GALVESTON — Kimberly Dawn Trenor remained on suicide watch Tuesday after her capital murder conviction in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Riley Ann Sawyers.
After she is transferred to state prison sometime during the next few weeks, Trenor is likely to be a target of other inmates and probably will be segregated for her safety, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said.
Maj. Mike Henson, Galveston County Jail commander, said Trenor was immediately placed on minimum suicide watch after her conviction Monday for the slaying of Riley, dubbed Baby Grace by investigators after her unidentified body was discovered by a fisherman Oct. 29, 2007.
Trenor, 20, automatically received a life sentence without parole because Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk declined to seek the death penalty.
Anyone sentenced to death or life in prison without parole is placed on minimum suicide watch as a precaution until the person can be examined by a psychiatrist, Henson said.
“I just want to make sure she is not having any thoughts or ideas about harming herself,” Henson said.
Trenor was placed in a special area where a deputy has a desk next to her cell, which is checked every 15 minutes.
She will remain on minimum suicide watch until she is examined, Henson said. If she is determined to be suicidal, she will be placed on full suicide watch in a padded cell and wearing only a smock, Henson said.
Husband awaiting trial
Like her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 25, who is awaiting a trial date on a capital murder charge in Riley’s death, Trenor has been segregated from other inmates because of the notoriety of the case, Henson said.
Trenor told authorities that she and Zeigler killed Riley during a daylong disciplinary session July 25, 2007. The acts included whipping her with belts, holding her head under bath water, pushing her face into a pillow and couch, and slamming her repeatedly onto a tile floor.
Riley had three skull fractures, any one of which could have been fatal, and a broken vertebra when Trenor says they stuffed her body into a blue plastic box. They kept the box in a storage room for up to two months before tossing it off the railroad bridge next to the Galveston Causeway, Trenor said.
Officials also must consider keeping Trenor safe after she is transferred to the state prison system, Lyons said.
“This is a high-profile case and a case many people have felt strongly about, so her safety will be considered,” she said. Inmates who have harmed a child typically become a target of other prisoners, she said.
Lyons said the state has 45 days from the time the paperwork is complete to transfer a prisoner from a county jail to the prison system. Most prisoners are removed to prison within three weeks, she said, but she agreed with Henson that high-profile cases tend to move faster.
Trenor will be processed at the Woodman State Jail in Gatesville, the first stop for all women entering the prison system, Lyons said.
From there Trenor will go to one of the 10 women’s units, most of them in the Gatesville area, Lyons said. more
After she is transferred to state prison sometime during the next few weeks, Trenor is likely to be a target of other inmates and probably will be segregated for her safety, Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said.
Maj. Mike Henson, Galveston County Jail commander, said Trenor was immediately placed on minimum suicide watch after her conviction Monday for the slaying of Riley, dubbed Baby Grace by investigators after her unidentified body was discovered by a fisherman Oct. 29, 2007.
Trenor, 20, automatically received a life sentence without parole because Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk declined to seek the death penalty.
Anyone sentenced to death or life in prison without parole is placed on minimum suicide watch as a precaution until the person can be examined by a psychiatrist, Henson said.
“I just want to make sure she is not having any thoughts or ideas about harming herself,” Henson said.
Trenor was placed in a special area where a deputy has a desk next to her cell, which is checked every 15 minutes.
She will remain on minimum suicide watch until she is examined, Henson said. If she is determined to be suicidal, she will be placed on full suicide watch in a padded cell and wearing only a smock, Henson said.
Husband awaiting trial
Like her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, 25, who is awaiting a trial date on a capital murder charge in Riley’s death, Trenor has been segregated from other inmates because of the notoriety of the case, Henson said.
Trenor told authorities that she and Zeigler killed Riley during a daylong disciplinary session July 25, 2007. The acts included whipping her with belts, holding her head under bath water, pushing her face into a pillow and couch, and slamming her repeatedly onto a tile floor.
Riley had three skull fractures, any one of which could have been fatal, and a broken vertebra when Trenor says they stuffed her body into a blue plastic box. They kept the box in a storage room for up to two months before tossing it off the railroad bridge next to the Galveston Causeway, Trenor said.
Officials also must consider keeping Trenor safe after she is transferred to the state prison system, Lyons said.
“This is a high-profile case and a case many people have felt strongly about, so her safety will be considered,” she said. Inmates who have harmed a child typically become a target of other prisoners, she said.
Lyons said the state has 45 days from the time the paperwork is complete to transfer a prisoner from a county jail to the prison system. Most prisoners are removed to prison within three weeks, she said, but she agreed with Henson that high-profile cases tend to move faster.
Trenor will be processed at the Woodman State Jail in Gatesville, the first stop for all women entering the prison system, Lyons said.
From there Trenor will go to one of the 10 women’s units, most of them in the Gatesville area, Lyons said. more
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