Woman convicted of lesser assault count in gay couple attack

Kathryn Knott was found guilty of assault in the attack on a gay couple in Philadelphia past year.

So far the jury has put in about 10 hours of deliberations over two days, and the questions Thursday centered on two of the charges – recklessly endangering another person and conspiracy.

Knott sobbed as she huddled with her parents in court after the verdict. Knott is charged along with two other suburban Philadelphia defendants in the beating of a gay couple during a late-night encounter on a city street.

In total, Knott was found guilty of three misdemeanors but acquitted of four other counts. NBC10’s Deanna Durante has the details.

Co-defendant Philip Williams pleaded guilty to conspiracy and aggravated assault and was sentenced to five years of probation, and Kevin Harrigan pleaded to conspiracy and simple assault and received three years of probation.

Prosecutors said her earlier tweets show she hated gays. She also allegedly tweeted photos of patient X-rays, purportedly from the hospital where she worked.

The case prompted the city council to unanimously pass a hate-crime law in November 2014.

Kathryn was one of about 15 people who engaged a same-sex couple in downtown Philly in a verbal argument that quickly turned violent.

She likely won’t receive jail time when sentenced in February, legal experts told NBC10.