HOUSTON (AP) — A Houston family court judge ruled Wednesday that a baby boy born to a woman while she was in custody in the death of her 2-year-old daughter will remain in a Dallas foster home.

Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 19, gave birth to Shawn Trenor on June 26 at Mainland Medical Center. The baby was immediately taken from her and given to Child Protective Services.

Trenor has been charged with capital murder in the death of Riley Ann Sawyers, who was known only as “Baby Grace” for weeks after her body was found in a box washed up on the shore of an island in Galveston Bay. Trenor had moved with her daughter from Mentor, Ohio, to Texas last year to be with co-defendant Royce Clyde Zeigler II, her current husband, whom she met online.

Family Court Judge Michael Schneider issued an emergency order that put the newborn in the custody of his mother’s distant relatives in Dallas, CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin told the Houston Chronicle in its online edition Wednesday. The judge also transferred the case from Harris County to Galveston County, Olguin said.

Trenor and Zeigler, 25, are accused of beating Riley to death July 25 in their Spring home. She told police the child died after a disciplinary session veered out of control. Ziegler’s attorney has denied her account.

Trenor said the couple hid the body in a shed for two months before dumping it in Galveston Bay where a fisherman later found the body inside a box. The island where the body was found has been officially named Riley’s Island.

Efforts by Trenor’s relative to adopt the newborn failed when the father refused to give up parental rights, the paper reported.

Trenor and Zeigler remain in the Galveston County Jail in lieu of $850,000 bail each. They are each charged with capital murder and tampering with physical evidence, according to a jail official.

Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. Their trial is set for Nov. 3 of this year.

 

---

Print this story
Report an inappropriate comment

---

In order to comment, you must agree to our user agreement and discussion guidelines.

Need help? Email Us.

---