By David Lohr

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February 12, 2007

BRADDOCK, Penn. (Crime Library) —  Family and friends said goodbye to 23-month-old Nyia Miangel Page on Friday afternoon.  Funeral services were held at Good Hope Baptist Church in Larimer.  Mourners placed photographs and stuffed animals around her small white casket as they said their heartfelt goodbyes.  Afterwards, Nyia was interred at Fairview Cemetery in McKeesport.

Nyia's parents reported her missing on Saturday, February 3, 2007.  Dozens of police officers from numerous county, municipal, and federal departments, along with citizen volunteers, braved 20-degree temperatures to search for the toddler.  The search continued into Sunday, when searchers discovered her body at an abandoned playground off Fleet Street.

Nyia Miangel Page

Last week, Allegheny County Police arrested Nyia's father, William Lorenzo Page, 23, in connection with her death.  Page was already in jail at the time of his arrest.  He was being held on charges of simple and indecent assault of a child, endangering the welfare of children, and corruption of minors.  The charges came after a six-year-old boy made allegations that Page had indecently assaulted him and struck him with a belt on previous occasions.

According to a police affidavit, Page confessed to murdering his daughter during the early morning hours of February 3, 2007.  Page allegedly told detectives that he woke up sometime after midnight and found Nyia playing in front of a mirror in the upstairs hallway of their home.  Page said he became angry when she refused to return to bed and he struck her with the back of his fist.  The blow was administered with such force that Nyia was thrown backwards, at which time she struck her head on a nearby wall, knocking her unconscious, police said.

Page then wiped blood from Nyia's head with a towel, wrapped her in a blanket, and carried her outside.  Page told police he took Nyia to an isolated spot near some railroad tracks, a few blocks from his house.  He said she was unconscious but breathing.  He then laid her down in the snow, walked back home, and went to sleep. 

Investigators surmise that at some point during the night, Nyia regained consciousness and wandered around, looking for her house.  She was barefoot and wearing only a sweater.  Searchers found her diaper on the tracks where her father said he had left her, and they later found tiny footprints in the snow.  Somehow, the brave little girl managed to climb up 17 snow-covered steps to a wooded knoll, where she collapsed, curled up into the fetal position, and went to sleep.  Sadly, she never woke up again.

Next Page

William Lorenzo Page Charged With Murder of 23-month-old Daughter

Coroner Rules 23-month-old Nyia Page's Death a Homicide

Twenty-three-month-old Nyia Page Found Dead One Day after Disappearance

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