The perpetrators of the horrifying and and heartbreaking case of Baby Grace discovered to be the blonde toddler's own mother and stepfather a mere seven months ago, are in the headlines again.
Kimberly Trenor, 19, just gave birth to a baby boy fathered by Royce Zeigler II, 25, the same man accused of helping beat her 2-year-old daughter Riley Ann (dubbed "baby Grace" by investigators before the body was identified) to death.
The infant was taken into the custody of Child Protective Services immediately after he was born and Trenor was returned to jail. In spite of both parents initially agreeing to give up their parental rights, Zeigler changed his mind and now wants his parents to raise the child. CPS was in the process of placing the newborn child with some of Trenor's relatives but now the courts will have to decide who will raise the baby boy born into such unfortunate circumstances.
It's hard not to feel sympathy for the members of the extended family. Not only did they lose a darling little girl due to the horrific actions of their own flesh and blood, they might also be denied the right to see this little boy as he grows up.
I'm sure glad I'm not a judge.
1. But here's the thing. Monsters aren't born monsters. They are created. Somebody does things so horrible to them that their brains snap, that they become people unable to function as normal, unable to love and nurture and behave in a way that we would expect of a typical human being. Whether it is simple childhood neglect, mental abuse, physical abuse, who knows, but my bet would be on the assumption that these two people did not come from happy, healthy, loving homes. To introduce another helpless child back into the environment that created these two goes against all reason. What are we doing to the most helpless among us? Feeding them to the wolves. Wonderful.
Posted at 3:16PM on Jun 30th 2008 by Nicola