A Butler County jury Thursday convicted a Seven Fields man of third-degree murder in the shooting death of his best friend.

Eric Rutledge, 20, will learn his sentence on April 10. Court officials said a standard sentence for third-degree murder is 72 months to 40 years.

“This is justice for Courtney,” Pam Daily, mother of murder victim Courtney Daily, said of the verdict.

Courtney Daily, 18, was born and raised in Colorado, but flew to Pittsburgh to visit Rutledge a week before she was shot on Nov. 16, 2010. She died the next day.

During his four-day trial, Rutledge acknowledged shooting Daily with a 12-gauge shotgun in the bedroom of the Seven Fields apartment he shared with his mother. Rutledge claimed he and Daily had been playing with the gun, and he forgot that he’d loaded it.

Defense attorney Alexander Lindsay after the verdict said the defense believed this was a case of involuntary manslaughter, not murder.

Third-degree murder requires malice, while involuntary manslaughter involves reckless or grossly negligent conduct.

Third-degree homicide, a felony, also carries a more significant sentence consideration than involuntary manslaughter, which is a misdemeanor.

The jury also could have chosen to acquit Rutledge or convict him of first-degree murder.

It deliberated five hours Wednesday, then reconvened Thursday morning.

On the jury’s request, Rutledge’s taped statement to police and his 911 call were replayed Thursday morning. The jury also asked to get another look at the shotgun, and a court official read part of Rutledge’s earlier testimony.

An hour after reviewing the evidence, the eight-woman, four-man jury delivered its verdict.

Rutledge appeared stoic when the verdict was read as he did through much of his trial.

Lindsay said his client was “crushed” by the trial’s outcome. But, Lindsay said, Rutledge is even more devastated by the loss of his best friend.

As part of his testimony, Rutledge had claimed that on the night of the shooting Daily had pointed the loaded gun at him at one point. And Lindsay on Thursday said his client sometimes wishes Daily had pulled the trigger.

“He loved her like crazy,” said Mark Manor, 34, of Colorado, one of Rutledge’s two brothers.

Manor said he was disappointed with the verdict, but he understood the jury’s effort.

Manor attended the trial with his mother, Lillie Rutledge, who declined to comment.

Assistant District Attorney Christine Studeny after court thanked the jury for its effort, noting that “this was very difficult for them... But I believe justice is being served.’

County Judge William Shaffer, who presided over the trial, will sentence Rutledge.