[2] The level of decomposition meant that police were unable to immediately identify the remains and began a nationwide effort to learn the child's name.

[2] Riley Ann's identity was confirmed when her paternal grandmother, Sheryl Sawyers, notified police after seeing a composite sketch.

The family lived in Mentor, Ohio, with Robert's mother, Sheryl, who was Riley Ann's primary caregiver.

In October 2006, alleging physical abuse and having filed a domestic violence charge against Trenor, Sawyers left the home.

Other ex-wives also gave recollections of Zeigler's father's abuse and likened the circumstances to that surrounding the death of Riley Ann.

[13] In a videotaped confession and signed affidavit, Trenor admitted that on July 24, 2007, she and Zeigler beat Riley Ann with two leather belts and held her head underwater in the bathtub.

[9] Trenor also stated that Zeigler picked Riley Ann up by her hair and threw her across the room, causing her head to slam into the tile floor.

When they realized Riley Ann was dead, Trenor and Zeigler went to Walmart to buy a Sterilite plastic storage container.

[20] Eventually, Riley Ann's paternal grandmother, Sheryl, reported to authorities that the sketch resembled her granddaughter.

[21] DNA testing later confirmed that the remains were that of the child, as authorities had already suspected, given the statements made by Riley's grandmother.

[8][13] Shortly before Thanksgiving Day in 2007, Zeigler attempted suicide by overdosing on blood pressure medication and prescribed anti-depressant pills.

[27] On January 14, 2008, the cremated remains of Riley Ann were turned over to her family in Ohio, after a Texas judge ruled that evidence collected during the autopsy would be sufficient for trial.