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An Edmonton man has been found guilty of manslaughter in the death of his 19-month-old son, who was found outside a north Edmonton church in 2017.

Joey Crier learned his fate in the death of Anthony Joseph Raine in an Edmonton courtroom Friday morning.

Dalyce Raine, Anthony’s mother, cried in the courtroom as the judge gave the verdict. She didn’t speak to reporters, but had family friend Luci Johnson speak on her behalf.

The judge says he finds Crier guilty of unlawful act manslaughter. — Sarah Komadina (@SKomadinaGlobal) January 10, 2020

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“What’s the purpose of justice, if we can’t get justice? Now we have to wait until September to get some sort of sentence,” Johnson said.

“We have to wait years before we get accountability for Anthony.”

“(It’s) brutal. How can someone do something like that to such a sweet little warrior?”

Raine’s bruised body was found outside the Good Shepherd Anglican Church in April 2017. He had been dead for about three days. An autopsy found he died from severe head trauma.

Investigators said the cause of the boy’s 2017 death was trauma to the head. Global News File

Crier and his then-girlfriend Tasha-Lee Doreen Mack were both charged with second-degree murder in Raine’s death, a charge that Crier had pleaded not guilty in October when his trial started.

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In his decision, Judge Labrenz said it isn’t clear what caused Anthony’s fatal head trauma, or if Mack could have committed the assault, so he had reasonable doubt that Crier was guilty of second-degree murder, and convicted him of manslaughter instead.

In November, Mack was found guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. In late December. The Crown in the case filed an appeal of the judge’s verdict, arguing the judge erred by refusing to allow Mack’s statement to police as evidence due to a breach of her Charter rights.

Tasha Mack is seen in this police handout photo provided as evidence by the Court of Queen’s Bench of Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta

The Crown is seeking a new trial for Mack. She has not yet been sentenced.

WATCH BELOW: Ongoing Global News coverage of Crier and Mack’s trials

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With files from The Canadian Press.