Monday, November 26, 2007



Police have tentative ID on girl found dead in box





The toddler whose body washed ashore in Texas last month has been tentatively identified as a 2-year-old girl, and her mother and a man identified as her boyfriend were arrested Saturday, the Galveston County Sheriff's office said Sunday.

Investigators believe the child they dubbed "Baby Grace" is actually 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers, the Galveston County Sheriff's office said Sunday.

DNA analysis is still in progress to confirm that identification.

The child's mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 19, and a man identified as Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 24, were arrested Saturday on charges of injuring a child and tampering with physical evidence, the sheriff's department said.

The couple lives in Spring, Texas, a Houston suburb about 75 miles north of Galveston.

Their bonds were set at $350,000 each.

The arrests followed searches conducted Saturday after a November 7 tip, the sheriff's department said.

Deputies and FBI agents plan to release more information at a news conference Monday, Galveston County Sheriff's Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo said.

The girl's grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers, of Cleveland, Ohio, told CNN affiliate WKYC that Riley Ann has been missing since June.
On October 29, a fisherman discovered the body in a blue Sterilite plastic container on an uninhabited island in Galveston's West Bay.

Police dubbed the dead girl "Baby Grace," and asked the public for help in identifying her.

A medical examiner said the child's skull was fractured, and a forensic dentist estimated her age at 2 to 3 years.

In composite sketches, the girl is wearing a pink skirt and matching top -- clothing authorities said she was wearing when she was found. The other sketch, a close-up rendering of the child's face, shows a fair-skinned toddler with long blond hair.

"She is more to us than just a case number, more to us than just an unidentified body. She is very much a human being," Tutoilmondo said last month. "She is someone's child, someone's grandchild, someone's cousin, someone's best friend, and to us, that is the most important part about this case."

"We have adopted the name of Baby Grace because, there again, that is part of the emotional part of this case for us," he said, holding a tiny sneaker identical to one of those the child was wearing when she was found.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Man Gets Death In Child's Drowning
Boy. 2, Held Underwater Until He Died


PHOENIX -- A Mesa man convicted in the drowning death of a two-year-old boy faces the death penalty.

A jury has sentenced Derek Chappell, 25, to death for the 2004 murder of Devon Shackleford.

Chappell was convicted in August of first-degree murder.

Investigators said Chappell took the child from his ex-girlfriend's apartment to an apartment complex swimming pool.

He then held the child under the water while the boy struggled for his life.

Chappell left the boy face down in the pool and walked away.

Investigators said Chappell killed Devon because Chappell felt the child was responsible for the breakup of his relationship with Devon's mother.

Chappell was also convicted of child abuse for choking Devon in 2003.

Shortly after the second conviction on the murder charge, a jury began hearing evidence in the death penalty phase of the trial.

On Wednesday, the panel decided that Chappell should be executed.

"I believe the jury made the right decision in response to this gruesome murder of a defenseless child," Thomas said.

"Today's verdict will not bring Devon back. But it will send a message that our society is prepared to seek the ultimate penalty in order to protect innocent life," Thomas said.

------------------------

This is terrible. He thought that the boy was the reason for the breakup? That's pathedic. A child is supposed to be a parents' favorite posession. I'm glad that guy got to get the death penaltly. I really despise people like that. They don't need to be in this world. It's really dumb that some people are like that. What do you think about this??

Please comment