Mother Found Guilty in Death of Daughter, 7
A mother who claimed her 7-year-old daughter was abducted from a flea market and pleaded tearfully on television for the girl’s safe return was convicted of murder Tuesday in her beating death.
Pauline Zile, 24, lowered her head and fought back tears as the guilty verdicts on charges of murder and child abuse were read.
Prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty. No date was set for the jury to return to consider the sentence.
Zile was accused of abusing Christina Holt and causing her death Sept. 16 by not protecting the girl from her stepfather, John Zile, 32.
In October, a sobbing Pauline Zile went on TV with her husband with a concocted story about how the girl was kidnaped from a flea market bathroom. Later that month, John Zile led investigators to the child’s grave.
John Zile is awaiting trial and could also face the death penalty. He told police the girl was beaten after repeatedly soiling herself but that her death was an accident.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
