Man convicted of convincing children to beat mom

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LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- A Douglas County jury convicted a Lawrence man of encouraging his children to try and kill their mother by assaulting her with a baseball bat.

The jury deliberated for three hours Tuesday before finding 61-year-old Arthur Davis III guilty of attempted first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping and contributing to a child's misconduct.

Prosecutors say Davis encouraged his 12-year-old daughter and 15-year-old son to kill his ex-wife on June 16. After the children began beating her, Davis went to her house and helped with the attack.

The woman was able to escape and ran down the road to seek help.

Prosecutors say the attack was prompted by a child custody dispute. The girl was granted immunity and testified against her father. The Davis' son will be tried as a juvenile.

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Information from: Lawrence Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com