FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- A cigar box filled with crime scene photos and tapes of John Zile's statement to police were among the evidence presented yesterday to the grand jury reviewing Christina Holt's death.
The investigation wrapped up late yesterday after all evidence in the death of the 7-year-old girl had been presented to the 18-member panel, said Mike Edmondson, spokesman for the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office. The grand jury report is expected to be released tomorrow.
Medical Examiner James Benz and investigators from the Riviera Beach Police Department and State Attorney's Office appeared before the panel yesterday.
As he left the grand jury room, Mr. Benz said there were signs of bruises on Christina's body but there was no evidence of sexual abuse.
Mr. Benz has not released the autopsy report on how Christina died, but the death was ruled a homicide and she appeared to have suffocated, his investigators have said.
Christina's parents, John and Pauline Zile, each face charges of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse in the girl's death.
John Zile, 32, confessed to police his stepdaughter fell into convulsions and stopped breathing after he beat her on Sept. 16. The girl's mother, Pauline Zile, 24, is accused of standing idly by during the beating.
Under state law, a parent who does not protect a child from abuse is as guilty as the abuser.
The grand jury had originally requested to hear from more witnesses in the Zile case today, but that did not mean the prosecutors' attempt to have the Ziles indicted on first-degree murder charges is in trouble, State Attorney Barry Krischer said.