COLUMBIANA, Alabama -- A Shelby County jury today decided that a man is guilty of misdemeanor criminally negligent homicide instead of murder in his wife's September 2011 death involving antifreeze ingestion.

The jury of eight men and four women at about 4 p.m. announced that Michael Derossett, 58, is guilty of the misdemeanor charge related to the death of his wife, Sonya Derossett, 48. The defendant's murder trial started Monday.

Jurors found him guilty of the lesser charge after deliberations began around 6 p.m. on Thursday and continued today. Alabama code states someone is guilty of criminally negligent homicide "if he causes the death of another person by criminal negligence."

Prosecutors with the Shelby County District Attorney's Office alleged the defendant killed his wife using antifreeze that she ingested. Derossett waited until after his wife was hospitalized to tell authorities that she had consumed antifreeze, the prosecution said.

Defense attorney Victor L. Miller Jr., who handled the case with lawyer Lesley Ireland, in his opening statement said he believes she was suicidal when she consumed antifreeze.

"I'm disappointed that the jury came back with a guilty verdict on a misdemeanor. I don't think the facts supported that," Miller said after court adjourned. "Obviously we're pleased they didn't find him guilty of murder or manslaughter."

Derossett left the courtroom with about a half-dozen people including members of his family. When asked for comment on record, Derossett declined the opportunity.

Ireland said that "intent was completely lacking" in the case.

"What it came down to in the end was reckless versus negligence, which goes to the defendant's state of mind," she said. "A reckless state of mind was he was aware she would die, while a negligent state of mind was he was unaware of the risk but probably should have been."

The verdict shows "he was unaware and probably should have been," she said.

Assistant District Attorneys Roger Hepburn, Alan Miller and Dan Alexander represented the prosecution during the trial. "We're certainly disappointed with the verdict, but we respect the jury's decision," Hepburn said after court ended.

Derossett, whose Shelby County Circuit Court file for the criminal case lists an address for him in Trussville, faces up to a year in jail when he is sentenced. Judge Dan Reeves scheduled his sentencing for 8:30 a.m. on June 10.

Authorities arrested Derossett in April 2012 after a grand jury issued an indictment containing a murder charge against him. He pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Shelby County Sheriff's deputies responded to a home at 7919 Highway 51 in Sterrett for two 911 calls on Sept. 21, 2011, concerning Sonya Derossett, who was suffering from an unknown medical problem. She went to a hospital for medical treatment after the second 911 call and died the following day at the hospital.

Derossett eventually revealed to authorities that his wife had told him she consumed two glasses of antifreeze in green glasses that caused her health issues.

Shelby County Sheriff's Capt. Ken Burchfield at the time of the investigation said the official cause of her death was ruled to be ethylene glycol intoxication.

"There is no winner in this case," Miller, the defense attorney, said. "You had the loss of a daughter, the loss of a mother and the loss of a wife."

Hepburn asked Reeves to place Derossett in jail until sentencing, calling the charge "one of the most heinous" misdemeanors. Reeves denied the request and allowed Derossett to remain free on bond.