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
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page

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



Back to Front Page.

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



Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

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]



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.

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: 22 Other Missing Little Girls to Be Investigated

The news conference announcing the details behind the arrests of Riley Sawyers' mother, Kimberly Trenor, and her companion Royce Zeigler II revealed that the original tip that lead them to the pair came from Ohio.

Police also were "fairly confident" Riley Sawyers was Baby Grace, the name police gave the little girl whose body was washed ashore outside Galeveston TX last month in a cooler.

Police said tips came in from "around the world" concerning Baby Grace, including several concerning Madeline McCann, the English girl who disappeared from her parents' resort room in Portugal earlier this year.

The McCann case has been getting major coverage in the U.K. and many people are following its twists and turns carefully.

The police spokesman, Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, also stated that investigators now would turn their attention to 22 other missing little girls.

"We still need the public's help because we still have 22 little girls with question marks by their names," Tuttoilmondo said.

The press would do well to start doing some checking into these 22 other little girls: Who are they? What is their story? Without the coverage Baby Grace began to receive in the press, the Riley Sawyers' arrests may never have come about.

No missing persons reports were filed in Riley Sawyers' case.

When press accounts of the Baby Grace case reached Mentor, Ohio, they spurred the father's family and Riley Sawyers' grandmother to start asking some questions. It was this checking and these questions which led police to Saturday's arrests.

DBKP is going to be examining these same questions: Who are these 22 little girls?

We have the names of three: Deonna Shipman, Karen Matusiewicz, Celestia Langille, as well as Langrille's brother, Everett. These are four altogether from the United States. There is still the case of McCann from the U.K.

From CNN, concerning today's press conference:
Police Say "Likely" Riley Sawyers is Baby Grace

Police said Monday that they are "fairly confident" that the toddler whose body washed ashore in Texas last month is 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers.

That says it all: a little bitty shoe," said Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo of the Galveston County Sheriff's Department, holding up a child's pink and white sneaker at a news conference Monday.

The mother, her story of the child's disappearance and the background of Riley Sawyers follows.

Riley's mother and a man identified as her boyfriend were arrested Saturday. Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 19, and Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 24, are accused of injuring a child and tampering with physical evidence, the sheriff's department said.

The couple lives in Spring, Texas, a Houston suburb about 75 miles north of Galveston. Previously, Riley and her mother had lived in Mentor, Ohio.

They reportedly told relatives that Riley was taken by social workers from Ohio in July.

The arrests followed searches Saturday that were the result of a tip from family members in Ohio that came in on November 7, the sheriff's department said.

The girl's grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers, of Cleveland, Ohio, told CNN affiliate WKYC that Riley Ann has been missing since June. Police said she was last seen alive in Texas three or four months ago.

The girl's family in Ohio has been "very helpful" in this case, Tuttoilmondo said, adding that the FBI and a Galveston County police officer visited with the family in Ohio on Sunday.

There may have been a custody dispute between the child's mother and her paternal family, Tuttoilmondo said. "There was some issue with that. How far it had gone, I'm not sure."

Investigators circulated composite sketches of a little girl wearing a pink skirt and matching top -- clothing authorities said she was wearing when she was found. The other sketch, a close-up rendering of the child's face, shows a fair-skinned toddler with long blond hair.

More on the 22 girls whose leads the police say they will next be examining.

Tuttoilmondo said tips poured in from "around the world." Many of the callers said they knew a child who resembled the composite.

Investigators were able to track down more than 80 children referred to by the tipsters. But the whereabouts of another 22 toddlers is still unknown, he said.

"We still need the public's help because we still have 22 little girls with question marks by their names," Tuttoilmondo said.

22 question marks that need answers. For the family of Riley Sawyers, the DNA results could definitely provide their answers. As painful as those answers might be, at least they will know; there will be some cloture. They will then watch as justice for Riley is sought.

For 22 other families, the search will continue.

by Mondoreb



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