St. Louis Bomb Blast: Economic Terrorism?

Bomb Blast in St. Louis Parking Garage
Injures Prominent Takeover Attorney

---

As they hunt for the person(s) responsible for a Thursday morning bomb blast that injured John Gillis, investigators are likely considering the possibility the incident might somehow be linked to the current economic crisis. And for good reason.

Gillis, is senior counsel at Armstrong Teasdale, a large law firm based in downtown St. Louis, according to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch report published today. A bio page on the prominent law firm's web site attributes a number of "significant accomplishments" to the 69-year-old St. Louis attorney, including:

* Counsel to seller in $210 million sale of Nasdaq listed company in negotiated tender offer followed by a back-end merger;

* Counsel to seller in $500 million sale of Nasdaq listed bank holding company;

* Issuer's counsel in $50 million dutch auction self tender offer for common shares; and

* Counsel to boards of directors or special board committees in a number of negotiated and hostile takeover transactions.

Just after 11 a.m. yesterday, according to witness accounts, Gillis attempted to move a package from near his vehicle parked on the sixth parking level of a 16-story office building adjacent Gillis' condo-building home in Clayton, an affluent St. Louis suburb. As reported in this post yesterday, the bomb blast shook the downtown area and prompted evacuations of area buildings.

Considering the type of work Gillis has performed, the enormous amounts of money at stake and the heady personalities often involved in such high-stakes transactions, it will be interesting to find out whether or not this crime indeed has its roots in the economic crisis or if some other motivating factor — personal, professional, terrorism or other — was in play.

---

ALSO at Bob McCarty Writes: Bomb Explodes in St. Louis Parking Garage! (Updated)

by Bob McCarty
image: Bob McCarty Writes
Source: Does St. Louis Blast Have Ties to Economic Crisis?

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.