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Fisherman Finds Girl's Remains In Box

KPRC
October 30, 2007

GALVESTON, Texas -- A fisherman found the remains of a little girl in a container on an island in West Galveston Bay, officials told KPRC Local 2 Tuesday.

Galveston County sheriff's deputies said the fisherman reported his find late Monday.

The island is in a remote area several miles west-southwest of the Galveston Causeway, officials said. It is only accessible by boat.

Investigators said decomposing remains of a girl who died from skull fractures were in the box.

"He discovered a container. He checked the container and found what he believed to be a body," said Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, with the Galveston County Sheriff's Department.

Officials said preliminary autopsy results revealed the body is that of a 2-5-year-old white female, 32 inches to 34 inches tall, weighing between 25 and 30 pounds.

She was wearing a pink 3/4-sleeve pullover top and a pink broom skirt. Both were the Cherokee brand sized 2T.

The girl also wore size 8.5 white and purple tennis shoes with small lights in the heels.

There is no word yet on when the girl died.

Investigators said they want whoever is responsible for the girl's death caught.

"This is important -- not only for the child but the child's family and we need to hear about what happened, when it happened, where it happened, and how we could bring some resolution to this," Tuttoilmondo said.

Detectives did not release details about the container because they felt it held clues to the case.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Galveston County Sheriff's Office at 409-766-2222 or 866-248-8477.

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'Baby Grace' Sketch Released
Police Seeking Public Help in ID-ing Girl Found Dead by Fisherman Monday Night

By David Schoetz
ABC News
11/2/2007

Authorities in Texas released a composite sketch of an unidentified child whose dead body was stuffed into a locked plastic container and found by a fisherman Monday night.

"Baby Grace," as authorities have named the girl, suffered fractures to her skull that initially may have caused her death. Police are treating the case like a homicide while pathologists at the Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office continue to analyze the body.

Results from various chemical tests may be required before an exact cause of death is determined. Because of the body's level of decomposition, investigators cannot specifically place the girl's date of death.

Authorities are trying to elevate the profile of the case -- an effort that has already resulted in hundreds of calls to the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. "We're getting loads of phone calls," Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, a spokesman for the county sheriff's office, told ABC News. "We're keeping our fingers crossed one of those calls is going to be the right one."

Sheriff's officers describe Baby Grace as a white girl with blond hair between the ages of 2 and 3. She stood a little less than 3 feet tall and weighed about 30 pounds.

"For us, she is a whole lot more than an unidentified girl," Tuttoilmondo said. "She's somebody's child. Somebody's missing her."

The name Grace, he said, was given to the girl to provide the public "a human factor for folks to identify with."

Authorities hope that someone will come forward with information that will allow them to stop using "Grace" in place of the girl's real name. They also want answers about how the girl died and what type of criminal charges should be pursued.

"This is a young person who has not received an appropriate burial," said Galveston Sheriff Gean Leonard. "We recognize that this death could be the result of an accident. One thing is that this is a young person who has not received an appropriate burial. Another thing is for someone to come forward and clear up the entire matter."

The girl's body was found inside a locked plastic Sterilite container, authorities said. She was wearing a pink pullover top, a "broom-style" skirt in a matching color made of seersucker material, and a pair of Velcro sneakers.

Authorities released an image of the Tiara model shoes that are "nearly identical" to the ones the girl was wearing. They are a children's size 8½, white with purple trim and lights in the heels.

As investigators comb through national missing persons databases for possible matches, authorities are eager to elevate the profile of the case. Since the girl was discovered Monday night, they've received some tips but none have proved viable.

Someone out there, the sheriff said, must have information about this little girl.

"In this world, it is possible for a family to not know a lot of people," Leonard said. "But rarely do we have an instance where a child is unknown to no one outside his or her own family."

Anyone with information about the girl can call the Galveston County Sheriff's Office at (866) 248-8477.

[Admin]

'Baby Grace' case draws hundreds of tips

Associated Press
11/04/2007

HOUSTON – Hundreds of tips from around the country have poured in after authorities asked for help in identifying the remains of a young girl discovered inside a storage box that washed ashore on Galveston Bay.

Sketches of the child, who police call "Baby Grace," were released Friday.

"We're sorting through a lot of leads," said Major Ray Tuttoilmondo with the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. "Nothing has hit a home run yet."

Forensic dental examination has narrowed the girl's age to between 2 and 3 years. She is described as white, 32 to 35 inches tall and 25 to 30 pounds. She had waist-long, wavy blond or light brown hair. She was wearing a Target-brand pink, flowing skirt, a pink or red shirt and white light-up tennis shoes with purple flowers on them.

Several callers believe that the child's body may be that of Madeleine McCann, a 4-year-old British girl whose disappearance from a resort hotel in Portugal in May has made international headlines, Tuttoilmondo said.

"Based on the totality of the circumstances, we do not believe it's her (Madeleine)," Tuttoilmondo said and added that his office is working with the FBI to completely rule out the possibility.

Local authorities and the FBI are going through missing person reports from across country in an effort to identify the girl.

"It's a slow process," Tuttoilmondo said. "We have to call the original investigating agency and see if anything matches up."

Galveston County Crime Stoppers set up a memorial fund to pay for her funeral as well as an account to offer a reward for anyone who helps to solve this crime.

A fisherman found the girl late Monday night. Her body was inside a blue plastic utility box that washed ashore along the Intercoastal Waterway.

The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the child had been dead for at least two weeks and sustained a skull fracture. The cause of death has not been determined but authorities are treating the case as a homicide.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Galveston County sheriff's Office at 409-766-2222, the agency's tip line

[Admin]

Texas memorial held for unidentified 'Baby Grace'

The Associated Press
11/05/2007

TIKI ISLAND, Texas – Residents held a memorial service to help focus attention on the case of "Baby Grace," the young girl whose remains were discovered inside a storage box that washed ashore on Galveston Bay.

Hundreds of tips from around the country have poured in since authorities released sketches of the unidentified child on Friday. A fisherman found the toddler's body a week ago along the Intercoastal Waterway.

Attendees to Sunday's memorial service gathered around a 4-foot-tall wooden cross bearing the words "In loving Memory of Baby Grace."

After speeches, prayers, songs and poems, attendees took the cross by boat to the small uninhabited island where the child's body was found.

"This is not the place to end this little girl's life," said Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo of the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. "We won't quit until we figure it out."

Authorities say forensic dental examination has narrowed the girl's age to between 2 and 3 years. She is described as white, 32 to 35 inches tall and 25 to 30 pounds. She had waist-long, wavy blond or light brown hair. She was wearing a Target-brand pink, flowing skirt, a pink or red shirt and white light-up tennis shoes with purple flowers on them.

Several callers believe that the child's body may be that of Madeleine McCann, a 4-year-old British girl whose disappearance from a resort hotel in Portugal in May has made international headlines, Tuttoilmondo said.

"Based on the totality of the circumstances, we do not believe it's her (Madeleine)," Tuttoilmondo said and added that his office is working with the FBI to completely rule out the possibility.

Local authorities and the FBI are going through missing person reports from across country in an effort to identify the girl.

Galveston County Crime Stoppers set up a memorial fund to pay for her funeral as well as an account to offer a reward for anyone who helps to solve this crime.

The Galveston County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the child had been dead for at least two weeks and sustained a skull fracture. The cause of death has not been determined but authorities are treating the case as a homicide.

Anyone with information is asked to call the Galveston County sheriff's Office at 409-766-2222, the agency's tip line at 866-248-8477 or any Crime Stoppers organization.

[Admin]

Big developments may help identify 'Baby Grace'
FBI announces $20,000 reward in case

November 21, 2007
KTRX

It's the three-week mystery which has stretched all around the world. Who is 'Baby Grace' -- the young girl found in a box in Galveston County? Now, authorities will soon have their hands on a DNA sample from the person who may be the missing girl's father.

Galveston investigators are a huge step closer to finding out whether a missing Spring toddler is 'Baby Grace'. Late yesterday afternoon, authorities asked the baby's Ohio father to submit a DNA sample. He did voluntarily with his hometown Ohio police department.

We're told the baby's mother, who lives in Spring, will as well. She hasn't yet. Detectives tell us they'll get a court order if they have to.

"I can't talk to you about it," said the missing girl's mother.

We talked to the mother briefly earlier this week and she wouldn't tell us where her baby was. The two-year-old has been missing since July and some family members say she has an eerie similarity to 'Baby Grace'.

Her new husband tells Eyewitness News the 19-year-old mother is pregnant and said she's fragile. He says someone posing as an Ohio CPS worker came to the house in July, threw the mother down and took the little girl. Authorities in Harris and Galveston Counties tell us the mother never filed a missing person's report.

"Have you talked to anyone who's seen this girl?" we asked authorities.

"Not that I am aware of," said Major Ray Tuttoilomondo with the Galveston County Sheriff's office.

"You would be?" we asked.

"I think I would be," said Tuttoilomondo.

Out of 350 tips, the missing Spring girl is one of only three cases detectives requested DNA on. But it's not the only lead Galveston detectives are looking at. They still have no definitive idea who this little girl is, which is why the FBI is now involved in the case and bringing a $20,000 reward with them. The cash is not for a conviction, just for a name.

"All we're asking for this reward is to provide the identity of 'Baby Grace'," said John Kinard with the FBI.

It is an unusual reward, but since 'Baby Grace' is just two years old, detectives believe her name will lead to parents, which will lead to answers. As for the Spring girl, it's possible this could be a custody case. DNA will make or rule out a 'Baby Grace' connection in the next two weeks.

[Admin]

Is 'Baby Grace' from NE Ohio

Fox 8 News Cleveland
11/24/2007

A story that has captured headlines in Texas, may be about a little girl from Northeast Ohio.

Police in Galveston, Texas are trying to identify a two-year-old little girl, known as "Baby Grace", who was found on October 29th inside a storage box that washed ashore on Galveston Bay.

Police now think the little girl could be from Mentor.

Two-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers moved to Spring, Texas with her mother, Kim, last summer.

Riley's grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers, says Kim moved to Texas after she met a man on the internet.

Kim and Riley had been living with Sawyers, who is the mother of Riley's father Robert, for the past two-years.

Sherly and Robert have had no contact from Kim since she moved to Texas and they have been going through the legal process in both Texas and Ohio to try and get visitation rights to see Riley.

In a strange twist, Riley's mother told police in Texas this week that she did not have Riley anymore. The mother claims that someone from Ohio, with papers demanding custody of the little girl took Riley. Kim Sawyers says she never looked into the validity of the person seeking custody of the child.

The state of Ohio says that never happened.

Tuesday, Robert Sawyers submitted a DNA sample to Mentor Police, to see if "Baby Grace" is in fact Riley Ann.

Mentor Police are sending that DNA sample to Galveston, Texas.

The FBI is offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the identity of "Baby Grace".

[Admin]

Couple arrested in connection with 'Baby Grace' remains found in Galveston Bay

Associated Press
11/25/2007

DALLAS – Galveston County authorities have arrested a couple in the case of a missing child who may be "Baby Grace," the toddler whose body washed ashore in a storage bin in Galveston Bay last month.

Authorities are awaiting DNA test results but have tentatively identified the girl as 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers of Spring, said Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo of the Galveston County Sheriff's Department.

The girl's mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 19, and Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 24, reportedly told relatives that she was taken in July by someone claiming to be an Ohio social worker. But they never told police she was missing, Tuttoilmondo said.

After police searched their home, they were arrested early Saturday and charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence, Tuttoilmondo said. The couple remain jailed on bonds of $350,000 each. It's unclear if they are married, Tuttoilmondo said.

Tuttoilmondo declined to say what was found in the home, about 200 miles south of Dallas, or what the couple may have said about Riley's disappearance.

Ray Sawyers of Mentor, Ohio, the child's grandfather, told The Associated Press on Sunday that authorities had asked his family not to comment.

Riley's father, Robert Sawyers, 20, of Mentor, Ohio, has said he hopes his daughter is not Baby Grace.

"I think she might be, but I'm hoping she's not," Robert Sawyers told the Houston Chronicle for a story in Sunday's online edition. "The picture I have and the picture of Baby Grace is so similar – it kind of scares me."

After hearing about the discovery of the 2- or 3-year-old girl in a plastic storage bin Oct. 29, Riley's paternal grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers, called Texas authorities to see if a missing-person report had been filed in Riley's case. When she saw a sketch of Baby Grace, she thought it may be her granddaughter.

Sheryl Sawyers said she has not seen Riley since Kimberly Trenor moved with the girl to Spring in May or June to marry someone she met online, Royce Zeigler, the Galveston County Daily News reported Sunday.

Sawyers said her son and Kimberly Trenor had Riley while they were teenagers and that the three of them lived with her in Mentor, Ohio, for about two years. Zeigler sent expensive gifts to Trenor while she still lived with Robert Sawyers, the child's grandmother said.

Last week, authorities said the families of eight missing children from all over the United States were being asked to provide DNA samples. Tuttoilmondo said they were selected from 110 cases of missing children who matched a description of the girl being called "Baby Grace." The child was described as being 2 or 3.

[Admin]

Police make tentative ID of 'Baby Grace,' arrest parents

By Juan A. Lozano
The Associated Press
11/26/2007

GALVESTON, Texas - Investigators said Monday they are "fairly confident" that a toddler whose body washed ashore in a plastic box is the same little girl whom authorities dubbed "Baby Grace."

Police were awaiting DNA test results to confirm the child's identity. Meanwhile, the mother and stepfather of 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers were in custody on charges of hurting the girl.

"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."

A fisherman found the child's remains Oct. 29 in Galveston Bay. 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.

"We still don't know the full details of what happened," he said.

Riley and her mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, moved this year from suburban Cleveland to Spring, about 75 miles north of Galveston.

Trenor, 19, and Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 24, were arrested early Saturday and charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence, Tuttoilmondo said. Bail was set at $350,000 each.

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

It was not immediately known who represented Trenor.

In Mentor, Ohio, the girl's paternal grandmother 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," Sheryl Sawyers said Monday of her granddaughter.

The Sawyers' attorney, Laura DePledge, said the family takes 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 she and Trenor moved to Texas to be with Zeigler, whom Trenor met online.

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. Sawyers is now married and has a 3-month-old son.

"She 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."

Riley was last seen alive three to four months ago, but Trenor never told police she was missing, Tuttoilmondo said.

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

Sheryl Sawyers said Trenor's claim didn't make any sense. She called Texas authorities after learning of Baby Grace to see if a missing-person report had been filed in Riley's case. When she saw a sketch of Baby Grace, she thought it might be her granddaughter, authorities said.

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."

[Admin]

Police believe toddler found dead in Texas is missing Mentor girl

The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH)
November 26, 2007

Detectives in Texas believe a former Mentor toddler missing since summer is "Baby Grace," the 2-year-old girl whose body washed ashore in a storage bin in Galveston Bay last month. Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo, a spokesman for the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, said Sunday evening that the girl has been tentatively identified as Riley Ann Sawyers . Tuttoilmondo also confirmed the arrests of Riley's mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, and Royce Clyde Zeigler II after a search of their suburban Houston home.

Trenor and Zeigler have been charged with injury to a child and tampering with physical evidence, Tuttoilmondo said. More information is expected at a news conference this morning, he said.

Trenor and Zeigler reportedly told family members that Riley was taken in July by someone who showed up at their home claiming to be an Ohio social worker. But Ohio officials denied sending any papers. The couple never told police the girl was missing.

Riley moved from Northeast Ohio to Spring, Texas, with her mother earlier this year after Trenor, 19, met Zeigler, 24, on the Internet, family members told investigators. The girl's paternal grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers of Mentor, said Trenor intended to marry Zeigler.

Riley's father, Robert Sawyers, lives in Painesville.

Investigators have combed through hundreds of tips that poured in after they found the body of an unidentified girl in a blue storage box. Last week, officials said the families of eight missing children from across the United States were being asked to provide DNA samples.

Sheryl Sawyers called Texas authorities after hearing about the discovery of the anonymous girl, dubbed Baby Grace. When she saw a sketch of the child, she thought it might be Riley.

Last week, family members here sent DNA samples to Texas. Riley's father has said he hopes his daughter is not Baby Grace: "I think she might be, but I'm hoping she's not," Robert Sawyers told the Houston Chronicle for a story in Sunday's online edition. "The picture I have and the picture of Baby Grace is so similar - it kind of scares me."

Tuttoilmondo said a positive identification is pending a DNA analysis.

[Admin]

Documents: Woman arrested in 'Baby Grace' case admits killing her daughter

Associated Press
November 26, 2007

GALVESTON, Texas – 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.

"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 "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."

[Admin]

Grandmother's hunch helped solve mystery
When a Mentor woman saw this sketch of a girl found dead in Galveston Bay, she thought it could be her granddaughter Dad, grandmother share memories as mom, man are arrested in Riley's death

Maggi Martin and Rachel Dissell
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
November 27, 2007

Sheryl Sawyers saw the fuzzy sketch of the blond-haired toddler crawl across her television screen and was filled with dread. Could that curly-haired girl found dead in a plastic bin on a Galveston Bay beach last month be her cherished granddaughter, Riley Sawyers?

She had not seen Riley since May or heard from Riley's mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, who had left Ohio for Texas to live with a man she met on the Internet.

So on Nov. 7, she called Texas police and said the unknown child known as "Baby Grace" might be the wide-eyed 2-year-old who once shared her Mentor home.

On Monday, Galveston sheriff's officials confirmed the toddler, dressed in pink and found by a fisherman, was Riley. The Associated Press, citing court documents, reported that Trenor told police she and the girl's stepfather beat and tortured the child to death.

"I am just devastated to think I will never see her again," Sheryl Sawyers said later at a news conference in Mentor, gripping a tear-stained tissue and an Elmo doll she had planned to give Riley for Christmas. "Knowing it was her is better than not knowing, but it doesn't make it right."

The Galveston Sheriff's Office received thousands of calls and e-mails after expanding the search nationwide. When police spoke to Trenor after Sawyers' call, Trenor said a social worker from Ohio had taken Riley, claiming to have custody. The claim made officials suspicious, so they sought DNA from Riley's father, Robert. While the DNA results are not yet in, officials feel they have enough evidence to say the dead girl is Riley.

Trenor, 19, and Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 24, were arrested Saturday after police searched their home in Spring, Texas. The two are charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence. They are being held on $350,000 bond.

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.

The documents 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.

In a statement to police included in the affidavit, Trenor said she and Zeigler killed Riley July 24, according to the Associated Press. 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.

Galveston sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said he doesn't know if Trenor and Ziegler are legally married, but Texas has common law marriage, which means if you live together and say you are married, you are.

He said the killing of Riley would be an automatic capital case in Texas.

Robert Sawyers, 20, who was in a custody battle with Trenor, said the news has torn his family apart. He was at the news conference with his wife, Catherine, and 3-month-old son, Braden.

In front of him were photos of Riley taken as she posed as an angel with wide white wings on her first birthday, another in a floppy summer hat and most recently in a water hose fight in his mother's back yard.

"She was just a fun-loving little girl with the biggest imagination," the father said. "She was very hyper but well behaved."

The last time he saw Riley was during a visit in May. He and Trenor were Mentor High School sweethearts who became parents too young, he said.

They lived with his parents until March, when he and Kimberly had a major fight. She called police and filed a domestic violence complaint, saying Robert yanked her out of bed and grabbed her throat after an argument over a parking space. The charge was later reduced to disorderly conduct.

Trenor and Riley moved out.

Investigators said Trenor and Zeigler met online playing a game called the World of Warcraft. Players in the online role-playing game know each other's characters, but unless they share specific information, they don't know the ages or locations of the other players.

Tuttoilmondo said neither Trenor nor Zeigler had a serious criminal record.

He said they had 372 active leads in the "Baby Grace" case.

"We still have 22 little girls out there that we don't know where they are at," he said. But as for Riley's family: "We knew there was a family that had an empty seat at their Thanksgiving table. Now we know whose table it was."

For Tuttoilmondo, the news conference Monday was the culmination of a lot of emotion for his department and the Galveston community.

"The public outcry was 'How could someone leave a little girl like this?' " he said.

"There was no way we were going to let a little blue box in Galveston Bay be this little girl's resting place."

Said family spokeswoman and lawyer Laura DePledge:

"We just want to bring her home and let her rest peacefully. . . . Our goal is to get justice for her."


Riley's short life

March 11, 2005: Riley Sawyers is born in Mentor to Kimberly Trenor and Robert Sawyers.

March 30, 2007: Robert Sawyers is arrested for domestic violence after Trenor calls police and says he grabbed her throat because she parked in his space in the driveway.

April 12: Sawyers is ordered by Lake County Domestic Court to stay away from Trenor.

May 25: Trenor agrees to give Sawyers custody of Riley every Wednesday and every other weekend.

May 29: Sawyers files a claim that Trenor failed to give him Riley. Trenor's father, Randall Trenor, says his daughter and Riley are in Canton and will return in June.

June 1: Kimberly Trenor and Riley move to Texas, where Trenor, 19, moves in with Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 24, who she met on the Internet.

June 5: Robert Sawyers' mother, Sheryl, the court's go-between, argues with Randall Trenor about Kimberly. Randall tells Mentor police that Kimberly is either in Pennsylvania, Maryland or Virginia.

June 26: A trial is set in Lake County Domestic Relations Court to change custody and give Sawyers more time with his daughter.

July 15: Court summons for Trenor is returned unopened.

Sept. 19: Second court summons returned unopened.

Oct. 29: Body of a young unidentified girl, later named "Baby Grace," is found in plastic bin in Galveston Bay.

Nov. 7: Sheryl Sawyers alerts Texas officials the body might be her grandchild she has not seen since May.

Nov. 20: Robert Sawyers gives DNA sample to be sent to Texas.

Nov. 24: Galveston police arrest Kimberly Trenor and Zeigler and charge them with injuring a child and tampering with evidence.

Nov. 26: Galveston sheriff's officials confirm the body found is that of Riley. DNA tests results are pending, but police say are confident in the identification.

SOURCE: Lake County court records and Galveston Sheriff's Office

[Admin]

Lawyer: Stepfather killed 'Baby Grace' during discipline over manners

Associated Press
November 28, 2007

HOUSTON – The toddler believed to be the girl whose body was found in Galveston Bay was beaten to death by her stepfather, who lost control because she failed to say "please" and "yes sir," an attorney for the girl's mother said Wednesday.

Attorney Tommy Stickler Jr. also confirmed Wednesday that the girl's mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, is pregnant. Her pregnancy was first reported by the Houston Chronicle.

The fatal beating happened after Royce Clyde Zeigler II stayed home from work to make sure his wife was following the discpline plan he'd established for her daughter, 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers, Stickler said.

Riley is believed to be the girl dubbed "Baby Grace," whose body was found by a fisherman in a plastic box floating in Galveston Bay last month. The girl's identity was a mystery for weeks, and authorities are still awaiting the results of a DNA test on the body to prove she is Riley.

Police arrested Zeigler, 24, and Trenor, 19, on Saturday, after Trenor told police she and her husband had killed the girl in July and hid her body in a shed before dumping it in the bay.

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 going to become a big issue," Davis said.

The affidavit of Trenor's statement to Galveston authorities, released Monday, painted a disturbing picture of Riley's last days.

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.

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

Zeigler wanted his wife to spank Riley with a belt when she failed to say things like "please" and "yes sir" or "no sir," Stickler said Wednesday. Zeigler didn't believe Trenor was doing it, however, because the 2-year-old's behavior wasn't changing.

Although the affidavit said the couple abused Riley over a four- to six-hour period, Stickler said it wasn't a continuous event. Instead, Zeigler grew increasingly enraged as he spanked Riley and she kept forgetting to do things the way he wanted.

"There was never an intention to beat Riley to death," Stickler said.

At one point, Trenor wanted to call an ambulance but Zeigler wouldn't let her, saying they'd both be arrested if officials saw her injuries, Stickler said. Instead, Riley was given some over-the-counter pain medication.

When Riley later stopped breathing, Zeigler performed CPR on her tiny body, Stickler said.

Stickler said Zeigler was overwhelmed by his sudden fatherhood and didn't know what behavior to expect from a toddler.

Trenor and Riley had moved from Mentor, Ohio, to Galveston in June to be with Zeigler after the two met playing an online game, World of Warcraft.

Trenor and Zeigler remained jailed Wednesday on charges of injury to a child and tampering with evidence. Bail was set at $350,000 for each of them.

[Admin]

Mom: 'No desire to kill' Baby Grace

Kevin Reece
KHOU-TV
11/29/2007

It was an act of unimaginable horror, but according to Kimberly Trenor, it was never meant to happen.

Trenor, 19, told police Friday that Riley Ann Sawyers, the little girl known to many as Baby Grace, was beaten and tortured to death in the Spring home she shared with her husband on July 24.

But, according to Trenor’s attorney, “there was no intentional desire to kill Riley.”

Tom Stickler said he and his client first made contact with investigators as far back as Nov. 14, after pressure from endless media coverage of her daughter’s death became too much for Kimberly.

Stickler said that on the morning of Nov. 23, he and Trenor went together to Galveston so she could share the whole story with police.

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

And talk she did. For three hours, Trenor delivered a videotaped confession, giving the grisly details of the final living moments of a child whose death had captured the attention of the nation since her decomposed body was found in a plastic box on an uninhabited island in West Galveston Bay by a fisherman nearly a month ago.

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.

Stickler said the events that unfolded in the next few hours “went on beyond the point it should have ever gone.”

When it was all over, Riley Ann Sawyers was dead, having suffered three skull fractures.

Court documents say Zeigler held the girl’s head underwater in the bathtub, grabbed her by the hair, threw her across the room onto a tile floor and buried her face in a pillow and the cushion of a couch.

The couple went to Wal-Mart and picked up the blue plastic container and trash bags in which Riley’s body was found. They stuffed the girl in the box and left her body in a storage shed for one to two months.

According to court documents, they then took the body in the box and tossed it into the Galveston Causeway.

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.”

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.”

Despite Trenor’s shocking story, the details of Riley’s death must be backed up with hard evidence, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said.

“We don’t want to draw any conclusions,” he said. “We want to do this the right way.”

Royce Zeigler’s attorney said he won't play the “he said, she said,” game, but added that the entire truth has yet to be told.

“We’re gonna question each and every part of that statement,” he said. “ And we become more aware of actually what happened, her credibility is going to be a big issue, we feel.”

Zeigler’s attorney said his client is devastated.

“Right now, he’s at the lowest point, justifiably the lowest point in his life, and it’s killing him. It really is.”

Stickler also said Trenor told him she is pregnant.

A female inmate checking out of the Galveston County Jail Wednesday night confirmed Trenor is in the maternity section of the women’s facility.

She also added – that she “ain’t very well liked by the other ladies – especially the other pregnant moms.”

After the confession, police went to the couple’s home and arrested Zeigler, keeping him from destroying any potential evidence.

Trenor and Zeigler were charged with injury to a child and tampering with evidence. Bail was set at $350,000 each.

According to Stickler, the last thing Trenor said in the interview with police was that she wanted to make sure everybody knew Baby Grace’s real name was Riley.

[Admin]

Riley's mother had troubled life Struggles included problems with child's father

Maggi Martin & John Caniglia
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
November 30, 2007

Four years ago, she was a sweet-faced sophomore acing classes at Mentor High School. Now she's accused of being a villain the world scorns. Kimberly Trenor went from being a 3.85 grade-point-average student to facing prison in the slaying of her 2-year-old daughter, Riley Sawyers, in Texas. Last year, she showed off the baby at Mentor High's prom. As Christmas approaches, her family must bury the girl, who became known as "Baby Grace" while police in Texas frantically tried to identify her after she was found floating in a plastic container in Galveston Bay.

The criminal charges against Trenor and her husband this week ended a downward spiral that included two pregnancies and a cheating ex-boyfriend accused of beating her. When her home life in Mentor ended up in shambles, she sought acceptance and community in a popular Internet game. That led her to an immature new husband, a life hundreds of miles away, and now, a Texas jail.

The saga playing out on Larry King and other television talkfests began with a shy, thin girl who grew up in a home where money was tight.

She loved reading history and enjoyed classes, even though the introverted girl went unnoticed at the state's largest high school. A friend who knew her well and often sat next to her in classes described Trenor as easily manipulated, a person who hated conflict and would do anything to avoid it.

She developed a crush, possibly her first, on Robert Sawyers, a classmate who later dropped out of school. She became pregnant. In March 2005, at 17, Trenor delivered Riley, a curly-haired blonde with a button nose.

Trenor was just a junior, and her bright future turned a shade of gray. She and Sawyers moved in with his mother, Sheryl, who realized her son and Trenor didn't have a clue about parenting.

Sawyers' son worked in an auto repair shop while Trenor went to school. She also began spending long periods of time on the computer.

Sheryl Sawyers, who wears a charm bracelet with Riley's name engraved in a silver heart, has pictures of Trenor in her bright pink prom dress, and her son in a white tuxedo. The couple brought Riley to the dance to show her off to friends.

"I basically raised my granddaughter," Sheryl Sawyers said. "I was the primary caretaker. Their parenting skills were not what they needed to be. It was grandma who took care of the baby."

Robert Sawyers has taken the tour of the television stations, sobbing as he talked about the pain he feels over the death of his daughter. On the "Today" show Thursday, he told Meredith Vieira he bought an engagement ring for Trenor. Instead of getting married, Trenor ended the relationship without giving a reason and took their child to Texas.

But interviews with relatives and court records show their life in Lake County was troubled. Trenor and Sawyers continued to struggle as parents and as a couple. They argued about her laziness, court records show.

As Trenor spent more time in front of the computer, Robert Sawyers found a new girlfriend named Catherine.

That relationship was no secret. Sawyers had Catherine's name tattooed on his back while still living with Trenor, according to police reports. Then Catherine conceived a child with Sawyers, even though he was still living with Trenor.

Trenor continued living with the Sawyers.

In March, Robert Sawyers was arrested for domestic violence after Trenor called police. She told them that Sawyers grabbed her arm and throat. Trenor told police she cradled Riley to keep Sawyers from hurting the child.

Trenor began leaning on the man she had met through the online fantasy game, World of Warcraft. The game empowers characters as they slay monsters or find magical artifacts. Players interact with dozens of other players. Most of the players are guarded about their personal lives.

Trenor and Royce Zeigler II were different.

Zeigler's attorney, Neal Davis III, said the couple chatted via e-mail about the game and more. Zeigler sent Trenor expensive gifts and by May, Riley and her mother were headed to Spring, Texas, near Houston, despite pleas from Sheryl Sawyers.

"She was only 19 and naive," Sawyers said. "We warned her not to take Riley away. I told her, 'If you want to put yourself in danger that's fine, but you have a 2-year-old daughter.' "

Trenor married Zeigler, 24, a computer technician, June 1 in Texas. While most newlyweds have plans for their future, theirs was a marriage of two computer nerds ill-suited to the demands of parenting and the real world, friends and attorneys said. Instead of doting on each other and Riley, their days focused on the computer.

"There is a disconnect with reality when they play these games," Sawyers' attorney, Laura DePledge, said.

Zeigler soon realized that the small, hyper child was a handful.

"For someone 24, he doesn't seem to have the intellect that matches his age," Davis said. "It's like you are talking to a 17-year-old kid. That's what he is: a big, scared kid."

In Spring, Texas, Zeigler and Trenor lived in a quiet neighborhood in the city where Zeigler was raised. The couple moved into a rented home in Spring in June, prompting neighbor Orville Orr to stop by and say hello.

It was an odd visit that shook Orr.

"They had a little girl with them, and I said, 'Boy, that's a cute little girl,' " Orr said. "I stooped over and talked with her, and she ran up to me and then stopped. I said something to [Zeigler], and he didn't say anything except that he said she would be OK.

"They didn't seem to go anywhere or do anything. But I never saw that little girl again."

Trenor's attorneys told reporters that Zeigler demanded that she train her daughter to be obedient. He wanted Riley to say "please" and "thank you" without prompting. And when she didn't, the punishment began.

Trenor told investigators that on July 24, a Tuesday, Zeigler stayed home from work to mete out the punishment. Zeigler and Trenor beat Riley with leather belts and held her head under water. Zeigler also picked up the child by her hair and tossed her across the floor, bashing her head.

At one point, Zeigler gave Riley some children's pain medication. After Riley died, they stuffed her into a plastic container they bought that day at a Wal-Mart, according to Trenor.

They kept the container, with the dead baby inside, in a storage shed for two months and later tossed it into the water near Galveston Bay.

Davis, Zeigler's lawyer, said the statements come solely from Trenor, who quickly blamed Zeigler and tried to minimize her role in the child's death. Davis believes Trenor played a far greater role than what was released in the police statement. He said his client also has cooperated with authorities.

A fisherman found the container Oct. 29 and police began trying to determine the identity of the dead baby. Zeigler returned to work and Trenor stayed quiet for nearly a month. After Sawyer tipped off Texas police, Trenor admitted she was the mother and she and Zeigler helped kill the child.

Sheryl Sawyers, Riley's grandmother, said she feels the loss of the child who brought a glow to her life. She, like others, wonders how the bright student with the stellar grades could be involved with the horrific beating death of her little girl.

As fund-raisers emerge to pay for Riley's final trip home, some of the Galveston sheriff's officers were so touched by the plight of "Baby Grace" that they created a memorial near the bay where she was found.

They are stunned to learn that Kimberly Trenor is pregnant again. Instead of sitting in a cell awaiting trial, she is in the jail's medical unit.

[Admin]

Man thought to be father of 'Baby Grace' says girl's mother loved her

Associated Press
November 30, 2007

GALVESTON – A man believed to be the father of "Baby Grace," a 2-year-old girl whose body washed ashore in Texas, said in an interview broadcast Thursday that the girl's mother loved her, and he never would have thought she was capable of harming the girl.

The girl's mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, and stepfather, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, face charges of injury to a child and tampering with evidence. According to court documents, Ms. Trenor, 19, told police she and her husband killed the girl in July and hid her body in a shed for several weeks before dumping it in Galveston Bay.

Although DNA tests are pending, authorities say they are fairly confident the girl nicknamed "Baby Grace" after washing ashore last month is Riley Ann Sawyers.

Riley's father, Robert Sawyers, said Ms. Trenor loved their daughter. "No, I never thought she could do anything like this," he 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. It's heart wrenching to think she might have done this to such a beautiful little girl," said Mr. Sawyers, 20, of Mentor, Ohio.

Mr. Sawyers was never married to Ms. Trenor, but the high school sweethearts lived with their daughter in his parents' Ohio home for about two years. He was charged with domestic violence against Ms. Trenor in March. The charge was reduced to disorderly conduct.

Mr. Sawyers said that he never hit Ms. Trenor and said the charge stemmed from "an argument that got blown out of proportion."

Ms. Trenor moved with her daughter from Ohio to Texas in June to be with Mr. Zeigler, whom she had met while playing a game online. Mr. Sawyers said Ms. Trenor didn't give him a reason for ending their relationship.

Ms. Trenor's lawyer, Tommy Stickler Jr., said this week that his client, who is pregnant, told authorities that her husband became enraged and beat Riley at their home in Spring because the child failed to say "please" and "yes sir."

But Mr. Zeigler's attorney, Neal Davis III, said that as more facts are uncovered, Ms. Trenor's "credibility is going to become a big issue."

Mr. Stickler said Mr. Zeigler wanted his wife to spank Riley with a belt when she failed to show manners like he wanted, but didn't believe she was doing it because Riley's behavior wasn't changing.

Mr. Zeigler grew increasingly enraged as he spanked Riley and she kept forgetting to do things the way he wanted, Mr. Stickler said.

"There was never an intention to beat Riley to death," he said.

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