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Police: Mother describes beating of 2-year-old, hiding her body

(CNN) — Before dying, 2-year-old Riley Ann Sawyers was beaten with belts, picked up by her hair, thrown across the room and held under water, according to an affidavit from the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office.

The affidavit says the girl’s mother, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, described to police how her daughter died and was put in a plastic storage box that Trenor and her husband, Royce Zeigler, later dumped into a Galveston waterway.

Trenor told police Zeigler tried to commit suicide the weekend before Thanksgiving, and wrote a note that said, My wife is innocent of the sins that I committed.

The body of the then-unidentified toddler was found on October 29. A fisherman found Riley’s body stuffed inside a blue storage container that washed up on an uninhabited island in Galveston’s West Bay.

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

Police dubbed the child Baby Grace. A police artist’s sketch of her was widely circulated in the news media and prompted a call to Galveston police from Riley’s grandmother in Ohio, who had not seen the girl in months.

On Saturday, police arrested Trenor and Zeigler on charges of injuring a child and tampering with physical evidence, the sheriff’s department said. Their bonds were set at $350,000 each.

The affidavit, obtained by CNN, says when police interviewed Trenor on November 23, she gave a voluntary statement on video with her attorney present in which she describes her involvement, with Royce Zeigler, in the physical abuse, death and disposal of the remains of her daughter, Riley Ann Sawyers.

Trenor’s statement said on July 24, she and Zeigler both beat the child with leather belts and held her head under water in the bathtub. She said Zeigler picked the girl up by her hair and also threw her across the room, slamming her head into the tile floor.

After her daughter died, Trenor’s statement said, she and Zeigler went to a Wal-Mart that night and bought the Sterilite container, a shovel, concrete mix, and other supplies.

The statement said the box containing the child’s body was hidden in a storage shed for one to two months. Then, Trenor said, she and Zeigler carried it to the Galveston Causeway and tossed it in, and she saw it drifting away.

Riley Ann’s father, Robert Sawyers, on Monday tearfully remembered her as a fun-loving girl … with a big imagination. Watch Riley Ann’s father describe the little girl

Riley was very active, very hyper, but also very well-behaved, Sawyers told reporters in Mentor, Ohio.

She would play with a water hose … spraying the whole patio soaking wet until she was done with it, he said, as he sat behind two photographs of his daughter, a toddler with wispy blond curls.

Robert Sawyers’ mother, Sheryl Sawyers, said the family was devastated to learn that police believe Riley is dead.

It’s hard to think that I’ll never see her again, she said, clutching a red Elmo doll she had planned to give Riley for Christmas.

Maj. Ray Tuttoilmondo of the Galveston County Sheriff’s Department said Monday that authorities are fairly confident that the toddler whose body was found on October 29 is Riley Ann Sawyers.

DNA analysis is still in progress to confirm the identification. The results will be available in two to three weeks, Tuttoilmondo said.

Tuttoilmondo said Riley is originally from Mentor, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, and that she and her mother came down to Texas earlier this year.

The toddler was last seen in Texas three or four months ago, Tuttoilmondo said, although he did not know by whom.

Tuttoilmondo said police did investigate whether Child Protective Services had taken Riley away, something the mother had reportedly alleged. Of that report, Tuttoilmondo said, What we believe is that is not what happened.

The affidavit said Trenor admitted that after the body was found, Zeigler had her type up a fake letter from the Ohio Department of Children’s Services saying that Riley was to be taken away.

Trenor left Ohio in late May, after filing an allegation of domestic violence against Robert Sawyers and reaching a joint voluntary agreement that gave her custody of Riley and gave Robert Sawyers visitation rights, the Sawyers’ family lawyer said Monday.

She disappeared, Laura DePledge said Monday at the Ohio news conference with the Sawyers.

Sheryl Sawyers said Monday that she saw widely distributed police sketches of Baby Grace and contacted Galveston police in November. The girl in the police sketches strongly resembles photos of Riley.

No, I never did think it would end up like this, Sheryl Sawyers said Monday, eyes welling. I guess knowing is better than not knowing.

The girl’s family in Ohio has been very helpful in this case, Tuttoilmondo said, adding that the FBI and a Galveston County police officer visited the family in Ohio on Sunday.

DePledge said Riley was the product of a teenage pregnancy. Trenor and Robert Sawyers were together for two years as a result of the pregnancy, DePledge said, during which time they lived with Sheryl Sawyers.

DePledge said Monday that the family, whose grief she described as simply overwhelming, wants Riley’s body returned to Ohio for a memorial service. What Riley needs is to be brought home, she said. I think this family needs some closure.

Tuttoilmondo asked anyone who knew the child or her family to help detectives reconstruct the events of Riley’s short life.

The toddler’s case has touched even hardened police officers, he said. Any way you look at it, we carry a piece of her with us, and we’ll always carry a little piece of her with us, he said Monday.

He held up a small, pink-and-white shoe identical to those the child was wearing when she was found. That says it all. A little-bitty shoe.
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CNN Student News Transcript: November 27, 2007

(CNN Student News) — November 27, 2007

Quick Guide

Thanksgiving Disappointment - Discover some reasons behind current tensions between China and the U.S.

Politics and Pickets - Hear where some presidential candidates stand on a recent work stoppage.

A Ban on Plastic - Learn about a debate in San Francisco over plastic bags in grocery stores.

Transcript

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

MONICA LLOYD, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: It’s Tuesday, and you’ve found your way to CNN Student News. Hi, everyone. I’m Monica Lloyd.

ID Me

CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: See if you can I.D. Me! I contain more than 200 islands. Officially, I’m a special administrative region of China. You’ll find me stretching from China into the South China Sea. I’m Hong Kong, and though China does not control my economy, it is responsible for my defense.

First Up: Thanksgiving Disappointment

LLOYD: You probably celebrated Thanksgiving with your family. That was the plan for some U.S. sailors stationed in Japan. Their ships were headed to Hong Kong, where the sailors’ family members were waiting. But in addition to controlling the region’s defense, China also makes decisions about Hong Kong’s foreign affairs. And without offering a reason why, the Chinese government essentially posted a Do Not Enter sign for the Navy ships. Barbara Starr has more on the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA STARR, CNN REPORTER: It was supposed to be a Thanksgiving port call in Hong Kong for the thousands of sailors in the USS Kitty Hawk battle group. But on Tuesday, just hours before docking, China refused to allow the U.S. Navy into Hong Kong, a port it has visited for years. Admiral Timothy Keating, the head of the U.S. Pacific Command, says he wants an explanation.

ADM. TIMOTHY KEATING, U.S. PACIFIC COMMANDER: China’s denial for port access to the USS Kitty Hawk battle group for Thanksgiving is perplexing and concerning to me as the commander of the Pacific Command. It is hard to put a positive spin on this for us.

STARR: Hours later, China relented, but it was too late. The Kitty Hawk was already on its way back to Japan. Hundreds of family members were left waiting in Hong Kong. It’s an embarrassment for the Pentagon. Just over two weeks ago, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced a number of new agreements while in Beijing.

ROBERT GATES, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We reached agreement on implementation of a direct telephone link between our two defense establishments. We discussed the need to move forward and deepen our military-to-military dialogue, including on that nuclear policy strategy and doctrine.

STARR: There is still a chill on U.S.-China military relations. China has refused to tell the United States details of a test in which one of its missiles shot down a satellite in space, a significant achievement. There are new warnings about China’s spying in cyberspace. A congressional review warns that Chinese espionage activities in the United States are so extensive that they comprise the single greatest risk to the security of American technologies. So, just how serious is China’s cyber espionage? Well, some experts say the type of information it used to take spies years to collect, China can do it in one download session at a computer. Barbara Starr, CNN, The Pentagon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Mideast Summit Update

LLOYD: Back in the U.S. now, representatives from more than 40 countries are in Maryland today for a conference on relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Yesterday, President Bush met with the leaders of both groups at the White House. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said he hopes that the summit will lead to a comprehensive peace agreement. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert noted the importance of including the international community in the talks, and he offered his hopes that the meeting will start serious negotiations between his country and the Palestinians.

Politics and Pickets

LLOYD: Now, if you’re not a fan of late night TV, you may not be affected too much by the current Writers Guild of America strike. Movie and TV writers hit the picket lines earlier this month, demanding more money from producers for shows and films that are sold online. Both sides were headed back to the negotiating table yesterday. But as Kareen Wynter explains, some politicians are getting involved in the work stoppage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN EDWARDS (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I’m proud to be with you in this fight for fairness.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN REPORTER: John Edwards on the front lines of the Hollywood writers’ strike. He and his fellow Democratic presidential contenders have become increasingly vocal about the labor dispute.

EDWARDS: This is part of the continuing effort to make sure that people who work hard for a living are treated fairly.

WYNTER: Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and Governor Bill Richardson have issued statements supporting writers in their battle with the TV networks and studios. But only Edwards has showed up at a picket line in person.

JAMES DUFF, STRIKING WRITER: It’s really nice when Senator Clinton and Senator Obama send a note expressing support. They’ve talked the talk, but John Edwards is coming to walk the walk.

WYNTER: Lest anyone doubt Clinton’s support for the cause, she’s vowed to boycott a CBS News-sponsored debate next month if news writers for that network join the strike. Obama quickly followed suit. And his wife, Michelle, turned down an invitation to co-host ABC’s The View, because their writers are on strike. Edwards and his wife Elizabeth earlier cancelled an appearance on the show. The writers guild applauded that.

JACK KENNY, STRIKING WRITER: I think that people who believe in labor unions shouldn’t cross picket lines.

WYNTER: There’s no mystery why the Democratic candidates would support the strike; labor unions are a critical source of fundraising and organization for a Democratic presidential campaign.

EDWARDS: Thanks guys, great to see you!

WYNTER: They’re speaking out for writers, but the Democratic frontrunners have previously accepted donations from senior executives at some of the very companies the writers are striking against. Clinton, for example, took $4,600 in June from Peter Chernin, president of the parent company of the Fox Network and film studio. That doesn’t mean writers will refuse her support.

KENNY: I’m happy to have the endorsements of Edwards and Senator Clinton and Senator Obama, and anybody else who would like to say something.

WYNTER: Not saying anything are the Republican presidential candidates, none of whom has taken a public stand on the strike. For instance, former actor Fred Thompson, who as a star of Law and Order used to read lines written by members of the Writers Guild. In fact, his Hollywood labor ties include membership with the two largest acting unions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Promo

LLOYD: Republican presidential candidates may not be saying much about that strike, but they will be talking at tomorrow night’s debate. Tune in to CNN to watch the White House hopefuls answer questions directly from YouTube users, and check out our Debate Viewing Guide ahead of time at CNNStudentNews.com!

Word to the Wise

AZUZ: A Word to the Wise…

biodegradable (adjective) capable of being broken down by living things like bacteria

source: www.wordcentral.com

A Ban on Plastic

LLOYD: Now, a lot of times when you hear the word biodegradable, people are talking about trash. So, what happens to waste that can’t be broken down? It piles up in landfills around the country; not the most environmentally-friendly option. That’s part of the reason why San Francisco decided to ban plastic bags. As Chris Lawrence explains, the decision is having an immediate impact on checkout lines at the grocery store.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STORE CLERK: Paper or plastic?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN REPORTER: Now imagine being asked, Paper or biodegradable, compostable bag? Doesn’t have the same ring and it’s more expensive. But it’s the price San Francisco residents have to pay to get rid of hundreds of millions of plastic bags littering the city.

PERSON ON THE STREET: Plastic, I can grip it better and hold the bag better than I can with the paper.

PERSON ON THE STREET: I don’t think it’s good if it’s going to cost the grocer more and the consumer more.

LAWRENCE: The California Grocers Association says regular plastic bags cost a penny or two. Paper’s 5 to 8 cents. Special biodegradable bags are 10 to 16 cents.

DAVE HEYLEN, CALIFORNIA GROCERS ASSOCIATION: Bags are a part of doing business. So, what can’t be absorbed will have to be passed on to consumers.

MAYOR GAVIN NEWSOM, SAN FRANCISCO: Nonsense. With all due respect to the Grocers Association, they have no one to blame but themselves.

LAWRENCE: Mayor Gavin Newsom says San Francisco considered charging grocers a fee on each plastic bag. The mayor says grocers used their political muscle at the state level and got the legislature to prohibit cities from imposing such a charge. With no power to slow the spread of plastic bags, the city banned them.

NEWSOM: When they double-bag with plastic and they bring 10 or 15 of these things home, they have to realize where these things go. And they end up in landfills and they don’t biograde.

LAWRENCE: Despite the encouraging notice — which most people never read — city officials say only 1 or 2 percent of these bags ever got recycled. They’re hoping for better luck convincing shoppers to bring their own. This is just the latest effort to go green. Last month, San Francisco asked everyone in the city to turn off all non-essential lights for one hour. And earlier this year, the mayor stopped the city from buying bottled water. This time Bay area shoppers won’t be alone. Oakland and Paris have passed similar bans on plastic bags, and it’s up for a vote in London. Chris Lawrence, CNN, San Francisco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Before We Go

LLOYD: Before we go, check out this old school dance dance revolution. Put on your platform shoes and polyester leisure suits. It’s time to dance the night away at the world’s largest disco! More than 7,000 disco denizens shook their groove thing in Buffalo, New York, last weekend. The 14th annual event raised nearly a quarter-million dollars for charity. These dancing queens and disco ducks were burning up with dance fever. And when this celebration played that funky music, they boogie oogie oogied til they just couldn’t boogie no more.

Goodbye

LLOYD: I guess they like the night life and they like to boogie. That’s where we leave the dance floor for today. Thanks for watching. I’m Monica Lloyd. E-mail to a friend

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Dutch man to stay in custody in Holloway case

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (CNN) — A judge Monday granted the prosecution’s request to hold Joran van der Sloot for a total of 16 days on the suspicion of manslaughter in the case of Alabama teenager Natalee Holloway.

Van der Sloot, 20, was arrested Wednesday in the Netherlands and taken back to Aruba, where he is a suspect in the disappearance of 18-year-old Holloway in May 2005.

Two other suspects, brothers Deepak Kalpoe, 24, and Satish Kalpoe, 21, were arrested in Aruba the same day as van der Sloot.

All three were initially arrested in 2005 but released by a judge due to lack of evidence. Watch how the case is heating up

According to a news release from the court, the judge approved the prosecution’s request for an eight-day detention, beginning with van der Sloot’s arrest last week, and added an additional eight days, to begin when the initial period ends on Thursday.

Prosecutors have until December 7 to determine if they will ask to hold him longer.

A judge in Aruba ruled Friday that authorities could continue to hold the Kalpoes for eight more days.

Van der Sloot was attending college in the Netherlands when a Dutch court OK’d his transfer to Aruba, a Dutch territory, to face charges. He was flown Friday to Aruba with a police escort.

Van der Sloot’s attorney opposed his client’s arrest and the additional custody time, but the judge, during Monday’s closed hearing, denied his request to release him, the release said.

Van der Sloot and the Kalpoe brothers were allegedly the last people seen with Holloway after she left a bar in Aruba. View a timeline of the case

They are charged with involvement in the voluntary manslaughter of Natalee Holloway or causing serious bodily harm to Natalee Holloway, resulting in her death.

All three have maintained their innocence.

Aruba’s chief prosecutor said Friday that there is enough evidence to prove Natalee Holloway is dead — even if the Alabama teenager’s remains are never found.

There’s no doubt in my mind that she’s dead, said Hans Mos. I think we have enough evidence to prove the girl is not alive anymore, even without a body.

Mos further explained that Aruban law does not require a body to prove someone is dead and any day that passes now is just more evidence that she is not alive anymore.

In the recent investigation, advanced techniques were used to re-examine existing information, including cell phone records and text messages exchanged the night Holloway disappeared, Mos said.

Investigators also returned to the homes of the suspects to try to re-create transmissions.

The team also discovered that some existing evidence was improperly analyzed, Mos added.

When she disappeared, Holloway was on vacation with about 100 classmates celebrating their graduation from Mountain Brook High School near Birmingham, Alabama.

Van der Sloot and the Kalpoes were the last people seen with Holloway as she left Carlos’n Charlie’s nightclub in Oranjestad, Aruba, about 1:30 a.m. on May 30, 2005. The men have said they had nothing to do with her disappearance. She has not been found.

Holloway’s high school group had planned to leave Aruba the next day, and Holloway’s packed bags and passport were found in her hotel room after she failed to show up for her flight.

The Kalpoes have told police they dropped Holloway and van der Sloot off near a lighthouse on the northern tip of the island after they left the nightclub.

Van der Sloot’s mother, Anita, has said her son told her he was on the beach with Holloway but left her there because she wanted to stay.

She said Friday she had no comment on her son’s latest arrest.

Holloway’s mother, Beth Holloway, said her ex-husband, Dave Holloway, has hired divers who will use sonar equipment from a benefactor to search for the girl’s remains in deep water surrounding the Caribbean island.

Aruba’s criminal justice system is based on Dutch law and the Napoleonic code, legal experts say.

In Aruba, authorities can make an arrest if they have reasonable suspicion that someone knows about or is involved in a crime. Magistrates investigate cases, and judges determine a suspect’s guilt or innocence. There are no jury trials.
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Study: Schoolkids willing to eat healthy

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota (AP) — Maybe getting schoolchildren to eat healthy foods isn’t a hopeless struggle.

Bucking some common notions, a University of Minnesota study has found that school lunch sales don’t decline when healthier meals are served, and that more nutritious lunches don’t necessarily cost schools more to produce.

The conventional wisdom that you can’t serve healthier meals because kids won’t eat them is false, said Benjamin Senauer, one of three economists who wrote the study.

Previous studies have concluded that students prefer fatty foods and that healthier meals cost more to make, the authors noted.

The study, which appears in the December issue of the Review of Agricultural Economics, analyzed five years of data for 330 Minnesota public school districts. It looked at compliance with federal standards for calories, nutrients and fats.

When the researchers crunched all the numbers they found that schools serving the healthiest lunches did not see a falloff in demand.

While serving better meals does entail higher labor costs, the study found, that’s offset by lower costs for more nutritious foods such as fruits and vegetables compared with processed foods. However, many districts need to upgrade their kitchens and train their staff to prepare these foods, the researchers said.

The study’s conclusions rang true for Jean Ronnei, director of nutrition services for St. Paul Public Schools, which serves more than 46,000 meals daily. The district was held up by the authors as a model for others.

Ronnei said the percentage of St. Paul kids eating school lunches has increased in recent years at the same time the district has been offering more fruits and vegetables.

That doesn’t mean we don’t have a hot dog on our menu. We do. … In our case it’s a turkey low-fat hot dog, she said.

Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest in Washington, said she was pleased to see evidence that schools can offer nutritious meals kids will eat without higher costs.

I think people underestimate the willingness of kids to eat healthier foods, she said.

The study also pointed out that school districts are allowed to charge their lunch programs for indirect costs such as electricity or janitorial services for their cafeterias. The authors said that can be abused by cash-strapped districts charging their lunch programs high overhead; they recommended tighter limits on those charges.

Dr. Sandra Hassink of Wilmington, Delaware, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ Obesity Task Force, said that was an important finding. She said money allocated for nutritional programs should be spent on nutrition.

Alice Jo Rainville, a professor of nutrition and dietetics at Eastern Michigan University, noted that school nutrition programs have improved because of federal policy changes enacted in 2004, the last year included in the study.

Rainville said results in other states might not match those in Minnesota, but Senauer said he believes the situation is similar across the country.

Everything we’ve done here, there’s good reason to believe it’s happening nationally, he said. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Palermo coach Colantuono is sacked

PALERMO, Sicily (AP) — Palermo fired coach Stefano Colantuono on Monday and rehired his predecessor Francesco Guidolin, a day after the Serie A team was thrashed 5-0 by Juventus.

Colantuono joined Palermo in July after a successful spell at Atalanta but has failed to live up to the high expectations of Palermo president Maurizio Zamparini with four wins and six draws in 13 rounds of the Italian top division.

Palermo is eighth in the league, 10 points off leader Inter Milan, while Guidolin returns for his fourth stint at the Sicilian club.

He was previously in charge in 2004-05, when he took them to the Serie B title before leaving at the end of the season to join Genoa, and 2006-07. In between he had a spell with Monaco.

Guidolin’s second stint in charge saw him fired in April and rehired in May when he helped them finish fifth and qualify for the UEFA Cup. E-mail to a friend

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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