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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.
PLEASE DO NOT COPY THE INFORMATION ON THIS SITE BEFORE ASKING.
Thank you!
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In Loving Memory Of 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. |
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Court Sends Herald
Reporter's Contempt Case To Palm Beach (3/5/99)
Supreme Court Set To Weigh Zile Appeal (3/12/99)
High Court To Review Zile Case (3/12/99)
Briefly (4/10/99)
In Court (4/22/99)
Court: Reporter Not Shielded From Testifying (4/22/99)
Reporter Won't Spend Any More Time In Jail (5/6/99)
Pauline Zile's Attorney Argues She Was Tricked (9/1/99)
Slain Girl's Mom Appeals Verdict (9/1/99)
Zile Appeals Her Conviction To State High Court (9/1/99)
Possibility Of Freedom Sickening (9/6/99)
Court Rejects Pauline Zile's Claim She Was Tricked In
Immunity Deal (10/29/99)
High Court
Drops Mom's Appeal In Daughter's Killing (10/29/99)
Mother's Appeal For Hearing Dismissed (10/29/99)
Florida Supreme Court Refuses To Hear Pauline Zile Appeal
(10/29/99)
COURT SENDS HERALD
REPORTER'S CONTEMPT CASE TO PALM BEACH
Miami Herald, The (FL)
March 5, 1999
Author: From Herald Staff and Wire Reports
The contempt case of a Herald reporter who served 15 days in jail for
declining to testify in a murder case gained new life Thursday - even
though the defendant was convicted in 1996 and reporters now enjoy somewhat
enhanced protection in such matters.
The Florida Supreme Court remanded
the case of reporter David Kidwell to a lower court for further proceedings
in Palm Beach County.
In 1996, Kidwell was convicted of contempt for refusing to testify about
a jailhouse interview he did with John Zile, ultimately convicted of
murdering his 7-year-old stepdaughter, Christina Holt. Zile was sentenced
to life in prison.
Kidwell was sentenced to 70 days in jail, but U.S. District Judge Wilkie Ferguson Jr. ordered him released after 15 days because Florida law was vague and uncertain at that time.
Last year, in response to that case, Gov. Lawton Chiles signed a new state law that enhanced the protections afforded reporters, though they still could be forced to testify under certain circumstances.
First, prosecutors have to meet a new three-pronged test: that the reporter possess relevant information; the information is unavailable from other sources; and the government has a compelling need for it from the reporter.
In a subsequent ruling, justices found Kidwell's information about Zile clearly relevant but similar to what police already had from the defendant's confession. Kidwell's attorney, Sanford Bohrer of Miami, then asked for a clarification of his case.
On Thursday, the high court sent the case back to the 4th District Court of Appeal in West Palm Beach, which likely will return it to the Palm Beach County Circuit Court where it originated.
Now, Kidwell eventually could be ordered to serve the remaining 55 days of his sentence, Bohrer said, though that seemed unlikely.
``It's all kind of moot right now,'' Bohrer said, noting that Zile was convicted without the testimony prosecutors wanted from Kidwell. ``Why would you waste your time?''
SUPREME COURT SET TO WEIGH ZILE APPEAL
The Palm Beach Post
March 12, 1999
Author: John Holland
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
The state Supreme Court will decide this summer whether Pauline Zile
deserves a new trial.
Zile's attorney, Richard Bartmon
of Boca Raton, said Thursday his argument centers around a limited-immunity
deal police gave Zile shortly before she and her husband, John, were
charged with beating 7-year-old Christina Holt to death in 1994.
The Ziles claimed Christina, Pauline's daughter, was kidnapped at a
Broward County flea market, and kept the hoax going for a month.
In truth, John Zile had beaten the girl while Pauline Zile stood by and took no action to help her, separate juries found.
Both were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison.
The Supreme Court scheduled oral arguments for Aug. 31.
The 4th District Court of Appeal has already rejected Pauline Zile's appeal.
The appeal focuses on an immunity deal police gave Pauline Zile to implicate her husband.
Investigators then used her statement to entice John Zile to implicate his wife, a move Bartmon contends violated Pauline's immunity deal.
Thursday, Bartmon agreed to represent Pauline Zile for free after Circuit Judge Howard Berman ruled that the county shouldn't be forced to pay the costs of her appeal.
HIGH COURT TO REVIEW ZILE CASE
WOMAN'S LAWYER SAYS POLICE VIOLATED IMMUNITY AGREEMENT
Sun-Sentinel
March 12, 1999
Author: KEVIN KRAUSE Staff Writer
Staff Writer Noreen Marcus contributed to this report.
A Florida Supreme Court decision to review the 1995 murder conviction
of Pauline Zile should revive debate over the validity of Florida's
immunity statutes when arguments begin this summer.
Zile was one of the first mothers
in the country to be convicted of murder for failing to protect her
child from abuse. She is serving a life sentence.
Her appeal was rejected last year by the 4th District Court of Appeal,
but two weeks ago, the state Supreme Court decided to review the case.
They could vote to uphold her conviction or reverse it and order a new
trial, among other options.
Regardless of what the justices decide, defense attorneys say the high court's review of the Zile case will prompt much-needed debate over a vague immunity law.
Zile's court-appointed attorney, Richard Bartmon, said Thursday he will argue that his client's rights were violated when police used her statement to get information from her husband, John Zile, that was later used to convict her.
John Zile is also serving a life sentence after he was convicted of murder for beating and suffocating his stepdaughter, Christina Holt, in October 1994.
Bartmon said he was "pleasantly surprised" to hear that the Supreme Court decided to hear the case. He said he will challenge the constitutionality of the immunity statute because it doesn't provide enough protection against prosecution.
Pauline Zile was given a limited form of immunity, called "use immunity," in exchange for her statement. "Use immunity" means prosecutors could not use her statement -- or any evidence or leads they derived as a result of it -- to prosecute her.
Monica Lewinsky had a similar immunity agreement with independent counsel Kenneth Starr.
"(Pauline's) rights against self-incrimination were violated," Bartmon said. "They used her statement to convict her. You can't use (her statement) to motivate someone else to talk."
But the state Attorney General's Office, which will represent prosecutors, said the immunity argument was rejected during Zile's trial and later by the district appeals court.
"They found no merit in that challenge," said Celia Terenzio, bureau chief of the attorney general's West Palm Beach office.
In its opinion, the appeals court said police told Zile: "We have spoken to your wife; we know what's going on. Why don't you tell us, you know, tell us your side of the story?"
But the court said police never told John Zile what his wife said.
"Detective Brochu testified that John initiated contact with him, and that he did not use any information obtained from (Pauline) in asking John questions," the court wrote.
In addition, they said, "there was also evidence that independently supports (Pauline's) arrest and conviction."
But Bartmon contends police got John Zile to talk only after telling him his wife gave them a statement, and that, he said, is using her statement against her.
"They got to her husband through her statement," he said. "They didn't tell him what she said. They didn't have to."
Most states and the federal government do not grant the broader immunity, called "transactional immunity," which shields the person from prosecution.
But Bartmon said it is needed to prevent misconduct on the part of police and prosecutors.
"You need some form of transactional immunity to fully protect someone from having their immunized statement used against them," he said. "We will ask for the statute to be held invalid."
Prominent local defense attorney Michael Salnick said the Legislature enacted the statute as a tool for prosecutors. He said, however, that it is confusing, and many people don't understand that it is not a guarantee they won't be prosecuted.
"I think it is a little vague," Salnick said. "It will need major revisions in order to protect people so they will have some assurance that they will not be prosecuted."
This will not be the first time the immunity issue will be raised, he said.
"It comes up in cases in which prosecutors are seeking the testimony of one person to get to another," Salnick said.
The law, however, is not normally used to go after the person giving the immunized statement, he said.
"The Zile case presents a unique set of facts where that happened," Salnick said. He said it should make for an interesting appeal.
Bartmon's legal briefs in support of his position are due March 23. The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Aug. 31 in Tallahassee.
Staff Writer Noreen Marcus contributed to this report. Kevin Krause can be reached at kkrause@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6604.
BRIEFLY
The Palm Beach Post
April 10, 1999
WEST PALM BEACH The prosecutor who once headed the team that prosecuted crimes against children resigned last month from the State Attorney's Office. Scott Cupp, who was recently put in charge of prosecutions under the Jimmy Ryce Act, which sends sexual deviants from prison to long-term treatment, did not give an explanation for his March 25 resignation, said Mike Edmondson, a spokesman for the State Attorney's Office. Cupp gained fame for prosecuting Pauline Zile in the death of her daughter, Christina Holt, and Jessica Schwarz in the death of her stepson, A.J. Schwarz. He could not be reached for comment on Thursday.
IN COURT
The Palm Beach Post
April 22, 1999
WEST PALM BEACH - The 4th District Court of Appeal said last week that
Miami Herald reporter David Kidwell must come back to court on a contempt
charge after the Florida Supreme Court ruled Kidwell was not shielded
from testifying in John Zile's murder trial. The court said Kidwell,
who interviewed Zile in jail, was essentially a witness because Zile
had confessed to him. Kidwell said he did not want to abandon the principle
that reporters should freely cover the news without interference. He
served 15 days of a 70-day sentence before he was freed while his case
was on appeal. Zile was convicted of killing his stepdaughter, Christina
Holt, without Kidwell's testimony. Kidwell's lawyer wants him sentenced
to time served. State Attorney Barry Krischer said he would not oppose
the request, but that the decision lies with the judge.
COURT: REPORTER NOT SHIELDED FROM
TESTIFYING
The Palm Beach Post
April 22, 1999
Author: Palm Beach Post Staff Reports
The 4th District Court of Appeal said last week that Miami Herald reporter
David Kidwell must come back to court on a contempt charge after the
Florida Supreme Court ruled Kidwell was not shielded from testifying
in John Zile's murder trial.
The court said Kidwell, who interviewed
Zile in jail, was essentially a witness because Zile had confessed to
him. Kidwell said he did not want to abandon the principle that reporters
should freely cover the news without government interference. He served
15 days of a 70-day sentence before he was freed while his case was
on appeal.
Zile was convicted of killing his stepdaughter, Christina Holt, without
Kidwell's testimony.
REPORTER WON'T SPEND ANY MORE TIME IN JAIL
JUDGE REQUIRES ONLY PAYMENT OF COURT COSTS
Sun-Sentinel
May 6, 1999
Author: KEVIN KRAUSE Staff Writer
Miami Herald reporter David Kidwell won't have to serve any more time
in jail, but he must pay for the court costs of his two-year legal battle
with a Palm Beach County judge over his refusal to testify, the judge
ruled on Wednesday.
Circuit Court Judge Roger B. Colton
granted Kidwell's motion for a reduced sentence and sentenced him to
15 days he already served in the Palm Beach County Jail in 1996 for
contempt of court.
Colton originally sentenced Kidwell to 70 days in jail and a $500 fine
for refusing his order to testify in the murder trial of John Zile,
who is serving a life sentence for beating and suffocating his stepdaughter,
Christina Holt, in October 1994.
His case inspired a new state law that in most cases gives journalists the right not to disclose what nonconfidential news sources tell them.
The Florida Supreme Court upheld the law in ruling on Kidwell's appeal and added new guidelines.
They imposed a three-part test the state must use in order to force reporters to testify: The information must be relevant, it must be unobtainable from another source, and the state must have a compelling need to use it.
Exceptions are when reporters witness crimes and hear suspects' confessions.
Kidwell's attorney, Sandy Bohrer, argued that Kidwell's testimony is no longer needed since Zile has already been convicted.
Although Colton didn't require Kidwell to pay the original $500 fine on Wednesday, he assessed him $111 in court costs to be paid within 30 days.
PAULINE ZILE'S ATTORNEY ARGUES SHE WAS TRICKED
The Palm Beach Post
September 1, 1999
Author: Bill Douthat
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Prosecutors went too far when they used a woman's testimony to coax
a confession from her husband in the killing of her daughter, 7-year-old
Christina Holt, an attorney argued before the Florida Supreme Court
Tuesday.
The limited immunity granted to
Pauline Zile came back to haunt her when her husband, John Zile, told
police about his wife's role in Christina's 1994 slaying, said Pauline
Zile's attorney, Richard Bartmon of Boca Raton.
The use of her statements to motivate her husband to talk violated her
rights against self-incrimination, Bartmon argued.
He asked that the justices declare Florida's law on limited immunity a violation of the Florida Constitution.
The attorney general's office disputed Bartmon's claim that John Zile confessed because of his wife's statements to prosecutors.
"He only spoke when he was actually being booked on aggravated child abuse," said Assistant Attorney General Melynda Melear.
She said Pauline would have been charged in the death whether or not she cooperated.
The Ziles first told police Christina had been kidnapped at a Broward County flea market.
Police later found out that John Zile, Christina's stepfather, had beaten the girl at their Singer Island apartment while Pauline stood by.
Both were convicted of first-degree murder and are serving life sentences.
Bartmon is seeking a new trial for Pauline Zile. He argued that Florida should grant witnesses full immunity - which means they cannot be prosecuted for the crimes they discuss.
The legislature abolished full immunity in 1981 but left standing limited immunity, which means people still can be brought to trial on evidence uncovered through other means.
"Transactional (full) immunity is the only immunity that can adequately safeguard a witness' right against self-incrimination," Bartmon said.
SLAIN GIRL'S MOM APPEALS VERDICT
PAULINE ZILE'S PROMISE OF IMMUNITY WAS VIOLATED, ATTORNEY SAYS
Sun-Sentinel
September 1, 1999
Author: LINDA KLEINDIENST Tallahassee Bureau Chief
When Pauline Zile dropped the pretense that her daughter had been kidnapped
from the Swap Shop and detailed the child's brutal beating death, she
broke an investigative logjam that would end up sending her and her
husband to prison for life.
But an attorney for Zile told
the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday that her murder conviction should
be overturned because her statement, given to police with the promise
of immunity, was illegally used against her.
Seven-year-old Christina Holt died on Sept. 16, 1994, as her stepfather,
John Zile, held his hand over her mouth and beat her for defecating
on the floor of their Singer Island apartment. His efforts to revive
her failed.
The Ziles hid the child's 44-pound body in a closet for four days, sold her videotapes and bicycle to buy a tarp and shovel, then buried her behind a Tequesta Kmart.
A month later, while clutching a teddy bear, a tearful Pauline Zile appeared in front of television cameras claiming her child had been kidnapped from the restroom at the Fort Lauderdale flea market.
But police became suspicious of her story after neighbors told investigators they heard the child screaming and detectives found blood in the Ziles' apartment. On Oct. 24, John and Pauline Zile bungled a suicide attempt.
Four days later, Pauline Zile implicated her husband in the killing.
Richard Bartmon, of Boca Raton, Pauline Zile's court-appointed attorney, told the state's high court on Tuesday that investigators had no case until his client talked.
Pauline Zile was given "use immunity" for her statement, meaning that police could not use her statement to prosecute her. Almost immediately after she met with investigators, police told John Zile that his wife had told them what happened and arrested him for aggravated child abuse. John Zile, who had refused to talk up to that point, then gave police a statement about the events leading up to Christina's death.
"They used her statement to get his statement that was then used against her," Bartmon said after Tuesday's court hearing. "That's illegal. That's unconstitutional."
Without Pauline Zile breaking the logjam, Bartmon argued, police would have been unable to make a case against either of the Ziles.
"She was subpoenaed to appear before the police," Bartmon said. "There is a penalty for refusing to talk. You can be held in contempt of court and go to jail. It compels you to make a statement."
But the way Florida law is now written, Bartmon argued, while a person can be granted immunity for what she says, "in some fashion, your words can come back to haunt you. And we believe that is what happened in this case. The statement she gave under immunity was illegally used against her."
The trial court and appeals court have rejected Pauline Zile's immunity argument. But at least one justice questioned whether her statement wasn't the turning point in the case.
"John Zile clearly was impacted by disclosing to him that the statement had been made," Justice Harry Lee Anstead said.
Not necessarily true, countered Assistant Attorney General Melynda Melear.
"It was not clear at all that John Zile spoke because he was told that Pauline Zile had spoken," Melear said. "The only time he chose to speak was when he was being booked. He didn't know she had made a statement. He didn't know she had been given immunity. John Zile never appeared to be angry. He never asked for immunity for himself."
Both Ziles are serving life terms.
The justices gave no indication when they will rule on the case.
Linda Kleindienst can be reached at lkleindienst@sun-sentinel.com or at 850-224-6214.
ZILE APPEALS HER CONVICTION TO
STATE HIGH COURT
Miami Herald, The (FL)
September 1, 1999
Author: JACKIE HALLIFAX, Associated Press Writer
The murder conviction of a woman who faked her daughter's abduction
after the little girl was beaten to death by her stepfather should be
overturned, a lawyer told the state Supreme Court.
Boca Raton attorney Richard Bartmon
told the justices Tuesday that Pauline Zile's right against self-incrimination
was violated by police and prosecutors.
In late October 1994, Zile went on television, tearfully claiming her
daughter, Christina Holt, had been kidnapped from a restroom in a Fort
Lauderdale flea market.
But Christina had died more than a month earlier in a Riviera Beach apartment. And Zile knew that: She was present when her husband, John Zile, beat and suffocated Christina.
For four days, the Ziles kept Christina's body in a closet. Then John Zile buried the second-grader in a field behind a convenience store in Tequesta, about 20 miles north of West Palm Beach.
A few days after Pauline Zile made her televised pleas for the return of her daughter, police subpoenaed her and asked her questions about what had happened to Christina. The girl hadn't been seen for three weeks.
Pauline Zile told them. Police told her husband they had a statement from her and arrested him on charges of aggravated child abuse. John Zile then led police to Christina's body.
Eventually both Pauline and John Zile were convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.
Bartmon told the justices that Pauline Zile's statement boomeranged on her, although she was supposed to be protected by limited immunity under Florida law.
He argued the state law that automatically gives suspects limited immunity when they're forced to answer police questions violates the protection against self-incrimination provided by the Florida Constitution.
Limited immunity doesn't protect suspects from prosecution, but it is supposed to guarantee that the answers they're forced to provide aren't used against them - either directly or indirectly.
Bartmon said Florida's law doesn't include ``adequate reliable safeguards'' that the information suspects are forced to provide won't be used against them.
He also argued that the law violated the right to privacy guaranteed by the Florida Constitution.
Justice Barbara Pariente asked how the right to privacy could be asserted by Pauline Zile.
``In this case, the defendant went to the public and the press with allegations that her daughter had been abducted,'' Pariente said.
``I think, your honor, to accept that argument that somehow that constitutes some sort of waiver is to abort the very concept of self-incrimination,'' Bartmon answered.
Melynda Melear, an assistant attorney general from West Palm Beach, told the justices that Florida's limited immunity meets the standards established under the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Justice Leander Shaw asked Melear whether it was fair to give only limited immunity to a suspect who is subpoenaed by police.
``Why shouldn't they be granted full immunity?'' he asked.
Full immunity is more than what the constitution requires, Melear said.
``What the constitution is looking at is a balance,'' she said. ``A balance between the state's need to investigate . . . and the witness's right against self-incrimination.''
Pauline Zile, 29, is in the Broward Correctional Institution. John Zile, 37, is in Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach.
POSSIBILITY OF FREEDOM SICKENING
Sun-Sentinel
September 6, 1999
When police told John Zile that his wife had ratted him out for killing
his 7-year-old stepdaughter, he broke down and gave them a confession
-- including information that was later used to convict his wife as
well.
That's unconstitutional, Pauline
Zile's lawyer told the Florida Supreme Court this week.
It is sickening to contemplate that he might be right.
Pauline Zile was convicted of murder for failing to protect her child from abuse. She stood and watched as her husband beat her daughter, Christina Holt, to death for soiling herself.
Her attorney, Richard Bartmon, of Boca Raton, wants the conviction overturned.
When Pauline Zile told police what happened in that Singer Island apartment in 1994, she was speaking under something called "use immunity," which is supposed to mean her statement could not be used against her. Bartmon says it also means police could not use her statement to get her husband's statement, then turn around and use that against her.
This would be an interesting intellectual exercise if not for the ugly truth of the matter, which is that Pauline Zile did nothing to stop her husband from killing a defenseless child. The evidence against her is so strong that her only hope for a successful appeal lies in having it thrown out on a technicality.
Constitutional purists -- and shouldn't that include all of us? -- will argue that this is how the system is supposed to work. Police, prosecutors and courts must follow the rules of evidence scrupulously, and laws that don't adhere strictly to the Constitution must be struck down.
Good defense attorneys, including Bartmon, are the guardians of the system, and if the occasional criminal goes unpunished, that's the price we pay to protect the innocent. Couldn't you just throw up?
Pauline Zile, guilty as sin, could get out of jail free, all in the name of preserving your constitutional rights.
If that happens, it will be a hollow victory for our system of justice -- and a bitter defeat for justice itself.
COURT REJECTS PAULINE ZILE'S CLAIM SHE WAS TRICKED IN IMMUNITY DEAL
The Palm Beach Post
October 29, 1999
Author: Bill Douthat
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Pauline Zile's plea to overturn her conviction for the murder of her
7-year-old daughter was rejected Thursday in a terse, one-paragraph
ruling by the Florida Supreme Court.
Zile's allegation that she was
wronged by the state's limited immunity laws did not move the justices,
who let her life sentence stand. The Riviera Beach woman was convicted
of first-degree murder in 1995 for her role in Christina Holt's death.ther,
had already buried the body behind a shopping center in Tequesta. John
Zile also was convicted of first-degree murder.
Pauline Zile, 29, appealed her conviction, saying police used her statements,
given under immunity, to convince John Zile to confess and implicate
his wife. Limited immunity protects suspects from self-incrimination
but they can be charged on evidence found through other means.
Boca Raton attorney Richard Bartmon argued Pauline Zile's appeal before the Supreme Court in August, saying the state's limited immunity law violates the Florida Constitution. He said the police investigation changed immediately after she was forced to talk about the fake abduction and the couple's attempt to cover up the crime.
"She went from being not even a suspect to a defendant," Bartmon said. "The information she gave had an extremely significant impact on her freedom."
Bartmon said Thursday he was saddened by the court's decision not to rule on the issue.
"It's obviously a bitterly disappointing conclusion," Bartmon said. He said he spoke to his client Thursday to tell her about the ruling.
Bartmon said Zile could pursue the issue through the federal courts or petition on other grounds in state courts for a new trial.
The Ziles are in prisons 250 miles apart. Pauline is being held at the Broward Correctional Institute near Fort Lauderdale. John, 37, is in state prison near Daytona Beach.
A deputy attorney general said the Supreme Court justices made the right decision. "After looking at it, they apparently decided it was not a burning issue that required further review," said Deputy Attorney General Carolyn Snurkowski.
The justices initially agreed to review the appeal but after oral arguments decided to dismiss it without issuing a written opinion.
bill-douthat@pbpost.com
HIGH COURT DROPS MOM'S APPEAL
IN DAUGHTER'S KILLING
Sun-Sentinel
October 29, 1999
Author: NICOLE STERGHOS BROCHU Staff Writer
Two months after Pauline Zile's attorney stood before state Supreme
Court justices, trying to get his client's conviction and Florida's
immunity statute thrown out, the high court decided on Thursday that
it shouldn't have heard the argument after all.
In a terse, four-sentence opinion, the justices determined that, "upon
closer review," they should not have agreed to hear the appeal.
Instead, they dismissed Zile's case from their docket.
The decision effectively puts an end to Zile's appeal, meaning the mother who once lived on Riviera Beach's Singer Island likely will spend the rest of her life in prison for failing to protect her 7-year-old daughter from her husband's abuse. Christina Holt died Sept. 16, 1994, as her stepfather, John Zile, held his hand over her mouth and beat her.
A month later, Pauline Zile claimed her daughter had been abducted from a Fort Lauderdale flea market.
Having become suspicious of the story, officials gave her "use immunity" for her statement. Four days later, Pauline Zile implicated her husband in the killing.
When police told John Zile his wife had talked, he told of the beating implicating his wife.
Pauline Zile's attorney, Richard Bartmon, argued to the justices on Aug. 31 that Pauline Zile's words were used against her by going through her husband.
John Zile, who also is serving a life sentence in the case, still has an appeal pending.
MOTHER'S APPEAL FOR HEARING DISMISSED
COURT CUTS CASE OF GIRL'S KILLING
Sun-Sentinel
October 29, 1999
Author: NICOLE STERGHOS BROCHU Staff Writer
Two months after Pauline Zile's attorney stood before state Supreme
Court justices, trying to get his client's conviction and Florida's
immunity statute thrown out, the high court decided on Thursday that
it shouldn't have heard the argument after all.
In a terse, four-sentence opinion, the justices determined that, "upon
closer review," they should not have agreed to hear the appeal.
Instead, they dismissed Zile's case from their docket.
"It's not unusual," said Assistant Attorney General Celia Terenzio, bureau chief of the West Palm Beach office, on the Supreme Court's sudden about-face. "That happens every now and then."
The decision effectively puts an end to Zile's appeal, meaning the mother who once lived on Riviera Beach's Singer Island likely will spend her life in prison for failing to protect her 7-year-old daughter from her husband's abuse. Christina Holt died Sept. 16, 1994, as her stepfather, John Zile, held his hand over her mouth and beat her for defecating on the floor of their apartment.
A month later, while clutching a teddy bear, Pauline Zile appeared on television claiming her daughter had been abducted from a Fort Lauderdale flea market.
Having become suspicious of the story, officials gave her "use immunity" for her statement, meaning that her statement could not be used against her to prosecute her. Four days later, Pauline Zile implicated her husband in the killing.
When police told John Zile his wife had talked, he told police of the events leading to the beating. Those statements implicated his wife, leading to her arrest.
Pauline Zile's attorney, Richard Bartmon, argued to the justices on Aug. 31 that investigators had no case until his client talked. He called Florida's immunity statute unconstitutional, saying it allowed prosecutors to use Pauline Zile's words against her by going through her husband, despite their promise of immunity.
It was an argument that failed before the local appeals court, which upheld her conviction and life sentence and declared the immunity statute constitutional.
"Obviously, we're very disappointed that they didn't decide the case by discussing the issues," Bartmon said. He added that the lingering issues over the immunity statute remain "an extremely significant question."
John Zile, also serving a life sentence, still has an appeal pending.
Nicole Sterghos Brochu can be reached at nbrochu@sun-sentinel.com or 561-832-2894.
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT REFUSES TO HEAR PAULINE ZILE APPEAL
Miami Herald, The (FL)
October 29, 1999
Author: ASSOCIATED PRESS
The Florida Supreme Court says it won't hear an appeal from a South
Florida woman in prison for faking her daughter's abduction in Broward
to cover up the little girl's death.
The court had earlier agreed to
hear Pauline Zile's appeal of her 1995 murder conviction for the asphyxiation
death of 7-year-old Christina Holt.
Zile, who was sentenced to life in prison, claims prosecutors forced
her to talk to them and gave her immunity but then illegally used a
statement she made against her.
The justices, in a one paragraph unsigned decision, said they originally accepted the appeal because of the possibility that it had constitutional ramifications. But after reviewing the case, including hearing oral arguments in August, the court decided it shouldn't accept the case.
In October 1994 Zile went on television and said the girl had been abducted from the Swap Shop flea market and tearfully pleaded for her daughter's return. But the ruse unraveled a short time later when her husband, John Zile, told police he had killed the little girl and buried her body about 20 miles north of West Palm Beach.
Police ordered her to talk but Florida's immunity laws were supposed to keep her statement from being used against her. Zile argued that her statement was used by police to get her husband to confess.
She argued the information from John Zile was then used to prosecute her. She was convicted of killing Christina by not protecting her from her stepfather.
``We still do feel there are significant constitutional issues that have not been addressed,'' said Pauline Zile's attorney, Richard Bartmon.
He said his client hasn't decided what to do next, but she can go back to lower courts to argue the case.
Pauline Zile, 29, is in the Broward Correctional Institution. John Zile, 37, is serving a life sentence in Tomoka Correctional Institution in Daytona Beach.