Couples Hope Sentence Reopens Russian Adoptions

Theresa Vargas

Washington Post

Up until Peggy Sue Hilt's sentencing last week, a couple in Jacksonville, Fla., was prepared to board a plane to Manassas and testify on behalf of all the people Hilt hurt when she beat her 2-year-old adopted Russian daughter to death last year.

"We were ready to go over there," said Richard Verne, 40. "We were ready to get on a plane until the very last minute."

The Vernes are among many couples across the nation who sent letters and talked to prosecutors, asking how they could help ensure Hilt serves the severest of sentences and how they could show the court that she had destroyed not only her family but also the hopes of theirs.

Just weeks after Nina Hilt was murdered, the Vernes were in Russia, where a judge told them they could not take home two young girls they had planned to adopt. Instead, their adoption case was put on hold indefinitely.

"It was devastating," said Wanda Verne, 49, who said the couple had gotten to know the girls: "They called us Mama and Papa."

"They opened their arms every time we came to see them," her husband said.

And so it was with the image of the children left behind that an international community awaited Hill's sentencing Thursday. If the sentence was lenient, many feared that Russia would respond by further restricting adoptions. After the death of Nina -- the 14th Russian child killed by an adopted American parent since the 1990s -- the Russian government initially threatened to put a moratorium on all adoptions.

"This case has more ramifications than, I think, most of them," Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul B. Ebert (D) told Circuit Court Judge William D. Hamblen before the sentencing. "The whole adoption process has come somewhat to a halt. . . . Folks that were so excited to have a baby of their own were punished because of what she did."

Hilt, 34, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March, admitting that she had punched, kicked and choked Nina at their Wake Forest, N.C., home July 1 during a rage. The child died a day later in Prince William, where the family was visiting friends.

Hamblen on Thursday sentenced Hilt to 35 years, with 10 of them suspended -- exceeding the guideline of 12 to 21 years.

Hilt's attorney, William Stephens, called the sentence a "little harsh" and said Hilt should have sought help for her many problems, including depression, alcohol addiction and trouble bonding with the child.

Ebert said he was satisfied with the sentence. So, too, were many in the international adoption community.

"It really would have been a slap in the face of the Russians who are concerned about this if they had let her off with a light sentence," said Patrick Mason of the International Adoption Center at Inova Fairfax Hospital for Children.

He said his office has seen adoptions from Russia slow since Nina's death.

"It's very sad about the children over there waiting, and the families that are here that will love them and will take care of them, that will not be able to do that anytime soon because of cases like that," Mason said.

Thomas Atwood, president of the Alexandria-based National Council for Adoption, said his office hopes the sentence will improve the climate for adoptions between the two countries.

"We hear that the Russians are pleased that the sentence is tough," Atwood said. "It's in line with the type of sentencing that a person would receive in Russia for that kind of a verdict."

Rick Gibson, board president of the Joint Council on International Children's Services in Alexandria, said, "Justice was served.

"I think this case points to the goal for both the U.S. and Russia to set high standards for adoption procedures and to follow them and to have as much transparency as possible," Gibson said. "It's a terrible story, and hopefully with pre-adoptive preparation and family support, this will never happen again."

After Nina's death, officials in both countries called for reforms, including stricter screening of prospective parents, improved pre-adoption training and a reevaluation of independent adoptions, those done through agencies not accredited by Russia. An estimated 700,000 children are in Russian orphanages.

According to the U.S. State Department, Russia is second to China as the most popular country for international adoptions to U.S. families. In 2005, the United States issued 4,639 immigrant visas to Russian orphans, down from 5,865 in 2004.

The Vernes said that the two girls they hope to adopt are now 5 years old and that one has been adopted by a Russian family. They haven't seen either girl for a year. They estimate they have spent about $20,000 on the adoption process.

"The financial investment has not hurt as much as the mental anguish we have suffered because of" Hilt, Richard Verne said.

They haven't tried to adopt from elsewhere, he said, because they feel an obligation to the girls they promised to bring home -- girls who have their pictures. "We already know them," he said.

"I see their little faces in everything I do," Wanda Verne said. "Mother's Day, my girls should have been here."