Woman Arrested On Suspicion Of Killing Daughter

Woman Arrested On Suspicion Of Killing Daughter

Police: No Body Found, But Child Is Dead

February 6, 2004

BIG BEAR CITY, Calif. -- A 47-year-old woman who told relatives and friends that her 4-year-old daughter has been in Europe for two years was arrested on suspicion of killing the girl.

Sharon Gill, 47, was arrested Wednesday in Orange County and was to be arraigned Friday on charges that she killed her adopted daughter Lillian in March 2002, said Chip Patterson, spokesman for the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department. Gill was held without bail in Rancho Cucamonga.

The girl's body has not been found, but sheriff's Sgt. Gerrit Tesselaar said "there's no doubt that the child is dead."

Detectives are trying to determine whether Gill's husband, 47-year-old John Gill, was involved, and Patterson said the motive for the apparent killing is unclear, but they hope the girl's adoptive father can help.

"We believe he has some knowledge and what exactly he did or didn't do we're still trying to determine. He hasn't been arrested," said an unidentified representative from the San Bernardino Sheriff's Department.

Authorities first learned that the girl was missing from the San Bernardino Mountains community in October after getting an anonymous tip that she may have been harmed. Relatives of the Gills told detectives two weeks ago they believed Lillian was dead.

When investigators questioned Sharon Gill in October, she told them what she had previously told relatives and friends -- that her daughter was autistic and being treated for behavioral problems at a school in Milan, Italy. The Gills were uncooperative and evasive during questioning at their home, Patterson said.

Investigators learned through the U.S. State Department and Interpol that the child had never left the country.

"We basically disassembled her story," Tesselaar said.

Sharon Gill was arrested at an adult daughter's. She reportedly had two suitcases packed, giving the impression of a flight risk.

The girl's adoptive brother has been placed in protective custody.