The End of the Story

Case Background

This is going to be an interesting case to follow once it gets started. William Page is accused of sexually assaulting and then taking his 18-month-old daughter out into the freezing cold, leaving her there to die. He then called police and claimed Nyia was kidnapped from his home.

The twist to this case is during the investigation into Nyia’s disappearance it was determined that a 6-year-old male child living in the home had allegedly been sexually assaulted by William Page a few hours prior to Nyia’s reported disappearance.

The judge on the case has ruled at this point that both cases can be tried simultaneously. William Page faces the death penalty if convicted of the murder of his daughter.

Page’s trial was set to start May 5, 2008. However, on the morning of the trial date Page was granted a continuance until January 2009. His attorney claims he needs more time to work on his client’s defense.

Pre-Trial

May 27, 2009: Page to get two trials

William Page is charged with crimes against two separate children. He is charged with the murder and sexual assault of his daughter, Nyia. He is also charged with the sexual assault of a six-year-old boy who lived in his home. That alleged sexual assault is supposed to have taken place the day before Nyia’s murder.

Last year, Judge Cashman had ruled all charges would be heard during one trial. Now Judge Cashman has reversed his decision and there will be two trials – the Nyia Page trial will begin with jury selection on October 13. It is not clear when the trial for the sexual assault against the unnamed male child will be held.

The defense basically argued the charges against Page for the sexual assault and murder are bad enough without adding another sexual assault victim to the murder trial as it would surely prejudice the jury. The defense lost in it’s bid to have Page’s confession thrown out, so it will be presented at trial.

I had been under the impression that William Page had decided to have his case decided by a judge instead of a jury but that is not the case – he will have a jury trial for the Nyia Page murder. The prosecution dropped the charge of aggravated assault for kicking Nyia in the groin. He mentioned kicking Nyia in the groin during his confession. The charge was dropped because on autopsy there was no evidence found regarding the kick to the groin.

Continuance

William Page’s non-jury trial has been continued one more time. His new trial date, October 13, 2009, is set to be heard by Judge David R. Cashman in Courtroom 310 at 9 a.m.

October 10, 2009

I checked this evening to see if Willam Page’s murder trial was going to start as scheduled. I don’t know why I was surprised to see according to court documents that Page’s trial date has been pushed back to February 8, 2010. First Page asked for a non-jury trial and he was granted that request. After that there was a series of continuances resulting in a request for a jury trial. Now, with that trial date set to begin, along comes another continuance. I don’t know why the accused should have so many rights.

February 8, 2010

Jury selection is set to begin today in the freezing death of Nyia Page. The defense attorney, Richard Narvin, has asked the judge to remove the death penalty option because his client is autistic. He wants his client to be barred from execution for the same reasons that juveniles and the mentally retarded are exempt.

I couldn’t agree less with Mr. Narvin. I wonder just how much Page’s autism clouds his judgment and in this case it would come down to his ability to know right from wrong. I would suppose it would be up to the prosecution to prove that a reasonably thinking person would understand that placing a partially clad child outside in the snow could possibly result in death. Mr. Page knew what he did was wrong because when it was discovered that Nyia was not inside the warmth of the home, instead of telling his then pregnant wife what he had done, well, he just let it be assumed that someone had come into the home and snatched her away in the middle of the night.

Page has already told investigators that he put Nyia outside in the snow because she had torn off her diaper and would not go back to bed. He also told investigators he had considered throwing Nyia into a sewer, but instead, opted for the playground. There has also been mention in the media that Nyia had trauma to her genital area. Also mentioned is that while police were investigating Nyia’s disappearance, the little boy living in the home told them that Page had molested him that night. All of these actions on the part of Page do not, in my opinion, come close to someone suffering from autism. It just sounds like someone who is a common child molester and murderer and tried to hide his actions and now does not want to pay for his crime with the ultimate penalty. It is too bad Nyia did not have the chance to decide her fate. Although, it was evident from investigators that little Nyia tried to get back to her home and save her own life, her little footprints were seen in the snow near her body.

The judge is expected to rule on the defense request this week.

February 9, 2010

Jury selection expected to begin yesterday has been delayed until Friday due to inclement weather in the region.

February 14, 2010

A hearing was held last regarding William Page’s alleged autism and whether this diagnosis should exclude him from the death penalty.

The defense psychologist said he examined Page over a two day period and determined through that evaluation and examination of past medical records that he suffers from Autism. He said records indicated that as a child Page walked on his tiptoes, separated the food on his plate, frequently washed his hands and had no friends. What struck the psychologist was Page’s lack of emotion and affect; however, his opinion is that Page is not mentally disabled.

The judge is expected to rule on the death penalty issue on Tuesday. Jury selection is expected to begin February 22.

February 16, 2010

Judge Cashman ruled today that William Page is not autistic and therefore he is still eligible to face the death penalty if he is found guilty of murdering his toddler daughter. Cashman’s ruling, in part, stated:

Cashman said Page knows the difference between right and wrong, and noted only the defense psychologist diagnosed Page with autism, “despite the fact that numerous mental health professionals have examined him over the years, including the Allegheny County Behavior Clinic.”

“If one would consider for the sake of argument that Page had demonstrated that he suffered from (autism), that personality disorder does not raise to the level of mental illness nor mental retardation so as to preclude the death penalty”¹

The only problem I have with Cashman’s ruling is him referring to autism as a personality disorder. Autism is a developmental brain disorder. It just shows that he does not understand what he is ruling on and that could leave another reason for appeal.

Trial

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Mark Vinson Tranquilli, Esq. District Attorney
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: Jon Michael Pittman, Esq. District Attorney
Defense: Richard Narvin
Judge: David Cashman
Charges:

1. Criminal Homicide
2. Aggravated Assault
3. Corruption Of Minors
4. Kidnapping For Ransom
5. Agg. Ind. Assault of Child
6. Agg. Ind. Assault W/O Consent
7. False Report – Falsely Incriminate Another

February 18, 2010

Jury selection begins today at the Alleghany County Courthouse. Jury selection is expected to take two weeks.

February 18, 2010: 4 p.m. PST

According to a news report WTAE, jury selection is proving to be a difficult task due to emotional nature of the charges as well as many people being familiar with the case.

I was sitting here thinking about this case this morning and I can’t believe William Page did not choose to try and get a plea deal to avoid the death penalty. It will be interesting to see what facts are presented during the trial because Page’s attorney believes his client will be exonerated.

“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.²

Hmm, it will be interesting.

March 9, 2010

A jury has been seated for the Page trial. The jury consists of 5 women and 7 men. Opening statements being tomorrow.

March 19, 2010

Closing arguments were completed this afternoon and the case was handed to the jury. They have been in deliberations for a few hours. I was surprised to see the case went to the jury so quickly.

The state’s case seemed pretty strong, providing William Page’s recorded confession as the most compelling evidence. He provided details of his movements that night, down to what items he used to wipe the blood off of Nyia produced after he kicked her in the ‘private’ while wearing his boots. He claims he had trouble ‘applying pressure’ to the area to stop the bleeding, and at one point his ‘fingers went up inside of her’. He spoke of wrapping her in a blue blanket, taking her out into the cold and considering for a moment placing her into the sewer. He mentions her crying as he walked towards the playground where he placed her on the ground, ‘wrapping her real tight inside the blanket so she would have trouble getting out’. He stood there for ten minutes and left her there, crying. Page said he then went home and climbed into bed next to his wife and went to sleep. Of course he said he had been drinking that night. He said he had shoved Nyia after getting mad at her for repeatedly taking off her Pampers.

The prosecution claims the motive for William Page leaving Nyia in the snow to die is that he sexually assaulted her that night, a claim which elicited an angry outburst from Page while being questioned by the prosecutor.

Page took the witness stand in his own defense. His testimony was in stark contrast to his two taped confessions. He claimed on the stand that he went to bed that night and never woke up until the morning, unaware that his daughter was freezing to death in the snow.

The young child who shared the bedroom with Nyia also testified. His memory of that night is different from Page’s. The child testified that Page entered the bedroom and began molesting him. When he told him to stop, Page placed his hand over the child’s mouth. He finished molesting the boy and left the room with Nyia following him. The boy said he never saw Nyia again. Page’s attorney questioned the accuracy of the child’s recollection of events.

His attorney claims Page just told detectives what they wanted to hear after being under interrogation for hours. His confessions were made up.

I have said it before and I will say it again, Page would have been better off trying to get some sort of plea deal rather than standing trial and facing the death penalty if convicted. Don’t get me wrong, I hate plea deals. I am just mentioning this because Page’s defense appears to be so weak. There are no witnesses to him sleeping the night away.

According to news reports the jury has already come back into the courtroom and asked to hear testimony of a county homicide sergeant who was present during the first confession. On Monday the jury will listen to the second confession.

March 22, 2010

It did not take the jury very long to decide on a guilty verdict for William Page. A few hours into the second day of deliberations they found Page guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping, indecent sexual assault and filing a false police report. Page had also been charged with sexual assault regarding the young boy who shared the bedroom with Nyia. The jury was unable to make a decision on that charge.

The same jury will begin listening to testimony tomorrow in the penalty phase of the trial to determine whether William Page deserves to be put to death or be sentenced to life in prison.

Sentence

March 25, 2010

After the jury heard some of the most heart-breaking testimony and witness impact statements I have ever heard they were unable to come to a unanimous agreement on the death penalty. They were stuck at 9-3 in favor of death so William Page received life in prison without the possibility of parole for leaving his daughter out in the snow, allowing her to freeze to death.

I don’t understand how the jury could not choose death for William Page. He confessed to the crime in detail. I don’t care if he claimed he didn’t remember that night. Carla Barlow’s testimony on Tuesday was heartbreaking:

• “I loved her before she was even born…”
• “I feel so cheated and robbed…”
• “When Nyia was killed, I couldn’t believe she was gone…”
• “She must have been so scared, her little heart pounding…”
• “She must have been in so much pain…”

³

There has been lasting effects on Nyia’s mother. She gave birth to a son soon after Nyia’s murder – a son she created with William Page. After the birth of her son she could not care for him. He lives with his maternal grandmother. Nyia’s mother says she is afraid to love the new baby because she feels she failed to protect Nyia.

Of course William Page had nothing to say as he was led out of the courtroom. His attorney said they will appeal his conviction. Of course he will. According to the above quoted article William Page has been in protective custody since his arrest in 2007 after he was attacked by an inmate. In that attack Page lost three of his teeth. I am guessing he is going to be put in protective custody in the prison he is headed. It is too bad Nyia couldn’t have been afforded some sort of protection from William Page.

Formal Sentencing

June 21, 2010

After William Page expressed his lack of remorse in no uncertain terms, and “vowing to continue to mentally fight to prove his innocence” Judge Cashman sentenced Page to life in prison without parole plus an additional 40 years.

Here are some of the quotes from Page to Judge Cashman during his sentencing hearing:

“You can’t hurt me mentally. I’m too strong for you. You, a T. rex and a 900-pound gorilla can’t hurt me. A jury of 12 couldn’t kill me,” ⁴

In response to Cashman telling Page he should have gotten the death penalty because he killed his own daughter, Page fired back, “Listen, idiot, I didn’t kill anyone.”

I am guessing it was that last comment that earned Page the additional 40 years. I hope that Page is no longer afforded the luxury of being housed in protective custody. He has already had his teeth knocked out by a fellow inmate while he was awaiting trial in county lockup. Of course, there have been cases where inmates in protective custody have been inexplicably beaten or murdered. Time will tell what happens to William Page while he “mentally fights” during his incarceration.

Sources

PA Amber Alert: Nyia Page, Missing & Murdered Children.

Comm. v. Page, William Lorenzo, Case Number: CP-02-CR-0002851-2007, Pennsylvania Court of Common Pleas, Last Accessed: October 10, 2009.

Daniel Malloy, Braddock Man Accused of Killing Daughter to be Tried Separately in Sex Assaults, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Last Accessed: May 27, 2009.

Bobby Kerlik, Braddock Man Faces Trial in Daughter’s Freezing Death, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Last Accessed: February 8, 2010.

Bobby Kerlik, Trial for Braddock Father Accused in Daughter’s Death Delayed, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Last Accessed: February 9, 2010.

Bobby Kerlik, Autism Diagnosis may take Death off Table for Braddock Man, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Last Accessed: February 14, 2010.

Autism, Wikipedia, Last Accessed: February 16, 2010.

Jury Selection Complete in Frozen Toddler Case, The Pittsburgh Channel.com, Last Accessed: March 9, 2010.

Jury Starts Deliberations, Has Questions in Frozen Toddler Trial, WTAE, Last Accessed: March 19, 2010.

Jury Reaches Guilty Verdict in William Page Trial, KDKA, Last Accessed: March 22, 2010.

1. Bobby Kerlik, Braddock Father is not Autistic, Judge Rules, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Last Accessed: February 16, 2010. [↩]
2. Emotions Run High in Jury Pool for Frozen Toddler Death Trial, WTAE, Last Accessed: February 18, 2010. [↩]
3. Jury Can’t Agree, So Father Avoids Death for Killing Toddler, WTAE Pittsburgh, Last Accessed: March 25, 2010. [↩]
4. Amber Nicotra, Man Who Killed Tot Calls Judge ‘Idiot’ During Sentencing, WTAE, Last Accessed: 07.17.10. [↩]