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In Court (12/21/96) IN COURT
Zile is scheduled to be sentenced
on Monday, when Colton will decide whether Zile will die in the electric
chair or spend the rest of his life in prison. His wife, Pauline, was convicted of first-degree murder, although she never struck Holt. Pauline Zile was sentenced to life for failing to stop the abuse and death of her daughter.
Zile was convicted of first-degree
murder and aggravated child abuse last month in Bartow, where his trial
was moved after a first trial in West Palm Beach ended in a hung jury.
He was charged in the 1994 death of his 7-year-old stepdaughter, Christina
Holt. ``Ten of 12 jurors could see the clerk's facial expression,'' attorney Craig Wilson said. Wilson also said there was insufficient evidence to convict Zile of murder and child abuse, because the medical examiner said discolorations on Christina's decomposed body were not necessarily from bruises. The state is seeking the death penalty for Zile. His wife, Pauline Zile, was convicted last year of the same charges, and sentenced to life in prison.
"May you spend every second
of every hour of every day for the rest of your life confined and monitored
and may you always remember why you are there," Circuit Judge Roger
Colton, speaking in an unusually loud, stern voice, told Zile. "As
I'm sure everyone involved in this case will remember, the reason is
due to a lovely dark-haired, dark-eyed little girl, Christina Holt."
Colton did not explain his decision except to say that the death penalty is reserved for the most egregious crimes and that he had consciously omitted from his deliberation the fact that Zile and his wife, Pauline Zile, tried to cover up Christina's death by claiming she had disappeared from a flea market in Broward County. "It is not a simple formula or equation that I have gone through in determining a proper sentence in this case," Colton said. He delivered his decision without hearing further arguments from prosecutors or defense attorneys. "We're satisfied with the sentence," prosecutor Scott Cupp said Monday. "I'd like to keep the focus on Christina Holt and on keeping her memory alive." The judge also sentenced Zile to 45 years in prison for his conviction on three counts of aggravated child abuse in the same case. He extended Zile's life term by 30 years for two of the abuse convictions. Zile will serve the 15 years on the other conviction as part of his life term. Zile's attorneys had asked that Colton alone decide Zile's fate without a recommendation from the jurors in Polk County who convicted Zile on Nov. 18. This was the first time Colton has passed sentence in a capital case. Those familiar with the judge describe him as compassionate and forgiving and had predicted he would not impose the death sentence. Zile's sentencing hearing marked the final step in his prosecution, a two-year ordeal delayed several times by problems related to intense public interest in the case and fierce public animosity directed at the Ziles. Trouble in prison predicted Even now, Zile, 34, may be in for rough treatment from fellow prison inmates, Cupp suggested. He said two inmates wrote letters to the State Attorney's Office supporting the death sentence for Zile. One even asked that his letter be included in the court file as material for a "victim impact statement." "I wouldn't be surprised if he (Zile) has trouble in prison," Cupp said. Christina died at the Ziles' Singer Island apartment around midnight on Sept. 16, 1994, shortly after Zile began spanking and slapping her for a variety of misbehavior. Prosecutors say Zile "beat" the girl until she began to cry, then put his hand over her mouth, causing her to asphyxiate. Zile's attorneys, Craig Wilson and Ed O'Hara, said Christina suffered a seizure as Zile disciplined her. They said she died because Zile improperly performed CPR in trying to revive her. Zile's first trial in Palm Beach County ended in a mistrial when one juror refused to convict him of first-degree murder. The jury in Polk County, where the retrial was moved because of extensive pretrial publicity, deliberated for about 5 1/2 hours before convicting Zile on all counts. Christina's great-grandmother, Dorothy Money of Maryland, who raised Christina until the girl was 5, said she was "very disappointed" by Colton's decision. "I was praying and praying for (the) death penalty," she said. Cupp had initially argued that Zile deserved the death penalty because Christina's murder was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel" and because, under the law, Zile's convictions on the aggravated child abuse counts constitute prior violent felony convictions even though they were part of the murder case. Cupp later cited two other aggravating circumstances, both of which became law after Christina's death. One refers to murders that occur during commission of certain other felonies, including aggravated child abuse. The other refers to murders of children younger than 12. Defense sought sentence O'Hara and Wilson had argued that Zile deserved a life sentence based on one "mitigating circumstance" under Florida law - Zile's lack of significant criminal history. O'Hara also asked Colton to consider mitigators not specified by law, including Zile's good behavior in jail, his potential for rehabilitation and his good employment record. Pauline Zile, Christina's mother, also was convicted of first-degree murder for failing to intervene in the incident that led to Christina's death. She is serving a life prison sentence. ZILE GETS LIFE IN PRISON, NO CHANCE
FOR PAROLE Circuit Court Judge Roger B. Colton's
only other option was to send Zile, 35, to Florida's electric chair
for the murder of Christina Holt, 7, on Sept. 16, 1994. The sentence, although expected, angered some who are close to the case. "Personally, being a father and a grandfather, I don't honestly think that life in prison is ample punishment," said Robert N. Dillard, a member of the jury that convicted Zile. "I think the man should have gone to the electric chair." Zile's attorneys plan to appeal the sentence within 30 days. Zile was sentenced to an additional 30 years in prison for convictions on three counts of aggravated child abuse, and he was ordered to pay $255 in court costs. Tears filled Zile's eyes as Colton read the sentence, his attorney, Ed O'Hara said. Seconds later, Zile was led away in chains. Zile was convicted of first-degree murder on Nov. 18 after two previous trials. The first trial in May was declared a mistrial after a jury deadlocked. The second trial was moved to Bartow in Polk County because of publicity surrounding the case, but had to be thrown out and restarted after the judge decided a court clerk's comment had contaminated potential jurors. Christina Holt suffocated after being beaten by Zile. The Ziles did not call paramedics, and instead hid the body in a closet for four days. Then they secretly buried her while claiming she had been snatched from a restroom at the Fort Lauderdale Swap Shop. Zile's wife Pauline was convicted in April 1995 for failing to protect Christina. She was sentenced to life without parole. Judge Colton berated the Ziles for crafting a "cover-up," but said he did not consider it in his sentencing of John Zile. "There is no excuse for the fraud and ruse perpetrated by the defendant and his wife, Pauline Zile, on the people of Florida," he said. Assistant State Attorney Scott Cupp, who pushed for the death penalty, said he was satisfied with the sentence and is glad he won't have to see Zile anymore. "The sentence, I think, is going to be extremely difficult on Mr. Zile," Cupp said. "He's got to spend the rest of his life in prison." Zile was Colton's first death penalty case. Zile's attorneys waived the jury recommendation, which is normal in death penalty cases. Colton considered aggravating and mitigating factors in assessing whether Zile should be given death. Factors included whether the murder was premeditated and whether it was committed in a heinous and cruel fashion. The defense argued that Zile never intended to kill Christina, and that his actions after the death should not be considered. Judges also must consider mitigating factors, such as a defendant's troubled childhood or whether he or she was a hard worker. "The death penalty is designed for the least mitigated and most aggravated of murders," Colton said. "It is not a simple formula or equation that I have gone through in determining a proper sentence in this case." Zile's attorney, Ed O'Hara, said he thought Colton would impose the death penalty. "Death is final. Hopefully, John will have the opportunity to come back on a retrial," O'Hara said. He feared, however, that Zile's life will be in danger from other inmates while he awaits an appeal. Prosecutors said they have received letters from prison inmates urging the death penalty for Zile. Others close to the case expressed disappointment and anger with Zile's sentence. "They [John and Pauline) definitely should have died," said Dorothy Money, Christina's great-grandmother on her birth father's side. "He gets to do whatever he wants to do: live, eat breathe. What does she have? He made her squirm. I wanted to see him squirm." Nancy A. McBride, of the National Center for Missing & Exploited children, said the system has failed when it doesn't send parents to the electric chair for murdering their children. "That's what this man did. He snuffed out the life of a beautiful, 7-year-old child," McBride said. "And we'll never know what she could have been."
Circuit Judge Roger Colton condemned
Zile to life in prison without the possibility of parole for murdering
7-year-old Christina Holt and added 30 years on three separate convictions
of aggravated child abuse. Zile was found guilty by a Polk County jury
last month in his third trial for first-degree murder and waived jury
sentencing. By claiming Christina had been abducted from a Fort Lauderdale market, the Ziles involved numerous law enforcement agencies and thousands of citizens in a frantic search for the child, who already had been buried behind a Tequesta store by her stepfather. The Ziles ultimately admitted their deception and were tried separately. Pauline was found guilty of murder for failing to protect her daughter and sentenced to life in 1995. But John postponed his date with justice when a single juror refused to go along with her 11 colleagues on a conviction of first-degree murder earlier this year. Colton moved the second trial to Bartow because of intense publicity, but had to declare a second mistrial when a Polk County court official was found to have contaminated the jury pool with offhand remarks. The third and decisive trial also experienced problems that are certain to be raised in Zile's inevitable appeal. The defendant attempted to dismiss his attorney in mid-trial because of an allegedly prejudicial comment but was forbidden to do so by the judge. The bill for prosecuting Zile is already more than $250,000 and will continue to climb, but taxpayers can take consolation in the fact that the glacial justice system finally has punished the coldblooded killer of an innocent child. A FAMILY TRAGEDY Christina will never celebrate
another Christmas, never grow to be an adult, never realize her potential.
She is dead, murdered by John Zile with her mother's complicity. The murder of the girl was not heinous, but stupid, cruel. Christina came to live with the Ziles after being raised by grandparents in Maryland. She didn't fit in with the family, living a borderline existence in Jupiter. The expense of another child may have aggravated the situation for John Zile, an unemployed cook. She had had a different upbringing than his sons, and he found her behavior disruptive. So he punished her. The girl, probably lonely and confused, responded by soiling her underwear. Not once, but several times. One more scene, one more round of punishment. But this time something went terribly wrong. The girl lost consciousness. Instead of calling 9-1-1, the Ziles panicked. Christina died. They buried her and concocted an elaborate ruse that she had been abducted. But neither was smart enough to carry it off. Their lies unraveled. So because these two people could only punish a 7-year-old girl dependent upon them for love and guidance, a murder was done, a family destroyed. There are many families hovering on the brink of such tragedy. To find them and provide help before another cruel, wasteful death of a child at the hands of an abusive adult is a resolution worth declaring. And the only solace remaining for those who mourn Christina and her miserable, lonely, brutal death. Back To Top |