RILEY ANN SAWYERS "Baby Grace" - 2 yo (2007) - Houston TX

Two years after the remains of a toddler who came to be known as
"Baby Grace" were dumped in Galveston Bay, the child's stepfather was
convicted of capital murder in her beating death.The remains of
Riley Ann Sawyer — weighing 12 pounds and stuffed into a plastic
container — remained unidentified for nearly a month after they were
discovered October 2007. Investigators dubbed the child "Baby Grace."Then
Sheryl Sawyers of Mentor, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, saw an artist's
sketch and told Texas police she thought the child might be her missing
granddaughter."I wish I hadn't been right," Sheryl Sawyers said Friday.Riley's
stepfather, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, was convicted of capital murder
Friday and will receive an automatic life sentence without parole
because prosecutors did not seek the death penalty. Jurors, who
deliberated for 4 1/2 hours after an eight day trial, could have
convicted Zeigler of a lesser charge of manslaughter.
Riley's mother, Kimberly Trenor, was convicted of capital murder in February and is serving a life sentence."The
two people responsible for her murder have been convicted," Galveston
County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said. "It's a good day for
Riley."Prosecutors said Zeigler and Trenor killed the toddler at
their home in Spring, a suburb north of Houston, during a July 2007
discipline session intended to teach her proper manners. Zeigler was
upset the 2-year-old didn't consistently use "please" and "thank you,"
authorities said.Trenor and Zeigler beat Riley with belts,
dunked her head in a cold bath water and threw her onto a tile floor,
fracturing her skull, prosecutors said. An autopsy determined the child
died of several skull fractures.After Riley's death, the couple
stuffed her body in a plastic box and hid it for months in a storage
shed at their home. Then they drove about 75 miles southeast to
Galveston Bay, where they dumped the container and body in October
2007, according to authorities.Riley's remains were discovered by a fisherman on a small island in the bay."I
wish it never had happened but I'm glad it's over and I'm glad we got
the verdict we did," said Sheryl Sawyers, who had tears in her eyes. "I
can try to move on."Sistrunk said Riley's death "was a terrible crime that hit us all."The
impact of her death was still apparent Friday. One of the investigators
in the case, Lt. Tommy Hansen of the Galveston County Sheriff's
Department, took off his glasses and wiped away tears after the verdict
was read. Another, Sgt. Mike Barry, pumped his left fist into the air
in celebration.Zeigler didn't react after the verdict was read.
But his mother, Nellie Zeigler, slumped into one of the courtroom's
padded benches in tears and repeated, "I just want to see him for a
minute," after her son was taken away.Dee McWilliams, one of Zeigler's attorneys,
later said his client was "pretty devastated" by the verdict."From
day one, we knew what we were up against ... how he had been demonized
in the media. We did everything we could to change that," McWilliams
said. "We are very disappointed in how things turned out."
Ziegler's attorneys told jurors their client was in another room when Riley died and there was no evidence he killed her.But
prosecutors said Zeigler lied repeatedly to investigators, giving them
conflicting statements on the girl's death. Prosecutors showed the
Galveston County jury video of Zeigler admitting dumping the child's
body in the bay.Trenor and Zeigler met playing an online video
game and married in June 2007 after Trenor moved with her daughter from
Ohio to live with Zeigler in his home in Spring.

Court upholds Baby Grace murder conviction




GALVESTON, Texas — The Court of Appeals for the First District of Texas has upheld the capital murder conviction jurors returned in February 2009 against Kimberly Dawn Trenor, mother of Riley Ann Sawyers, 2.

The child, found dead in a plastic box on a small island in Galveston Bay in 2007, was widely known as Baby Grace until she was identified.

In an appeal for a new trial, Trenor claimed she had during her trial in the Galveston’s 10th Judicial District Court been denied compulsory process and that evidence had been insufficient to support her conviction.

A three-judge panel rejected both arguments, according to an opinion issued Thursday.

Trenor is serving life in prison.

Her husband, and the child’s stepfather, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, was convicted in November 2009, also of capital murder, and also is serving a life sentence.

Sawyers died of three skull fractures that occurred during a daylong disciplinary session that went bad, according to evidence presented at the trials.

http://www.khou.com/news/local/Appeals-court-upholds-Baby-Grace-murder-conviction-112598634.html