he was done, he and his brother left the party and hopped on public transit bus. Noticing blood on his shoes, he swapped them with his brother's.

In the days following the incident Gould went into hiding. He eventually called a lawyer from a friend's house and was told he was facing life in prison.

Meanwhile, his mother made a public plea for her son to turn himself in. Esquivel's family offered a $15,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Gould was found by police, hiding in Ville Saint-Pierre. He was arrested on May 3, 2007. He had been drinking since he went on the lam, the court heard.

During the trial it was clear his mother was experiencing emotional turmoil between loyalty to her son as his mother, and the guilt and sorrow for Esquivel, her family and friends.

Sentencing arguments are scheduled to start on May 1.