A Criminal Court jury on Thursday afternoon ruled Nicholas Hilt guilty of first-degree murder in the death of five-year-old Nathaniel Upshaw, then determined that he should serve life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The jury in the courtroom of Judge Don Poole also found Hilt guilty of child rape and aggravated child abuse.
The jury deliberated two hours, then went to lunch. The panel returned the verdicts shortly after lunch. The jury was out about an hour in the sentencing phase.
At the sentencing hearing, District Attorney Bill Cox said Hilt should get life without parole, telling the jury, "You saw what he did to this child."
Hilt had told officers the day after his arrest that he slammed the child against a wall some 10 times because he became argry with the child. The victim was one of the three children of Hilt's girlfriend at the time.
The state at the sentencing hearing called only a single witness, who established Hilt's age as 25. The district attorney said an aggravating factor calling for the stiffer punishment is the fact the crime was carried out by a person over 21 against a child under the age of six.
Defense attorney Lee Ortwein asked for the life term, saying that would mean he would serve 51 years and be in his mid-70s before he would be eligible for parole consideration.
He also said that a prisoner with no hope of parole is more of a threat for prison guards.
The defense called William Leek, uncle of Hilt, who said as a boy he was "a very nice, personable young man. He was just a good kid."
He said Hilt's father, Clarence Hilt, left the family to go into the military in North Carolina and had little or no contact with his son. He said the father later had drug and alcohol problems.
The uncle said Hilt told him that his mother abused him, including drawing a knife on him. It was also testified that Hilt said the mother him him with a chair and hit him in the head with a closed fist. The uncle said Hilt told him that another son in the family who was reported to have had a stroke actually had been beaten by the mother.
District Attorney Cox asked if the mother had been at the trial, and the uncle said she was in the courtroom. Prosecutor Cox asked that she take the witness stand, but Judge Poole did not allow it.
Clinical psychologist Dr. David Solovey said he believed Hilt was suffering a psychotic episode and lacked judgment when he killed the child in January 2003 at an apartment on Wilson Street.
He said Hilt was able to complete high school, join the Navy and have some college training, "but the mental disturbances just kept catching up with him."
The panel saw Hilt for the first time on Thursday morning since Judge Poole required him to stay in the courtroom during the reading of the charge. He kept his head down on the defense table the entire time.
Hilt also kept his head down on the defense table during the entire sentencing hearing.
On Wednesday, County Medical Examiner Dr. Frank King said an autopsy conducted on Jan. 9, 2003 showed Nate Upshaw died from blunt head and abdominal injuries. He said the child had several significant contusions on his head, internal bleeding from compression and injuries on his anus and genitals.
Dr. King said these injuries were consistent with earlier testimony that Hilt repeatedly threw the child against the wall and "stomped him."
Dr. King said, "It is rare to see this much injury on one child."
Dr. Stan Kesler, a pathologist who formerly conducted autopsies for Dr. King, completed the report, said Dr. King and discussed the autopsy with him. However, Dr. Kesler did not x-ray the body or use a rape test kit, Dr. King said.
Crime Scene Investigator Steve Wiertel testified that a videotape submitted by the YMCA, where Hilt worked, was examined. The tape
showed Hilt and Nate entering the YMCA after hours the day before he
was admitted into the hospital.
Det. Wiertel showed pictures where Nate's brother, Charley, said he
found Nate in the cemetery.
Prior to Hilt's arrest, Det. Wiertel said he did not notice any "odd or unusual behavior" from Hilt. He said while he was investigating the apartment where the alleged abuse occurred, Hilt came in the master bedroom to get his medicine, Valtrex. Det. Wiertel said he thought the medication was used to treat herpes.
Hilt was not present during the trial.
Defense Attorney Ortwein said Hilt has been difficult to communicate with and at times unresponsive. He said Hilt said he didn’t want to attend the trial. A room was set up for Hilt to watch the trial and listen to it.
Dr. Solovey, who was the first witness for the defense, said Hilt’s “mental processes were such that he may not have been able to conform his behavior” when he killed Nathan. Dr. Solovey said Hilt shows signs of delusion, paranoia and possibly schizophrenia.
Dr. Solovey said, according to records, Hilt’s parents divorced at an early age, he had little interaction with his father and his mother was abusive toward him and his siblings. He said Hilt attempted suicide several times during high school.
The record also showed that Hilt joined the military, but was honorably discharged for medical reasons after incurring head trauma from falling down some steps.
During his military service, Hilt was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and paranoia traits, the witness said. In 2000, Hilt was also diagnosed and treated for leukemia.
Dr. Solovey said records show that Hilt was “depressed, had personality shifts, heard voices of a deceased friend and showed signs of obsessive compulsive behavior.”
District Attorney Cox asked Dr. Solovey about the amount of time he actually spent examining Hilt. Dr. Solovey said in April 2006 he attempted to meet Hilt, but he refused.
Later, he and a psychiatrist from Middle Tennessee met with Hilt. That was the first time Dr. Solovey and Hilt spoke one on one, he said. He said they talked for two hours. During that time Hilt told him that he didn’t remember what happened the night of the murder.
Attorney Cox said, in a statement to police, Hilt said, “I did it because I was mad.” Dr. Solovey said people with mental illnesses can have rises and falls in their behavior.
Dr. Solovey said when examining patients for forensics cases he asks if the charged person had prepared for or thought out the crime. He said he believes that Hilt acted in a frenzy. Attorney Cox said Hilt put Nathan in the shower after he was raped, tied up Nathan’s brother and sister and killed him when his mom was gone. He said that sounded like a “well-thought-out process.”
During his time in prison, Hilt showed erratic behavior, so he was sent to a mental hospital in Middle Tennessee. Prosecutor Cox said the reports from his time there show that he was capable of knowing the difference between right and wrong when the acts was committed.
The defense called City Police Officer Laromie Boyd, who worked three years in the booking area of the County Jail. He said Hilt was often held in isolation.
He said on one occasion he was passing by Hilt's cell and saw him down by his commode smearing feces on his face and eating feces.
The officer said it is common for prisoners to throw feces at jailers and other inmates, but he said he had only seen two other prisoners eating feces.
William Wise, another correctional officer, said Hilt did not interact with other prisoners at all.
He said on one occasion Hilt spoke with him about World Wrestling. He said Hilt often slept under his bed.
A jail nurse said Hilt refused to take his medication, saying it was not what had been ordered for him.
Barbara Whitehead, program coordinator for the middle college operated by the county schools, said she got to know Hilt when he was 17 and was helping her daughter through a troubled time. She said Hilt advised the daughter she "needed to lose her friends."
She said at the time Hilt was "a good person, intelligent, fun loving."
The witness said he was "a very good influence" on her daughter, and she said Hilt began to regard her as like a mother.
She said Hilt joined the Navy. She said his fall was actually a suicide attempt. She said it left him with some permanent injuries, including damage to his eyesight.
Ms. Whitehead said Hilt told her he had tried to commit suicide before - going to the National Cemetery near where he lived.
She said he had been abused by his mother and "he thought he wasn't worthy of continuing his life."
She said after he returned from the Navy, he was more serious and goal-oriented. She said he decided he wanted to become a teacher.
She said he studied at Chattanooga State and was about to finish UTC when he was arrested.
She said it was close to his 20th birthday when Hilt found out he had leukemia. She said he had to undergo a year of intensive treatment, including chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant.
She said it caused him to have "a different personality totally." She said, "He would ask me, 'Why me? Why can't I live a normal life?' It was like he was totally defeated."
Ms. Whitehead said she saw him on Thanksgiving when he came over for a meal. She said he seemed to be doing OK then. She said she was surprised that he did not show up for Christmas because he always stopped by on holidays.
She said she visited Hilt in jail and he was rambling in his conversation. She said, "Nothing that he said really made much sense to me."
She said he talked about his friend, Mario, who had been killed along with another friend. She said Hilt had been scheduled to pick them up that day, but had picked up her daughter instead. Then they were killed, and he blamed himself.
She said, "He felt totally responsible. . . that it was his fault."
The state called a rebuttal witness - a mental health expert who said she felt Hilt needed hospitalization but did know right from wrong at the time of the crime.