It was day like any other late July day in East Texas, hot and muggy, when Royce Zeigler, 24, decided to stay home from work to help 19-year-old Kimberly, his new bride of less than two months, "discipline" Riley.
Riley had become a problem. The little two 1/2-year-old girl didn't have any "manners". She refused to learn how to say things such as "thank you" or "yes sir" or "please."
According to Kimberly, Royce wanted her to use a belt to spank Riley.
No one knows what happened that day other than Kimberly Ziegler's statement on November 24th to the investigators at the Galveston County Sheriff's Department.
Kimberly told a horrifically sadistic tale, one of where the little girl was beaten with leather belts, of holding Riley's head under water, of pillows being used to smother Riley, of Royce grabbing Riley by her hair and throwing her across the room, her tiny head hitting the hard tile floor. Royce giving Riley cold medication, of Riley, now dead, being covered by a purple towel.
Kimberly went on to tell how that evening they got into their vehicle and drove to Walmart to search for something they could store Riley's body in. How they walked the aisles until they found a blue plastic Sterling storage tote, a "Walmart" casket for little Riley.
They wrapped Riley in plastic and then laid her into the storage tote. They then put the storage tote in the shed that sat out in the back yard. Little Riley stayed in that shed, day after day, night after night, her body decomposing in the hot humid Texas heat while Royce and Kimberly thought about what to do next.
Eventually they drove 75 miles to the Galveston Causeway with the storage tote containing Riley in the back. It was there at the Causeway that Royce and Kimberly left Riley believing their troubles were finally over. No one would know who this little girl was, if anyone ever found her. At least they hoped.
On October 29th, approximately 105 days since that fateful morning when Royce stayed home from work to teach Kimberly how to "discipline" Riley, a fisherman near Green's Cut found a blue plastic storage tote, inside the decomposing body of a little girl.
Riley's father, 20-year-old Robert Sawyers of Mentor, Ohio, is finding it difficult to believe Kimberly could have been involved.
"I never thought she could do anything like this," Robert Sawyers, of Mentor, Ohio, 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," said Sawyers, 20. "It's
heart-wrenching to think she might have done this to such a beautiful
little girl." [1]
Royce's attorney, Neal Davis III, has said that Kimberly is pointing the finger of blame at Royce in an attempt to save herself.
Once we start sorting through these facts, her credibility will be a big issue."
Davis said it's too early to know what prompted the beating.
"Before we make any kind of comment about what would provoke that and who was
provoked, we need to delve into the facts," he said.[1]
It has been also reported that Kimberly is pregnant and housed in the medical wing of the Galveston County Jail.
Trenor (Kimberly) is being kept in the medical wing probably out of fear that
other inmates might attack her because of the nature of the
allegations, Child Protective Services spokeswoman Estella Olguin said.
Galveston County sheriff's spokesman Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said he
is prevented by law from discussing an inmate's medical condition, but
in general, inmates are isolated when other inmates pose a threat.
If Trenor gives birth while in custody, she will not be allowed to
keep the child, Olguin said. She said Trenor is 5 feet 7 inches tall
and 125 pounds and does not show, so it's unlikely that she is more
than two months pregnant.[1]
On a hot and muggy late July day in East Texas, 24-year-old Royce Zeigler decided to stay home from work in order to show his 19-year-old new bride Kimberly how to teach her little 2 /12-year-old daughter Riley, some "manners." How to say "thank you, please, and yes sir."
Source - Houston Chronicle
Source - Riley Sawyers: Mother's Grim Tale of Abuse and Death
By LGB
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.
