Baby Grace Mom Gives Birth in Jail

Kimberly Trenor, the 19-yr-old mother of the little girl known as Baby Grace, has given birth to a baby boy while incarcerated at the Galveston County Jail.

Trenor, who sits in jail awaiting trial for the death of her 2-yr-old daughter, Riley Ann Sawyers, gave birth to Shawn Michael Trenor on June 26. Relatives of Trenor who live in Dallas have been approved as foster parents.

Riley's unidentified body, wrapped in plastic and stored inside a storage tote, was found on a sand bar by a fisherman last November just east of Galveston Island TX . Her mother and boyfriend, 25-yr-old Royce Zeigler of Spring, Texas, are charged with murdering Riley then dumping her body off the Galveston Causeway.

Riley was dubbed Baby Grace after authorities were unable to identify who she was. There was at one time speculation that Baby Grace might have been a little British girl, Madeline McCann, who had gone missing while on holiday with her parents in Portugal. Madeline had disappeared from her parent's resort hotel room while they dined with friends at restaurant a short distance away on May 3. The reason why there was a possibility Madeline could have been Baby Grace was that the area where Baby Grace's body was found was where international ships passed by plus both little girls had similar features. Madeline remains missing while Baby Grace, the little girl no one had come forward to claim, was finally identified after a woman in Ohio, much to her horror, saw Baby Grace's FBI sketch and believed it could be her little granddaughter, Riley Ann Sawyers.

The Galveston County authorities, along with the FBI, released a sketch of Baby Grace with the request to please help identify the little girl now known as Baby Grace. It was Riley's father's mother in Ohio who recognized the sketch as possibly belonging to her little granddaughter.

Riley had relocated with her mother, Kimberly Trenor, to Spring TX last summer to live Zeigler, whom she had met on the internet. Riley was allegedly killed sometime before the end of November by Kimberly and Zeigler, who then stored her little body in the plastic tote for several weeks in a shed in Zeigler's back yard. An autopsy revealed Riley had been beaten and had several skull fractures. Trenor, in a statement to authorities, detailed the day Riley died, of hours of beatings, attempts to drown her in the bathtub, of holding a pillow over her face, all because Riley allegedly wouldn't say "please" or "thank you".

Both have been charged with capital murder. The prosecutor declined to seek the death penalty.

By LBG

Source - Time - Who Killed Madeline McCainn?
Source - Houston Chronicle - Relatives of Trenor approved to be baby's foster parents
Image - Riley Sawyers
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Riley Sawyers Petition: Help Name Island in her Honor

The little girl, whose unidentified body was found in a plastic storage tote resting on the banks of a sandbar in the Gulf of Mexico, has finally gone home.

First known as "Baby Grace," the tiny toddler's body was discovered by a fisherman on a late fall afternoon. Authorities were entrusted with the task of identifying the remains, wrapped in plastic, wearing a matching pink shirt and skirt, little sneakers from Target that had flashing lights in the heels.

The Galveston County Sheriff's Department, in conjunction with the FBI, released a sketch of Baby Grace to the public.

Riley Sawyers

People wondered, whose little girl was she? Why hadn't someone reported her missing, such as her mother, at least in that area?

The authorities shifted through dozens of missing little girl cases, non-custodial parents who had taken their children. Could Baby Grace be one of these "little lost girls?"

A grandmother from Ohio, Sheryl Sawyers, was shocked to see the sketch and missing poster of Baby Grace.

Riley was the daughter of Sheryl's son Robert and his high school sweetheart, Kimberly Trenor.
Sixteen-year-old Kimberly had moved in with Sheryl's family when she became pregnant with RIley. Sheryl was there when Riley was born and watched her grow into a little blond sprite of a toddler. Then Kimberly and Robert broke up, Kimberly packed up her belongings along with little Riley and moved to Spring, Texas in June. Kimberly was in love with 24-year-old Royce Ziegler, a man she'd met online.

Sheryl tried to keep in contact with Kimberly and the whereabouts of Riley but by July Kimberly had effectively shut Sheryl out of Riley's life. When Sheryl saw the sketch of a little long haired blond girl named "Baby Grace" it had been months since she had had any news or contact from Kimberly.

It was Kimberly who turned herself into the Galveston County Sheriff's Department with her attorney. In her statement, which was used to indict both Kimberly and Royce of capital murder charges, Kimberly told a story full of horror for little Riley. Of being beaten for hours, her head held under water, being thrown across a room, being suffocated, and in the end, dead, by the hands of both Royce and Kimberly.

Kimberly told how she and Royce drove to the local Walmart and walked through the fluorescent lit aisles searching for something to put little Riley's body in. It was July 25th in Spring, Texas, where the humidity was as thick as molasses and the little children who lived in Riley's neighborhood could run through the thick green grass in search of lightning bugs in the cool of the evening.

Kimberly and Royce wrapped Riley in plastic, placed her in the blue storage tote, then put her in a shed in the backyard. One can imagine Kimberly standing at the kitchen window, washing dishes, the shed where Riley's body lay, in her line of sight.

Eventually Royce and Kimberly decided to dispose of Riley's body 75 miles to the southeast of Spring, at the Galveston Causeway.

It was on the late afternoon of October 31st that a fisherman saw the tote resting on the banks of an unnamed sandbar near the island city of Galveston, Texas.

An effort is underway to have the sandbar or island that Riley was found, named in her honor:

The purpose of this petition is to provide a statement of intent to follow the protocol required in getting the island where Riley Ann Sawyers was found officially referenced geographically as “Riley’s Island .”

On July 24, 2007, Riley Ann Sawyers was brutally murdered in Spring, Texas. Her mother and stepfather stand accused of her murder. On October 29, 2007, having been maliciously stored in a plastic storage container for months and then inhumanely tossed over the Galveston Causeway, the container that held her precious remains was found washed ashore on a small uninhabited island in Galveston Bay. She remained unidentified for several weeks and was known only as “Baby Grace.” The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI worked tirelessly to identify this child in order to serve justice for the barbarous crime and events encompassing her untimely death.

In honor of Riley Ann, the dedicated investigators who continue the diligent work on her case, and those that have been deeply touched by her story, we are asking Galveston County and the City of Hitchcock to memorialize her life by officially naming the island where Riley Ann Sawyers was found “Riley’s Island .” As supporters of this appellation, we intend not only to commemorate Riley but to address the commitment of Galveston County as well as citizens of the state of Texas, the nation in alliance with the global community to banish child abuse. Please consider granting this heartfelt request to make the island a permanent memorial to an innocent child who was taken far too soon from this world.

In memory of Riley Ann Sawyers - March 11, 2005 to July 24, 2007.

We think this is a wonderful idea and hope our readers will take the time to sign the petition.

Here is the link:

Riley's Island Petition

Riley has finally gone home, in the arms of our Lord, buried in Mentor, Ohio, by those who loved her and will always mourn her.

Kimberly and Royce are incarcerated at the Galveston County Jail, neither able to post the $350,000 bond. Both claim they are "innocent" of the "charges."

A trial date has yet to be set. Kimberly is now pregnant.

By LBG
Source - DBKP - Riley Sawyers Mom, Stepfather Proclaim Their Innocence
Image - The Cape Escape




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Originally posted at DBKP at Blogger.

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: Going Home

Galveston County District Judge David Garner approved an agreement which will release little Riley's body to her family back in Mentor, Ohio.

Riley's mother, Kimberly Trenor, 19, and Royce Zeigler, 26, are charged with Capital Murder and tampering with evidence in the death of Riley. The judge has given the Galveston County Prosecutor until April 16th to decide whether he will ask for the Death Penalty.

Judge Garner said a trial for Zeigler and Treynor might be scheduled for early or late summer, exactly one year after Riley Sawyers and her mother moved to Spring, Texas to be with Zeigler.

It's alleged that Zeigler and Trenor murdered Riley on July 25th then placed her body in a plastic storage tote bought at Walmart. The couple put the little girl's body in a shed in the backyard until, no one is quite sure, they drove 75 miles to the Galveston Causeway and dumped the plastic tote.

Zeigler's attorney, Neil Davis III, maintains his client's innocence while claiming Zeigler is "remorseful".

Both Trenor and Zeigler remain in the Galveston County Jail, their bonds posted at $350,000. It's been reported that Trenor is pregnant.

Riley's father and Grandmother came in December to Texas to visit the place where Riley's body was found and the home in Spring where she spent her last day on this Earth.

The long journey for 'Baby Grace', Riley Sawyers, is almost over, while the two people who allegedly took her life, their journey through the Texas courts system has just begun.

By LBG
Image - Angel Myspace Layout

Source - Houston Chronicle
Source - DBKP - Riley Sawyers: Loved One's Sad Journey to Texas





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Baby Grace Case: New Details Emerge from Affidavit

Riley Sawyers

New details have emerged on the fate of little Riley Sawyers, "Baby Grace's" last day.

According to the Houston Chronicle, and details released from a search warrant affidavit, Riley's stepfather, 24-year-old Royce Zeigler, placed her tiny body in the bathtub of their Spring, Texas, home. He then covered her with a purple towel and closed the shower curtain to prevent her mother from seeing her.

Galveston County sheriff's investigators were searching for the shower curtain, the bath towel and other evidence when they searched a rented storage unit and the Spring residence of Riley's mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 19, and her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 24, according to the affidavit.

The affidavit says that Zeigler and Trenor used two leather belts to beat Riley, that her head was held under water, that Zeigler grabbed Riley by her hair and flung her across a room onto a tile floor, and that her face was pushed into a pillow and a couch.

On December 12, Zeigler and Riley's mother, Kimberly Trenor were indicted by the Galveston County, Texas, Grand Jury on Capital Murder indictments.

It took only three minutes for the Galveston County to decide to charge the mother and stepfather of little Riley Sawyers with Capital Murder in the death of the little two and 1/2-year-old girl.

Kimberly Trenor and Royce Clyde Zeigler II also face charges of tampering with evidence for allegedly putting Riley ' body into Galveston Bay.

During the three-hour presentation, the grand jury heard testimony from five witnesses, including the FBI and the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. Source - DBKP

Zeigler's defense has already begun, at least by his attorney, Neal Davis III, in the press.

It was Trenor's statements to the Galveton County Sheriff's Department which were used to bring charges of Injury of a child and evidence tampering to the couple. Those charges were upgraded by the Grand Jury to Capital Murder.

In the Chronicle article Zeigler's attorney countered Kimberly Trenor's version of the events.

Zeigler's attorney, Neal Davis III, said the information incriminating his client has come from Trenor and that her credibility would be challenged during the trial.

He said he visited the house in the 6800 block of Enns Lane in Spring where Trenor says Riley was beaten and found no evidence to support her accusation that Zeigler picked up Riley by the hair and hurled her across the room.

"There is no evidence to corroborate this story of a towel being draped over her face," Davis said.

Trenor gave a three hour videotaped interview on November 23. Accompanied by her attorney, Trenor's statement was used as probable cause in the arrest of both Trenor and Zeigler.

In the Affadavit to arrest Trenor and Zeigler on the charges of Injury of a Child, Trenor maintains that she and Zeigler spent at least 2 - 4 hours "beating" Riley. That she, Trenor, only engaged in hitting her little girl with a leather belt and holding Riley's head underwater while it was Zeigler who picked Riley up by her hair and threw her across the room, her tiny head hitting the tile floor. Trenor states that Riley was put "face first on her bed" and also "face first into the couch" but no mention in the affidavit of who it was who did this to Riley. According to Trenor, Zeigler gave Riley children's pain medication and that after Riley was dead, Zeigler laid a "purple towel" over the little girl's body. Source - DBKP

Davis said he hasn't seen Trenor's statement yet, that he will be asking the court to make it available. Davis had also asked the court to allow his own expert witness to view Riley's body, that the Galveston County Prosecutor hasn't turned over the autopsy report nor revealed Riley's cause of death. A hearing is scheduled on January 3rd as to whether Riley's body can released to her family back in Mentor, Ohio, or be held over for examination.

Davis said he "found no evidence to support her (Trenor's) accusation that Zeigler picked up Riley by the hair and hurled her across the room."

We're not sure how Davis could "find" such evidence. It's been months since that day back in July when Royce stayed home from work to allegedly teach Kimberly how to "discipline" little Riley.

The day Riley died at the hands of someone in that house. The day that Riley's body was placed in a plastic storage container bought by both Royce and Trenor. The day they carried that container into the backyard and placed it with Riley inside, into a shed.

The shed where Riley's body remained, for one month or two, no one is quite sure. Where Kimberly could look out the kitchen window and gaze upon it while she washed the dishes.

In the end we'll be surprised if it all boils down to one purple towel and who did what with it, that will decide the fate of Kimberly Trenor and Royce Zeigler.

By LBG








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Riley Sawyers: Loved Ones' Sad Journey to Texas

"There are days when you feel like you are going to lose your mind"

In an interview with ABC 13 Sheryl Sawyers' grief was raw. Sheryl said she felt as if she were in a bad dream, that this was something that only happened to other people. Both Sheryl and Robert's love for their little Riley was apparent.

Robert and Sheryl came to Galveston, Texas, the little city that sits on an island east of the giant metropolis of Houston. A place where the green-blue waves of the Gulf of Mexico roll up to sandy beaches that stretch for 32 miles. Where the seagulls chase after the shrimp boats and ships come to port from all over the world.

A city that seems old fashioned with trolleys and quaint architecture. A place to come to unwind and relax. Where one can sit on the beach and watch the sun sparkle and dance across the waves. Where on the late afternoon of October 29th a fisherman made a gruesome discovery. A plastic storage tote which had come to rest on a sand bar. Inside, the decomposing body of a little girl.

Sheryl and Robert came to Galveston to trace the route of Riley's last journey. They took a boat out to the place where Riley was found. With them they carried a little purse, because Sheryl said Riley was a real "girly girl". Along with the purse, a stuffed teddy bear, for Riley.

Riley's father, Robert and mother, Kimberly Trenor, were high school sweethearts back in Mentor, Ohio. When Kimberly became pregnant she moved in with Robert and his family. After Kimberly had Riley they continued to live with the Sawyers.

Sheryl was there every step of the way for little Riley. She watched her little granddaughter grow: from a little baby to a toddler, to a tiny little girl who loved her grandmother's makeup.

Kimberly had been in a long-term online relationship with a man from Texas, Royce Zeigler. In June Kimberly moved to be with Royce taking Riley with her. Within a month Kimberly and Royce were married. A few weeks later Riley was dead. Her tiny body wrapped in plastic, stored in a storage tote in a shed in the back yard of a house in Spring, Texas, 74 miles northwest of Galveston.

Riley's body remained in the shed, one month--maybe two--no one is quite sure. Kimberly and Royce drove the 70 plus miles to the Galveston Causeway and set the storage tote adrift with Riley's body inside.

Robert and Sheryl plan on going to the neighborhood in Spring to talk with the neighbors; to the last place Riley was alive. Riley's body remains with the Galveston County Coroner.

Royce Zeigler's attorney has made a motion to allow an expert to perform an independent exam on Riley's body. No cause of death has been released by the Galveston County Prosecutor's office.

Initial findings indicate that Riley had 3 skull fractures to the back of her head. Both Kimberly and Royce have been charged with Capital Murder and remain in jail on $350,000 bond.

Kimberly is now pregnant with her second child.

Sheryl said in the ABC interview that she is haunted by Riley's last hours: of the precious little girl being tortured by Kimberly and Royce.

"I think of that night and I get that picture of her crying and screaming for somebody to help her and there was nobody, nobody not even her mother," Sheryl said. [abc13.com]

Grief has no expiration date. It is our sincerest hope that some day Sheryl's nightmares of Riley's last hours are replaced by the other happier memories of her little Riley. We never knew Riley, but we grieve for her family: for their loss, for their pain.

Riley's storage tote came to rest near the island of Galveston on the Gulf of Mexico. For the most part, the gulf is tranquil where the blue sky and white puffy clouds meet the blue green sea. Where one can look out over the eastern horizon and feel the warm gulf breezes blow, smell the salty air watch the gentle waves that wash upon the shore.

A place of meditation, a place of solace, but also a playful place: where at times dolphins frolic near the shore and pesky seagulls keep watch for morsels to steal.

Riley's no longer here but her memory is now carried in the hearts of those who love her, who mourn her. Her journey here on Earth was a short one; Robert and Sheryl's has just begun.

A journey of grief, of mourning, of questioning, and someday, of acceptance.

Our thoughts and prayers are with Riley's family.

By LBG
Source - ABC13.com
Source - DBPK - Baby Grace Timeline
Source - DBKP - Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: Mother's Grim Tale of Abuse and Death
Source - DBKP - Riley Sawyers: Mom, Stepfather Claim Their Innocence

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Riley Sawyers: Stepfather Delays Release of Baby Grace's Body

Prosecutors in the Riley Sawyers case have asked the judge to schedule a hearing on Jan. 3rd in order to hear the defense's request to have the stepfather, Royce Zeigler's experts examine the little girl's body.

Riley's mother, Kimberly Trenor and stepfather Zeigler were both charged with Capital Murder on December 12th by the Galveston County Grand Jury in Galveston, Texas. Their original bail of 350,000 was raised to 750,000.

Trenor's attorney, Tommy Stickler, said that he may also request permission for his experts to examine Riley's body unless the prosecutor makes autopsy records available. According to Stickler the prosecutor has refused to release the cause of death.

Riley's family, her father, Robert Sawyers and his mother, Sheryl, are back in Mentor, Ohio where Riley was born and lived there until her mother Kimberly took Riley to Texas last summer. Kimberly had an online relationship with Royce Zeigler. They married in June and settled in Spring, Texas.

"But right now the prosecutor won't even tell us what the cause of death is," Stickler said.

Riley was two years and 8 months old when it's alleged on July 24th Royce and Kimberly beat the little girl with leather belts then held her head underwater. The autopsy showed three skull fractures to the back of Riley's head. Riley's body was found at the end of November on a small uninhabited island in West Galveston Bay. Authorities released a composite sketch which Sheryl Sawyers recognized as possibly little Riley.

Kimberly and Royce are in the Galveston County Jail. It's reported that Kimberly Trenor is pregnant.

Little Riley's body will remain in Galveston for the unforeseeable future while her family waits for her return.

By LBG
Source - Houston Chronicle - Zeigler seeks to delay release of body
Image [wkyc.com]




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Riley Sawyers: Mom, Stepfather Claim Their Innocence

Riley Sawyers

Now that capital murder charges have been filed in the case of Riley Sawyers,'Baby Grace,' it's interesting to look back and see when and how the attorneys of Kimberly Trenor and Royce Zeigler began to defend their clients to the "court of public appeal' or potential jurors.

The defense of Kimberly Trenor began back at the end of November on the 28th when her attorney, Tom Stickler, told the media, four days after Trenor and Zeigler's arrest that there “there was no intentional desire to kill Riley.” [1]

Trenor gave a three hour videotaped interview on November 23. Accompanied by Stickler, Trenor's statement was used as probable cause in the arrest of both Trenor and Zeigler.

In the Affadavit to arrest Trenor and Zeigler on the charges of Injury of a Child, Trenor maintains that she and Zeigler spent at least 2 - 4 hours "beating" Riley. That she, Trenor, only engaged in hitting her little girl with a leather belt and holding Riley's head underwater while it was Zeigler who picked Riley up by her hair and threw her across the room, her tiny head hitting the tile floor. Trenor states that Riley was put "face first on her bed" and also "face first into the couch" but no mention in the affidavit of who it was who did this to Riley. According to Trenor, Zeigler gave Riley children's pain medication and that after Riley was dead, Zeigler laid a "purple towel" over the little girl's body. [2]

Trenor described her husband, Royce Zeigler, 24, as “authoritarian,” and said he was unaware of her decision to talk to authorities. [1]

According to Trenor, Zeigler stayed home from work on July 24 because his wife was not spanking Riley with a leather belt as his discipline plan directed.

That day, he used a second leather belt to whip the child, because the first one wasn’t big or thick enough to get the response from Riley that he wanted. [1]

Kimberly Trenor Ziegler's attorney, Tom Stickler, says that after the child was battered and her limp body wrapped in black trash bags and placed in a plastic storage container back in July, her stepfather, Royce Zeigler of Spring, poured concrete into the box before stashing her in a backyard shed for a month or two. [4]

Weeks later, after the couple drove to Galveston one late night and tossed the child off the Causeway, the stepfather panicked because the box didn't sink -- it floated west of the bridge, Stickler said. Royce Zeigler, 24, told his wife he should have put holes in the box, the lawyer says. [4]

Stickler says Trenor went along with the plan to dispose of her daughter’s remains because she was scared of her husband, whom she had married only a month before.

Stickler said his client “wanted to tell somebody from the beginning.” [1]

Court documents indicate that Zeigler attempted suicide the weekend before his wife spoke to investigators, leaving a note that said, “My wife is innocent of the sins I committed.” [1]

Juxtaposed against Trenor's attorney's statements, which paint Zeigler as the "leader," is Zeigler's attorney maintaining his client's innocence.

Neal Davis III, Zeigler's attorney, said Trenor's story isn't believable, from the information included in a chilling arrest affidavit.

"She is placing all the blame on Royce, but I think that once the facts come to light, once the timeline's established and the evidence is combed through ... I think her credibility is gonna become a big issue," Davis said. [3]
The day after the Galveston County Grand Jury returned with Capital Murder indictments Zeigler's attorney appealed to the future jury pool who may sit and a decide his client's fate.

"The death of this innocent child, however, was absolutely not caused by any action attributed to my client," Neal Davis III said in a statement. [4]

Zeigler's attorney Davis maintains his client's innocence:

Zeigler "is positively not guilty of the offense for which he stands charged," Davis added.[4]

Trenor's attorney claims the mother of Riley Sawyers had "no intentional desire" to kill her little daughter.

Zeigler's attorney claims his client is "positively not guilty of the offense he stands charged."

Neither one of these statements tells us that their clients are not guilty of killing little Riley Sawyers, only that Trenor's desire wasn't intentional and that Zeigler is not guilty of capital murder, at least as far as his attorney is concerned.

Any statements released by either attorney on behalf of their clients are tailored to appeal to the potential jury pool, the people who will someday be sitting in judgment of their clients.

At this point these are merely statements while the facts are a little girl is dead while the two people who were there, her mother and step-father, now claim they are both innocent. We won't know if the attorney's work at softening the potential jury pool in favor of their clients has worked until the foreman of the jury stands before the judge and reads the final verdict.

Whatever the verdict the only truly innocent in this sad story was Riley Sawyers.

By LBG

Source - 1 - KHOU-TV
Source - 2 - DBKP - Riley Sawyers: Capital Murder Charges and Probable Cause
Source - 3 - CBSNews.com
Source - 4 - abc13.com



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Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: He Says, She Says Battle Begins

Clyde Zeigler's attorney says he's innocent

The opening salvo was launched a few minutes ago in what is expected to be a fight to the death between Kimberly Trenor and Clyde Zeigler II.

The mother and stepfather of Riley Sawyers, until recently only known to the world as "Baby Grace" began a few minutes ago when Zeigler's attorney, Neal Davis III, issued a statement saying that Zeigler "is positively not guilty of the offense for which he stands charged".

The battle begins between the two people present when 2-year-old Riley Sawyers was savagely beaten to death in July.

It's a fight to death as Zeigler and Trenor were both indicted by a Texas grand jury yesterday in the savage beating death of 2-year-old Riley Sawyers, then dumping her body in Galveston Bay.

The storage container containing the body was found by a fisherman after it washed up on a sandbar a little over 6 weeks ago.

Both Zeigler and Trenor could face the death penalty in Texas, if convicted.

Trenor had previously told reporters that Zeigler 'had lost control while disciplining Riley'.

Kimberly Trenor says he did it

MORE:

An attorney for the stepfather accused of killing the toddler known as 'Baby Grace' said Thursday that his client didn't kill the girl, and blamed her mother for mischaracterizing what happened.

Kimberly Dawn Trenor unfairly pinned the blame for 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyer's death on her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, the attorney said.

"The death of this innocent child, however, was absolutely not caused by any action attributed to my client," Neal Davis III said in a statement.

Trenor's attorney, Tommy Stickler Jr., wasn't immediately available for comment, his secretary said.

The couple was charged Wednesday with capital murder and tampering with evidence, and could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole if convicted.

Trenor told Galveston County authorities that she and her husband of less than two months beat the girl with leather belts, held her head underwater in a bathtub and threw her across a room, her head slamming into a tile floor. She said they kept her body in a shed for one to two months before dumping it in the bay.

Trenor's attorney told reporters shortly after the two were arrested that Zeigler had lost control while disciplining Riley for failing to say "please" and "yes sir."

Riley Sawyers' life lasted 2 years

Davis initially declined to comment on Trenor's account beyond saying it wasn't credible. But on Thursday, he released a statement saying her "misstatements" led to Wednesday's indictment.

Zeigler "is positively not guilty of the offense for which he stands charged," Davis added.

So now the battle of who actually killed the little 2-year-old begins.

Expect a statement from Trenor's attorney in the very near future.

Cornered by the law, Clyde Zeigler and Kimberly Trenor will both point fingers at the other as they battle to stay alive.

A battle that little Riley Sawyers lost in July.

by Mondoreb
[images: ap]
Sources:
Attorney Says Stepdad Didn't Kill Toddler Known as Baby Grace
Jury Brings Capital Charges
Capital Murder Charges and Probable Cause



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Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: Grand Jury Brings Capital Charges

It took only three minutes for the Galveston County Grand Jury to decide to charge the mother and stepfather of little Riley Sawyers with Capital Murder in the death of the little two and 1/2-year-old girl.

Kimberly Trenor and Royce Clyde Zeigler II also face charges of tampering with evidence for allegedly putting Riley Ann Sawyers' body into Galveston Bay.

During the three-hour presentation, the grand jury heard testimony from five witnesses, including the FBI and the Galveston County Sheriff's Office.[1]

No word yet on if the decision has been made as to whether Galveston County Prosecutor Kurt Sistrunk will call for the Death Penalty.

Five witnesses, three hours of testimony, three minutes to deliberate, two charges of Capital Murder. The wheels of justice have begun to move for Riley Sawyers.

By LBG
Source - 1 - KHOU.com
Image [amysteinart.com]



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Riley Sawyers: Capital Murder Charges and Probable Cause

Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk is going before the grand jury today to seek capital murder charges against the mother and step-father of little two-year-old Riley Sawyers.

Riley Ann Sawyers

Kimberly Trenor and Royce Zeigler are being held on the lesser charges of injury to a child and tampering with evidence, their bonds, $350,000.

When the couple was arrested Nov. 24, they were not charged with capital murder because the investigation was still under way and DNA evidence had not yet confirmed whether Trenor’s daughter was the body investigators were trying to identify, Sistrunk said. [1]

The difference between the Injury to a Child charge and Capital Murder is intent.

Kimberly Trenor

In a Capital Murder case, which the death penalty can be sought, prosecutors have to prove the defendants did "knowingly and intentionally" kill their victim. The maximum sentence for the "injury to a child" indictment is 99 years. The maximum sentence for Capital Murder, the death penalty. Prosecutor Sistrunk hasn't revealed if he will seek the death penalty against either defendant if the Galveston County Grand Jury returns with the Capital Murder indictments.

Royce Zeigler

Trenor's attorney, Tom Stickler, argues that "the death was an accident" therefore disqualifying his client from any possible Capital Murder charge.

“The facts here don’t support the ‘knowingly’ part,” he said. “When this case is completely discussed, the facts will show that.” [1]

The Affidavits For Probable Cause issued against Trenor and Zeigler reveal that according to Trenor on the morning of July 24th Trenor did "then and there unlawfully, intentionally or knowingly cause serious bodily injury to Riley Ann Sawyers, a child 14 years of age or younger, by hitting, holding her head under water, slamming her body to the floor." [2]

Trenor maintains that she and Zeigler spent at least 2 - 4 hours "beating" Riley. That she, Trenor, only engaged in hitting her little girl with a leather belt and holding Riley's head underwater while it was Zeigler who picked Riley up by her hair and threw her across the room, her tiny head hitting the tile floor. Trenor states that Riley was put "face first on her bed" and also "face first into the couch" but no mention in the affidavit of who it was who did this to Riley. According to Trenor, Zeigler gave Riley children's pain medication and that after Riley was dead, Zeigler laid a "purple towel" over the little girl's body.

In the end the autopsy showed that Riley suffered three skull fractures to the back of her head.

It was Trenor's statements that were used in both Probable Cause Affidavits, Zeigler is not mentioned as giving a statement. At this time both Trenor and Zeigler are being held on the same charges. At today's Grand Jury hearing Prosecutor Sistrunk has said he will ask the jury to come back with Capital Murder indictments.

When considering the charges and weighing the evidence we can't help but wonder if Trenor's defense of Riley's death being an "accident" will hold weight with the jury. An accident that lasted several hours and consisted of beating little two-year and eight months old Riley with leather belts, taking turns holding her head underwater. Pushing her face into her bed and couch, throwing her around the room, and whatever else that occurred which resulted in three skull fractures and a little girl's lifeless body.

Unlike Riley, Trenor and Zeigler will get to plead their case before a jury. If convicted of Capital Murder charges and the possibility of the Death Penalty, their attorneys will have the opportunity to plead for their client's lives.

On July 24th, Riley Sawyers had no one to plead for her life. The one person who could have, should have protected her was her mother, Kimberly Trenor. Now Kimberly sits in Galveston County Jail, her fate resting in the hands of a future jury.

The jury little Riley Sawyers never had.

By LBG
Image [michelebernard.files.wordpress.com]
Source - 1 - khou.com
Source - 2 - State Of Texas - Affidavit For Probable Cause - Kimberly Trenor
Source - 3 - State of Texas - Affidavit For Probable Cause - Royce Zeigler



Back to Front Page.

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: Memorial Service in Ohio, But Riley Was Known Worldwide

Mourners left wooden crosses, angels and other reminders of a 2-year-old girl that made headlines worldwide as "Baby Grace".

The memorial service, held in Mentor, OH, previously the home of Riley Sawyers and her family, before she and her mother moved to Texas.

Riley, whose body was identified as that of Baby Grace, was beaten and tortured by her mother, Kimberly Trenor, and her husband/companion, Clyde Zeigler II.

"Hundreds came Sunday to the Brunner Funeral Home to remember Riley Sawyers and other loved ones as part of the Brunner's Annual Tree of Remembrance Service. Those who honored their family also took a moment to comfort family and friends of Riley, whose body was found floating in a plastic container in Galveston Bay this summer."

Riley's relatives are touched by the support and telephone calls they are receiving from around the country, said Laura DePledge, the Sawyers' attorney. Relatives are raising money to help bring Riley's body to Ohio to be buried.

Donations can be made in her name at the FirstMerit Bank, 7800 Reynolds Road, Mentor, 44060.

Though the physical memorial service was held in Ohio, Riley Sawyers and "Baby Grace" will be mourned much further away.

When it was speculated that Baby Grace's body might be that of Madeline McCann, a missing English girl, papers all over the United Kingdom and Europe carried her story.

In Texas, after the body of Baby Grace was found, people volunteered time and information hoping to help identify her. Tips from all over the world poured in. Police worked around the clock to sift through these bits of hope.

People sent in money to raise a reward fund. Candlelight vigils were held. People prayed.

One man in England wrote President Bush, asking why more wasn't done to find out why more wasn't being done to identify Baby Grace.

Letters and comments from Scotland, England, France and elsewhere speculated who this small girl might be.

Now the world knows: it was Riley Sawyers.

People gathered in Ohio to mourn Riley: some had known her, some had not, but all were saddened by her story.

Sunday, hundreds of people in Mentor, OH said prayers and honored the memory of Riley Sawyers.

Thousands upon thousands elsewhere, from all over the world, sent their thoughts and prayers to join them.

by Mondoreb
[image:rocksaltplum]

Source:
Cleveland Plain Dealer - Mourners Recall Riley "Baby Grace" Sawyers



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: DNA Confirms Match

Two weeks after twenty-year-old Robert Sawyers submitted DNA samples to the Galveston County Sheriff's Department and the FBI the results are finally in. It's now official, Baby Grace, the little unidentified girl whose body, encased in a plastic tote, was found by a fisherman October 29th on Galveston Bay, is Riley Sawyers.

Riley's mother, Kimberly Trenor, and her step-father, Royce Zeigler, sit in the Galveston County Jail, both charged with evidence tampering and injury to a child.

With Baby Grace’s identity confirmed, District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk will consider upgrading the charges filed against the girl’s mother and stepfather, Tuttoilmondo said.

Trenor and Zeigler were charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence on Nov. 24. They’re being held on bonds of $350,000 each. [1]

Kimberly Trenor gave a statement to the authorities on the 23rd. Robert Sawyers, Riley's father had submitted his DNA a week earlier. Kimberly had to of known that the authorities were very close to establishing that "Baby Grace" was in fact, Kimberly's 2 1/2 year old daughter. That once the DNA results came in Kimberly's little world would come crumbling down.

In her statement to the Galveston authorities Kimberly admitted that she and Royce had beaten Riley to death on 24th of July. They had bought a plastic storage container at Walmart that evening and put Riley's body into it then placed the storage container in the shed in the backyard.

As of yet no mention of the date Kimberly and Royce drove to the Galveston Causeway, 75 miles southeast of Spring and left Riley in her little plastic coffin.

The Galveston authorities and FBI are to be commended for their tireless efforts in working to identify Baby Grace and to find to persons responsible for her death.

It was revealed yesterday that Kimberly is pregnant, that she and Royce have begun to point fingers at one another in who was the one responsible for Riley's death.

The mystery of who Baby Grace is was finally solved by DNA. The mystery of why Kimberly and Royce decided to beat little Riley to death will take longer to unravel.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Sawyers family.

By LBG

Source - [1]Galveston County Daily News
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page

Riley Sawyer's Pregnant Mother: Riley Needed "Manners"

It was day like any other late July day in East Texas, hot and muggy, when Royce Zeigler, 24, decided to stay home from work to help 19-year-old Kimberly, his new bride of less than two months, "discipline" Riley.

Riley had become a problem. The little two 1/2-year-old girl didn't have any "manners". She refused to learn how to say things such as "thank you" or "yes sir" or "please."

According to Kimberly, Royce wanted her to use a belt to spank Riley.

No one knows what happened that day other than Kimberly Ziegler's statement on November 24th to the investigators at the Galveston County Sheriff's Department.

Kimberly told a horrifically sadistic tale, one of where the little girl was beaten with leather belts, of holding Riley's head under water, of pillows being used to smother Riley, of Royce grabbing Riley by her hair and throwing her across the room, her tiny head hitting the hard tile floor. Royce giving Riley cold medication, of Riley, now dead, being covered by a purple towel.

Kimberly went on to tell how that evening they got into their vehicle and drove to Walmart to search for something they could store Riley's body in. How they walked the aisles until they found a blue plastic Sterling storage tote, a "Walmart" casket for little Riley.

They wrapped Riley in plastic and then laid her into the storage tote. They then put the storage tote in the shed that sat out in the back yard. Little Riley stayed in that shed, day after day, night after night, her body decomposing in the hot humid Texas heat while Royce and Kimberly thought about what to do next.

Eventually they drove 75 miles to the Galveston Causeway with the storage tote containing Riley in the back. It was there at the Causeway that Royce and Kimberly left Riley believing their troubles were finally over. No one would know who this little girl was, if anyone ever found her. At least they hoped.

On October 29th, approximately 105 days since that fateful morning when Royce stayed home from work to teach Kimberly how to "discipline" Riley, a fisherman near Green's Cut found a blue plastic storage tote, inside the decomposing body of a little girl.

Riley's father, 20-year-old Robert Sawyers of Mentor, Ohio, is finding it difficult to believe Kimberly could have been involved.

"I never thought she could do anything like this," Robert Sawyers, of Mentor, Ohio, said in an interview on NBC's Today show.

"I mean, she loved Riley . . . You can't not love that little girl
the first time you see her, you know," said Sawyers, 20. "It's
heart-wrenching to think she might have done this to such a beautiful
little girl." [1]

Royce's attorney, Neal Davis III, has said that Kimberly is pointing the finger of blame at Royce in an attempt to save herself.

Once we start sorting through these facts, her credibility will be a big issue."
Davis said it's too early to know what prompted the beating.

"Before we make any kind of comment about what would provoke that and who was
provoked, we need to delve into the facts," he said.[1]

It has been also reported that Kimberly is pregnant and housed in the medical wing of the Galveston County Jail.

Trenor (Kimberly) is being kept in the medical wing probably out of fear that
other inmates might attack her because of the nature of the
allegations, Child Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin said.

Galveston County sheriff's spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said he
is prevented by law from discussing an inmate's medical condition, but
in general, inmates are isolated when other inmates pose a threat.

If Trenor gives birth while in custody, she will not be allowed to
keep the child, Olguin said. She said Trenor is 5 feet 7 inches tall
and 125 pounds and does not show, so it's unlikely that she is more
than two months pregnant.[1]

On a hot and muggy late July day in East Texas, 24-year-old Royce Zeigler decided to stay home from work in order to show his 19-year-old new bride Kimberly how to teach her little 2 /12-year-old daughter Riley, some "manners." How to say "thank you, please, and yes sir."

Source - Houston Chronicle
Source - Riley Sawyers: Mother's Grim Tale of Abuse and Death

By LGB





DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers, Madeline McCann: Complete DBKP Story and Video Listing

COMPLETE LISTING:
Baby Grace stories by Death By 1000 Papercuts
[updated: December 11, 2007]

The story of "Baby Grace", whose body was discovered on a sandbar in a cooler, near Galveston TX on October 29, 2007. The body turned out to be that of 2-year-old Riley Sawyers.

Madeline McCann's story is that of a 4-year-old girl, abducted from her parents' resort room while the family was on vacation in Portugal.

Some speculated for awhile that Baby Grace may have been the missing Madeline. Her whereabouts is still unknown.

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers, Madeline McCann:

He Says, She Says Battle Begins

Grand Jury Bring Capital Charges

Capital Murder Charges and Probable Cause

Riley Sawyers' Pregnant Mother: Riley Needed Some "Manners"

Case Has Had False Leads and Alarms

Additional Charges, Additional Questions

Mother's Grim Tale of Abuse and Death

Madeline McCann:"Killed by a Pedophile"

Mother Beat, Tortured Toddler

22 Other Little Girls to be Investigated

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: Our Deepest Sympathy

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: Couple Arrested

Riley Sawyers: Where is She? What's Happened to Her?

Baby Grace and the Little Lost Girl, Riley Sawyers

Grandmother Believes Baby Grace is Granddaughter

Baby Grace and Riley Sawyers Possible Match

Baby Grace: FBI Reward Comparison

Police Follow Tip to Dead End; Missing Girl

FBI Now to Announce $20,000 Reward

FBI Offers $20,000 Reward But No Press Release; The Madeline McCann Connection

VIDEO Who Is Baby Grace: A Video Timeline

Baby Grace: A Timeline - "She Could Be From Any Place in the World"

VIDEO Hundreds of Tips Flood Police

Baby Grace, Madeline McCann and the Little Lost Girls

Three Possible Matches Found

Baby Grace Not Only Missing Little Girl

Is Baby Grace Madeline McCann?

The Heartbreaking Story of Baby Grace


MADELINE McCANN

Case Has Had False Leads and Alarms

Madeline McCann:"Killed by a Pedophile"

by Little Baby Ginn & Mondoreb

Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: Additional Charges, Additional Questions

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."--Albert Einstein

2-year-old Riley Sawyers was savagely and repeatedly beaten and tortured until she was dead. The punishment was inflicted on her by her alleged mother--the one person a defenseless toddler turns to for protection and comfort.

Kimberly Dawn Trenor and her accomplice/boyfriend/husband completed their vile deed and then stashed the little girl's body in a storage shed. After many days, they took a trip to buy their Wal-Mart version of Riley's casket: a cooler commonly used for picnics.

At that moment, Trenor's mothering instinct apparently asserted itself: Riley Sawyer's body was found wrapped in plastic and laid in her temporary resting place. It was set adrift in Galveston Bay, to be found on a sandbar by a fisherman.

It's a mystery why they treated Riley's body more gently after she was dead than when she was living through what must have been her last confused, hurting, terror-filled moments.

Her mother described to police how she "beat the child with leather belts and held her head under water in the bathtub. She said Zeigler picked the girl up by her hair and also threw her across the room, slamming her head into the tile floor."

Speculation

The charges currently against the pair consist of tampering with evidence and injuring the child. What additional charges they face is speculation at this moment.

The final scene described by Trenor is one where acts were committed that were devoid of any human emotion.

That would seem to rule out various "done in haste" or "in the heat of the moment" defenses. What the charges will be and what kind of defense will be offered, if any, is again speculation.

Zigler reportedly tried to end his life last week as the police closed in, leaving behind a note that "his wife was not responsible". He was less successful at ending his own life than that of his companion's 2-year-old.

Was that an attempt at achieving a nobility in death that was missing in his life?

The questions heard most often asked by readers who emailed or commented at this point: How could a mother do this to her baby? Why did it have to be so violent? Why not give the child to someone who loved her?

It's hard to say why little Riley death was so gruesome.

If the child was a bother, why not contact the grandmother in Ohio or the father?

Both made repeated efforts to contact Kimberly Dawn Trenor.

There has been talk of a custody struggle between the Kimberly Dawn Trenor and Riley's father.

The final sadistic acts committed on the person of Riley Sawyers are easier to understand if Riley isn't viewed as a human being; as a little, defenseless child.

Those acts are a little easier to understand if one sees her two-year-old daughter, Riley Sawyers, not as most would view her--a helpless toddler, crying out in fear and panic at her final treatment--but as Kimberly Dawn Trenor apparently saw her.

Not as a child, but as a pawn.

by Mondoreb

Sources:
Mother's Grim Tale of Abuse and Death
Toddler Tortured: Little Riley Never Had a Chance




Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers: Mother's Grim Tale of Abuse and Death

Major Ray Tuttoilmondo, Galveston County

Sheriff's Department (James Nielson: Chronicle)

The grim details of the last days of little Riley "Baby Grace" Sawyers life have begun to emerge.

From today's Galveston County Daily News:

In an interview, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 19, of Spring, told investigators that she and her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler, 24, beat her daughter with two leather belts the morning of July 24, an affidavit says.

They also held her head underwater in the bathtub and Zeigler picked her up by her hair and threw her across the room, slamming her head into tile floor, the affidavit says.

An autopsy on Oct. 30 found that the child had three skull fractures on the back of her head.

The pair also smothered the girl by pushing her face into a pillow in her room and into the cushions of a couch, the affidavit says.

Trenor told investigators that, during the beating, her husband gave the girl child’s pain medication and covered her with a purple towel after she was dead, the affidavit says. [1]

Kimberly and Royce went to Walmart for the specific purpose of picking out a "suitable" container to dispose of little Riley's dead body. One can imagine the two walking the fluorescent lit aisles, looking at various sized plastic containers until choosing the "right" one.

They then wrapped her in plastic and placed her in a blue plastic tote. They put the tote out in a storage shed in the backyard of their Spring home. The authorities are not quite sure how long little Riley's body was kept there, anywhere from one to two months.



One could see Kimberly looking out the kitchen window to the storage shed where her daughter's body lay while she washed the dishes or cooked dinner. Of Royce mowing the lawn or waving to the neighbors, the children who played in the yards next door. Of Kimberly and Royce talking in quiet whispers, discussing where they could take Riley, where no one would ever find the evidence of what they had done.

The couple took the remains in their car and tossed them into the water near the Galveston Causeway, the affidavit says.

On Oct. 29, a fisherman found the plastic bin with the little girl inside.[1]

When the plastic storage tote containing Riley's body was found resting on a sand bar the Galveston County Sheriff's Department took over the investigation. They found her wrapped in plastic, she wore a little pink skirt and matching blouse, little tennis shoes that flashed bright lights from the heels. No one had reported a little girl missing. No one knew who this little girl in the plastic tote was. They released a composite sketch of Riley and dubbed her "Baby Grace." [2]


Did Kimberly and Royce see the newspaper and media reports about the unidentified "Baby Grace" case? Did they discuss the case with neighbors? Did they believe that dumping Riley's body into Galveston Bay would be the end, that somehow, they would be in the clear?

They both sit in Galveston County Jail. One wonders what possible defense their attorney's will present. Bets are, they'll soon point the finger of blame at each other.

[1] - Galveston County Daily News
[2] - Baby Grace and the Little Lost Girl, Riley Sawyers

By LBG



DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Madeline McCann: "Killed by a Pedophile"

Madeline: photo taken the day she was abducted

On the same day that gruesome details of how Riley Sawyers ("Riley Sawyers Mother Tortured Her: Little Riley Never Had a Chance") died were released, news of what investigators now believe happened to Madeline McCann come to light.

It is not good news for those who had hoped she is still alive.

Police investigators in Portugal, where the 4-year-old was abducted, now believe that a pedophile killed her during a break-in at the resort room where she and her parents had been vacationing.

They were put out by the Telegraph in "Madeleine 'killed in moment of thwarted desire'":

Madeleine McCann was killed by a paedophile in a moment of "thwarted desire" before being taken from her Algarve holiday apartment, police investigating her disappearance believe, it has been claimed.

Her parents have all but been ruled out as suspects now. Originally, police had offered her mother a two-year sentence if she would confess.

Detectives now believe she was taken by an intruder who panicked and suffocated her to stop her from screaming, it was alleged.

They are close to abandoning the theory that Kate and Gerry McCann were responsible for their daughter's disappearance and will instead focus on the man seen walking away from the apartment carrying a child in his arms.

The U-turn has been suggested after a review of the case by senior detective Paulo Rebelo, 45, who took over the investigation in October.

Respected Portuguese daily Publico on Monday published a chilling recreation of what it claimed police now believe may have been Madeleine's final few seconds of life.

"It was a moment. An unexpected event thwarted the prospect of desire. Madeleine cries as she wakes from her sleep. Her fear makes itself heard," the newspaper said. "She has to be silenced. Violence, suffocation probably. And unexpected death.

"All over in minutes. Now he had to get her out of there. Close the door. Flee as fast as he could.

"The theory this is the explanation behind Madeleine's McCann's disappearance, the night of May 3, was practically ruled out previously by police investigators.

"Now though, it's gaining strength in the centre of the investigation."

Private detectives hired by the McCann family are investigating a possible link between Madeline and a local girl that was abducted in 2004.

Joana Cipriano, 8, disappeared from her home in the Algarve village of Figueria, 10 miles from Praia da Luz in September 2004. She has never been found.

Her mother Leonor, 36, and uncle, Joao, 35, were convicted of murder after Ms Cipriano confessed to the crime during police questioning.

She later retracted her confession, claiming it was forced during a beating by detectives, but was found guilty and sentenced to 16 years in jail. Her lawyers claim she is innocent and are appealing.

On Monday it emerged that Metodo 3 are looking into Joana's case to see if there is anything to link it with Madeleine's disappearance.

"There may be a connection," one of the Spanish detectives told Portuguese newspaper Diario de Noticias.

"We are following all leads," he said.

Sad news on both the Baby Grace/Riley Sawyers and Madeline McCann cases on the same day.

For Riley Sawyers' family, the hope that she was still alive has been extinguished. The details of how she died are not pretty.

For the family of Madeline McCann, there still burns a small spark of hope that she might still be alive.

Today's news did nothing but dampen that spark.

by Mondoreb
notes by Little Baby Ginn
[image: The Telegraph]




Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

Baby Grace, Riley Sawyers Mother Beat, Tortured Toddler "Little Riley Never Had a Chance"

Kimberly Trenor: Mother savagely beat her 2-year-old daughter

UPDATE: 00:22 EST 11-27-07 AP: Zeigler attempted suicide last week:

Zeigler attempted suicide last week and wrote a note saying, "My wife is innocent of the sins that I committed," according to the court documents, which were filed Saturday and first reported Monday by Houston television station KTRK.

"Little Riley Sawyers never had a chance".

That was one staff reaction after reading the gruesome details of the last days of 2-year-old Riley Sawyers and the trauma she underwent.

A picture of a mother beating and torturing her 2-year-old toddler with help from the step-father has just emerged from police records.

The last days of the little girl were not pleasant ones.

The mother, Kimberly Tenor, originally told investigators that the girl was handed over to "someone with papers from Ohio".

The latest story told investigators how the the little girl was handed over to Death.

From the AP's Documents: Mom Describes Killing Girl, 2:

A woman believed to be the mother of a 2-year-old whose body was found in Galveston Bay told police she and the girl's stepfather beat and tortured the child to death, court documents show.

The details, in a statement Kimberly Dawn Trenor gave to police, paint a chilling picture of the last days of the girl investigators called "Baby Grace" as they worked for weeks to learn her identity.

Investigators are awaiting DNA test results but said Monday they are "fairly confident" that the body a fisherman found in a plastic box Oct. 29 is that of Riley Ann Sawyers. Trenor, 19, and her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, were in custody on charges of hurting the girl.
Clyde Zeigler II: Accomplice in gruesome death of toddler
"It was a few weeks ago I held up this little shoe and asked, 'Who is Baby Grace? Who does this belong to?'" sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said at a news conference. "We're now fairly confident we know the answer to that."

An autopsy revealed three skull fractures, but the cause of death has not been determined.

Tuttoilmondo said he could not discuss details of the little girl's death, but Trenor said in her police statement, first reported by Houston television station KTRK, that she and Zeigler, 24, killed her July 24.

The girl was beaten with leather belts, had her head held underwater in a bathtub and then was thrown across a room, her head slamming into a tile floor, Trenor said in the document. She said they kept the body in a storage shed for one to two months before they put it in a plastic bin and dumped it into Galveston Bay.

Trenor's attorney, Tom Stickler, said she has cooperated with authorities. He declined to comment about her statement to investigators.

"But from what she said, there is no doubt that the girl found is Riley Sawyers," Stickler said.

Trenor and Zeigler were arrested early Saturday and charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence, Tuttoilmondo said. Bail was set at $350,000 each. The couple's next court appearance was expected to be scheduled on Tuesday.

Wendell Odom, Zeigler's attorney, declined to comment on the case except to say Zeigler grew up in Spring, about 75 miles north of Galveston, and works as an instrument technician in the oil industry.

Trenor and Zeigler met a couple of years ago playing an online game, World of Warcraft, and she moved with her daughter from suburban Cleveland to Spring in June, Stickler said.

Riley's paternal grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers, hadn't seen her granddaughter in months when she saw a police sketch of "Baby Grace." Thinking it might be Riley, she called authorities in Texas.

In Mentor, Ohio, on Monday, Sawyers wiped away tears at a news conference and held up the Elmo doll she had already bought Riley for Christmas.

"It's hard to think that I'll never see her again," she said.

The Sawyers family's attorney, Laura DePledge, said they take comfort in knowing that the girl is "resting peacefully and is no longer subject to abuse."

DePledge said Trenor and Sawyers' son, Robert Sawyers, also of Mentor, had been high school sweethearts. Sheryl Sawyers said she has not seen Riley since the girl and Trenor moved to Texas.

Robert Sawyers, who works in an auto-parts store, was never married to Trenor but lived with her and their daughter in his parents' home for about two years. He and Trenor split up after March 31, when he was charged with domestic violence against her.

DePledge said there was insufficient evidence to support the charge, which was reduced to disorderly conduct. Robert Sawyers is now married and has a 3-month-old son.
Riley Sawyers: Never had a chance
Riley "had a very big imagination for such a little girl," he said of his daughter. "She could play with anything and have fun with it."

Tuttoilmondo said Trenor had told relatives that someone claiming to be a social worker from Ohio took the girl in July.

Tuttoilmondo said investigators became emotionally involved in determining the little girl's identity.

"Any way you look at it, we carry a piece of her with us and will always carry a little piece of her with us," he said. "She's still our little girl."

From CNN, "Mother describes beating of 2-year-old, hiding her body":

Before dying, 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers was beaten with belts, picked up by her hair, thrown across the room and held under water, according to an affidavit from the Galveston County Sheriff's Office.

Kimberly Trenor's testimony raises some troubling questions.

Why?

Was Kimbler Trenor like this prior to moving to Texas?

Why did she fail in any mother primary job: that of protecting her offspring?

How can a mother kill a defenseless, little girl who couldn't fight back? A little girl whose only protection was her mother?

After the violent beating death of the two-year-old, why carefully lay the baby in a cooler, wrapped in plastic?

Why did the pair stay in place in Harris County instead of attempting to flee?

Probably more information will come out in the weeks to come and in the trial. For now, however, the details are enough to anger or sadden any parent.

More charges should be forthcoming, as it is evident that more than tampering with evidence and injury to a child occurred.

For those who have followed the story, the mysterious case of establishing the identity of Baby Grace appears to be over and, like most stories will be forgotten at some point.

For a family in Ohio, it will take longer and the story will not be forgotten.

The gruesome details of the death of Riley Sawyers stick in one's mind.

by Mondoreb
notes by Little Baby Ginn

The thoughts and prayers of DBKP go out to Riley's father and his family

MORE ON RILEY SAWYERS, BABY GRACE in upper left-hand corner of page.



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.