US woman admits murder of adopted orphan
A woman pleaded guilty today to second-degree murder in the beating of a two-year-old girl she had adopted from a Siberian orphanage.
Peggy Sue Hilt, 33, of Wake Forest, North Carolina, choked back tears as she entered her plea in Prince William Circuit Court. She faces up to 40 years in prison when she is sentenced on May 25.
Hilt’s guilty plea allowed her to avoid a possible first-degree murder charge in the death of Nina Holt.
Prosecutor Paul Ebert said he expects to argue for the maximum sentence. A Prince William County detective testified that Hilt confessed a few days after Nina’s July 2, 2005, death and that she spoke about an inability to bond with the child. Hilt admitted becoming upset with the girl for crying and dropped her on the floor, kicked her and jumped on her abdomen, she told the investigator.
