NYIA PAGE - 23 months (2007) - Pittsburgh PA

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.