Child killed for failing to say 'please'

[Pchan 5,162]

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/11/28/child.remains.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- The stepfather of a 2-year-old girl lost control and beat her to death because she wouldn't say "please" and "yes sir," an attorney for the girl's mother said Wednesday.

A body found last month in Galveston Bay is believed to be that of the little girl, Riley Ann Sawyers, though DNA tests are pending.

Her mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, and stepfather, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, were arrested Saturday.

Trenor's attorney, Tommy Stickler Jr., also said Wednesday that Trenor is pregnant.

According to court documents, Trenor, 19, told police she and her husband killed the girl in July and hid her body in a shed before dumping it in the bay.

Stickler said Zeigler, 24, was overwhelmed by his sudden fatherhood and didn't know what behavior to expect from a toddler. Trenor moved with her daughter from Mentor, Ohio, to Texas in June to be with Zeigler, whom she met online.

Zeigler wanted his wife to spank Riley with a belt when she failed to say things like "please" and "yes sir" or "no sir," Stickler said Wednesday. Zeigler didn't believe Trenor was doing it, however, because the 2-year-old's behavior wasn't changing.

The fatal beating happened after Zeigler stayed home from work to make sure his wife was following his discipline plan, Stickler said.

In her statement to Galveston authorities, Trenor said the girl was beaten with leather belts, had her head held underwater in a bathtub and then was thrown across a room, her head slamming into a tile floor.

Although the affidavit said the couple abused Riley over a four- to six-hour period, Stickler said it wasn't a continuous event. Instead, Zeigler grew increasingly enraged as he spanked Riley and she kept forgetting to do things the way he wanted.

"There was never an intention to beat Riley to death," he said.

At one point, Trenor wanted to call an ambulance but Zeigler wouldn't let her, saying they would both be arrested if officials saw her injuries, Stickler said. Instead, Riley was given some over-the-counter pain medication.

When Riley later stopped breathing, Zeigler performed CPR on her tiny body, Stickler said.

Neal Davis III, Zeigler's attorney, said Trenor's story isn't believable.

"She is placing all the blame on Royce, but I think that once the facts come to light, once the timeline's established and the evidence is combed through ... I think her credibility is gonna become a big issue," Davis said.

Trenor and Ziegler were arrested after investigators spent weeks trying to identify the girl they dubbed "Baby Grace," whose body was found in a plastic box floating in Galveston Bay. Riley's paternal grandmother in Ohio had called police, thinking a sketch of the dead child might have been the granddaughter she hadn't seen in months.

Trenor and Zeigler remained jailed Wednesday on charges of injury to a child and tampering with evidence. Bail was set at $350,000 each.

[Myk JL 1,731]

A sad storry. One of the many reason to be anti-beating (your) kids.

[Mathias 426]

I believe in disciplining children, but I'm talking about a slapped hand for taking a toy away from the sibling, smacked touchee for doing something inappropriate, or a tap on the cheeks if they said something bad. What this couple is accused of doing is far beyond the definition of discipline or even a beating; there is no fine line here.

[Dubird 6,815]

I have no problem with spanking a child, as long as you're not spanking them so hard you leave bruises or slapping them across the face or something. And of course, now people are going to be even more convinced that spanking a child is actual abuse because of people like this.

You know, I saw something on A&E about a similar case. I think it was in New York or someplace near there. It's really eerie how alike it is.

[Vincent 2,861]

you know, just, omg, wow, i mean....i don't knwo what to say. these "parents" were obviously not ready to have a child. It makes me wonder how they were raised as well. I would think that they could have looked on past experience of being raise themselves but noooooo

[Sledgstone 8,672]

thats messed up. they straight up tortured that kid. and anyone who has had a kid knows that age is called the 'terrible twos' because they're toddlers. but people that do that to a kid should rot in jail for the rest of their lives.

[Gundam-Ranger-X 1,988]

I agree with Mathias and Dubird on the dicipline issue. Phisical dicipline and phisical abuse are two very different things.

Those two people have issues. I've said it before and I'll say it again: Some parents just need to beaten... Others on the other hand should never be allowed to have children in the first place.