PITTSBURGH,None — An Allegheny County judge sentenced a Braddock man convicted in his 23-month-old daughter's death to life in prison without parole Thursday after the jury was unable to reach a verdict.
The jury was deliberating in the penalty phase of the trial on whether William Page, 26, should serve life in prison without parole or be executed.
The same jury on Monday convicted Page of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, sexual assault and falsifying a police report in the February 2007 death of Nyia Page.
Nyia's body was found in freezing weather in a wooded area about four blocks from the family's home.
Page appeared unemotional Thursday, as he had throughout the trial.
Channel 11 asked him if he had anything to say. "Nothing really. I'm presuming innocence. Always going to keep my innocence," said Page.
"I hope he suffered just as my daughter suffered. I hope he suffers," said Darlene Scott, Nyia's mother.
Page's cousin, Marcia Allen, testified Wednesday that Page was abused as a child, living in filth and going to school with bugs on his clothes.
"There was no running water in the house. He had the barest minimum. All he had was love of his family. He had no extras at all," Allen said.
Elmira Sizemore, Page's elementary school teacher, testified earlier that children made fun of Page because his clothes often were dirty.
"Kids would tease him. I just feel he didn't have a chance," she said.
Page's lawyers said he is troubled. A psychologist for the defense told jurors that Page's childhood included violence against teachers, classmates and family members because he suffers from autism.
Prosecutors, through their own expert witness, argued a different diagnosis: antisocial personality disorder. It's a disorder, according to prosecutors, Page shares with a large population of incarcerated criminals.
Channel 11 News reporter Renee Kaminski asked Allen, "How do you explain what he did to Nyia, his own child?"
Allen said, "I don't know that he did it. Only God knows."
During the trial, prosecutors played Page's recorded confession for the jury. In it, Page told police he kicked the girl because she kept removing her diaper, and that he left her outside in the snow.
Page denied he sexually assaulted Nyia. He also testified that he fabricated his confession to police three years ago.
Page said he made up his confession because police "said, ‘If you don't tell us what happened, you'll never see your daughter again.' So I told police I back-handed her, but it was a lie."
When prosecutors asked Page how he knew so many details about what happened to Nyia, Page replied, "I heard some of it on the news."
But Page testified that he confessed only after police grilled him over several days and that she somehow wandered outside.
Previous Stories: March 22, 2010: Braddock Man Convicted In Daughter's Death March 18, 2010: Braddock Man Continues Testimony In Daughter's Death March 16, 2010: Witness: Braddock Toddler Found Dead In Snow Sexually Assaulted March 12, 2010: Photos Of Dead Toddler's Tiny Footprints Bring Jurors To Tears March 10, 2010: Jurors Hear Mother's Frantic 911 Call In Braddock Toddler Death Trial February 12, 2010: Judge Ruling On Death Penalty In Death Of Braddock Girl May 5, 2008: Trial Delayed For Dad Accused In 2-Year-Old's Death February 9, 2007: Family, Friends Gather To Remember Braddock Toddler February 8, 2007: Father Charged With Braddock Toddler's Death February 6, 2007: Braddock Girl's Death Ruled Homicide February 4, 2007: Missing Braddock Toddler's Body Found
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