"Baby Grace" May Have Been Beaten To Death

Riley Ann Sawyers Had Skull Fractures; Girl, 2, Reportedly Abused By Mother And Stepfather

(CBS/AP)  Investigators think they have some of the answers they have been looking for ever since a little girl's body was found in Galveston Bay, washed ashore in a blue plastic bin. They are a grim reward.

According to court documents, the mother of 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers told police she and her husband beat the girl with two leather belts and held her head underwater in a bathtub in July. Riley's stepfather then threw her across the room, slamming her head onto a tile floor.

Kimberly Dawn Trenor, who had moved her daughter this year from suburban Cleveland to Texas, said in her statement to police that the couple bought the plastic bin and placed the girl's body inside it that evening.

The bin stayed hidden in a storage shed for one to two months, until the couple traveled 75 miles south from their home in the Houston suburb of Spring to Galveston Bay, where the body was dumped.

A fisherman found the bin Oct. 29, and authorities spent weeks sifting through thousands of leads as they worked to identify the girl they dubbed "Baby Grace." DNA results are pending, but there seems little doubt that the child is Riley.

"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 Monday. "We're now fairly confident we know the answer to that."

Roughly four months ago, Riley went missing, reports CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann.

Trenor, 19, and her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, were arrested early Saturday and are in custody on charges of hurting Riley. The investigation continues.

Zeigler, 24, 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.

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

Riley's paternal grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers of Mentor, Ohio, 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.

Sawyers wiped away tears at a news conference Monday in Mentor. She held up the Elmo doll she had already bought Riley for Christmas and a studio photograph of her granddaughter wearing angel wings.

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

In her statement to police, which was included in an arrest affidavit, Trenor said that after her daughter was killed, Zeigler had her forge a document that the Ohio Department of Children's Services had taken Riley away because of allegations of sexual abuse.

Tuttoilmondo said Trenor had told relatives that someone claiming to be a social worker from Ohio, where Riley's father lives, took the girl in July.

"It didn't make any sense," said Sheryl Sawyers. "None of it made sense."

Trenor's attorney, Tom Stickler, said she has cooperated with authorities. He declined to comment directly 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 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.

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 "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 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."

[kakamps]

I was completely appalled at this morning''s interview of Riley''s father. It was quite apparent that all you were after was the sensationalism of the story. How else do you think a grieving father would answer to the question of "how do you feel about everything that has happened?" Exactly how did you expect him to respond that would warrant such an insenstive question? Get with the program - most intelligent people would know how this man and his family are feeling - we don''t need you to broadcast it all over the world!

[mrslovea1]

I feel as though my comment posted yeasterday was taken out of context, as a mother of 4 children I WOULD DIE FOR MY CHILDREN & WOULD DO ANYTHING TO ENSHURE THERE SAFTY. That "mother" & her boyfriend are discusting, sick, flat out ****** up pices of ***. I feel that God will deal with them as seen fit, but i also feel that as there time is spent here on earth that the "prison system" & when i say that im not speaking of gards will handle them both the same way that they choise to handle that poor baby girl if not worse.I know people who have gone & thay say that is how sick ****** like them are handled daily. GOD BLESS BABY GRACE YOU ARE NOW HOME WITH THE LORD.

[retmilspouse]

Another baby dead because of a mother not taking care of her offspring. A piece of d**k is all some of these low down *** *** think about. Sorry about my language but I am so sick and tired of reading about these poor dead babies and their sorry piece of *** mothers. Please I don''t want to hear any whinning from you left winger do gooders either. The common denominator in all these stories are low class poorly educated females who reproduce because it is their right as a citizen of a country who did I am sure provide her the means to have that child. ie medicaid, welfare and whatever other assistance she could get. Keep giving out the free money with not strings attached and you will keep getting this type of results.

[tall_tiger]

To CBS News...........THANK YOU for providing this web page for all those who take the time to share their thoughts, prayers, and visions for justice.To the law abiding citizens of Galveston county, the City of Galveston, and to all those so moved by this sad turn of events, PLEASE suggest to your elected officials to name a city street or a county highway with the name of Riley Sawyers, so that her name can be kept in our memories forever. To the citizens of Spring, Texas, PLEASE do the same in your city. If permissable, petition City Hall to rename the street where Riley Sawyers lived and died, as a lifetime memorial on her behalf. Last but not least, to the citizens of Galveston County, coordinate an initiative with Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo of the Galveston Couny Sheriff''s Department, to sponsor a legitimate online memorial fund that can be used to provide a proper burial and a large memorial to identify Riley''s final resting place with an appropriate array of inscriptions bearing her beauty.

[tall_tiger]

A very classic example of why we should keep the lethal injection issue ! A life sentence for both is definitely too lenient ! So many childless couples who could have promised a much better life for Riley Ann with a simple phone call ! Too many lawyers...no justice for poor Riley; in China, both would be served immediately with a minimal sentence = Death, but being tortured continuously with the infamous Chinese Water torture until they begged for mercy for death by a firing squad.During the entire procedure, the same injuries should be replicated to ensure that they know what they did to a helpless child. The news media should be invited to telecast the event to give the entire world a view of an equal and just punishment.

[michellem99-2009]

You what I think it is not the game or abused as a child. Hell no. Yer abuse cause ye can and think yer can get away with it. cps workers thinks they have the anwsers. They don''t . It is just a job. That mother HOW could her and that man. I am aware men don''t want another man''s child..I know rhat. I think ye know I FEEL FOR THAT GIRL. I have seen a mother abuse her girl and that child begged me to take her. That hurt to tell her I can''t as it is the law and i tried to get help for that child and told to mind my business. PERSON IN CPS IS NOT A HELP. How many children face this fate.A Lady at her work station had to hold her rage and tears as she worked she posted something like it. Children are killed for this/that. It not just the poor who do this but the fat cats ye know the rich.

[tvh2009]

I am sad of the girls death but they blame World of Warcraft for playing a role in it. Thats idiotic. Many people play the game and never do anything like this. So many people blame games for violence. When will they learn its no the game that makes people that way, its the person themself. It''s there brain, its fried, or something. The parents of the children should be to blame not the game. They didnt slash WoW as bad as i thought. But its stupid when people that never played, never heard anything about it, think there experts and slander it. Atleast there computer expert had played. I think he knew that the game had really nothing to do with this.

[brianbwb-2009]

There are mental disorders that have yet to be recognized as such. Human behavior spans as wide a range as the total number of humans, some go into very dark places. These stories serve to illustrate all the possibilities, and show us a picture of ourselves as a society, warts and all. To catch and deliver justice to all who have done such inhumanity is as impossible as trying to predict who will in the future.

Maybe it is time to recognize certain aspects of our society that produce such people, and address those aspects.

For example, value judgment based on the possession of symbols of wealth creates an inescapable trap for those whose circumstance don''t permit the accumulation of such wealth, on one hand we worship the wealthy, and ascribe to them celebrity, which automatically nullifies our own self esteem if we are not rich, but yet we still live, and value our own lives. This dichotomy can make people nuts, and the effects range from depression and neuroses to psychotic behavior.

[catalina33]

Scums like these do not deserve to live.There are no programs to regenerate a mother like this NOT LIKELY in PRISON Who wants these people back?. I do not want to give my tax money and have these individuals back into society. They deserve the death penalty.Rather use the money to work in the wealth of our children specially the ones being abused.
The Bible quote should not be an incentive to relieve these individuals to excuse them from murder.
THAT IS NOT DICIPLINING YOUR CHILDREN THAT IS BRUTALITY!
I''m an adult an a parent And I do not use any violence. Violence is a poor excuse for parenting your children. Take the time with your children teach what is right and wrong.Then you will see the fruit of your quality time at home.
(I was abused as well and choose no violence) People make their on descitions it is lame to shield your self from your own past. You can always make a difference.

[linda120]

You know? People are so quick to blame any and everything for these atrocities....games, bad childhood, "insanity" etc. It''s pathetic that everything''s a "blame game." I say you should be held accountable for your own behavior! What happened to THAT philosophy?! For whatever reason...they did it! The little innocent girl suffered and lost her life at their hands!! Let''s punish them!!! They committed the crime...now let''s get to the punishment phase already! They''re scum!!

[michellem99-2009]

I WAS ABUSED IN EVERY FOSTER HOME AND I WOULD NEVER DREAM OF THIS . THAT CPS POSTER OF ALL THE POSTERS IS THE ONE I HAVE NO RESPECT FOR. I REALLY DON''T. THEY CAN''T EVEN POLICE OUT THE ROTTEN HOMES IN THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM. THEY TURN A BLIND MIND AND EYES.
THIS IS CHILD YOU COULD NOT SAVE. WHAT YOU HAVE DONE PLACE HER IN HOME YOU FELT FIT. DEAR ALL THEY WANT IS THE MONEY THAT CHILD WOULD BRING THEM AND THE HELL WITH THE CHILD . GROWING UP IT WAS TRUE IN FOSTER HOMES. I FEEL FOR THE GIRL WHO DIED.

[Krazcarl]

Lets kill them now why wait

[linda120]

Radio Matthew...please don''t limit this to just Texas. Child abuse and killing children isn''t limited by state borders. If that were the case, it''d be easy to move to a state where child abuse and murders are nonexistent if you have children. Wish it were that easy!!

[wanetawr]

AMEN linda120. I will also tell people that CPS Investigators are so bogged down by mountains of paperwork that they are virtually unable to protect children. All that the upper management in CPS cares about is statistics. If you do not have cases closed within a certain time, you are punished. This causes the investigator to have to be oriented to hastily closing cases even if the child is in an unsafe situation. Investigators are not allowed to look at a situation and decide if a child is in danger. They must do everything through a supervisor who may not ever even see the child or the family. The supervisor is simply a bureaucrat who makes sure that the paperwork and deadlines are met.

[linda120]

All I can say is that those two scumbags deserve the death penalty. To kill an innocent child who cannot even defend herself is unexplainable...and inexcusable! You can place blame anywhere you wish, but it won''t take the pain, suffering, and ultimate death away that happened to that precious little girl who didn''t deserve it!!!

Any woman who would participate in the killing of her own child....I won''t even go there it outrages me so.

[wanetawr]

There are millions of people who would give a child a loving home. If you cannot handle taking care of your child then find someone who can.

As a CPS Investigator I can tell you that there are not nearly enough foster homes to take care of the children who need a place to go. I think it is because the government has imposed so many rules and restrictions on foster homes that people don''t want to go through all the *** to become one. People who provide foster care have to deal with a crazy mess of redtape constantly and most are not up to it. Even then, many foster homes that have been approved by the state turn out to be horrible places.

[wanetawr]

These two people were probably abused as children. We all need to give them the benefit of the doubt. I''m sure they did not MEAN to kill little Riley. They were just using the old adage of "Spare the rod and spoil the child!"

OF COURSE, all of the above is nothing more than a PSYCH! I think these two "people" should be put in gen pop in prison with people who aren''t able to see their own kids. Those inmates would know what to do..... Justice would be served everyday! Or better yet, just give them to me. I know what to do....

Why didn''t dad try to find out what was going on with his child? I have no sympathy for him either. Where are the mom''s parents? What do they have to say about this? I have yet to hear a motive for this killing. Why did the mom say they did this?

[michellem99-2009]

I play FATE against computer. I would rather the 14 year old girl WHO posted to be safe. I don''t use them social net works and I am 53. The fact that pisses me is the mother help kill that child. What was she high on. Did the new husband not not the child of another man. Foster homes they are not much better. Poor child a hell of a death.

[nyckate]

Dear God - how can people like this exist? What kind of animal could do this to a child nevermind their own child? That poor poor innocent little child - her short time on this earth made an utter hell by her own mother.

Neither one of these two should ever see the light of day again - there is something seriously deranged, evil and twisted about any adult who could abuse a child so horrifically. There is no way to help them, change them, fix them or rehabilitate them -- they lack the basic human instincts and always will be nothing more than a pair of wild rabid animals.

[ov442]

yeah, i read this article today while i was at work and i couldnt keep my composure, i had to turn around in my cube and put down the rage and the tears for this perfect sweet angel that only deserved love.
I have one just like her, almost exactly like her and i would seriously go insane if something happened to her.
Everytime my baby girl looks up at me with those eyes and big smiles or trepidation and waits patiently for me to pick her up and cuddle after i get home from work, i am just blessed beyond words to have her.
I''d have adopted that little angel Riley Ann in a heartbeat if i could have before she was beaten by those minions of satan.
How can people take such a blessing by God and throw it back in God''s face like that.