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Christina's Story - Newspaper Articles

The following links take you to various articles in Christina's story as it appeared in the South Florida media.

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In Loving Memory Of
Christina Diane Holt

May 23, 1987 - September 16, 1994

"Beautiful Child who has found love from the angels...RIP..."


(Not her actual headstone)
These pages contain all of the articles from the Palm Beach Post and The Sun-Sentinel throughout the years.

In Court (3/6/96)
Zile Seeks Venue Change At Hearing (3/6/96)
Lawyers Get Another Chance To Move Zile Trial (3/7/96)
In Court (3/8/96)
Ziles Appear In Court (3/8/96)
In Court (3/9/96)
In Court (3/14/96)
Judge Limits Zile Evidence (3/15/96)
Zile: Deputies Misled Him Before Search (3/27/96)
Local (3/27/96)


IN COURT
The Palm Beach Post
March 6, 1996

WEST PALM BEACH

Attorneys for John Zile showed a judge hundreds of newspaper articles and television broadcasts about the death of 7-year-old Christina Holt in their effort to have Zile's first-degree murder trial moved out of Palm Beach County. Holt's body was found buried behind a shopping center in Tequesta in October 1994. Police say Zile told them that the girl began choking while he was hitting her and died. After burying her, Zile and his wife, Pauline Zile, staged a kidnapping hoax at a Broward county flea market to cover the girl's death. Pauline Zile has been convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. John Zile's trial will begin in April. Testimony will continue today on whether the trial should be moved to another county.

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ZILE SEEKS VENUE CHANGE AT HEARING
Sun-Sentinel
March 6, 1996
Author: MIKE FOLKS Staff Writer

John Zile unsuccessfully fought back tears on Tuesday as he sat in court and watched television news accounts of his downfall.

At first, Zile took deep breaths and blinked back tears as images of his stepdaughter's body being pulled from a shallow grave and his and his wife's arrests flashed across the screen
But when the television played a courtroom scene of his wife, Pauline, being convicted of first-degree murder and child abuse for the death of her 7-year-old daughter, Christina Holt, Zile quietly wiped tears from his eyes.

Zile's emotional display came as his defense attorneys argued to have his trial moved out of Palm Beach County because of media coverage.

"We're hoping this will get him used to being in a courtroom and being subjected to emotional statements," Ed O'Hara, one of Zile's attorneys, said on Tuesday in explaining his client's demeanor in court.

Zile, 33, goes on trial in April for first-degree murder and four counts of aggravated child abuse. If convicted, he faces a possible death penalty.

In an effort to get the trial moved, Zile's attorneys presented hundreds of newspaper articles and hours of television news accounts about the case.

Craig Wilson, another of his attorneys, told Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Roger B. Colton that it's not the number of news accounts that could prevent an unbiased jury from being seated, but the content. The news reports, he said, promote an "atmosphere of hostility" against John Zile.

Prosecutors say John Zile beat the girl in September 1994 in the presence of his wife, causing Christina to collapse into convulsions and die.

The following month, Pauline Zile claimed Christina had been abducted from a bathroom at the Swap Shop near Fort Lauderdale and made an impassioned plea on television for her return.

Days later, John Zile was charged in her death. Police say he confessed to the killing and led them to her body, which was found in a shallow grave behind a Tequesta Kmart.

The following week, Pauline Zile, 26, was arrested and charged. She was convicted last April of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse for failing to protect the child and is now serving a life sentence.

The hearing to determine whether John Zile's trial should be moved out of Palm Beach County continues today.

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LAWYERS GET ANOTHER CHANCE TO MOVE ZILE TRIAL
JUDGE DELAYS RULING TO SEE TV COVERAGE
Sun-Sentinel
March 7, 1996
Author: MIKE FOLKS Staff Writer

John Zile's defense attorneys won a second chance on Wednesday to persuade a judge to move his murder trial to another county because of media coverage.

Although prosecutors argued an unbiased jury could be seated despite the extensive coverage of the case, Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Roger B. Colton delayed a ruling until the defense could present more evidence.

Colton said Zile's defense attorneys, Craig Wilson and Ed O'Hara, still must obtain television news footage from several other South Florida stations that he must review before making a decision
"I'm going to give Mr. Wilson and Mr. O'Hara time to bolster their record," Colton said.

On Tuesday, the defense attorneys presented hundreds of newspaper articles and hours of television news accounts about the case in an attempt to have the trial moved to another county. Additional news footage was reviewed on Wednesday.

O'Hara said on Wednesday that extensive coverage of the case - combined with the coverage of Pauline Zile's April convictions for first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse - will make it difficult to find unbiased jurors.

The judge said the defense could request another pretrial hearing to argue for the trial to be moved. But O'Hara said they could wait to argue for the move when jury selection begins in April.

John Zile, 33, is charged with first-degree murder and four counts of aggravated child abuse for the September 1994 death of his 7-year-old stepdaughter, Christina Holt. If convicted, Zile faces a possible death penalty.

Pauline Zile, 26, who is serving a life sentence, at first told police on Oct. 22, 1994, that Christina disappeared from a bathroom at the Swap Shop west of Fort Lauderdale.

But the ruse unraveled, and the couple became prime suspects.

Prosecutors say John Zile confessed to beating the girl as his wife watched, causing Christina to collapse into convulsions and die. Then, they say, he hid the girl's body in a closet in their Singer Island apartment for four days before burying her in a shallow grave behind a Tequesta Kmart.

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IN COURT
The Palm Beach Post
March 8, 1996

WEST PALM BEACH - Pauline Zile asserted her Fifth Amendment rights Thursday and refused to answer questions from an attorney representing her husband. John Zile, 33, faces an April murder trial for the September 1994 death of his 7-year-old stepdaughter, Christina Holt. Pau-line Zile was convicted last year and is serving a life sentence. Attorney Craig Wilson hoped she would testify regarding evidence that John Zile wants a judge to suppress. The hearing continues today.

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ZILES APPEAR IN COURT
Sun-Sentinel
March 8, 1996

Caption:
LANNIS WATERS/Special to the Sun-Sentinel
At right, Pauline Zile talks with her attorney, Richard Bartmon, while on the stand in Palm Beach County Circuit Court on Thursday during a hearing in her husband's upcoming trial. Zile took the Fifth Amendment repeatedly when attorneys for
John Zile, left, asked about a consent to search form that she and her husband signed. The form allowed deputies to search their Singer Island home in 1994. John Zile's defense attorneys say investigators went beyond the scope of their search. Pauline Zile has been convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the beating death of her child, Christina Holt, 7. She is serving a life sentence. John Zile is accused of murder and aggravated child abuse in the case.

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IN COURT
The Palm Beach Post
March 9, 1996

WEST PALM BEACH

Attorneys for John Zile will use a jury selection expert to help them pick 12 people to hear the first-degree murder case. Circuit Judge Roger Colton approved the request for the expert Friday but denied a request for a pollster to conduct a survey of community attitudes about the case. Zile faces the electric chair for the 1994 death of his 7-year-old stepdaughter, Christina Holt. Police found the girl's body in a shallow grave behind a shopping center in Tequesta after Zile and his wife, Pauline, staged a kidnapping hoax at a Fort Lauderdale flea market. Zile's trial is scheduled for April.

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IN COURT
The Palm Beach Post
March 14, 1996

WEST PALM BEACH

A judge told prosecutors Wednesday that they may not suggest to jurors that John Zile had sexually abused Christina Holt, the stepdaughter he is accused of killing in 1994. Circuit Judge Roger Colton told attorneys that Zile, 33, whose trial is set to begin in April, is charged only with murder and aggravated child abuse and, ``I don't want the trial turning into a sexual abuse trial.''

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JUDGE LIMITS ZILE EVIDENCE
Sun-Sentinel
March 15, 1996
Author: Staff reports

Prosecutors cannot refer to semen found on Christina Holt's bedding as evidence of sexual abuse at John Zile's trial in the killing of his stepdaughter, a judge ruled on Wednesday.

Circuit Judge Roger Colton limited prosecutors suggestion of sexual abuse as a motive in Zile's murder trial, scheduled for April.
Zile's attorney, Ed O'Harak, said on Thursday that the Zile family of five lived in a one-bedroom apartment, and the only privacy the Zile and his wife, Pauline, had was in the bedroom where their three children slept.

But Colton did not prevent prosecutors from using a witness' testimony that Zile feared his stepdaughter would accuse him of molestation.

Chad Brannon has previously testified that Zile was concerned his stepdaughter was making wild allegations that her family members in Maryland molested her and that he might be next.

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ZILE: DEPUTIES MISLED HIM BEFORE SEARCH
The Palm Beach Post
March 27, 1996
Author: Palm Beach Post Staff Report

John Zile, charged with first-degree murder in the 1994 death of his stepdaughter, Christina Holt, testified Tuesday that sheriff's deputies misled him in obtaining permission to search his car and apartment.

Zile wants a judge to rule the evidence taken from the car and apartment are inadmissible at his murder trial next month.
At the time of the search, Zile and his wife, Pauline, had reported Christina disappeared from a swap shop in Broward County.

The deputies ostensibly were looking for evidence that might help them find her.

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LOCAL
The Palm Beach Post
March 27, 1996

WEST PALM BEACH - John Zile, charged with first-degree murder in the 1994 death of his stepdaughter, Christina Holt, is questioned by prosecutor Marry Ann Duggan in court Tuesday. Zile testified that sheriff's deputies misled him in obtaining permission to search his car and apartment. He wants a judge to rule the evidence taken from the car and apartment are inadmissible at his murder trial next month.

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