PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida man has been convicted of killing a little girl who went missing nearly 20 years ago.
The Herald-Tribune reports that 46-year-old Keith Wilson was found guilty last week of second-degree murder. He faces up to life in prison at his Dec. 4 sentencing.
Authorities say 4-year-old Pilar Rodriguez went missing in Punta Gorda in 1999. Wilson’s then-girlfriend, Melissa Harding-Jones, had been Pilar’s babysitter. The woman testified that Wilson punched the girl, who died several days later. Wilson took the girl’s body away in a garbage bag. It has never been found.
Harding-Jones previously pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. She faces up to 30 years in prison.
After being considered a cold case, new information and new witnesses came to light in 2009.
