NYIA PAGE - 23 months (2007) - Pittsburgh PA

PITTSBURGH -- Jury selection is not
proving to be easy for the upcoming trial of William Lorenzo Page, who
could face the death penalty in connection with the hypothermia death
of his 23-month-old daughter, Nyia.

Nyia Page

The
emotions of the case -- and the possibility that Page could face the
death penalty for a first-degree murder conviction -- are making it
tough to find unbiased jurors."It is a difficult case, and it
does complicate things, as far as jury selection," Deputy District
Attorney Mark Tranquilli said Thursday.
Nyia Page's frozen body was found in February 2007 in the woods off
Pattison Avenue, behind the Hawkins Village public housing complex in
Rankin."I still remember it very, very vividly. I have children and it hit me really hard," said a potential juror who was excused.According
to police, Page said that he awoke at 3 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2007, and that
Nyia came downstairs without her diaper on. Page said he became so
frustrated that he kicked her before taking her outside and dropping
her off in freezing temperatures.
Page said that Nyia cried for 10 minutes before he left her and went back home to bed, police said."I
have kids. I have a 2-year-old granddaughter. There's no way that
wouldn't influence me," said another potential juror who was excused.Jury selection is expected to take two weeks. Opening statements should come in early March."I'm
looking forward to all the facts being presented to the jury, and after
that's done and the trial is completed, I'm confident that Mr. Page
will be vindicated," defense attorney Richard Narvin said.

Hi Tom, I am a follower of yours and this forum so I finally joined. This case did my head in and I literally shook with anger when I seen this thread. brought back the horror in my mind what this sweet baby went through.

Here's the background on this case:

23-month-old Nyia Miangel Page was reported missing in the snowy 20-degree morning hours of Saturday,
February 3, 2007.

Upon questioning her Father, William Lorenzo Page, he confessed to taking Nyia into the woods so he could go back sleep because Nyia would not stop crying after he had assaulted her.

Page admitted that after waking around 3 a.m. and going to the basement to have some brandy. Shortly after, Nyia came downstairs without a diaper, and because Page was frustrated with her, kicked her between the legs, causing her to bleed. He then vaginally penetrated her with his fingers to “stop the bleeding”, wrapped her in a blanket and took her outside, considering dropping her in a sewer before finally leaving her in the woods.

The following Afternoon, in an abandoned playground in Rankin, about 10 minutes from her home 23 month old Nyia was found face down, curled into a fetal position and wearing only a small sweater.

Tiny footprints in the snow suggested that Nyia had wandered around for a time all by herself before finally collapsing and dying of hypothermia on a morning where temperatures reached only 8 degrees.

When found Nyia's tiny body was literally frozen solid.

No doubt they can't find a jury, this is a case of pure evil, period.

Joanie wrote:Hi Tom, I am a follower of yours and this forum so I finally joined. This case did my head in and I literally shook with anger when I seen this thread. brought back the horror in my mind what this sweet baby went through.

Here's the background on this case:

23-month-old Nyia Miangel Page was reported missing in the snowy 20-degree morning hours of Saturday,
February 3, 2007.

Upon questioning her Father, William Lorenzo Page, he confessed to taking Nyia into the woods so he could go back sleep because Nyia would not stop crying after he had assaulted her.

Page admitted that after waking around 3 a.m. and going to the basement to have some brandy. Shortly after, Nyia came downstairs without a diaper, and because Page was frustrated with her, kicked her between the legs, causing her to bleed. He then vaginally penetrated her with his fingers to “stop the bleeding”, wrapped her in a blanket and took her outside, considering dropping her in a sewer before finally leaving her in the woods.

The following Afternoon, in an abandoned playground in Rankin, about 10 minutes from her home 23 month old Nyia was found face down, curled into a fetal position and wearing only a small sweater.

Tiny footprints in the snow suggested that Nyia had wandered around for a time all by herself before finally collapsing and dying of hypothermia on a morning where temperatures reached only 8 degrees.

When found Nyia's tiny body was literally frozen solid.

No doubt they can't find a jury, this is a case of pure evil, period.

---Thanks Joanie for your kind comments. I am glad you have become a member and look forward to your future participation and I hope to chat with you on the Main Blog sometime soon. This case is troubling, to say the least, and I am pleased that you are able to provide additional insight and facts.
All of the children, in all of the topics in the NewsRoom have suffered greatly at the hands of their caregivers. Either by pure negligence or pure evil or something in between, they are all to be remembered. Many times I find myself shaking my head as I discover these stories and wonder WTH were these people thinking?
Hang Tough,
TomT

TomTerrific0420 wrote:
---Thanks Joanie for your kind comments. I am glad you have become a member and look forward to your future participation and I hope to chat with you on the Main Blog sometime soon. This case is troubling, to say the least, and I am pleased that you are able to provide additional insight and facts.
All of the children, in all of the topics in the NewsRoom have suffered greatly at the hands of their caregivers. Either by pure negligence or pure evil or something in between, they are all to be remembered. Many times I find myself shaking my head as I discover these stories and wonder WTH were these people thinking?
Hang Tough,
TomT

Thank you to Tom! I really am your fan. I work on memorials and have been trying to keep track of the many children that have been murdered and after I found this forum many times I have returned to see if "maybe TomT has found a case I haven't". So wonderful you and others here see to it they are all remembered as they should be. their should never be forgotten.

I think the same thing many times as you have said "wtf?!", but it's good we can't relate to people who do these terrible things to children Tom or we would have to question or own humanity.

truthfully I can't even wrap my mind around people who defend these monsters either. Like the Anthony's. I love my family however I'd be the first one turning their butts in if they hurt a child,

Thank you for the warm welcome Tom, you will definaly see me following you around the boards

Jury selection is complete in the case of a man accused of leaving his
23-month-old daughter to freeze to death in the snow.
Seven men and five women will decide the fate of William Lorenzo Page,
who could face the death penalty in connection with the hypothermia death of
Nyia Page.
William Page, of Braddock, is accused of sexually assaulting the child
before leaving her outside in February of 2007.
According to police, Page said he was frustrated because the girl had
taken off her diaper and that he kicked her before taking her outside and
dropping her off in freezing temperatures.
Nyia Page's frozen body was found in the woods off Pattison Avenue,
behind the Hawkins Village public housing complex in Rankin.
Page said that Nyia cried for 10 minutes before he left her and went back
home to bed, police said.
Previously, attorneys said the emotions of the case -- and the
possibility that Page could face the death penalty for a first-degree murder
conviction -- are making it tough to find unbiased jurors.
"It is a difficult case, and it does complicate things, as far as jury
selection," Deputy District Attorney Mark Tranquilli said Thursday.
"I still remember it very, very vividly. I have children and it hit me
really hard," said a potential juror who was excused.
"I have kids. I have a 2-year-old granddaughter. There's no way that
wouldn't influence me," said another potential juror who was excused.
Opening statements are due to begin on Wednesday.

Joanie wrote:

TomTerrific0420 wrote:
---Thanks Joanie for your kind comments. I am glad you have become a member and look forward to your future participation and I hope to chat with you on the Main Blog sometime soon. This case is troubling, to say the least, and I am pleased that you are able to provide additional insight and facts.
All of the children, in all of the topics in the NewsRoom have suffered greatly at the hands of their caregivers. Either by pure negligence or pure evil or something in between, they are all to be remembered. Many times I find myself shaking my head as I discover these stories and wonder WTH were these people thinking?
Hang Tough,
TomT

Thank you to Tom! I really am your fan. I work on memorials and have been trying to keep track of the many children that have been murdered and after I found this forum many times I have returned to see if "maybe TomT has found a case I haven't". So wonderful you and others here see to it they are all remembered as they should be. their should never be forgotten.

I think the same thing many times as you have said "wtf?!", but it's good we can't relate to people who do these terrible things to children Tom or we would have to question or own humanity.

truthfully I can't even wrap my mind around people who defend these monsters either. Like the Anthony's. I love my family however I'd be the first one turning their butts in if they hurt a child,

Thank you for the warm welcome Tom, you will definaly see me following you around the boards

Joanie, welcome aboard....Our Tom is Terrific... .Join us on the main blog..Your insight will be very welcomed...Tears

That very kind of you, thank you so much! I hope to chat there soon..I'm still kinda flying in and out right now. you'll see me soon!

William Page stood a distance away from his 23-month-old daughter and listened to her cry.

Then, he left Nyia in a wooded area of Rankin, on a February day with a subzero windchill factor, and walked home.

And went to bed.

That was Mr. Page's own story -- the one he told police on Feb. 7,
2007 -- three days after Nyia's body, clad in a maroon, yellow and blue
sweater, was found frozen to the ground. The diaper she'd been wearing
was found along the railroad tracks nearby.

On Wednesday, during the first day of Mr. Page's capital homicide
trial, his defense attorney told jurors that they should not believe
the recorded statement he gave to the police.

Instead, at the time, Mr. Page was isolated, repeatedly
interrogated, worried about his daughter and falsely accused by a
6-year-old boy of molestation, said attorney Christopher Patarini.

"Why is he making the statement? What is going on in his mind?" Mr.
Patarini asked. "This is something you're going to have to struggle
with."

But, he continued, his client will testify later in the trial and try to explain it.

"Once you listen to the case, you're going to see they have no case," Mr. Patarini said. "What he said was not true."

But Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli gave the jurors a
different picture, portraying Mr. Page as emotionless even as police
first responded to his Braddock home the morning of Feb. 3, 2007, on
the report of a missing child.

Nyia's parents, Darlene Robinson and Mr. Page, discovered her
missing that morning when they woke up. They and other family members
searched the four-story home for her, and when she wasn't found, Ms.
Robinson called 911.

During the call, the woman sometimes couldn't be understood through her sobbing.

She told dispatchers she last saw her daughter about midnight, and
while she didn't think Nyia had left the house on her own, that the
back door was unlocked.

Ms. Robinson described the sweater her daughter was wearing, and the
four little ponytails in her hair, held by orange rubber bands -- two
on the sides, one on top and one in the back.

When investigators got there, they quickly noticed that Mr. Page was
not having a similar emotional reaction as his other relatives, Mr.
Tranquilli said.

"The family members were frantic," he said. "Everyone except William Page."

The man also volunteered information to them -- that a blue,
electric blanket that had been in the basement was missing, and gave a
suggestion that police should look for Nyia along the railroad tracks.

Mr. Page also told officers to look in the basement -- what he
referred to as his "dungeon," where he played video games and kept a
stash of pornography -- where they found a bloodied Terrible Towel,
child's T-shirt and pair of women's underwear.

According to Mr. Tranquilli, Mr. Page tried to explain away the
blood. He told investigators in the taped statement that the night she
disappeared she went down into the basement while he was there and kept
taking her diaper off.

Mr. Page told officers that he was so enraged by that, that he
kicked the little girl between the legs --wearing Timberland boots,
causing the bleeding.

"That kick never took place," Mr. Tranquilli said. "William Page had to come up with a reason for that blood."

However, when an autopsy was performed on Nyia, the forensic pathologist found no evidence of any sexual assault.

The prosecutor said he would call an expert in child sexual abuse
who will testify that it's possible the pathologist missed some
internal vaginal injury.

"What did William Page do to his 2-year-old daughter that was
terrible enough that he had to freeze her to death?" Mr. Tranquilli
asked.

But Mr. Patarini told jurors that they should not jump to conclusions.

"The commonwealth wants to suggest to you that this is a sexually
driven case," he said. "Ask yourself, is the case what they say it is?"

Investigators found no fluids on Nyia's body indicating sexual assault, Mr. Patarini continued.

He asked the jury not to allow emotions in the case to overwhelm them.

In the meantime, as Mr. Tranquilli concluded his opening, Mr. Page's
mother, who had just entered the courtroom a short time before, had a
seizure.

Mr. Tranquilli finished with the jury, as Allegheny County sheriff's deputies called paramedics to the third-floor courtroom.

He told the jurors that Mr. Page had a number of chances to stop what was happening and prevent Nyia's death.

"He chose to abandon her in a ravine that she had no hope of getting
out of," Mr. Tranquilli said. "She had four hours [to survive in the
cold]. He had chances to undo what he had done. When that 911 call was
made, William Page had a chance to save his daughter's life, and he
didn't take it."

On Wednesday, during the first day of Mr. Page's capital homicide
trial, his defense attorney told jurors that they should not believe
the recorded statement he gave to the police.

Instead, at the time, Mr. Page was isolated, repeatedly
interrogated, worried about his daughter and falsely accused by a
6-year-old boy of molestation, said attorney Christopher Patarini.

Holy Geez!!! She was found frozen solid and they should not believe what he said??!

Sometimes I think a lawyer defending these creeps are going to hell with the people who committed these horrendous acts

thanks for the update Tom, now my blood is boiling for the day

A defense attorney said a Braddock man accused of leaving his
23-month-old daughter outside to die in freezing weather made up the
story he told police.


William Page, 26, could face the death penalty if convicted in the
February 2007 death of Nyia Page, whose body was found in woods near
the family's home. Police said tiny footprints in the snow suggest the
girl walked around before she died.According to police, Page
confessed to killing his daughter early on in the investigation.
However, Page's attorney said the confession was coerced.Defense
attorney Chris Patarini said Page was coerced into confessing that he
kicked his daughter and abandoned her. He said his client had been
isolated and repeatedly interrogated and was worried about the girl.A
Pittsburgh police detective testified Thursday that investigators found
no evidence that Nyia had wandered out of her home. Police said they,
instead, found a claw hammer and a man’s boot prints in the snow
outside the home.Police testified they also found blood-stained
underwear, a Terrible Towel and a blood-stained child's shirt in the
home's basement, an area which Page allegedly referred to as his
dungeon.The detective testified that Page said he used the
hammer to explore abandoned homes. Police also said Page became nervous
and agitated when questioned.Page is charged with criminal homicide, kidnapping, aggravated indecent assault, making false reports, and corruption of minors.
On Wednesday, the first day of testimony, jurors heard the frantic 911
call. Nyia Page’s mother can be heard sobbing as she tells a 911
operator that her daughter is missing.Earlier Wednesday, Page’s
grandmother collapsed in the courthouse, suffering from some sort of
seizure. She was taken out of the courthouse on a stretcher. There is no word on her condition.The trial began after a judge rejected claims by Page's attorneys that he's mentally disabled.

The 9-year-old boy held the prosecutor's hand on the way up to the
stand and greeted Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli by
saying, "Hi, T-Rex" -- his nickname for him.

And that was the last light-hearted thing he said.

The third-grader testified Thursday in the death-penalty trial of
William L. Page, of Braddock, who is accused of killing his 2-year-old
daughter, Nyia, on Feb. 3, 2007.

Mr. Page is also on trial for molesting the boy, who lived in the home at the time.

Mr. Tranquilli called the child to testify about what happened to him the night before Nyia disappeared.

The boy walked the jury of seven men and five women through story time and when he got into bed.

"Did anything wake you up that night?" Mr. Tranquilli asked.

"Will. Will was lying down on the floor. He touched me where he's supposed to not be."

Mr. Page touched the boy on top of his pajama pants, he told the court, making him feel "sad."

The boy told Mr. Page to stop, but then, he testified, the man covered his mouth with his other hand.

"Then he just ran out of the room."

The boy didn't tell anyone until the next day -- after Nyia was reported missing, and he was interviewed.

Mr. Tranquilli finished his questions by asking the boy about telling the truth.

"Do you know the difference between the truth and a lie?"

"Yes," he answered.

"Is it good or bad to tell the truth?" Mr. Tranquilli continued.

"Good."

"Is it good or bad to tell a lie?"

"Bad," the boy responded.

"When you were bad, what would happen?" the prosecutor asked.

"Will would hit me with a belt."

On cross-examination by defense attorney Christopher Patarini, the boy's answers were less clear.

"You don't remember what happened on that date, right?"

"Yes."

"You want to do what they want you to say, right?" Mr. Patarini continued.

"Yes."

"You just cannot remember what happened when Nyia disappeared, right?"

"Yes," the boy answered.

But later, in what he said was an effort to repair the child's
credibility, Mr. Tranquilli called Allegheny County Detective Gregory
Matthews, who had observed the forensic interview with the boy the day
Nyia disappeared.

The boy, who was only 6 at the time, was quiet and scared at first, the detective said.

"He was preoccupied with Nyia, his angel -- that's what he called her -- was missing," Detective Matthews said.

Later using furniture from a child's dollhouse, the boy
reconstructed the scene with Mr. Page at his bed the night before, the
detective testified.

Detective Matthews said the boy related the incident two times.

"A third time [the interviewer] asked him, and he broke down and cried and put his head down."

A Braddock man accused in his daughter’s death told police he kicked
the toddler and wept as he left her outside in the cold three years ago,
according to testimony.
“I was so mad, I kicked her in her privates,” William
Page is heard telling police when they interviewed him.
Page’s alleged confession was played Monday to jurors.
Page, 26, is on trial for the February 2007 death of
23-month-old Nyia Page.
According to police, Page described what he did as he
took Nyia outside.
“I got scared. I wrapped her up in a blanket wrapped her
up real tight,” Page is heard telling officers.
"I went towards the tracks across from my house. I stood
there for a second I was crying she was crying. … I started walking down the
tracks thinking. ‘Where am I going to put her at? Where am I going to put her
at?’"
Page told police he finally found a familiar place.
“I wrapped the blanket, wrapped it again real tight
enough so you knew if she did get up she had to work her way out of that
blanket," Page told police. “She was crying, man, she was crying. I started
crying. I just took off, went back down the tracks, went home, took off my coat,
went upstairs got in the bed."
Nyia’s body was found in a wooded area about four blocks
from her home. An Allegheny County medical examiner testified Monday that Nyia’s
body was completely frozen.
Police said Page also told officers he stayed with Nyia
for several minutes in the wooded area.
“I left her in the weeds. I was there about 10 minutes,”
he said. “I was just crying, man, listening to her cry. … telling her how sorry,
‘cause I am sorry. I am sorry.”
Earlier Monday, jurors were shown photographs taken
during the toddler’s autopsy. The photos showed Nyia’s body covered by leaves
and twigs seemingly frozen to her body.
Under cross-examination, the forensic pathologist said he
found no evidence of physical trauma on Nyia.On Friday, prosecutors showed jurors photos of handprints and footprints Nyia
made in the snow.
Police said the child was wearing only a sweater and that
tiny footprints in the snow suggest the girl walked around before she died.
Police said they also found a diaper and a blue blanket in the vicinity.
Police testified last week they also found blood-stained
underwear, a Terrible Towel and a blood-stained child's shirt in the home's
basement, an area which, police said, Page referred to as his dungeon.
Page could face the death penalty if convicted.

It is now up to a jury to decide if William Page is guilty of killing
his 23-month-old daughter.

The jury of seven men and five women began deliberating shortly after
2 p.m., following lengthy closing arguments by both sides this morning.

Mr. Page is accused of sexually assaulting his daughter, Nyia, on
Feb. 3, 2007, and then leaving her partially clad in sub-freezing
temperatures at an overgrown playground in Rankin. Nyia died of exposure
and hypothermia. Her body wasn't found until more than a day after she
was reported missing.

During closing arguments, defense attorney Christopher Patarini told
the jurors that they should not jump to conclusions to reach a guilty
verdict.

There was no physical evidence of sexual assault on Nyia, Mr.
Patarini said. But the prosecution needs the jurors to find some,
because without it, the prosecution would not have a theory to work from
as to motive.

"Remember, you are not supposed to speculate. You are not supposed to
make a decision based on suspicion," Mr. Patarini said. "The whole case
is asking you to make a leap of faith."

But Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli said that his expert
did find blood in Nyia's vagina, and there was blood on Mr. Page's
Terrible Towel, as well as on a T-shirt and underwear found in the
basement where he spent a lot of time. She had no other wounds on her
body that could have produced that amount of blood, the prosecutor said.

"What did William Page do to Nyia that was terrible enough that she
had to die?" he asked. "It had to be something terrible. It had to be
something unspeakable.

"You don't want to believe that a man could do this to his own child.
William Page was sexually frustrated. He was a man of gross sexual
appetite, and he was frustrated."

If convicted of first-degree murder, Mr. Page faces the possibility
of being put to death for his crime.

In the picture, Nyia Page's wide, dark brown eyes sparkle. The
toddler's ears are pierced, and her hair is pulled back, revealing big
round cheeks.

Her lips are parted just enough to wonder whether she was simply
smiling or maybe about to laugh.

That was the picture that the prosecutor left up on the screen in the
courtroom during his nearly two-hour closing argument.

"That's a picture of Nyia Page the way she was when she was murdered
by her father," said Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli.
"That's the way she was about the time she was molested by her father.

"That represents all Nyia Page ever was, and all she would ever be
because of the actions of her father, William Page."

Mr. Page, 26, of Braddock, is accused of leaving Nyia, dressed in
only a sweater, in an overgrown playground in Rankin in the early
morning hours of Feb. 3, 2007.

The 23-month-old died from hypothermia and exposure. Her body was
found frozen to the ground the next day.

Jurors in the case before Allegheny County Common Pleas Court Judge
David R. Cashman began deliberating Friday afternoon.

They returned to the courtroom late in the day to ask if they could
hear again the testimony of the officer who informed Mr. Page his
daughter was found dead. In addition, they have asked to listen again to
Mr. Page's recorded confession.

That will happen when they reconvene on Monday morning.

Mr. Page, who was arrested just hours after Nyia was reported missing
on charges that he sexually molested another boy in the house, told
police twice that he was responsible for Nyia's death.

The first time he said that he backhanded the girl, causing her to
fall and cut her head open. Mr. Page then told officers he took the girl
out to the railroad tracks and left her there.

Then a few days later, on Feb. 7, 2007, Mr. Page, in a recorded
confession, said he kicked her between her legs because he was angry she
kept removing her diaper. She began to bleed. The man said that he
tried to stop the bleeding, and then wrapped Nyia in a blanket, walked a
third of a mile away and left her in an overgrown playground.

The defense has asked jurors to ignore those two confessions because
Mr. Page had been repeatedly questioned and made the stories up to make
the interrogations stop.

Defense attorney Christopher Patarini told the jury during closing
arguments that the prosecution had to prove that Mr. Page's statements
were given freely and voluntarily before they could even consider their
truthfulness.

"He made those statements, but he made them up," Mr. Patarini said.
"If you evaluate this case closely, you'll find you can't make the
conclusions the commonwealth wants you to make."

He asked the jurors not to jump to conclusions to reach a guilty
verdict.

The forensic pathologist who performed Nyia's autopsy found no
physical evidence of sexual assault, Mr. Patarini said. The district
attorney's office then called in an outside expert in child sex abuse,
who said she believed that there was such evidence.

But Mr. Patarini told the jurors that the expert never examined
Nyia's body -- only photographs.

"Remember, you are not supposed to speculate. You are not supposed to
make a decision based on suspicion," Mr. Patarini said. "The whole case
is asking you to make a leap of faith."

But Mr. Tranquilli said that there was blood found in Nyia's vagina,
and there was blood on Mr. Page's Terrible Towel, as well as on a
T-shirt and underwear found in the basement where he spent a lot of
time.

Nyia had no other wounds on her body that could have produced that
amount of blood, the prosecutor said.

"What did William Page do to Nyia that was terrible enough that she
had to die?" he asked. "It had to be something unspeakable.

"You don't want to believe that a man could do this to his own child.
William Page was sexually frustrated. He was a man of gross sexual
appetite, and he was frustrated."

Their reactions to the first-degree murder verdict mirrored those
described by the prosecutor when their 23-month-old daughter
disappeared.

Nyia Page's mother gasped, cried and shook uncontrollably as the jury
foreman pronounced "guilty."

Nyia Page's father -- the man who stood convicted of the girl's
horrific murder -- expressed no emotion at all. He simply stood at the
defense table.

A short time later, as Allegheny County Judge David R. Cashman told
Mr. Page that the phase to determine if he will be sentenced to die will
begin today, the defendant stood casually, with his hands in his
pockets.

The jury of seven men and five women deliberated for less than five
hours between Friday afternoon and Monday morning.

Though they were able to reach a unanimous verdict in the death,
kidnapping and sexual assault of Nyia, the jurors could not agree on a
verdict in a separate indecent assault charge involving a 6-year-old boy
in the house the night before Nyia disappeared, on Feb. 3, 2007.

Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli said his office would not
try Mr. Page on those charges again.

"Under no circumstances would we put a 9-year-old child through a
second trial," he said.

The boy told investigators who were trying to find Nyia that Mr. Page
touched his genitals from the outside of his pajama bottoms. The
prosecution did not have any forensic evidence to link Mr. Page to the
crime.

They did, however, find the man's DNA on a diaper Nyia was wearing at
the time she disappeared.

The girl's partially clothed body was found in an overgrown
playground in Rankin about one-third of a mile from the Page home in
Braddock on Feb. 4, 2007. She died of exposure and hypothermia, after
being left out in single-digit temperatures for more than 24 hours.

The prosecution said that Mr. Page sexually assaulted Nyia and then
left her in the woods to die so that she wouldn't be able to tell anyone
what he'd done.

Throughout the trial, Mr. Tranquilli and several prosecution
witnesses commented on Mr. Page's demeanor the morning it was discovered
that Nyia was missing.

They said that he remained calm, even as Nyia's mother, Darlene
Robinson, was frantic. She became so hysterical in the early going that
she had to be treated by paramedics. Ms. Robinson was eight months
pregnant at the time, and she and Mr. Page were engaged.

After the verdict was read, Ms. Robinson and her family walked just
20 steps out of Judge Cashman's courtroom before she stopped and
collapsed on a bench in the hallway.

As Mr. Tranquilli joined the group, Ms. Robinson kept repeating with
relief, "Thank you so much. Thank you so much."

She will take the stand today to talk about how Nyia's death has
impacted her family.

After the prosecution presents its evidence in support of the death
penalty, Mr. Page will begin his defense. His attorneys are expected to
call a psychologist to offer mitigation.

The case could go to the jury by Wednesday.

The jury didn't quite spare William Page's life, but they didn't take
it either.

The group of seven men and five women on Thursday could not reach a
unanimous decision on whether Mr. Page should be put to death for
sexually assaulting and then leaving his 23-month-old daughter out in
the cold overnight to die.

The split was 9 to 3 in favor of capital punishment.

Nyia Page's body was found in an overgrown, abandoned playground on
Feb. 4, 2007, a day after she was reported missing by her parents.

She was frozen to the ground, wearing only a sweater. Investigators
found Nyia's handprints in the snow around her, as well as tiny
footprints.

Police arrested her father, claiming that Mr. Page had sexually
assaulted the girl, and then left her to die so that she could not tell
anyone what he'd done.

The jury convicted him of first-degree murder and aggravated indecent
assault on Monday.

Though she had no visible reaction in court, Nyia's mother said she
was happy with the ultimate sentence, which will be formally pronounced
on June 21.

"I'm fine with the decision. My baby finally has justice," Darlene
Robinson said.

Ms. Robinson said she hoped Mr. Page, 26, of Braddock, didn't get the
death penalty.

"I wanted him to have life. I want him in general population. I hope
he suffers. Just as well as my daughter suffered, I hope he suffers."

Deputy District Attorney Mark V. Tranquilli understood the jury's
deadlock.

"Any time you have a parent that kills their own child, you'll always
have a jury that's going to struggle," he said. "It's so unnatural that
I don't think these people were able to wrap their minds around it."

Defense attorney Christopher Patarini thought life without parole was
the only reasonable punishment.

"I don't believe in the death penalty," he said. "The death penalty
is unreasonable."

During a day of testimony, the defense presented several witnesses
who described Mr. Page's childhood. He grew up in deplorable conditions,
and was treated for mental health issues from a very young age
following attempts to smother and choke his younger brother. A
psychologist testified that he was autistic.

Mr. Tranquilli, though, discounted that testimony.

"Even if he were [autistic], how does that make him deserving of less
blame?" he asked. "He stood there for 10 minutes in the freezing cold
listening to his baby girl -- crying, screaming in pain. And that didn't
bother him?"

In the last of the dramatic arguments and testimony that spanned two
weeks, Mr. Tranquilli told the jury that Mr. Page did not deserve to ask
for mercy.

"Nyia got betrayed by the one person in the world who should have
cared about her more than anyone else," he said. "Was she confused? Was
she afraid? Did she wonder why? Can a 2-year-old child feel the emotion
of betrayal?

"Did he even care?"

Both before and after the jury announced it could not reach a
decision, Mr. Page proclaimed his innocence.

"Of course I feel bad about the situation, but all I can do is
presume my innocence 'til it's proven," he said.

He claimed he did not receive a fair trial and will appeal the guilty
verdict.

As for Ms. Robinson, the recently married woman has a 3-month-old son
and continues to rebuild her life.

"[We'll] push all this behind," she said. "Hopefully we can start
working on Nyia's playground, and bring some happiness into our lives."

The family decided two years ago to turn the spot where Nyia's body
was found into a playground for the Rankin community.

They ran out of money, but hope to start a fund this spring.

"I just want to have a place for my children to go to have a place to
sit down and remember Nyia."

Family and friends of 23-month-old
girl gathered at the Rankin park where her body was found in 2007 to
clean up the site to honor the child’s memory.Nyia Page’s frozen
body was found in February 2007 in the park, a few blocks from her
Braddock home. Her father, William Page, 26, was convicted in March of
first-degree murder, aggravated assault, sexual assault and falsifying a
police report in her death. He was sentenced to serve life in prison
without parole.On Thursday, volunteers got to work at the park,
now named in Nyia’s honor. Landscaping crews and local residents had
cleared out what was once an overgrown lot. Volunteers planted trees,
spread mulch and started a vegetable garden.“Nyia's death was so
tragic, and Nyia was so beautiful,” the child’s grandmother, Carla
Barlow, said. “She had an amazing will and we wanted that to continue.”She
said family members wanted the park to be a place children can enjoy.“It
was a broken down playground,” she said. “It was destroyed by nature.
There was nothing here. It was scary and, all of a sudden, it's a place
of beauty, it's a place where all kids can come.”“It's keeping
her memory alive. It's a great park. I can't wait until it's done,” said
Nyia’s other grandmother, Marianne Page.William Page denied he
sexually assaulted Nyia. He also testified that he fabricated his
confession to police three years ago.