Erika Antoinette Hill was a 15-year-old American girl who was murdered in
Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Fitchburg is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 29,609 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is a suburb of Madison and is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Fitchburg consists of a mix of suburban neighbor ...
, in February 2007. Her damaged body was found in
Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...
on February 26, and her identity was not discovered until 2015.
Taylin Hill, her adoptive mother, was charged with reckless homicide
Reckless homicide is a crime in which the perpetrator was aware that their act (or failure to act when there is a legal duty to act) creates significant risk of death or grievous bodily harm in the victim, but ignores the risk and continues to ac ...
after Hill's identification, and later pleaded guilty to reduced charges for which she was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment.
Background
Erika Hill was born in 1992, and lived with her adoptive mother, Taylin Hill (also known as "Minnie" and "Marie") in Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Fitchburg is a city in Dane County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 29,609 at the 2020 census. Fitchburg is a suburb of Madison and is part of the Madison Metropolitan Statistical Area. Fitchburg consists of a mix of suburban neighbor ...
. Taylin Hill was a cousin of Erika's biological mother, Theresa Spiva, who had a history of substance abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods which are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder. Differing definitions of drug abuse are used in public health, ...
and relinquished custody of her daughter. The biological mother died in 2009. Erika endured abuse from her adoptive mother, who had also abused the other children in her care, nearly on a daily basis over a period of years. Investigations of Taylin Hill's abuse allegations had previously been conducted in the years between 2000 and 2005, the last halting after authorities were unable to contact Taylin.
Death
After enduring long term abuse and starvation, Erika died in February 2007. Taylin reportedly called her sister and daughter at their jobs and asked them to come to the home, where she showed them Erika's body in the bathroom. The next day, Taylin coerced them and other members of the household into taking the body to the basement and placing it in a freezer
A refrigerator, colloquially fridge, is a commercial and home appliance consisting of a thermally insulated compartment and a heat pump (mechanical, electronic or chemical) that transfers heat from its inside to its external environment so th ...
.[ Erika had been beaten and ]asphyxiated
Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that can i ...
with a cloth that was later found over her mouth. Erika had also been stabbed and beaten. Some of her teeth were broken in an effort to hinder identification. Taylin also redressed the body in "cheap" clothing. The Hill family later drove the body to Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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to dispose of it, where Taylin burned the body underneath an overpass
An overpass (called an overbridge or flyover in the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth countries) is a bridge, road, railway or similar structure that crosses over another road or railway. An ''overpass'' and ''underpass'' together form ...
and the family drove home, only to return and relocate the body due to Taylin's fear of an "elderly person having a heart attack" upon finding the remains and subsequently drove the body to Gary, Indiana
Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...
.[ Many of the children in her care feared speaking out due to threatened retaliation and one denied Taylin's alleged abuse.][
When others would inquire the whereabouts of Erika after she disappeared, Taylin reportedly claimed she had returned to her hometown of ]Joliet, Illinois
Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...
, where she had previously been cared for by her great aunt, who died in 2001.
Discovery
On February 26, 2007, two men reported to police that they saw what appeared to be charred legs in the entrance of a vacant building in Gary.[ The victim had likely died one day before. The body had been set on fire after death had occurred and it appeared she had not been burned at the location she was found.]
The body was of petite stature, to tall, and weighing . She was erroneously estimated to be between sixteen and twenty-five and the date of her death was inaccurately placed at twenty-four hours earlier. Over 170 distinct scars were found on the face and on several other parts of the body; these may have been inflicted at different times, as they were in different stages of healing. The hair had been pulled back into cornrows
Cornrows are a traditional style of braids in which the hair is braided very close to the scalp, using an underhand, upward motion to make a continuous, raised row. Cornrows are often done in simple, straight lines, as the term implies, but they ...
. Due to the condition of the body, the color of the eyes and clothing (except for pink underwear) could not be determined.
Due to the condition of the body, visual identification was impossible.[ The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children created three renderings of the victim depicted in life, one around the time she was discovered and the next two, a frontal and profile image in 2014.][
]
Identification and trial
Erika's remains were identified in 2015. This occurred after Taylin Hill's daughter contacted police in Gary, Indiana claiming that she knew the identity of the unidentified victim on August 7, 2015, after she searched the internet for unidentified bodies that matched Erika's description. She recognized the reconstruction of the victim created by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1984 by the United States Congress. In September 2013, the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate, and the Pres ...
to be the closest match. She had decided to contact authorities after a therapy session and claimed she wanted to end the "pattern of abuse."
Taylin was arrested on September 14, 2015, and charged with first-degree reckless homicide, in addition to six additional charges of child abuse. Taylin Hill was reportedly on suicide watch while being held for the trial. Her bond was set at $500,000. A preliminary hearing took place on September 22.
Taylin Hill had previously worked in schools as a special education aide between 1998 and 2004. She lost her position in 2006 after she did not return from a leave of absence.[ She returned as a substitute aide in 2013 and remained employed until she was charged with Erika's death, when the school district placed her on leave. Many members of the community were surprised after the charges were brought forward, as she was often known to be kind and never abused the children in her care in front of others.] Taylin Hill's family, however, claimed they had always known "something was wrong" with Hill's character.
In July 2016, Taylin Hill pleaded guilty to three reduced charges, including child neglect and abuse. On November 7, 2016, she was sentenced to 20 years in prison for causing the victim's death.
See also
* List of homicides in Wisconsin
This is a list of homicides in Wisconsin. This list includes notable homicides committed in the U.S. state of Wisconsin that have a Wikipedia article on the killing, the killer, or the victim. It is divided into three subject areas as follows ...
*Murder of Peggy Johnson
Peggy Lynn Johnson (formerly known as Racine County Jane Doe), also known by the last name Schroeder, was an American woman whose body was discovered in 1999 in the town of Raymond, Racine County, Wisconsin. She was 23 years old at the time of h ...
– a similar murder to that of Erika Hill
*List of murdered American children
This is a list of murdered American children that details notable murders among thousands of cases of subjects who were or are believed to have been under the age of 18 upon their deaths. Cases listed are stated to be unsolved, solved or pending ...
* List of solved missing person cases: post-2000
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Erika
2007 in Indiana
2007 in Wisconsin
2007 murders in the United States
2000s missing person cases
Child abuse resulting in death
Fitchburg, Wisconsin
Deaths by person in Wisconsin
Deaths from asphyxiation
February 2007 crimes in the United States
Female murder victims
Filicides in the United States
Incidents of violence against girls
Missing person cases in Wisconsin
People murdered in Wisconsin
Child murder in the United States