harrisonsdream
12-03-2007, 07:12 PM
Riley's death fits 'stepparent syndrome' mold
Experts stress bonding with children before disciplining them
By HARVEY RICE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Child abuse experts say Kimberly Dawn Trenor's story about the death of her 2-year-old daughter fits the pattern of a woman who lets her husband or boyfriend discipline her child because she wants to show her trust and love.
The disciplinary beating Trenor says was administered by her and her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, fits the "stepparent syndrome," where a parent seeks to discipline the spouse's child before forming a bond with the child, experts say.
According to Texas Child Protective Services, 227 children died from child abuse or neglect in Texas last year, about 75 percent of them under age 3.
Nationally, 1,460 children died from neglect and abuse, according to the federal Children's Bureau.
Police say Trenor told investigators that Riley Ann Sawyers — known as Baby Grace before her identity was established — died after a brutal disciplinary session July 24 administered at Trenor's and Zeigler's home in Spring. She said Riley's body was placed in a plastic box and tossed into West Galveston Bay.
Carol Stephens, a Nassau Bay psychotherapist, said Trenor's description of her husband's behavior could indicate the "stepparent syndrome," in which a new spouse tries to prove himself a good parent through discipline.
The discipline comes before a bond is formed and is used to enforce unrealistic expectations of the child, she said.
Trenor gave birth when she was 16 and moved in with the father, Robert Sawyers, now 20, and his mother in Mentor, Ohio. They never married and ended their relationship in October 2006, according to the family.
By April this year Trenor was engrossed in an Internet game, World of Warcraft, where she met Zeigler, family members say. The two were married June 1 and Trenor and Riley moved into Zeigler's home in Spring without telling the Sawyers family.
David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said, "Sometimes in the neediness of these young mothers, they don't really have the ability to be a good judge of who they are getting involved with."
Trenor's attorney, Tommy Stickler, said Trenor described to investigators how Zeigler stayed home from work July 24 to make sure Riley was disciplined with a belt if she failed to say "yes sir" and "no sir."
Like others in his situation, Zeigler may have wanted to show himself a good parent, Stephens said. "And one way to prove that is for this child to be well disciplined," she said.
The mistake is trying to discipline a child before earning the child's trust, she said. "You've got to bond with the child, you've got to connect," Stephens said. It's better to let the birth parent discipline a child until the bond is formed, she said.
Unrealistic efforts to discipline a child can quickly escalate to anger that spirals out of control. "That can really quickly escalate into what feels like a power struggle," Finkelhor said. "They don't feel like they are dealing with a 2-year-old anymore, they are dealing with a powerful opponent they have got to teach a lesson or tame."
Another problem is the reliance on corporal punishment, experts say.
"This guy perhaps grew up with the notion that physical punishment is good," Finkelhor said.
He said physical punishment creates a risk of abuse and is not any more effective than other methods.
Child Protective Services statistics show a steady increase in the number of child maltreatment cases investigated in Texas, rising from 19.9 percent of all investigations in 2001 to 25.6 percent in 2005.
CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin said it's not clear whether child abuse cases are increasing because of more abuse or better reporting.
The abuse described by Trenor could have been prevented through Riley's placement in a shelter while the parents received counseling, said Lidya Osadchey, chief executive officer at Escape Family Resource Center in Houston.
Osadchey said counseling changed the attitudes of 76.8 percent of parents who took a seven-week course.
In many cases the children were left at shelters like Boys and Girls Harbor in Morgan's Point, said Grant Harvey, board chairman of the shelter.
"It's the result of input and caring by friends and family members who realize there's a problem," Harvey said about placement at the shelter.
Riley died after a belt lashing escalated into plunging her head under water in a bathtub, being slammed onto a tile floor and her faced pushed into a pillow and a couch, according to Trenor's statement.
Trenor and Zeigler are in the Galveston County Jail in lieu of $350,000 bail each on charges of injury to a child and evidence tampering.
They could be charged with capital murder, depending on the results of a continuing investigation, Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk has said.
Investigators invented the name Baby Grace after a fisherman found Riley's then-unidentified body Oct. 29 in a plastic box on a sandbar in West Galveston Bay. DNA tests confirmed Riley is Baby Grace.
Experts stress bonding with children before disciplining them
By HARVEY RICE
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle
Child abuse experts say Kimberly Dawn Trenor's story about the death of her 2-year-old daughter fits the pattern of a woman who lets her husband or boyfriend discipline her child because she wants to show her trust and love.
The disciplinary beating Trenor says was administered by her and her husband, Royce Clyde Zeigler II, fits the "stepparent syndrome," where a parent seeks to discipline the spouse's child before forming a bond with the child, experts say.
According to Texas Child Protective Services, 227 children died from child abuse or neglect in Texas last year, about 75 percent of them under age 3.
Nationally, 1,460 children died from neglect and abuse, according to the federal Children's Bureau.
Police say Trenor told investigators that Riley Ann Sawyers — known as Baby Grace before her identity was established — died after a brutal disciplinary session July 24 administered at Trenor's and Zeigler's home in Spring. She said Riley's body was placed in a plastic box and tossed into West Galveston Bay.
Carol Stephens, a Nassau Bay psychotherapist, said Trenor's description of her husband's behavior could indicate the "stepparent syndrome," in which a new spouse tries to prove himself a good parent through discipline.
The discipline comes before a bond is formed and is used to enforce unrealistic expectations of the child, she said.
Trenor gave birth when she was 16 and moved in with the father, Robert Sawyers, now 20, and his mother in Mentor, Ohio. They never married and ended their relationship in October 2006, according to the family.
By April this year Trenor was engrossed in an Internet game, World of Warcraft, where she met Zeigler, family members say. The two were married June 1 and Trenor and Riley moved into Zeigler's home in Spring without telling the Sawyers family.
David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, said, "Sometimes in the neediness of these young mothers, they don't really have the ability to be a good judge of who they are getting involved with."
Trenor's attorney, Tommy Stickler, said Trenor described to investigators how Zeigler stayed home from work July 24 to make sure Riley was disciplined with a belt if she failed to say "yes sir" and "no sir."
Like others in his situation, Zeigler may have wanted to show himself a good parent, Stephens said. "And one way to prove that is for this child to be well disciplined," she said.
The mistake is trying to discipline a child before earning the child's trust, she said. "You've got to bond with the child, you've got to connect," Stephens said. It's better to let the birth parent discipline a child until the bond is formed, she said.
Unrealistic efforts to discipline a child can quickly escalate to anger that spirals out of control. "That can really quickly escalate into what feels like a power struggle," Finkelhor said. "They don't feel like they are dealing with a 2-year-old anymore, they are dealing with a powerful opponent they have got to teach a lesson or tame."
Another problem is the reliance on corporal punishment, experts say.
"This guy perhaps grew up with the notion that physical punishment is good," Finkelhor said.
He said physical punishment creates a risk of abuse and is not any more effective than other methods.
Child Protective Services statistics show a steady increase in the number of child maltreatment cases investigated in Texas, rising from 19.9 percent of all investigations in 2001 to 25.6 percent in 2005.
CPS spokeswoman Estella Olguin said it's not clear whether child abuse cases are increasing because of more abuse or better reporting.
The abuse described by Trenor could have been prevented through Riley's placement in a shelter while the parents received counseling, said Lidya Osadchey, chief executive officer at Escape Family Resource Center in Houston.
Osadchey said counseling changed the attitudes of 76.8 percent of parents who took a seven-week course.
In many cases the children were left at shelters like Boys and Girls Harbor in Morgan's Point, said Grant Harvey, board chairman of the shelter.
"It's the result of input and caring by friends and family members who realize there's a problem," Harvey said about placement at the shelter.
Riley died after a belt lashing escalated into plunging her head under water in a bathtub, being slammed onto a tile floor and her faced pushed into a pillow and a couch, according to Trenor's statement.
Trenor and Zeigler are in the Galveston County Jail in lieu of $350,000 bail each on charges of injury to a child and evidence tampering.
They could be charged with capital murder, depending on the results of a continuing investigation, Galveston County District Attorney Kurt Sistrunk has said.
Investigators invented the name Baby Grace after a fisherman found Riley's then-unidentified body Oct. 29 in a plastic box on a sandbar in West Galveston Bay. DNA tests confirmed Riley is Baby Grace.