Man guilty of killing his adopted daughter

By The Associated Press

A Fayette County jury took just 45 minutes yesterday to convict a man of stomping his mentally retarded adopted daughter to death and burning her body to conceal the crime.

James Gillin, 53, was found guilty of first-degree murder, meaning he faces a mandatory life prison term with no chance of parole when sentenced Friday. He was also convicted of two counts of conspiracy and abuse of a corpse in the 1992 death of Helen Gillin.

Prosecutors maintained James Gillin had a sexual relationship with the 25-year-old woman and that his wife, Roberta, learned of it. Their main witness -- the Gillins' 31-year-old biological daughter, Mary Jo Overly -- testified she saw her father stomping on Helen's body outside their Bear Rocks home sometime during 1992.

Police said James Gillin confessed to them in 1999, saying, "I don't have any idea what I did, but I know I did it." He said he suffers from multiple sclerosis and has a hard time remembering events.

Despite the alleged confession, James Gillin's attorney, Mark Morrison, argued throughout the five-day trial that Roberta Gillin, not her husband, was responsible for Helen's death.

James Gillin considered taking the stand in his own defense but decided against it, saying it would not benefit his case. Fayette County District Attorney Nancy Vernon had planned to call Roberta Gillin to testify against her husband but did not, saying Overly's testimony was sufficient.

Morrison tried to call Roberta Gillin to testify for the defense but she refused, citing her right to avoid self-incrimination.

Roberta Gillin is charged with murder but because she cooperated, Vernon will ask that she face only a charge of abuse of a corpse for helping to burn Helen Gillin's body.

"I'm satisfied with the verdict," Vernon said. "I feel justice was done."

Vernon said Overly had "mixed emotions" after the verdict.

"On the one hand, her father was convicted of first-degree murder based on her testimony. ... She was relieved for the sake of Helen and relieved people believed her."

It was in 1995 that state police learned that Overly had told a friend she had seen her father stomp on her adopted sister. The Gillins maintained that Helen, whom they had adopted in 1982, had run off with a boyfriend.

An archaeological team found more than 2,200 bone fragments near the Gillins' home and experts said they were human. DNA tests, however, could not confirm they were those of Helen Gillin.