A Vanderburgh County jury needed less than a day to reach a verdict in a case prosecutors called “heartbreaking” and “extreme.”

Ashley Marie Bredhold was found guilty Friday on two counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death in connection with the July 4, 2024 death of her 12-year-old daughter, Alice Bredhold.

Alice’s father, Brent Bredhold, was convicted last year of a lesser charge — neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury — and sentenced to nine years in a state correctional facility by Circuit Judge Ryan D. Hatfield.

But for Ashley Bredhold, the stakes are even higher. She now faces a possible sentence of up to 40 years in prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 19.

At the center of the case is a 12-year-old girl with Type 1 diabetes — a disease that, with proper care, allows most children to live long and largely normal lives.

Instead, prosecutors say, Alice was left to fend for herself.

“This is a heartbreaking case where a 12-year-old girl with Type 1 diabetes was left to fend for herself until her untimely death,” Vanderburgh County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Winston Lin said previously. “Her parents should have been her strongest advocates to keep her healthy and alive, but unfortunately all they had to offer was apathy, indifference, and neglect.”

Police and emergency responders were called to the Bredhold home on South New York Avenue in Evansville on July 4, 2024, after a 911 report of an unresponsive child. First responders found Alice lying on the floor of her bedroom. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Vanderburgh County Coroner later determined that she died from diabetic ketosis — a severe and preventable complication of diabetes that occurs when the body lacks enough insulin and begins breaking down fat too rapidly, leading to dangerous acid buildup in the blood.

Alice had been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in March 2020.

According to testimony presented at trial, warning signs were flashing long before her death.

In the weeks leading up to July 4, school nurses documented dangerously high blood sugar readings. Prosecutors cited 44 readings above 300 and 14 readings exceeding 600. For comparison, the Centers for Disease Control notes that blood sugar levels under 180 two hours after a meal are typical targets for people managing diabetes.

The Indiana Department of Child Services had previously contacted the family about concerns over Alice’s blood sugar levels while she was at school.

Despite that, evidence presented at trial showed that Alice’s diabetes management was inconsistent — and at times, ignored.

Witness testimony and cellphone data revealed that in the days before her death, her parents were aware that her Omni Pen, a device used to administer insulin, was not functioning properly. According to local ABC affiliate WEHT, they failed to obtain a replacement.

When Alice complained that drinking water “felt like drinking acid,” Ashley Bredhold reportedly told her to “drink more water.”

To medical experts, that symptom — excessive thirst and discomfort — is a red flag in diabetic patients, often signaling dangerously high blood sugar.

Prosecutors argued that the neglect was not a single lapse in judgment but a pattern that spanned years.

“Parental responsibility is not a 9-to-5 job, to clock in or clock out when convenient,” Lin said. “This was an extreme case where Alice was not properly supervised for years, and the long-term neglect placed her in a precarious situation that cut her life short.”

He noted that among the hundreds of Type 1 diabetic children under 18 treated by Alice’s pediatric endocrinologist, she was the only one to die directly due to her diabetes.

The jury’s swift verdict suggests they found the evidence overwhelming.

Now, the focus turns to sentencing.