GALVESTON Former co-workers of a man accused of killing Baby Grace felt uncomfortable in his presence. One even had a nickname for him: Psycho.
Four Emerson Processes Management employees testified Friday to their interaction with Royce Clyde Zeigler II, who is on trial and charged with capital murder in the July 25, 2007, death of his 2-year-old stepdaughter, Riley Ann Sawyers.
Zeigler s defense team called the co-workers testimony theater that had nothing to do with the question of who killed Riley.
Wife Convicted
Zeigler s wife, Kimberly Dawn Trenor, 21, was convicted Feb. 2 in the death of her daughter. Authorities called the little girl Baby Grace until they learned her identity.
Although Zeigler, 26, admitted to dumping Riley s body from the Galveston railroad bridge into Galveston Bay, his defense claims there is no evidence he killed Riley. His attorneys also claim there is no evidence linking him to the daylong disciplinary session and beating described in his wife s trial.
Among the state s 15 witnesses called during the trial, prosecutors brought two sheriff s office investigators to refute the defense s claim. Both testified to the existence of Zeigler s suicide note, which claims his wife s innocence in the slaying.
It is unclear whether that note will be offered into evidence.
Riley died of two skull fractures, which were suffered when she was thrown to the couple s tile floor at their Spring home, according to testimony in Trenor s trial.
Name Calling
Scott Estes, an Emerson employee, met Zeigler at work in May 2007. I d say Royce, in a nutshell, was just inexperienced and immature, Estes testified. I always felt like there was something uneasy.
Estes told the jury in Judge David Garner s 10th District Court in Galveston that he always came to know co-workers, including Zeigler. My nickname for him was Psycho, Estes said.
Prosecutor Kayla Allen asked Estes to elaborate.
Irrational behaviors, Estes said. He made me feel uneasy. I m a good judge of character. He made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. There was a real, uneasy feeling about him.
Estes testified for the defense in Trenor s trial.
Party Photos
Just 10 days after Riley died and her body was stored in a box in the couple s garage, Zeigler and Trenor attended a company party.
Emerson employee Angelica Zenon snapped photos of the couple playing softball and of Zeigler holding a margarita.
I thought he was creepy, Zenon said. I didn t want to be friends with him.
Other employees testified Zeigler was often late for work, and stressed about his job and about his stepdaughter, who was unruly and undisciplined.
Riley broke Zeigler s personal data device.
He was furious about it, Estes said. He was upset Kim wasn t going to do anything about it ... She was a brat, and they were going to have to start spanking her.
Courtroom Theater
None of Zeigler s former co-workers enlightened the jury as to who killed Riley, Zeigler s defense attorney Dee McWilliams said.
All that Emerson stuff is theater, McWilliams said after the trial recessed Friday. If you don t have evidence of who committed a crime, you try to put on a big show, and that s all they ve got.
The prosecution would have used the office party against Zeigler if the couple had also stayed home, showing they were in remorse, McWilliams said.
What s the right way to act after you ve hidden a body for two to three months? McWilliams asked. There isn t one.
Dumping The Body
A Walmart employee showed the jury Friday replicas of items the prosecution says the couple used to cover up Riley s death.
Gloria Escobedo pulled two company receipts and showed the jury replicas of items purchased the day Riley died.
The receipts, which totaled $87, were cash transactions, and included items such as a storage box, cleaning supplies, a shovel, cement and an anchor chain.
In a Nov. 24, 2007, videotaped statement with the Galveston County Sheriff s Office, Zeigler accused his wife of cleaning Riley s body, and admitted he tossed the child s decomposed body off the Galveston railroad bridge.
On Oct. 29, 2007, a fisherman found a box on an island in Galveston Bay. Riley s body was in the box, wrapped in plastic bags with cement. Investigators learned the child s identity 26 days later.
No Photographs
The prosecution called two other witnesses before Friday s lunch break, including an FBI special agent and the human resources director where Zeigler worked at the time of Riley s death.
Don C. Gay, a special agent with the FBI s office in New York, was assigned to tail Zeigler, who was at the time suspected in Riley s death.
Gay went to the Spring house of Zeigler s mother and father and found no photographs of Riley.
Gay found Zeigler s father, mother and brother to be a normal family, with one exception.
There were no pictures of their granddaughter, Gay said. McWilliams asked whether Gay knew that Trenor took the photos from the house, but Gay testified he had no know-ledge of that.
I Felt Sorry For Them
Gay interviewed Zeigler s mother, father and brother. I generally felt sorry for them, for the situation they might find themselves in, Gay said.
Gay, who was present during Zeigler s videotaped interview with sheriff s investigators, said he felt Zeigler had a selective memory. A sheriff s investigator and the prosecution equated Zeigler s selective memory with lying about many aspects of the investigation to distance himself from Riley s death.
The bottom line is, you believe he has selective memory, but when it comes to specific things ... you really don t know if he s telling the truth or not, McWilliams said.
Gay testified he wanted Zeigler to tell him that he and his wife killed Riley.
McWilliams replied that Gay didn t know that was the truth. I have my beliefs, Gay told McWilliams.
I understand you have your beliefs, but you don t have any proof of that? McWilliams asked. No, Gay said.
Mary Kay Walther, human resources director for Emerson Process Management, testified that Zeigler missed a filing deadline for converting Riley and Trenor to his work insurance benefits.
Zeigler turned in the paperwork within the 30-day window, but it was lost, his attorneys claimed, saying the woman Zeigler gave the paperwork to was fired by the company.
Fractured Skull
Testimony concluded Friday with H. Gill King, director of a University of North Texas laboratory for human identification and forensic anthropology. King, who holds a doctoral degree, is an expert in hard tissues. He also testified in Trenor s trial.
King testified the force that caused three fractures in Riley s skull was the equivalent of a head striking a hard surface at 10 to 12 mph.
The typical human walks three miles per hour, King said. Imagine four times as fast ... and walk into a wall and ask yourself how that would feel, when you regain consciousness.
Although Riley s skull was fractured three times, two would have been considered fatal blows, testimony in Trenor s trial revealed.
Force Applied Repeatedly
The types of injuries Riley suffered were akin to traffic accidents or bad falls. King testified one blow couldn t have caused all three fractures. Force was applied repeatedly, he said.
Zeigler attorney Neal Davis III had just one question for King. He asked whether his findings could tell him who injured the child.
King said, No.
The state is expected to call at least two more witnesses, Dr. Stephen Pustilnik, Galveston County s medical examiner, and Sgt. Mike Barry, lead sheriff s investigator on the case, District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk said.
It is also likely the state could rest its case Tuesday, Sistrunk said. Although Trenor was brought by bench warrant from prison to the Galveston County Jail, she won t testify in Zeigler s trial, Sistrunk said.
The defense is expected to call witnesses from another of Zeigler s employers. vIf convicted, Zeigler faces the same punishment as his wife, life in prison without parole.
This story is available through KHOU, Ch. 11's partnership with The Galveston County Daily news
