Mother Sentenced to 25 Years

[MountainLaurel]

For the murder of her 2-year-old adopted Russian daughter, Peggy Sue Hilt will serve 25 years in jail, under a sentence imposed yesterday by a Prince William County judge.

"I think your conduct, at its core, is inexplicable, completely inexplicable," Circuit Court Judge William D. Hamblen said. "The child's death was not the product of a single act, a single blow. Her injuries were the result of a course of conduct over an extended period of time."

snip

Hilt, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March after telling police that she punched, kicked and choked Nina Hilt at their Wake Forest, N.C., home during a rage in July. The child died a day later in Prince William, where the family was visiting friends.

"I hurt Nina," Hilt told authorities at the time. "I choked her, and I hit her and hit her."

The Prince William case has affected other U.S. families hoping to adopt. Russian officials initially called for a moratorium on U.S. adoptions after the death of Nina, who was the 14th adopted Russian child killed in the United States. Several Russian journalists were at the courthouse yesterday.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/25/AR2006052501022.html