Mother Charged in Death of Girl Dug Up in Florida
The mother of a 7-year-old girl whose body was dug from a shallow grave a week ago was charged Friday with the child’s murder.
In a case with striking similarities to the murders of two young children in Union, S.C., Pauline Zile reported on Oct. 22 that her daughter, Christina Holt, had been abducted from a restroom at a Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., flea market.
Police launched a nationwide search, and the mother became a familiar figure on south Florida television as she tearfully pleaded for the safe return of her daughter.
Six days after she reported the girl missing, police said Zile, 24, confessed that her husband had beaten the child to death weeks earlier, and the two had concocted the abduction story to cover the crime.
Walter John Zile, 32, who was charged a week ago Friday with first-degree murder, led police to the girl’s body, which he had buried behind a shopping center.
Pauline Zile was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.
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