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The story of Baby Grace made Kimberly Dawn Trenor infamous: she was accused of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Riley Ann Sawyers, in 2007. Trenor had her partner, Royce Zeigler, as an accomplice. The case aired on the Investigation Discovery subscription television channel as part of the series FBI: Criminal Pursuit . This terrible story began when a fisherman discovered the body of Riley Ann Sawyers on an island off the coast of Galveston, Texas, on October 29, 2007.
What happened before Riley’s death?
Kimberly told authorities that child protective services had taken her daughter. Ray Tuttoilmondo of the Galveston County Sheriff ‘s Department investigated the matter and later expressed doubt that child protection would have done such a thing.
Kimberly eventually admitted that Royce had forced her to write a fake letter from the Ohio Department of Child Welfare. This fake document stated that custody of Riley would be taken away from them.
Kimberly, in May 2007, filed a complaint claiming to be a victim of abuse by Robert Sawyers, the girl’s father. Following the complaint, she Kimberly leaves Ohio. Kimberly was granted custody of Riley, while Robert was granted visitation rights. After that, Kimberly and Riley disappeared.
The body
It was on a small island in Galveston Bay that a fisherman, on October 29, discovered a locked box that had been abandoned. Inside was the body of a girl with a head injury. She was wearing a pink skirt from Target, a pink t-shirt, and bright white sneakers with purple flowers.
When the body was found, investigators had few elements to identify her. They called in Lois Gibson, a renowned forensic artist, who created a sketch of what the girl would have looked like in life. In the absence of a name for her, the researchers called her Baby Grace or Baby Grace.
For a brief period, investigators considered the possibility that the body was that of Madeleine McCann, a 4-year-old British girl whose disappearance from a tourist hotel in Portugal in May of that year had made international headlines. However, authorities quickly ruled out any connection to the case.
The identification of the victim
The Galveston County Sheriff ‘s Office received hundreds of tips from around the world. One of them concerned Sawyers, a girl who had last been seen in July. This was when Trenor allegedly turned her over to someone who presented him with supposedly legitimate custody papers.
However, Sawyers’ disappearance was never reported to the police. The girl’s grandmother told various outlets that she and her family had not seen or spoken to Riley since May 25, 2007.
Thanks to the sketches of Baby Grace made by the police, Sheryl Sawyers, on November 7, 2007, found that this girl resembled Riley, her granddaughter. Immediately, Sheryl contacted the Galveston police and claimed to believe the girl might be her granddaughter. Police soon requested DNA samples from Robert and Sheryl Sawyers, who lived in Ohio and were to send the samples to Texas. This took place on November 20, 2007. The results of the DNA samples, which came out on November 30, showed that the remains found belonged to Riley Ann Sawyers.
arrest and confession
The arrests occurred in November, almost a month after the body was found. Kimberly Trenor and Royce Zeigler were arrested and charged with battery to a minor and tampering with physical evidence. Their bail was set at $350,000 each.
On November 23, 2007, Kimberly made a videotaped statement in the presence of her attorney recounting her role in her daughter’s death.
Kimberly testified that she and Royce Zeigler, then her husband, beat Riley with a belt, and that the girl was then held upside down in the bathtub water, supported by them. Royce then grabbed Riley’s hair to throw her across the room. This caused Riley to hit his head on the ground.
All of this suffering for Riley Ann at the hands of Kimberly and Royce, her mother and stepfather, was because the little girl “didn’t learn to say ‘please’, ‘thank you’ and ‘yes sir’ fast enough,” Kimberly said.
Kimberly Dawn Trenor told the police how Riley died. He said that after he died they went to Walmart to buy what they would need to dispose of his body: a blue container with hinges and wheels, a shovel, concrete mix, latex gloves, bleach, a chain and a clip to lock the chain. .
According to investigations, Kimberly and Royce put Riley in the container and kept her in a shed for about two months. The container was transported to the Galveston waterway, where it was dumped. The sight of the container floating on the high seas would be the last time Kimberly would see her daughter.
case closure
While in jail, Kimberly said that after the murder, Royce attempted suicide by leaving a note that read: “My wife is innocent of the sins I have committed.”
The jury found Kimberly guilty of murder and sentenced her to life in prison without the possibility of reduction of her sentence. Kimberly is being held at the Mountain View unit in Gatesville, Texas. Royce suffered the same fate and is being held at the Wallace Pack unit near Navasota, Texas.
According to the news, Riley’s biological father, Robert Sawyers, was in tears as he spoke and reminisced about his daughter. He said that she was a girl who loved to have fun and that she had a great imagination for her age. Robert said that Riley Ann could play with anything and have fun with it.
He also expressed that Riley was active and even hyperactive, but that she was a very educated girl. Riley liked to play with the hose in the yard and water the yard until everything was soaked. Robert’s mother said she and her family were devastated when they learned of the girl’s death.
In 2011, Investigation Discovery featured the case with details of the murder of Riley Ann Sawyer in their series FBI: Criminal Manhunt , where they paid heartfelt tribute to the girl.
Sources
- Investigation Discovery. FBI: Criminal Pursuit. Baby Grace .
- Rice, H. & Langford, T. (2007). Baby Grace documents tell of a brutal death .
- Shofar, C. (2011). Investigation discovery to air episode on murder of Riley Ann Sawyers, ‘Baby Grace’.
- Sunseri, G., Oberg, T.Y. Schoetz, D. (2017). Affidavit Describes Torture of Riley Ann Sawyers.
