The remains of the house at 1005 Main St. in Guthrie Center.

Paige Exline, 12, remembered for her love of animals

Killed in an arson, Paige came from family with history of abuse

By JARED STRONG
j.strong@carrollspaper.com

The 12-year-old girl who died in a Guthrie Center house fire last week was sexually abused by her older brother for 2½ years before she moved from her house south of Jefferson to live with her grandmother, court records show.

The girl, Paige Exline, and her cousin Shakiah Cockerham, 16, died May 15 in an overnight house fire that investigators say was intentionally set.

Four people were asleep in the house at 1005 Main St. at the time of the fire. It was reported about 12:30 a.m.

Two people — Shirley Exline, 74, the girls’ grandmother, and William Long III, 54, their uncle — escaped, but Long suffered severe burns to his upper body.

No arrests have been reported.

Whoever set the fire faces potential felony charges of first-degree arson and homicide or murder, the most serious of which is punishable by life in prison.

Paige Exline was a cheery girl who liked jokes and animals, her school counselors told The Jefferson Herald.

“She was a sweetheart — one of those students that you really want to have,” said Teresa Skalla, a counselor at Greene County Elementary School. “Academics came very hard for her, but she would try and try, and she was one of the hardest workers.”

Ann Stueckradt, a counselor at Greene County Intermediate School, said Exline was a sixth-grade student at that school before she left town in March.

“We miss her so much,” Stueckradt said. “She had a great sense of humor, and a soft spot for animals. She would go out of her way to save a stray.”

Exline moved to Guthrie Center after her parents discovered her older brother had sexually abused her.

The brother, Noah Duane Exline, 19, was arrested in April for abusing the girl in their house about six miles south of Jefferson starting when she was 9 years old, court records show. He faces seven felony sex-abuse charges, each of which is punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

It’s unclear how the girl’s death will affect Exline’s case.

An assistant Iowa Attorney General will help prosecute the case at the recent request of Greene County Attorney Nicola Martino, according to court records.

The children’s father, James Exline Jr., 46, is a registered sex offender who was accused in 2008 of having sexual intercourse with two teenage girls. He pleaded guilty to two felony charges but did not go to prison.

A funeral for Paige Exline and Shakiah Cockerham is set for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at AC/GC High School in Guthrie Center.

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