UPDATE: Kimberly Dawn Trenor and Royce Clyde Zeigler II
JURY FINDS ZEIGLER GUILTY OF CAPITAL MURDER
from an article by Harvey Rice – The Houston Chronicle
A Galveston County jury deliberated for more than fours hours today before finding Royce Clyde Zeigler II guilty of capital murder in the death 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers, who became known as Baby Grace.
Prosecutors portrayed Zeigler as helping his wife kill his stepdaughter during a cruel disciplinary session and then concocting elaborate lies to help cover up the slaying and disposal of the body.
The defense countered in final arguments that Zeigler, 26, was a good man who had nothing to do with the death of Riley Ann Sawyers, but loved his wife so much that he helped her pack Riley’s body in a box and eventually toss it into the Gulf of Mexico.
The arguments on the eighth day of Zeigler’s capital murder trial before District Judge David Garner were made with dramatic flourishes by both sides before the nine men and three women on the jury began deliberations.
“If you’ve never seen the face of a man who killed a child, get a good look,” Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said as he pointed to Zeigler at the defense table.
“We don’t have a video of what Royce Clyde Zeigler and the co-defendant did in the house that day,” Sistrunk told the jurors.
Causing a loud bang by kicking the blue, plastic box that Riley’s body was found in on Oct. 29, 2007, and scattering dirt from it onto the courtroom floor, Sistrunk said, “It’s not the state’s fault that there was 12 pounds of rotting flesh in this box.”
Assistant District Attorney Kayla Allen held up a photo of the blond, blue-eyed girl, saying, “This is the Riley that came to Texas. Then Allen held up a second photo of Riley’s skull showing three fractures. “In six weeks, this is what they reduced her to,” she said.
It took the jurors exactly four and a half hours to decide the guilt of Royce Clyde Zeigler II. I wonder what took them so long? I guess there was a juror or two who wanted to look at all the evidence before making a decision, as if they weren’t in the trial for the past week. No matter, they got it right. Royce Zeigler will now spend the rest of his life in a Texas state prison without the possibility of parole. That the only sentence available to the judge, since the Death Penalty is not on the table.
I don’t understand why that is. Royce Clyde Zeigler II, along with his wife, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, Beat, tortured and killed two-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers in an attempt to teach her manners. Little Riley suffered this abuse for a full 8 hours – she was beaten with a leather belt. Her head was held under water until she nearly passed out, allowed to recover, then dunked again, over and over. She was slammed against a bathroom wall so hard her head left an indentation. This is cruel and heinous treatment by adult standards, but Riley Ann Sawyers was just a baby.
As far as I’m concerned, both Royce Clyde Zeigler II and Kimberly Dawn Trenor should be thinking about a date with the needle. Kimmy should already have her appointment, and Royce should be worrying about when his will be. But none of that will happen, for reasons only the District Attorney understands.
Thanks To insaneinthesfv For The Tip On The Verdict
TRIAL OF ROYCE CLYDE ZEIGLER II BEGINS FOR MURDER OF “BABY GRACE”
by Harvey Rice – The Houston Chronicle
October 28th, 2009 — Royce Clyde Zeigler II was portrayed alternatively today as a killer who lied repeatedly to cover up the death of 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers or a man so in love with his wife that he tried to protect her even after learning that she had slain her daughter.
The prosecution and defense presented those contrasting portraits during opening statements on the first day of Zeigler’s capital murder trial before District Judge David Garner.
Zeigler, 26, and his wife, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 21, both of Spring, concocted an elaborate web of lies that began unraveling when a fisherman discovered Riley’s body in a blue plastic box that washed onto an island in West Galveston Bay on Oct. 29, 2007, Assistant District Attorney Kayla Allen told the nine men and three women on the jury.
Allen told jurors that investigators called the then-unidentified girl Baby Grace.
Zeigler attorney Neal Davis II countered that his client was guilty of nothing more than helping his wife conceal evidence. Davis said that on the day Riley died, Zeigler walked into the living room and found Trenor with Riley, who already was unconscious.
“There is not one iota of evidence that Royce Zeigler knowingly, intentionally or in any way caused the death of Riley Sawyers,” Davis said. “He is not only not guilty, He is innocent.”
Don’t you just love defense attorneys? Every one of them has an innocent person for a client. Unfortunately for them, this time the prosecution has a pretty good case against their 
client, including the testimony of his wife and convicted co-defendant Kimberly Dawn Trenor.
Of course, Royce Clyde Zeigler II is claiming that Kimberly Dawn Trenor killed her daughter Riley by herself, and Royce only did what any good husband would have done and helped her cover up the crime. What a guy, eh folks? Even if he’s a disgusting fat bastard.
Oh I’m sorry, that was pretty biased of me to say that. Well, this time I don’t care if I come across as biased and unfair. Royce Clyde Zeigler II and Kimberly Dawn Trenor whipped Riley Ann Sawyer with a leather belt because, at 2-years old, she would sometimes forget to say “Yes sir”, “No Sir”, and “Please”. When that didn’t produce the results they were looking for, they filled the bathtub with water and held Riley’s head under water, effectively “waterboarding” a two-year-old girl. Finally, frustrating because Riley forgot what little she had learned about etiquette because of the torture, slammed he against the bathroom wall, fracturing her skull in three places and killing her.
And as if to add insult to injury, these two bullies, these two sacks of human excrement, put her battered, broken body in a plastic box and threw her into the Gulf Of Mexico, denying Riley even a proper burial, until her decomposed remains were found months later washed up on the shore of an island off Galveston, TX.
So yeah, I’m biased against this fat fuck. In fact, I hate his ever living guts. If anyone has a problem with that, feel free to debate me about it in the comments section.
Trenor was convicted of capital murder in February and sentenced to life in prison. As in the Trenor case, Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk is not seeking the death penalty for Zeigler.
The prosecution will try to convince jurors that Zeigler killed Riley during a July 25, 2007, disciplinary session in which she was beaten with belts, her head held under bath water and a pillow placed her face. Trenor said in a videotaped statement played during her trial that Zeigler hurled Riley onto a tile floor. The medical examiner testified that any one of three cracks in Riley’s skull could have killed her.
Allen said Zeigler helped pack Riley’s body in a plastic box and later tossed it off the Galveston Island railroad bridge.
The prosecution will challenge Zeigler’s assertion that Trenor alone killed Riley with testimony from Riley’s paternal grandmother. Sheryl Sawyers of Mentor, Ohio, will testify that Trenor never beat Riley while the family lived with her, Allen said.
Allen said evidence will show that Zeigler was party to deceptions that included telling his parents that Riley was with one of Trenor’s relatives, inventing a story about Riley being abducted by an Ohio welfare worker and forging an Ohio welfare document.
The prosecution rested on Tuesday, November 4th, and the defense began their case Wednesday. Most of the testimony appears to be about how great a guy Royce Zeigker III is and what an evil bitch Kimberley Trenor was when Riley was alive. If we believe the witnesses for the defense, Royce Zeigler II doted over Riley Ann Sawyers as if she was the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, and he was the only thing that stood between the toddler and Kimberley Trenor’s anger and jealousy.
Yeah, we’ll get back to you guys on that.
If you’d like to follow the trial on a day by day basis, The Police News has the most thorough coverage of the courtroom proceedings. Here are the links to each days coverage of Royce Zeigler II trial:
I’ll let you know as soon as there’s a verdict in this case.
64 Comments »
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Sigh…..what a gorgeous, sweet looking baby girl, ….
I’m so tired of these Mother Fuckers killing their kids……I so hope karma gets them inside…..
why no DP?….or did I miss something?
It makes it a little weird that at my last house people may unearth the body of my 18 year old cat that I buried with her toys, pictures of her and a letter to her.
Some little girl doesn’t get the respect I gave my 18 year old cat.
c
After thinking about it, I thought of this—
” but loved his wife so much that he helped her pack Riley’s body in a box and eventually toss it into the Gulf of Mexico.”
Because that’s what good husbands do. Pack their dead stepchildren in tupperware and toss them away like garbage.
I have seriously fucked up. Because I’m with a man who would never do that. What a loser I am.
I’m so done, so done with this earthy cruelty. I love this site, but with all the “awareness”, also brings, all the anger and sadness. I feel like ignorence is bliss lately. These beautiful baby’s faces, innocent and unknowing. Its really starting to take a toll. What good am I doing viewing this, im starting to feel very fucking helpless.
But that’s why were here, sweet Sharpa. These things are not uncommon throughout the world. This blog is a concentrated taste of the Human Condition.
My daily world consists of relatively common, non-traumatic events like any other semi normal person. I use those qualifiers because I and my life are a bit abnormal, but it’s normal for me so let’s go with it for the sake of discussion.
One of the many reasons I come here is to remind myself that not everyone is lucky like I am. Oh sure, I’ve had my past horriblenesses, but I’m a strong, solid person now and those things aren’t negative factors. I’m not perfect, nor am I really able to forget others are not so lucky, but this site drives it home. My insulated world needs holes poked in it sometimes.
And sometimes I need to feel outraged and disgusted, then read the comments of others who feel the way I do to remind me the monsters in these pages are in the minority, and that Humanity really has come far. In this age, life means more than ever in history. It’s comforting.
I have been following this case closely and being the same building where this shit is occurring is really fucking depressing and to talk to the People that have/or had to deal with this POS and see the look of pure disgust in their eyes that says “If looks could kill this little Bitch would be dead”. Everyday I go home and hug my children and thank god they were born to me and not some heartless Fuck Wads that call themselves parents. God nows I’m under a lot of stress with the 9yr who is ADHD and everyday is a ongoing battle but the good days out weight the bad. My 8 yr old answers man and woman “yes Ma’am which is hilarious when he’s addressing his Dad, who just wait until he leaves the room and we both laugh about it, ” one day he will get it right”. So what is the freaking deal with Yes sir and No sir. Somedays I am just happy to get a damn response. Riley didn’t ask to come here if she didn’t want her as part of her new family (if you want to call it that) she could’ve left her with the people that love her.
Is it just me or does Zeigler remind you of Rosie O’Donnell.
She looks like a my daughter. So sad…
hope they both fucking fry in hell.
Don’t bend over for the soap you fat ass fuck
This has been said before, but I’m saying it again in this thread so no one else has to – Parents should be required to complete courses in child care, submit to a background check and then be licensed to have children. If they have kids without a license, make ‘em submit to the tests and go to the child care classes or pay a huge fine until they do.
If they don’t pass the background check, take their kids away and give them to one of the thousands of sane, loving couples who are waiting for and wanting children, but can’t have them. There has to be a way to do this. People are licensed for dogs, driving, firearms, why not for children? Adoptive parents are run through the wringer, why not natural parents?
Unfortunately, that would infringe too much on our ‘rights’. When it’s a matter of life and death for the innocent, PC should go straight out the window. If you want to be responsible for the life of another human being, you should be willing to sacrifice some of your own personal rights to make sure that child is reared properly. Don’t like it? Then you have too much to hide and shouldn’t have kids anyway.
You are so right about people who have kids needing to pass a class, or get a license or show some sort of mentality that they are mentally and emotionally ready to take on the responsibility of a child, that they are mature, responsible!! -the animal shelter here makes you jump through hoops to adopt an animal, including calling your landlord if you don’t own a home, calling your vet to make sure any animals you already have are vaccinated, etc….but yet any pathetic worthless pair who can breed can use, abuse, kill, torture and starve children and doesn’t seem like anyone steps in until the child is dead! Where are the rights of the kids?
Ferrets: WELL SAID. WELL SAID. There needs to start being Licensing to be able to have a child. It’s an idea whose time has come. It’s long past overdue. Having a child should be more of a privelege than a right for any person with the physical equipment to breed. EXACTLY RIGHT.
I have spent more than $40k on lawyers that did nothing to prevent the abuse my children deal with every day.
Truth.
glorybug, I always enjoy your posts so this concerns me. What on earth are you going through?
Thoughts go out to you glorybug, and sorry but I have to ask mum of 2, is that your pet? or just a picky? because it looks exactly like my oldest one!! and again of topic, but how do you get to put a picture next to your name? I go to the log in page but there’s nothing there to even suggest how to do it (because I need step by step instuctions) …lol
The system isn’t broken. It’s fractured beyond repair and we need a new one.
I shudder to think of what this kid’s life was like every day. You can’t tell me this was the first time they beat the crap out of that baby.
I was thinking the same thing. Her and so many out there who live in terror every day. Just look at this fat fk, imagine him and the “MOM” inflicting all of this abuse on the beautiful girl. RIP little one.
I agree with VCBecky about people needing classes & basically a degree of sorts before allowing them to legally have kids. That was a beautiful baby. These people deserve worse than hell.
As much as my five year old can sometimes grate my nerves, there is NO way in hell I could ever hurt him! I was spanked as a child, but there is a big fucking difference in spanking & flat out abusing a child.
November 6, 2009
The murder trial of Royce Zeigler, accused of murdering his 2-year old step-daugther Riley Ann Sawyers, “Baby Grace” is now in the hands of the jury. Closing arguments by the defense and prosecution lasted less than one hour this morning before Judge David Garner turned the case over to the 9-man 3-woman jury.
As of 11:35 am.
GUILTY!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091106/ap_on_re_us/us_baby_grace
frekin bastards I hope he is raped every day for the rest of his days in prison. And that bitch should be beaten the same amount of force that hurt that precious baby. Die in hell scum!!!!!!
Thank God, it couldnt have come out any better short of the death penalty. ~ R I P babygirl ~
They’ll get what’s coming to them. Hell on Earth.
I can’t look at his face. It makes me too angry.
I am with on the anger, I just want to poke that bastards eyes out….scum!
Oh my God, why, why ,why. Can I hold those two fuckers heads under water,please?
I hope that fat pig gets fist-raped in prison. What a beautiful little girl, all I can say is at least she’s in a better place and is safe now. So sad….
Damn I wish they gave that little girl to our family…we could have raised her right
Scary, he looks like my father
This guy called off work to stay home and beat a toddler.
…called off work because beating the life out of a two year was more enjoyable!! I hate this Cowards guts!!
I followed this story every day since the day she was found and named baby grace, I hope she can rest in peace.
thanks for the up-date.
sorry typo’s, I always make them when I get angry, and this case make me livid!
Hey Dr Smith, as long as your angry IMO, I personally don;t care about typo’s :)…and ditto about the angry, it also pissesd me of!
Ugh, god Dr you are so right. And when you think about it that way, it’s even more aggravating. I hate that I even have to share the same air space with this piece of scum sucking shit.
OMG I AM CRYING – CRYING IN TERRROR FOR HTIS LITTLE GIRL OHHHHHHHHHHH HOWW???????? HOW???? WHY????GODDD?????WHY>?????
mr smith… so sexxxy … wanna lick u….
My eyes are watering at this. That poor girl is gone from the world, and she was hardly given a share of life. It’s horrifying and disgusting how they could do something like that.
I don’t believe Miss Manners covered this method of teaching ettiquette in any of her books.
People like this are exactly why i changed my mind about going to law school. I could NEVER defend a guilty POS… i don’t know how they sleep at night
Im so glad they got what they deserved. And yes he is nothing but a pathetic fat pig. He couldnt even stand by his gurl…
And she is another story- killin her own child. Yep ur right. We gon see this bitch in hell…
Isn’t it funny how when we were little kids, our parents would always tell us that monsters didn’t exist? They’re not in your closet, or under your bed, but those sons of bitches may be living right next door to you, and what’s worse? you could be a stone’s throw away from where they are storing their dead victim(s). I tell my kids that monsters DO exist, and then I show them pictures of the child molesting/murdering POS on this website. I agree with VCBecky whole-heartedly. I believe every single parent, even those of us who are already parents, should have to undergo psychiatric evaluation and licensing. And those who are not found to be mentally sound should have their children adopted out to the deserving people who cannot have children and are mentally stable enough to handle the job. “It’s too expensive!” You will hear them complain. But, how expensive is it to have to bury these babies that these parents keep killing? and even more so than that, to house the fuckers that think it’s cute to kill a defenseless human being?
When it comes to our children, the future of the human race all over the planet, I think PC and personal rights should be secondary. I don’t care who has to be offended, or whose ‘ethical’ toes are stepped on. Drastic measures are needed to curb this type of crime.
I do see what’s wrong with forced birth control, and screening potential parents before they’re allowed to have children. I don’t see how those things can outweigh the desperate need to keep our children safe. Monsters abuse their children, turning them into monsters themselves, and the cycle continues. Not in all cases, but count how many perps claim they had an abusive childhood? Are they all lying? I really don’t think so.
I’m with both you ladies on this. I am a father. My daughter is 12. She is smart, happy, courious, playful, loving and just the greatest kid on the planet. No other is better than my kid. Well every parent says that now don’t they?
I would be more than willing to take any test thrown at me. No problems because I know I am a good father. I know I do a good job.
Forced sterilization (sp) I have no probs wiht that but who sets the standards? Who plays God and decides? Again I am not agaist it but I am the asshole that sits in the back of the room asking solid questions. So sue me
These things could be worked out if we could seriously consider them. The system could be similar to our court system now, but with obvious differences.
Some of the standards would be quite easy to come up with – have you ever killed anyone on purpose? Are you a contributing member of society or a welfare vampire? IQ would come into play – are you too freakin stupid to raise a child?
The seriously touchy stuff would be, well, seriously touchy. ;) Things like genetics – do you have any serious defects that are easily passed to a child? ‘Serious’ to me means things that cause constant pain or an extremely shortened lifespan, or an inability to function in society. I’m not saying everyone in a wheelchair shouldn’t have been born. If you carry a gene that is easily passed on to another generation which will cause the person to be unable to move at all, for instance, why pass it on? Adopt if you are otherwise deemed a fit parent.
I know the arguments. Eugenics never works. What if we miss out on another Stephen Hawking? There are huge drawbacks to any scenario, including the current system. No easy answers, but the tough answers are untenable to most people. So do we leave it as it is?
Yeah, and the problem with the current system is that in essence, the issue is being ignored until these kids turn up dead. The court systems are turning a blind eye to all of these warning signs of why these kids are being taken away in the first place, and they give kids back to their parents even when they are guilty of completely brutalizing their children. I see it all of the time. And all because the parents went through some bullshit class that basically just slapped them on the wrist, the court deems it appropriate for the children to go home, because it saves them a lot of time/money/hassle. And it seems to me that more and more children are dying at the hands of their parents or the parent’s live-in significant other or both all of the time. And until SOMETHING is done, well, Max will always have an abundance of stories like this to write.
Sadly Nichole. Very sad. But your are right.
It is sad.
Well Nicole, monsters sadly exist. In this case, Riley’s own mother and step-parents. Trenor and Ziegler deserve to rot in Hell alongside with Charles Manson, 9/11 Terrorists, and Saddam Hussein.
And that list would continue on forever wouldn’t it USS? You are right, they all do deserve hell. I used to not believe there was a hell, and now I feel like I have to, because it’s the ONLY thing, and I do mean the only thing that brings me solitude with stories like this one. Just to know that a god-awful fate beyond anything any of us could fathom awaits these fuckers when they die.
Hell would be crowded with scum of humanity, which is fine with me.
Interestingly, this case broke around the time Lori Drew was becoming infamous. Well, Drew, Trenor, and Zeigler are scum of the Earth along with Osama bin Laden/Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and Ted Bundy.
Yes indeed! Hell is going to be elbows to assholes. They’re going to have to build a second hell just to accomodate.
Where is the gas chamber when you need it?
Oh, I so agree! Or the good ol’ electric chair? The firing squad? The hangmen? The death penalty these days is too merciful. Where is the fun in lethally injecting people like this? Except the firey pits of hell that await them when it’s done. And this deserving douche-bag doesn’t even get the death penalty. He gets to live out his life with three hots and a cot, no bills no worries, no nothing…Just don’t get it…
Oh, and he will be living this life on OUR dime by the way.
Royce Clyde Zeigler II is a PIG, I hope he lives a long miserable life in prison and rots in hell on earth for what he did. Such brutality was learned from his own family environment no doubt about it, his own parents should be ostracized by their community and their faces displayed in the public media, I’d like to hear their excuse for teaching such a boy to grow up so hateful and cruel.
What sucks is he Wont be fist fucked, raped or even ridiculed. He will have his own cell, bed, tv…. Death penalty for any crime against a child should be mandatory. And none of this 20 year wait to die. I don’t want to pay for this scum to eat steak for 20 years. Off em the day after guilty verdict, let em sleep with the other prisoners his last night on earth and be tortured allllll night. Bastard. Hope his mothers proud.
Know the Zeiglers. Knew this sick fuck when he was a kid. The only one in the whole bunch worth the skin he is wrapped in is the brother Hiram. Parents are seriously sick. Junior learned from sr. These two should die.
That’s one messed up family right there, just like the Edenfields and Drews.
Is it wrong for me to hold the mothers in these case to a higher standard than the scum stepfather/boyfriend/etc..??? I seen a video the other day, this baby squirrel was on the ground and a big black lab came up to it, sniffing around, mama squirrel came down the tree, attacked the huge dog, scooped up baby and ran up the tree while the dog had this look on his face-what the hell just happened?? Now an animal, supposedly with little intelligence will go against instinct, attack an animal 10 times its size, face certain death to save its baby and these breeders (i can’t call them mothers) won’t call 911, run to the neighbors for help, hit the guy killing their kid with something, anything to stop it?? Stupid bitches don’t even have the intelligence, bravery, strength of a squirrel towards their children????
She was such an angelic looking little girl! I will never understand how in the world a person can hurt these sweet and innocent children!
That POS bastard is going to prison in Texas, so he isn’t going to have an easy time. But they will probably put him in protective custody so the punk ass motherfucker won’t get raped, beaten, and killed. I think they should let the prisoners dole out a little prison justice in this case! The shithead definitely deserves it!
i think im gonna start the shitstain awards,and these 2 r right up there with the shitstains that killed baby brianna.
ROFL! What do they get, Bo? A pair of bronzed and skid-marked tighty-whities and a gift certificate for Colon Blow?
if i could it would be a personnal invite to meet a few of the toughest biker bros i know who would love to spend some personnal quality pain time with him.
i think she was found just down the road from where i live in austin,right round galveston.and i think they set up a memorial for her there.
Ferrets: (November 27 2009 comment): YOU ARE EXACTLY RIGHT. And I love the way the writer of this article writes. For example, where he writes “If we believe the witness for the defense, Royce Ziegler II doted over Riley Ann Sawyers as if she was the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ…”
Three years later.. I’m still compelled to look up Riley Ann Sawyers to see if in fact, the two pieces of shit that murdered her have been found dead in their cells yet. I’ve done terrible things in my past- but not to anyone that didn’t deserve it. I will never be a candidate for atonement, but my past is no longer haunting me in my sleep. I have three beautiful children, a beautiful wife, and we are living comfortably. We had one rule… You do not, under any circumstances harm a child. Collaterally or accidentally. I was so rocked by this story back in 2007. I realize that this is not an isolated case as it happens to other children. Maybe it was because she reminds me of my daughter, or maybe because her eyes in the pictures show so much life and love waiting to be given. To be violated in such a violent way by people she loved and trusted with her life, who in fact took it from her, is the ultimate betrayal. Maybe because of my past or maybe because I couldn’t ever in a million years fathom harming my children, I have on a couple occasions fantasized about the things I would like to do to the mother and step-father (Think of the bastard child of Saw, Silence of the Lambs, and a little House of 1,000 corpses bred together). I only wish there was a fund to donate money to family members of people locked up for life in the same facillities as the mother and step-father. A fund that gives certain life-sentence prisoner’s a grand a month. A fund that would guarantee the daily rape and torture of these two monsters. I would donate generously every month until they die. I googled it, but I found no “Fund for the daily torture and rape of the murderers of Riley Ann Sawyers. RIP Lil’ Angel xo