GUILTY TX - Riley 'Baby Grace' Sawyers, 2, brutally murdered, Spring, 24 July 2007

[gitana1]

I really wish to write a letter to the attorneys for both of these murderers to tell them that their attempts to downplay the evil, malicous, inhuman quality of their clients, are not working. That Zeigler's lawyer tries to say his client is just a big teddy bear just makes me hate his client all the more. What is wrong with this kind of slimy lawyer? I am an attorney. I could never utter such unethical garage in my life to get an edge on a case. Besides, it does not work. It just makes the lawyer look like a nut. What he should do is shut his mouth and counsel his client to do the right thing and plead guilty for the things he has done. This case really scares me. It is eerily similar to one I have been litigating. Mom got re-married and fought (and won) to move out of state with her child. But step dad insists that the three year old call him yes sir and no sir and memorize long bible passages. He also spanks the kid. When I argued in court for an order that he not be allowed to do so (which I got), mother's attorney argued that stepdad spanking the child was part of the family "discipline plan". Sound familiar? He apparently keeps spanking the child against the court orders but we cannot prove it. I hope it doesn't end up like Riley's situation.[/quote]

You can't get a restraining order for the child in your case? I would think that if the child were asked if he/she were still being spanked by a judge in judges chambers or in front of their pediatrician during an appointment, and the pediatrician documented it, that this would be sufficient proof. Doctors records in my state are considered absolute proof...[/QUOTE]

 

[gitana1]

Okay, sorry!!! I tried to quote Believe09 and reply to her post but I meesed up! The post right above mine is not my words but from Believe09!! Anyhow, to answer your question, I have had the experience many, many times that a child or children will divulge something to the parents, who then call me upset, but when it comes time for the child to repeat their statement to the Court or a psychologist or social worker they just clam up or even deny it. They are scared but it is really frustrating. Also, the wheels of justice move slowly so that creates a disadvantage. For example, I had a case where step-mom was slapping and spanking the child. We filed paperwork for emergency orders and asked for a court investigation.But the investigation did not take place for several weeks. Right after the paperwork was filed, stepmom began acting very nicely to the child. So, weeks later when the investigator asked the kid what was going on she said "My step mom used to be mean to be but she's nice now!" She refused to say more. For a five year old, their conception of time is very different than for an adult. Also, children are very forgiving. They can't understand cruelty and when it stops, even if breifly, they are more than willing to wipe the slate clean. You need bruises and sometimes more than that, like a third party witness statement to get to the truth. It's very hard and very frustrating!! Again, sorry Believe09 for my mistaken post above!! I'm technologically stupid and I don't post often enough even though I've been around here for awhile!

 

[rccook555]

or in this particular case,, how about mandatory abortion....?? no way should those skumbag's genes be spread into the world.. plus, that would be child abuse, to let a child have those 2 monsters for parents! please,, spare them!

I cant belive someone said this. None of this is that babys fault. And i dont belive its in the "Genes". I think it will be how that baby is raised. Put him/her in a good loving stable home with people that are capable of being good parents and that baby will be fine. Punish the people that did the crime, not the young innocent baby from this.

 

[christine2448]

Would you guys be interested in starting a forum for Riley?

I PM'd Christine earlier this week asking if it was possible, but haven't heard back from her yet. Maybe I need to PM another mod?

I think there is much more to come out and if we had a forum, we could keep everything more organized. Besides I am going to follow this case until the bitter end and I have a feeling that all my other fellow WS's posting on this thread will too.

Sorry for lack in response, been watching things.

I just pm'd ya

 

[christine2448]

I am going to start a new thread, this one has gotten rather long

 

[believe09]

Okay, sorry!!! I tried to quote Believe09 and reply to her post but I meesed up! The post right above mine is not my words but from Believe09!! Anyhow, to answer your question, I have had the experience many, many times that a child or children will divulge something to the parents, who then call me upset, but when it comes time for the child to repeat their statement to the Court or a psychologist or social worker they just clam up or even deny it. They are scared but it is really frustrating. Also, the wheels of justice move slowly so that creates a disadvantage. For example, I had a case where step-mom was slapping and spanking the child. We filed paperwork for emergency orders and asked for a court investigation.But the investigation did not take place for several weeks. Right after the paperwork was filed, stepmom began acting very nicely to the child. So, weeks later when the investigator asked the kid what was going on she said "My step mom used to be mean to be but she's nice now!" She refused to say more. For a five year old, their conception of time is very different than for an adult. Also, children are very forgiving. They can't understand cruelty and when it stops, even if breifly, they are more than willing to wipe the slate clean. You need bruises and sometimes more than that, like a third party witness statement to get to the truth. It's very hard and very frustrating!! Again, sorry Believe09 for my mistaken post above!! I'm technologically stupid and I don't post often enough even though I've been around here for awhile!

No worries-I am positive that everything you said is spot on-I agree that children are willing to "wipe the slate" when shown a little bit of kindness vs. pain and humiliation. I was just trying to find an out for you-I give you ALL the credit in the world for working with these cases....I have seen a ton of them roll through the courts myself and it has to take some of the heart out of you with the frustration of it all.

 

[christine2448]

Please continue here:

Previous thread in the Unidentified Section

Unidentified Child found in box, Galveston, TX *merged threads*


Maybe someone could do a post with a good up to date summary of this case to start off the thread?

 

[christine2448]

New thread here

http://www.websleuths.com/forums/showthread.php?t=56830

 

[NewMom2003]

Thanks Christine for the new thread. :blowkiss: I understand what you mean about letting this case go further before we ask for a forum.

Can you please lock the other one so no one posts on it.

I've got some things to take care of at work this morning and then I'll start working on a timeline for this case.

 

[FLMom]

Texana,

I couldn't link your post to add something to it, but here goes. I remembered reading about the custody situation, but originally couldn't find it. I went back through the posts and found it this morning. I tried to find anything online at the Painesville, OH records site, but I don't think they have family court cases listed. The only thing I found listed was Robert Sawyers driving without a license back in 1997.

Here's the paragraph I was talking about:

Reports came through friends and relatives that Trenor had left for Pennsylvania and Maryland. But no address for the two could be found until months after Trenor filed for a Texas driver's license on June 15, 2007.

DePledge said a court order was requested to bring the mother and child back from Texas but it was dismissed because Trenor had primary custody.

As the noncustodial parent, Sawyers had no right to demand the return of his child to Ohio.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5327597.html

OK, here's what ticks me off royally. Having been through the whole Family Court fiasco myself, I know that in order to have "secondary" custody, you have to have joint custody in the first place. If I'd seen where she had "sole" custody, it would have meant that he had no rights.

There was a visitation order in place, and the "mother" chose to ignore it. Robert jumped through the hoops and went to the anger management class and was doing everything by the book to ensure having Riley in his life. And to make this stink even more, because an address couldn't be found for this woman so that she could be served papers, it was allowed to go on even longer.

My thought? If a judge had perked up his ears at this point and found her guilty of violating the custody order by not having Riley presented to him for visitation, maybe she'd still be alive. Instead, they chose the "oh well" alternative. This father had rights, and they weren't addressed.

Unfortunately for a lot of cases, once a person moves away it creates a "status quo" in the child's life, and the parent that didn't run off is the one that ends up getting punished. And we all know who got the ultimate punishment in this case.

Texana, thanks for caring so much about Riley. I've seen your posts all over this thread along with others, and I keep thinking . . . the wish that Riley had received this much support from "strangers" when she was still able to be saved.

 

[Nocgirl]

The more I read about this, the more upset I get and it bothers me to no end, since I have a young toddler girl.

 

[Mygirlsadie]

I had to take my son to the clinic today for a follow up appt. and while we were sitting in the waiting room there was this little blonde girl bouncing around my son was sharing m&m's with her and she was just too cute saying ''sank you'' and well you know how they talk!! So I asked her mom how old she is and the mom told me she is 2 1/2..Oh it broke my heart.. I thought of Riley and how innocent and TINY they are at this age. I hope that big idiot pays for what they did to her the only reason he tortured that beautiful baby was because HE ENJOYED IT..(and the so called mother enjoyed it as well)

 

[believe09]

I wonder if Trenor had Primary physical and they had joint legal? That should STILL have prevented her from running off. In my state you cannot relocate at all without the other joint custodian signing off unless the judge allows it-the story is the same with sole if the other parent has visitation by court order. You have to go through some pretty incredible hoops to get out of the state. I have also done a fair share of time in the family court system, and it is a quagmire unless you go in with a plan and stick to it....the key to fixing the system is remembering what is in the best interests of the child/children-THEN you can start sifting through the maturity of the parents and what is needed to get a working plan for parenting.

I know that as recently as October Gma Sawyers was receiving the ROS documents back as undeliverable. That alone would postpone the hearing-which makes me insane, btw. Clearly KT was savvy enough to dodge the documents while she was murdering her child, storing her in a box and then conceiving another one with the co-defendant. (OO, I am being harsh...)

 

[paddy01]

Interesting article in Galveston County Daily News, regarding Trenor & Zeigler. Experts: Trading Blame
Sure makes me nervous on defense that Trenor could use
Http://galvestondailynews.com

Hope I did this right, sorry if didn't

 

[NewMom2003]

You did great Paddy!

Interesting article. The only plea I think is acceptable in Trenor's case is to make a deal for life in prison w/o parole instead of the death penalty. I would be happy with that in her case. She would be labled a baby killer and hopefully beaten and tortured by other inmates daily.

Here is another article that I want to link to.
Galveston County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said 15 cases of “look-alike” girls are still unresolved, despite officers’ efforts to find family members and the girls. Some were last seen in Galveston

http://news.galvestondailynews.com/...ion=TheDailyNews:C6E717F11b96f204D6xvL30087E5

 

[NewMom2003]

Okay, here is my first shot at a timeline. Please add or correct any information!

March 2005 - Riley Ann Sawyers is born to Robert Sawyers and Kimberly Dawn Trenor - For two years the couple and their daughter live with Robert's parents in Mentor, Ohio

March 29, 2007 - Kimberly and Robert have a dispute and domestic violence charges are filed against Robert

April 13, 2007 - Robert completes anger management courses and moves out of his parent's home

May 23, 2007 - Kimberly Trenor is named primary custodial parent of Riley

June 2007 - Kimberly (19) takes Riley and moves to Texas to marry/or live (I'm not sure it's been confirmed that they are married) Royce Clyde Zeigler (24), whom she met on an internet gaming site.

June 15, 2007 - Sawyers family is searching for Trenor and Riley. They find out they are in Texas when Kimberly applies for a Texas driver's license on this date.

July 24, 2007 - Royce stays home from work to make sure Kimberly enforces his "discipline plan" on Riley.

October 29, 2007 - The body of a small child is found in a storage bin on a sandbar near Galveston Bay. She is named Baby Grace.

November 7, 2007 – Sheryl Sawyers phones Galveston, Texas authorities to say the sketch of “Baby Grace” resembles her granddaughter, Riley.

November 11, 2007 – Stories surface about a missing toddler from Spring, Texas matching Baby Grace’s description.

November 20, 2007 – Galveston authorities announce a $20,000 reward for information about Baby Grace.

November 24, 2007 – Baby Grace is tentatively identified as Riley Ann Sawyers. Kimberly Dawn Trenor and Royce Clyde Zeigler are arrested. Kimberly gives a statement that she and Royce beat Riley with leather belts, held her head under cold water, Royce picked Riley up by her hair and threw her against a wall (or tile floor), then gave her children’s pain medication. They shoved her face in to a pillow and a couch. They then went to a local Wal-Mart and shopped for items including a blue storage bin that they stored Riley’s body in for approximately 2 months. It’s not clear on what day she and Zeigler threw Riley’s body in to the Galveston Bay.


Let it be noted that Trenor is also pregnant at this time, presumably Zeigler is the father and the child was conceived after Riley's death. :furious:

I have to add that I started to feel rage again while I was typing this out. :furious:

 

[FLMom]

I wonder if Trenor had Primary physical and they had joint legal?

That's exactly why I went to the Painesville online records site, to try and see. Sometimes they'll list family law dockets and sometimes no. I think they had joint legal custody with the "mother" having primary.

Some states will allow move aways but it's very touchy. You have to be able to prove that the move will be in the best interest of the child. Just to say that you'll be making more money, etc, is not always enough. Technically, you're supposed to file an amended custody agreement due to a change in visitation. Any visitation that is lost if a move is approved has to be changed to other forms, such as longer times during holidays or the summer. There's a phrase for it that escapes me right now, but it's something along the lines that the new agreement would have to allow "a meaningful relationship between parent and child".

But of course we know that's an issue she skirted.

I hate to say this, but it's been in my head for a while and I need to let it out. . . .

If you're strong enough of a person to file an abuse report and go to court pro-se in a custody hearing, you're a pretty on-top of things kind of person. A person who is in control. I think the whole "run off with the kid" custody thing was a control issue on her part to hurt Sawyer. That's why I don't believe for a minute that the new husband was completely responsible for Riley dying. I think she played a heck of a bigger part in it than she led on. She isn't a wilted little flower.

I don't think that the abuse that Riley suffered started in Texas. Parents don't just all of the sudden raise their children in a loving and tender way then start beating the crap out of them. It's a bad bad thought in my head, but I can't help but believe it.

Here's what I think happened, for the little bit that it's worth. I think he left for work and Riley did something that ticked the mom off. New hubby gets a call from her that she thinks it may have gone too far this time and she needs help. He comes home and sees what happens and gives her the Tylenol (It's the only scenario I can come up with the explains the whole Tylenol thing to me). They wring their hands, knowing they can't take her to a hospital or doc because they'll be charged. So that's when they go to Wal-Mart.

 

[believe09]

I don't think that the abuse that Riley suffered started in Texas. Parents don't just all of the sudden raise their children in a loving and tender way then start beating the crap out of them. It's a bad bad thought in my head, but I can't help but believe it.

Here's what I think happened, for the little bit that it's worth. I think he left for work and Riley did something that ticked the mom off. New hubby gets a call from her that she thinks it may have gone too far this time and she needs help. He comes home and sees what happens and gives her the Tylenol (It's the only scenario I can come up with the explains the whole Tylenol thing to me). They wring their hands, knowing they can't take her to a hospital or doc because they'll be charged. So that's when they go to Wal-Mart.

I think you are on the right track, but here is where i disagree-I think that Kim was never really Riley's primary caregiver, in that she had her parents and Gma Sawyers always around. Anyone who has raised children to the age of 5 knows that 2-3 years of age is a tough, tough time in that the kids are learning to separate from Mom and they can say "No" a whole lot and have tantrums. I think that Kim was "failing" in the eyes of Royce and in her own eyes because she couldn't control Riley-being immature and lazy she let him take control and participated in the "dicipline plan" willingly. I think they gave Riley Tylenol because they did not know how badly she was injured and they were undecided if they were going to do something ie: call the paramedics. At least they could claim they tried to treat her. But on the other hand, it was clear that she was badly hurt-she was probably vomiting which is why they put her face down-and they probably hoped she would just stop making noise and die. She was moved to the couch so they could watch her. She might have been seizing as well. Traumatic brain injury with swelling...:twocents:

 

[gitana1]

I hear you NewMom2003 about the rage you are feeling. There are so many people who would do so much for the privilege of raising and loving a baby like Riley. That's the problem, Trenor apparently did not understand that it is a privilege to be able to take care of such a sweet child. And neither Trenor's age nor circumstances is any justification for her ability to not only completely ignore her God-given motherly instincts by allowing that to touch a hair on her baby's head, but also to acutally participate herself in such a brutal act against her own helpless, little toddler. It's incomprehensible! And while I could never get any pleasure off the torture of any one, no matter how evil they may be, I think there must be some retribution here against Trenor besides just a prison sentence. Our society needs to start to send the message: "Do what you want with your life but leave the kids alone!!!!!!! Don't want them? Don't like them? Can't handle them? Then give them to someone who does want them and can handle them. And if you don't, you are going to pay dearly." There are too many options out there which preclude harming a child for any reason. Unfortunately, I really get the sense that these monsters get pleasure from the pain and abuse they inflict and that's why they keep their kids. Trenor must have enjoyed what she was doing. I can't explain her actions or inaction any other way. We need to do something to make it not so fun anymore to hurt little children and I think one of the first things we can do is to employ hardcore societal pressure in the form of everyone getting involved and trying to put a stop to it when we see or hear a child being harmed. We need to get angry before the child is dead and let these people know their actions will not only not be tolerated, but will not be punished.

 

[Texana]

I think you are on the right track, but here is where i disagree-I think that Kim was never really Riley's primary caregiver, in that she had her parents and Gma Sawyers always around. Anyone who has raised children to the age of 5 knows that 2-3 years of age is a tough, tough time in that the kids are learning to separate from Mom and they can say "No" a whole lot and have tantrums. I think that Kim was "failing" in the eyes of Royce and in her own eyes because she couldn't control Riley-being immature and lazy she let him take control and participated in the "dicipline plan" willingly. I think they gave Riley Tylenol because they did not know how badly she was injured and they were undecided if they were going to do something ie: call the paramedics. At least they could claim they tried to treat her. But on the other hand, it was clear that she was badly hurt-she was probably vomiting which is why they put her face down-and they probably hoped she would just stop making noise and die. She was moved to the couch so they could watch her. She might have been seizing as well. Traumatic brain injury with swelling...:twocents:

Well said, I couldn't agree with your assessment more of Kimberly.