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Nancy Grace

NANCY GRACE for May 6, 2005, CNNHN

Aired May 06, 2005 - 20:00   ET

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


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


NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, was it a case of cold feet or cold sheets? The runaway bride tells the world "compelling issues" made her take off.
Plus, the latest on a Florida sex offender who cut off his GPS tracking device and disappeared.

And we go live to California and the Michael Jackson child sex child.

And the 4-year-old girl who refused to rest in peace. Has a 4-year- old murder mystery been solved?

Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. Thanks for being with us tonight.

Day 47 in the Michael Jackson sex trial. The defense finally comes out swinging.

Convicted sex predator Patrick Bell managed to remove his GPS tracking device and escape. Why wasn`t Bell still behind bars? And what good is a GPS monitor anyway if you can just take it off?

And the brutal murder of a 4-year-old girl captured the country`s attention four years ago. Her identity remained a mystery, until tonight.

But first, the runaway bride. Did his vow of celibacy put the kibosh on her wedding vows? With us tonight, in Philadelphia, CNN correspondent Charles Molineaux. He`s been on the case since the get-go.

Welcome, Charles. Thank you for being with us. Charles, bring us up- to-date, friend.

CHRIS MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Nancy, of course, what we are hearing today is these stories that apparently Jennifer Wilbanks and John Mason had, in fact, very much been saving it for marriage, at least as far as their relationship was concerned. And allegations from friends of the two that that may have been some of the stress that sent Jennifer over the edge and off on her cross-country trek, ending up in Albuquerque with this funny story about being kidnapped.

And yes, religion had been very much a part of both of these peoples` lives within the recent part of their history, after a past that may have been a little bit more what you would expect from a normal couple along those lines.

But before we go completely over the tabloid cliff, we do have some news to report on this case. And that is that this could very well end up in court and imminently so. We have word from the city of Duluth, Georgia, that the mayor, the city administrator, the lawyers, the police and the city council will be getting together in executive session tomorrow to talk about...

GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, wait a minute. You said something is going to happen when you get a whole bunch of politicians together? You really think they`re going to come up with one answer? Uh- uh.

MOLINEAUX: Well, here`s what the mayor says. She says that when they get together in executive session like they`re going to be doing tomorrow, they only do it in cases of personnel, or real estate, or litigation. And they`re not firing anybody. And they`re not buying any land.

So they`re at the very least, it looks like, getting their ducks in the row for possible legal action over the $60,000-odd that the city spent looking for Jennifer when she disappeared.

GRACE: CNN correspondent Charles Molineaux has been on the case since the get-go. You know, Charles, I find it very difficult to believe that a 32-year-old woman would cut her hair off, and hop on a Greyhound bus, take off all across the country, end up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, because of - - well, you know what?

Elizabeth, throw up the pure relationship graph. This is a statement by her fiance. "Our relationship from that standpoint is still very pure. We have not, you know, broken the sanctity of marriage yet, if that`s the way of putting it. In God`s eyes, our relationship is still very pure."

Charles, as much as I respect you, I`ve got to go to a shrink on this. Here in the studio with me, Caryn Stark, therapist.

Caryn, isn`t that going to extremes to hop a Greyhound all the way across the country?

CARYN STARK, THERAPIST: It`s hard for me to believe that that was the reason, Nancy. I really think that something more was going on with her. She must have been really anxious about what was happening. She cut off her hair, so you have to think that there were other reasons than the sexuality.

GRACE: OK, Charles Molineaux, take a listen to this, another statement made by the fiance: "She just had some very specific issues that just caved in on her, and she made an inappropriate response."

So, Charles, the reports that you are hearing tonight that their romantic relationship was the reason she took off, is anybody buying that?

MOLINEAUX: It`s a little tough to imagine, especially when you consider that the religious life of this couple has been very much a part of their life, particularly in the most recent past.

GRACE: Whoa, recent, recent past.

MOLINEAUX: In the most recent past, very much so.

GRACE: What happened before the engagement? Were they very religious before that?

MOLINEAUX: Before the engagement, yes. But maybe, oh, before, say, five years ago, not so much so. In fact, a couple of days ago, I talked to Claude Mason, John Mason`s father, who actually said that he was very pleased to see that John has become, as he put it, this very mature and responsible guy.

This is a process, obviously, relatively recent. We understand that he became a very serious Baptist within the past five years, with which his family is very pleased. But obviously, a change in him that they have seen in the recent past. But certainly, entirely within his relationship with Jennifer, not something that either of them didn`t know about before they got together.

GRACE: One last quote to "People" magazine. It says a friend of Jennifer Wilbanks, she told "People" the fact that she and John were not having sex was upsetting.

Well, you know, Charles Molineaux, until the so-called runaway bride speaks, we`re never going to know. We may not know even then. But what we do know tonight is, will there or won`t there be a criminal prosecution?

MOLINEAUX: We are hearing a little bit more about that. I spoke with Danny Porter, the district attorney, in Gwinnett County, who is still anticipating any minute now getting his report on whether or not he`s going to proceed with criminal charges.

His report from his staff, he was expecting it either today or early next week. Actually, he hasn`t been in the office all afternoon. So he says, for all he knows, it`s sitting on his desk right now. This would be the substance of the FBI`s investigation, what the GBI found, police in Duluth and Albuquerque, and of course, the transcripts of those 911 tapes in which Jennifer announced she was being kidnapped.

GRACE: Charles, take a listen to Jennifer`s father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS WILBANKS, RUNAWAY BRIDE`S FATHER: They`re devastated, absolutely devastated. It`s the hardest thing we`ve ever gone through in our life. Tonight was supposed to be the rehearsal dinner, tomorrow the wedding. We were all looking so forward to it. I can`t describe the feeling.

It`s just shock and absolutely devastation. John called me probably 2 o`clock-ish -- I said Tuesday night, but Wednesday morning. Of course, we drove immediately down here and have basically been waiting on pins and needles ever since.

Right now, I would hope and pray it would be a case of cold feet. I don`t think that`s -- I don`t think that`s what it is, but I would certainly welcome that at this point in time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know, Caryn Stark, after following the Jessie Lunsford case, the Danielle van Dam case, so many cases where the victim is dead, has been brutally assaulted and murdered, I`m surprised everyone isn`t dancing in the street with joy that this woman, Jennifer Wilbanks, was found alive. Instead, everybody seems angry.

STARK: They`re angry that they put so much out there, Nancy, that they really tried so hard to get her to -- you know, to get her back and to find out what was going on.

I don`t think they`re angry that she`s back, per se. And I really want you to consider that something must have been going on. Maybe she wanted a change of identity. Because she cut her hair, because she ran away that way, I`m not sure it had to do with sex or anything to do with her husband. But running away from her life is how it seems to me it was.

GRACE: So before we go out to Santa Maria, California, and the Jackson trial, Charles Molineaux, how reliable are these accounts about why she took off, the whole "not cold feet, all cold sheets" thing?

MOLINEAUX: Well, the deeper issues -- and when we first heard about this, representatives of her family have said that there were things that the family clearly wasn`t aware of. Well, their sex life may or may not be something the family knew about.

GRACE: I would say that`s something they would not share with their parents.

MOLINEAUX: Very probably not, although, as early as when this first got out and John was making his public comments, he didn`t make any secret of the fact this was, as he put it, a pure relationship, respecting the sanctity of marriage.

So it isn`t as if this was something that Jennifer didn`t know about and something that the friends may not have known about. But of course, in any case, they were due to be married last Saturday. So could that have been an issue? Well, if that was an issue, it was about to come to an end anyway.

GRACE: OK, so apparently the press is more interesting in the honeymoon now than they are the wedding. OK, Charles Molineaux, thank you, friend.

Let`s switch gears and head straight out to California. Standing by, Jane Velez-Mitchell with "Celebrity Justice." Jane, bring us up-to-date.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Well, Nancy, two moms took the stand today in the Jackson trial and testified one after the other that nothing inappropriate or sexual ever occurred between Michael Jackson and their sons, even as they acknowledged they allowed their sons, when they were boys in the `90s, to sleep in Michael Jackson`s bed over, and over, and over again, too many times to count.

These women say they trusted Michael Jackson from the get-go, that they loved him then, that they love him now. They remain close friends. And guess what, Nancy? Both families, including the two young men who testified yesterday, are staying at Neverland as guests during the time of their testimony.

GRACE: Take a listen to this, Jane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACAULAY CULKIN, ACTOR: Nothing happened, you know? I mean, nothing really. I mean, we played video games, you know. We played at his amusement park.

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Did you sleep in his bed?

CULKIN: Well, the thing is with that whole thing, is that, you know, they go, "Oh, you slept in the same bedroom as him." It`s, like, I don`t think you understand. Michael Jackson`s bedroom is two stories and it has three bathrooms and this and that. So when I slept in his bedroom, yes, but you have to understand the whole scenario.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Jane Velez-Mitchell, when is the "Home Alone" star going to take the stand?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, he`s expected to take the stand sometime next week. Now, sources that I`ve spoken with say that he may, may, may be getting some cold feet.

I have to say a caveat here. Nobody seems to be able to predict with any sense at all what anybody is going to do next in this trial. It is such a fluid situation. There is so much tension in the courtroom. There are so many really hostile debates between the prosecution and defense over how much discovery they`ve gotten.

The prosecution today complaining they`re not telling us who the next witnesses are going to be. They`re not giving us discovery. So all that being said, we were told, and there were published reports, that the "Home Alone" star was going to take the stand, be the dramatic witness. But some sources are saying, considering what the reaction was to the first two young men who took the stand yesterday was, that he may be kind of thinking, eh, maybe not such a good idea.

GRACE: OK, Jane, I know that the first -- and what we`re talking about are adult males. Witnesses came on for the prosecution that stated that there were three additional boys that were molested many years ago. Well, they`re grown up now.

Now two of them, a dancer-choreographer, and a young man from Australia, have taken the stand to deny any molestation. Now, their moms and sisters, relatives have come on to back them up. How was the cross- exams that went down in court today of the relatives, the moms and the sisters?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me first say that with these two particular young men, there was never any accusation of specific molestation. It was more like one housekeeper said, "I saw one of the young men appearing to be in a shower with Michael Jackson naked." And another housekeeper said she saw what appeared to be a butt grab and a kiss on the cheek.

So it sort of stopped a little bit short of alleged molestation. But you know, the cross-examination of all of these witnesses has one thing in common. It`s that, in talking about how nothing happened, you have to get in-depth into what did happen.

And just the very fact that these mothers are saying, for example, "Yes, I allowed my son to travel around the world," in one case -- in the case of the boy who came from Australia to testify here, who is now a young man -- "when he was a boy, yes, I allowed him to travel around the world with Michael Jackson, and sleep in his bed literally too many times to count up."

It just has that -- and I`ve used this before, but it really applies - - the "ick" factor, where people just get a visceral gut reaction. On paper, it may be great for the defense, but it`s the emotional reaction that it`s perhaps you can`t count on and that raw feeling.

GRACE: OK, I`ve got to tell you something. Jane, I`m not sitting on the studio by myself. There is one, two, three, four people here. And when you described that, they each one together made a face, the "ick" face, the gross face. Did the jury do that?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: There was a lot of kind of more like this. As I say, this is not a hambone jury that`s doing a lot of eye-rolling. And they`re not very expressive. But in their own quiet way, you could tell that they were paying the utmost attention. And they certainly had expressions on their faces that looked disturbed.

GRACE: When we come back, we`ll bring in our panel. Joe Episcopo, Caryn Stark, and Michael Mazzariello. Please stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Did you watch the special done by that Londoner, Mr. Bashir, on your brother?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did.

KING: What did you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought he was very unfair to him. I thought that he was manipulated. And I feel bad because he poured his heart out to him. And when you do that, and when you share your privacy in your life with someone, and you put trust in them, and then they turn around and they do this to you, it hurts. And I understand his feelings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: OK, Michael Jackson and his many, many faces. Those were the good days for Jackson, surrounded by his entourage, being whisked from one plane to the next. Now every day he`s got to trudge into superior court and face charges of child molestation, although this isn`t really trudging.

You`ve got the umbrella holder, not in the traditional sense of a vase that you may have in your front entrance hall, but the human umbrella holder. The vest, the fans. OK, we`re ready for court.

Welcome back, everybody. Let`s go straight back out to California, Jane Velez-Mitchell with "Celebrity Justice."

Jane, the defense scored a lot of points today. Not only have there been two young boys, now grown men, say nothing happened. Didn`t they both say, however, one started sleeping with Jackson around age 7 and then it abruptly ended when he turned 14? What about the other young boy? What age was involved?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you know, there`s a pattern here that emerges with the boys and with the moms. And that`s one of the disturbing things that comes out in cross.

Yes, when the boys reach a certain age, oh, what a coincidence, they suddenly stop spending as much time around Michael Jackson, although everybody here has insisted they remain friends with him to this day.

When it comes to the moms, the pattern is that they seem to trust Michael Jackson immediately. In fact, on cross-examination with one of the sisters -- they also took the stand, two sisters -- one of the prosecutors said, "Wait a second, how did you know him enough to trust him? Doesn`t trust have to be earned?" And the girl said, "Trust doesn`t have to be earned. It`s a feeling."

In a sense, you get the feeling that Michael Jackson mesmerizes these families, lavishes them with gifts and kind of gets them in his thrall. And he is incredibly charismatic. And as I do say, they love him to this day. I have never seen four people come out and try to defend anybody more vigorously than these four have.

GRACE: Well, Jane, very quickly, how were the moms and sisters attacked on cross?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, they were attacked because it was a sense of these prosecutors asking the question, "Wait a second. Why would you allow, and do you think it`s appropriate to allow a 35-year-old man to sleep with an 8- or a 9-year-old boy?" And the answers were, "It`s fine. There`s nothing wrong with it. This was non-sexual."

But it`s almost like, doth protest too much. The more they tried to explain how it was OK and there was nothing wrong with it, it`s like the big elephant in the room. It kind of makes you think, well, what are they thinking? I mean, what is the reason for Michael Jackson to want to sleep with all these boys? If it`s not sexual, what`s the reason?

GRACE: What is it?

Joe Episcopo, response?

JOE EPISCOPO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it looks like Robson slept with Jackson for about seven years and Barnes for about 10 years. Apparently, when they get out of that teen age they lose interest in this. But Michael Jackson is trapped...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Well, we don`t know who lost interest in who.

EPISCOPO: Well, Michael...

GRACE: And Joe, we are not naming any names on air, even though they are grown up. That`s their business.

EPISCOPO: Well, they weren`t molested.

GRACE: But Joe, back to it. Who says they lost interest in hanging out with Jackson and sleeping with him? How do we know Jackson just didn`t move on to another kid?

EPISCOPO: Well, I think Jackson is trapped in this 13-, 14-year-old mentality. And the other kids grow out of it and he doesn`t, and he continues to stay in that mentality.

GRACE: Michael Mazzariello, response?

MICHAEL MAZZARIELLO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I agree with Joe 100 percent, Nancy. It seems like the pattern is, is they`re young, they`re into him being a celebrity, and when they reach puberty, 14, 15, they move on, as does Michael Jackson.

GRACE: OK, Michael, I`m sorry. I`m not getting the connection. They are into his celebrity. They like his music and his dance moves. How does that translate into sleeping with him practically every night at age 7?

MAZZARIELLO: Well, Nancy, it doesn`t. I mean, a couple of interviews that I saw, I saw that the children asked if they could sleep in his bedroom, if they could sleep with him.

GRACE: That`s what Michael Jackson said, right?

MAZZARIELLO: Right, exactly.

GRACE: Well, he`s on trial for child molestation. You don`t think he may sneak in a little self-serving statement every once and a while?

MAZZARIELLO: Well, absolutely. But Nancy, you know, he`s a celebrity. And the kids look up to him. And our society today dictates that, "Wow, I`m in Michael Jackson`s house. I`m going to sleep in his bedroom."

GRACE: Well, no, no. It`s "I`m Michael Jackson`s bed with Michael Jackson without our shirts on."

MAZZARIELLO: Well, I`m not going to defend that, Nancy. I mean, as parent, I would not let my child sleep with any 35-year-old male.

GRACE: OK, so your kids are held with a different standard than other kids? It`s OK for them but not for yours?

MAZZARIELLO: I can`t respond for other parents.

GRACE: As a defense lawyer, you don`t see a problem with this?

MAZZARIELLO: As a defense attorney, Nancy, I listen to what my client tells me. Michael Jackson tells me that the children invited themselves in and I just couldn`t say no.

GRACE: OK.

Caryn, help me out here. Am I the only crazy person in the room?

STARK: There is no way that the children invited themselves in. And we know from his pattern that actually he gets interested in them. They don`t find him. And then he totally abandons them when he`s had enough.

GRACE: But bottom line, according to Jane Velez-Mitchell, the defense scored big points today, not only the mother of these young boys, the sister, too, said nothing happened. Now, I don`t know how they know, since they weren`t in bed with Jackson that night, but that`s what they said in court.

Quick break. But first to "Trial Tracking": David Onstott, remember him? Convicted sex offender, charged with the murder and attempted sex battery of 13-year-old Michelle Lunde, pleads not guilty today. Sarah`s body found April 14th submerged in a fishpond near her home.

Authorities say Onstott, who once dated Sarah`s mother, confessed he strangled the little girl. Onstott previously served over five years behind bars for rape, was arrested again in March for failing to register as a sex offender. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: The King of Pop now in a California courtroom facing charges of child molestation.

Straight out to Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane, the mom of two of these alleged victims of molestation claimed nothing happened. How would they know?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that was one of the points prosecutors made. You weren`t there, were you, moms, when your sons were in bed with Michael Jackson sleeping? You weren`t watching for 12 hours. You weren`t even in the room, so how do you know?

And both moms said, "Well, my sons told me. And I take their word for it. And that`s what I believe." So that`s how that ended.

GRACE: In fact, sometimes they weren`t even in the same structure. Very often, the moms would be shuttled off to a guest house, right?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely. In fact, one time the mother was staying across the street at a hotel and would literally walk her son across to Michael Jackson`s condo, leave him there, and then go back to the hotel to spend the night.

GRACE: OK, Dusty, you saw it. Everybody in the studio once again was making the "ick" face. Every single person, five people in here, they all made the "ick" face.

Very quickly, 25 seconds left, Jane Velez-Mitchell, what`s next?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, supposedly we have a security guard and a housekeeper brought on by the defense to rebut certain testimony. And then we could have that "Home Alone" star. Again, that is still a possibility. We don`t know for sure.

GRACE: And remember, Mesereau promised his client would take the stand.

Jane Velez-Mitchell at the courthouse with "Celebrity Justice." Thank you, friend. I`ll see you on Monday, OK?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY KILGORE, DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL: One of our deputies, who was alert, noticed the individual that fit the description that he had, plus, with a photo. And what he ended up doing was coming back around, positively identifying Mr. Bell. Then, at that point he was able to take Mr. Bell into custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Well, it helped a lot that a convicted sex offender was wandering around near the U.S. courthouse in Florida. This is a guy, convicted sex offender Patrick Wayne Bell, has been on the lam after removing his GPS tracking device, leaving it at his mom`s and taking off.

In Tampa, Florida, Pro Tech Monitoring CEO Steve Chapin. He made the ankle bracelet. It`s his company`s. Patrick Bell was wearing that. And, in West Palm Beach, from the Palm Beach County Sheriff`s Office, Larry Wood.

Thank you, gentlemen, for being with us.

First of all, to Detective Larry Wood, what was Bell convicted for? What was his conviction?

LARRY WOOD, PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: He was convicted of attempted sexual battery of a child under 12 years of age, along with lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 16.

GRACE: So a repeat sex offender on children. Why wasn`t he behind bars? What`s he doing wandering around with a GPS anyway?

WOOD: Well, he did five years in prison.

GRACE: For two victims?

WOOD: Well, five years in prison he did for the victims, yes. And he had two years remaining on conditional release and he was released out on probation.

GRACE: Now, you say conditional release. What`s that?

WOOD: It`s basically the time remaining they have on their sentence and they are released back into the community to serve that time.

GRACE: Oh, you mean like, say, five, to do two, is the sentence. You get five years behind bars -- you do two behind bars, three on probation? Is that what you mean?

WOOD: Basically, yes.

GRACE: So, he had the luxury, the privilege of getting out from behind bars and then he violates his GPS. What happened?

WOOD: Basically, what happened was that, at 1:06 on May 3, he broke his monitor. He basically got on a bus to Tallahassee. He, basically, was hiding out in Tallahassee for a day and a half. And the U.S. Marshals, with some real good work by them, happened to find him walking down the sidewalk in Tallahassee.

GRACE: Does the name John Evander Couey ring bell?

WOOD: Very much so.

GRACE: Yes, the guy that is probably going to end up facing the -- there you go. Thank you, Elizabeth.

The death penalty. That`s a face I`ll never forget. He`s been charged with the murder of 9-year-old Jessie Lunsford. He was a convicted sex offender, too, who hopped a bus from -- I guess to Tallahassee, as a matter of fact, just like this guy.

(CROSSTALK)

WOOD: Right to Georgia, yes.

GRACE: This is what I don`t understand. Steve Chapin. You`re the CEO of Pro Tech Monitoring. How are these guys getting the GPS off their ankle? Is this an ankle bracelet like Martha Stewart wears?

STEVE CHAPIN, CEO, PRO TECH MONITORING: Yes. They wear this ankle bracelet.

GRACE: Wait. Hold it up, OK.

CHAPIN: I`m sorry?

GRACE: Will you hold it up for me? OK. It looks like a running watch.

CHAPIN: Yes. It`s a hard plastic ankle bracelet with a Sanopreme (ph), with a Sanopreme strap.

And, in the case of Bell, he just simply cut it off. But we`ve got -- since 1998, when we`ve been -- when we started tracking people with GPS, we`ve tracked more than 50,000 offenders. And what we`ve found is, less than one-half one 1 percent of the offenders ever cut off their bracelet and run. GPS has proven to be a pretty good deterrent, because, as we`ve seen with the Bell case, when they cut it off, we know about it. In fact, we knew about it 10 seconds after he cut his ankle bracelet off.

We alerted the Department Of Corrections and things started to happen. And what do you know? Law enforcement caught him very soon after.

GRACE: Well, wait a minute. I don`t think they would have ever caught him if he hadn`t been taking a stroll by the U.S. courthouse. Hello?

CHAPIN: But they wouldn`t have even known to be looking for him if he hadn`t been wearing a GPS tracking device.

GRACE: Look, this guy goes to all the trouble to cut the ankle bracelet off. Then he takes a stroll by the courthouse. He needs to go back to jail.

Speaking of jail, how long will he do now, Detective Wood?

WOOD: I believe he has two years and some days left on his present sentence. And if he`s found convicted with a parole hearing, he will possibly do day for day.

GRACE: Well, I`m locking my door.

Let me go back to Joe Episcopo, defense attorney.

Joe, you got any clients with one of these ankle bracelets on, an anklet?

EPISCOPO: No.

But I can tell you that, as far as these hearings go, he doesn`t have a chance. In fact, I stopped doing them. You can`t win one of these parole violation hearings. They`re done by the Department of Corrections in the jail. And there`s -- it`s wrong to take a fee, because you`re not going to win. He`s going to go back and do the rest of his sentence. You can get violated for a traffic offense.

GRACE: He needs to go back and do the rest of his sentence. He shouldn`t have gotten out to start with.

EPISCOPO: Well...

GRACE: Michael Mazzariello, what`s the point of having the anklets if you can just cut it off and get a 24-hour head start on the police?

MAZZARIELLO: Well, like the man, the CEO of the company said, Nancy, the best part is, is that you know he`s loose, 10 seconds after he...

GRACE: Oh. Well, that makes me feel a lot better.

MAZZARIELLO: Nancy, I`m not a big fan of the GPS tracking, because GPS tracking will just let you know where the murder took place.

However, if he takes it off, law enforcement can get on you faster than parole or probation without it, Nancy.

GRACE: You know, back to Steve Chapin. He`s the CEO of Pro Tech Monitoring. This is widely used.

Another issue, Steve, is, you may know where the guy is. But how do you know he`s not committing a crime? How do you know he`s not in the apartment with another 14- or 12-year-old, like he was the time before?

CHAPIN: Well, GPS can`t prevent a crime from happening. But what GPS does is, it modifies offender behavior. They know they`re being watched. They know they`re being watched all the time. They`re constantly reminded by the system that they`re being watched.

And what we`ve found is that the offenders that are on GPS have a much, much lower recidivism rate than offenders that are just out in our communities without any type of tracking device at all.

GRACE: And take a listen to this, guys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELNA GISSENTANNER, MOTHER OF CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER: They released my son. The question I asked them is the question I`m asking now. Why did they release him and he had no place to go? He had no home. They said he couldn`t live here. I`m his all. I`m his all.

They had me to run around and find places and places after places. They sent me to I don`t know how many different places. I got there. It was just another brick wall. OK? Whatever Patrick did, they led him to do that. Patrick was wrong for what he did. The state was wrong for what they did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know what? I absolutely am in shock. That is Bell`s mother trying to blame the system for what her son did, a convicted sex offender. If she can`t think of a place to put him, I can, Caryn Stark. It`s called jail, jail, J-A-I-L.

Why is it that we keep releasing convicted sex offenders? When will we learn? We`ve got Jessie Lunsford. We have Danielle van Dam. We have Samantha Runnion. Why?

STARK: I don`t know why they don`t learn, Nancy, because...

GRACE: And why is his mom blaming the system?

STARK: Well, his mom is wrong , because there`s no rehabilitation for sex offenders. So, if there`s no rehabilitation, what`s the point of letting them out until somebody can figure out what to do with them? And that`s the truth. They just kind of wander from place to place and nobody lets them stay there. And they`re too threatening. They can`t change their sexual orientation. They`re going to go for kids.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Detective, take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GISSENTANNER: Well, I went and picked Patrick up from the hotel and we sat and we talked for a minute or two. And I left and I went somewhere. But, when I came back, Patrick was gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Leaving behind his GPS anklet.

Very quickly, Detective Larry Wood, she`s saying he couldn`t live with her? Is it because she lived too close a school?

WOOD: She lived too close to a day care center, actually, within 1,000 feet.

But as far as saying that the Department of Corrections did not help her, I work very closely with them. They do help -- tried to help him very much prior to him absconding.

GRACE: You mean help him find a place to live, help him get a job? I know. I`ve actually helped parolees and probationers try to get jobs, try to get straight. You don`t want them to end back in jail.

Bottom line, to Steve Chapin, the CEO of Pro Tech Monitoring. You guys knew immediately this guy had cut the anklet, right?

CHAPIN: We did. Within 10 seconds, we received the alarm.

GRACE: And then you immediately call police?

CHAPIN: No. Our system is automatic. When we receive the alarm, it automatically processes that information and alerts Department of Corrections.

And, in the case of Bell, we received it 10 seconds after. In our data center in Tampa, we received it 10 seconds after he cut it. And, within 45 seconds, the Department of Corrections had the alarms on their pagers.

GRACE: Hey, Steve, can I have one of those?

CHAPIN: Can you have an ankle bracelet?

GRACE: Yes.

CHAPIN: Why? What have you done?

GRACE: Well, nothing yet. But I might do something. But I want to try to trick it and I want to see if you can catch me tricking it.

I`m serious, because these things -- and you say they work. And I know that the alarm went off when he cut it. But I guarantee you, there`s a way to beat one of these things. I don`t want to talk about it on the air. I don`t want to give any hints to you know who. But I`ve got a feeling these things can be beat. And I`m just wondering what the justice system is thinking by allowing a convicted sex offender to wander around with the anklet as protection for society.

So, I want to get ahold of one of those.

Steve Chapin is with us, CEO of Pro Tech Monitoring, made the ankle bracelet, Detective Larry Wood, Palm Beach County Sheriff`s Office. Gentlemen, thank you and congratulations for bringing Mr. Bell back to justice.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Quick break, everybody.

We at NANCY GRACE want desperately to help solve unsolved homicides, to help find missing people. Take a look at Robby Floyd. Robby, oh, what a smile. She disappeared with her sister and her three children January `97. They were on their way to visit Robby`s father in Alabama. They have not been seen since, the entire group. If you have any information on this girl, Robby Floyd, what a beauty, please call the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation toll free 888-813-8389. Please, help us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. RICH LOCKHART, KANSAS CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Harrell Johnson, who has been charged now with her death, kicked her and they basically ignored her, didn`t give her any medical attention for the -- reports vary from several hours to days. And she died as a result of her injuries. They brutally decapitated her, disposed of her body in some overgrown area just near where they were staying in this house. And we found the body, then, a short time after that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: This little girl remained nameless. We only knew her by the name Precious Doe for many, many years, her remains found without a head. But now we know her name. This little beauty is Michelle Marie Green. May she rest in peace tonight.

I want to tell you about a murder mystery solved. In Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City Police Captain Rich Lockhart, Jackson County prosecutor Mike Sanders, community activist Alonzo Washington.

But first to KMBC reporter Kris Ketz.

Kris, tell me what happened.

KRIS KETZ, KMBC REPORTER: April 28, 2001, the decapitated body, the remains of a little girl who was almost 4 years old found in a wooded area on our city`s southeast side, across from a park.

Within the last couple of days, the child`s mother and stepfather have been found in Muskogee, Oklahoma. They been charged with second-degree felony murder and endangering the welfare of a child. Briefly, the story is that this couple visiting Kansas City around Easter time 2001, the stepfather, Harrell Johnson, apparently, according to statements that have been given to police down in Muskogee, the stepfather kicked this child in the head because the child wouldn`t go to bed.

The child laid unconscious for two days. And then the decision was made to carry this child`s body to a church dumpster just down the street. The child`s head was cut off with a pair of hedge trimmers. And then the remains were transferred to, again, that wooded area across the street from this park. But, again, charges have been filed, but such a strange and tragic story, because, all this time, this was a child that didn`t have a name.

And not long after this child, the remains of this child were found, there were community activists and so many people in Kansas City who were concerned about this story. And they gave this child a name, Precious Doe. And that`s what we`ve known this child by since -- up until a couple of days ago.

GRACE: Kris Ketz is with us, KMBC reporter.

I want to go to one of those community activists that worked so hard to help find the identity and find the person responsible for the murder of Erica Michelle Marie Green. His name is Alonzo Washington.

Sir, why did you care so much about a little girl that nobody knew?

ALONZO WASHINGTON, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: Well, it was a number of reasons.

Number one, I`m a father. And, you know, I saw this story when it first broke, you know. And I`m just going to keep it real. It wasn`t in the front of the news. And that somewhat incensed me. And before there were committees, before there were all these politicians getting involved, I challenged the media and the community to put this story in the front of the news.

I said, there`s no way a child can be discarded like trash.

GRACE: And you never gave up. You never gave up.

Mr. Washington kept putting ads, kept trying to find out, who is this little girl? Where did she come from? Who did she belong that? You see that, "We Won`t Rest"? Thanks to this man you`re looking at, the case was cracked.

Let me go to Captain Rich Lockhart in Kansas City, police.

Captain, how did you crack the case?

LOCKHART: Well, we got a tip from a man in Muskogee, Oklahoma, explaining to us some really good detailed information about the case. We sent two detectives down to Muskogee initially. And once the information got really good, we sent some more detectives down, ended up talking to a woman who confessed to being the mother and telling us that she had killed this child.

GRACE: And, Mike Sanders, are the two suspects -- do you believe this horrific act on a little girl by her own mother, her own mother letting her lay there in the floor for two days, then having her decapitated to hide who she is, are they headed back to Kansas City to face charges?

MIKE SANDERS, JACKSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR: They are. And, you know, I think I`ve told a lot of people this. This is why we become prosecutors, is to handle cases like this.

GRACE: Tell it.

SANDERS: We`re going to get our chance.

By the way, they waived extradition today from Oklahoma. They`ll be back in Kansas City to face these charges and answer to the whole community Friday of next week or as early as Monday of next week. And we`re looking forward to seeing them, obviously, in Kansas City court.

When this case first broke, you look at the photographs, you look at the evidence, and it`s inconceivable to think that a parent could do this or really any human could do this to another person, very inconceivable, very difficult.

Now, we are unfortunate up here to see upwards of 100 homicides a year for this entire county, but this is probably one of the most difficult cases that I will see in my career and that many of us have seen. It`s very emotional for us. It`s a bittersweet moment.

GRACE: Mike -- Mike Sanders, yes, no, do you guys have the death penalty?

SANDERS: He have the death penalty and we exercise it.

Just in the last month, we`ve announced the death penalty or our decision to seek the death penalty in two cases. One of the things that we`re going to have to do over the next few weeks and months ahead, as more evidence comes in, as we get more witness interviews...

GRACE: Gotcha.

SANDERS: ... is make the decision whether or not this was premeditated. And, therefore, are they eligible for the death penalty in the state of Missouri?

GRACE: Well, guys...

SANDERS: But if we determine that this is premeditated, it will be.

GRACE: Mr. Sanders, I hope that all of you can join me as we follow this case.

And, as I go to break, Alonzo Washington, and, of course, Captain Lockhart, I can`t thank you enough for cracking the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms.

Take a look at the stories and, more important, the people who touched all of our lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE (voice-over): Fifty-five-year-old Summer Shipp still missing after five long months.

BRANDY SHIPP, DAUGHTER OF MISSING WOMAN: I`m going to keep fighting and I`m going to keep your story out there until we bring you home. Love you.

GRACE: We`re desperately looking for Summer Shipp. What a beauty.

Lock the doors, early release today for a convicted child molester who claims over 200 child victims. He warned us all he would kill his next child victim if he was not castrated. Well, McQuay did less than half his sentence behind bars.

DIANNE CLEMENTS, PRESIDENT, JUSTICE FOR ALL: Larry Don McQuay is a very dangerous man.

PAUL LOONEY, LARRY DON MCQUAY`S LAWYER: He was castrated from six months to a year ago. And it`s helped.

GRACE: A nanny strung out on alcohol and painkillers who mowed down two children answers to a jury.

BOB PACK, SON AND DAUGHTER KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT: I have lost my two precious children, and it`s almost impossible to recover from that.

GRACE: Convicted sex predator Patrick Bell managed to remove his GPS tracking device and escape. Why wasn`t Bell still behind bars? And what good is a GPS monitor anyway if you can just take it off?

The so-called runaway bride says, I`m sorry, after feeling the heat, after claims she was not remorseful.

REV. TOM SMILEY, FAMILY PASTOR: Jennifer writes: "At this time, I cannot fully explain what happened to me last week. Please, may I assure you that my running away had nothing to do with cold feet, nor was it ever about leaving John."

GRACE: You know, get on with it. Let`s go prosecute some real criminals. Let the woman pay off a fine and be done with it.

GRACE: This is one of these -- an exact replica of something that`s been entered in the courtroom that came out of Jackson`s house.

"The Boy: A Photograph Essay." I will tell you what. I`m afraid I`m going to get arrested having this thing on the set. There are naked boys in this book with their private parts on full display. I really -- I`m not even going to describe it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: As I sign off for tonight, Rene (ph), can you give me the Liz cam? I want to see the control room to wish Elizabeth and all our moms in the control room happy Mother`s Day.

And I also want to wish a special Mother`s Day to my mom.

Happy Mother`s Day.

Thank you to all of my guests tonight, but my biggest thank you to you for being with all of us, inviting all of us into your home.

Coming up, headlines from around the world, Larry on CNN.

Live coverage of Jackson weekdays 3:00 to 5:00 on Court TV.

Good night, friend.

END


Aired May 6, 2005 - 20:00:00   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, was it a case of cold feet or cold sheets? The runaway bride tells the world "compelling issues" made her take off.
Plus, the latest on a Florida sex offender who cut off his GPS tracking device and disappeared.

And we go live to California and the Michael Jackson child sex child.

And the 4-year-old girl who refused to rest in peace. Has a 4-year- old murder mystery been solved?

Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. Thanks for being with us tonight.

Day 47 in the Michael Jackson sex trial. The defense finally comes out swinging.

Convicted sex predator Patrick Bell managed to remove his GPS tracking device and escape. Why wasn`t Bell still behind bars? And what good is a GPS monitor anyway if you can just take it off?

And the brutal murder of a 4-year-old girl captured the country`s attention four years ago. Her identity remained a mystery, until tonight.

But first, the runaway bride. Did his vow of celibacy put the kibosh on her wedding vows? With us tonight, in Philadelphia, CNN correspondent Charles Molineaux. He`s been on the case since the get-go.

Welcome, Charles. Thank you for being with us. Charles, bring us up- to-date, friend.

CHRIS MOLINEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Nancy, of course, what we are hearing today is these stories that apparently Jennifer Wilbanks and John Mason had, in fact, very much been saving it for marriage, at least as far as their relationship was concerned. And allegations from friends of the two that that may have been some of the stress that sent Jennifer over the edge and off on her cross-country trek, ending up in Albuquerque with this funny story about being kidnapped.

And yes, religion had been very much a part of both of these peoples` lives within the recent part of their history, after a past that may have been a little bit more what you would expect from a normal couple along those lines.

But before we go completely over the tabloid cliff, we do have some news to report on this case. And that is that this could very well end up in court and imminently so. We have word from the city of Duluth, Georgia, that the mayor, the city administrator, the lawyers, the police and the city council will be getting together in executive session tomorrow to talk about...

GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute, wait a minute. You said something is going to happen when you get a whole bunch of politicians together? You really think they`re going to come up with one answer? Uh- uh.

MOLINEAUX: Well, here`s what the mayor says. She says that when they get together in executive session like they`re going to be doing tomorrow, they only do it in cases of personnel, or real estate, or litigation. And they`re not firing anybody. And they`re not buying any land.

So they`re at the very least, it looks like, getting their ducks in the row for possible legal action over the $60,000-odd that the city spent looking for Jennifer when she disappeared.

GRACE: CNN correspondent Charles Molineaux has been on the case since the get-go. You know, Charles, I find it very difficult to believe that a 32-year-old woman would cut her hair off, and hop on a Greyhound bus, take off all across the country, end up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, because of - - well, you know what?

Elizabeth, throw up the pure relationship graph. This is a statement by her fiance. "Our relationship from that standpoint is still very pure. We have not, you know, broken the sanctity of marriage yet, if that`s the way of putting it. In God`s eyes, our relationship is still very pure."

Charles, as much as I respect you, I`ve got to go to a shrink on this. Here in the studio with me, Caryn Stark, therapist.

Caryn, isn`t that going to extremes to hop a Greyhound all the way across the country?

CARYN STARK, THERAPIST: It`s hard for me to believe that that was the reason, Nancy. I really think that something more was going on with her. She must have been really anxious about what was happening. She cut off her hair, so you have to think that there were other reasons than the sexuality.

GRACE: OK, Charles Molineaux, take a listen to this, another statement made by the fiance: "She just had some very specific issues that just caved in on her, and she made an inappropriate response."

So, Charles, the reports that you are hearing tonight that their romantic relationship was the reason she took off, is anybody buying that?

MOLINEAUX: It`s a little tough to imagine, especially when you consider that the religious life of this couple has been very much a part of their life, particularly in the most recent past.

GRACE: Whoa, recent, recent past.

MOLINEAUX: In the most recent past, very much so.

GRACE: What happened before the engagement? Were they very religious before that?

MOLINEAUX: Before the engagement, yes. But maybe, oh, before, say, five years ago, not so much so. In fact, a couple of days ago, I talked to Claude Mason, John Mason`s father, who actually said that he was very pleased to see that John has become, as he put it, this very mature and responsible guy.

This is a process, obviously, relatively recent. We understand that he became a very serious Baptist within the past five years, with which his family is very pleased. But obviously, a change in him that they have seen in the recent past. But certainly, entirely within his relationship with Jennifer, not something that either of them didn`t know about before they got together.

GRACE: One last quote to "People" magazine. It says a friend of Jennifer Wilbanks, she told "People" the fact that she and John were not having sex was upsetting.

Well, you know, Charles Molineaux, until the so-called runaway bride speaks, we`re never going to know. We may not know even then. But what we do know tonight is, will there or won`t there be a criminal prosecution?

MOLINEAUX: We are hearing a little bit more about that. I spoke with Danny Porter, the district attorney, in Gwinnett County, who is still anticipating any minute now getting his report on whether or not he`s going to proceed with criminal charges.

His report from his staff, he was expecting it either today or early next week. Actually, he hasn`t been in the office all afternoon. So he says, for all he knows, it`s sitting on his desk right now. This would be the substance of the FBI`s investigation, what the GBI found, police in Duluth and Albuquerque, and of course, the transcripts of those 911 tapes in which Jennifer announced she was being kidnapped.

GRACE: Charles, take a listen to Jennifer`s father.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS WILBANKS, RUNAWAY BRIDE`S FATHER: They`re devastated, absolutely devastated. It`s the hardest thing we`ve ever gone through in our life. Tonight was supposed to be the rehearsal dinner, tomorrow the wedding. We were all looking so forward to it. I can`t describe the feeling.

It`s just shock and absolutely devastation. John called me probably 2 o`clock-ish -- I said Tuesday night, but Wednesday morning. Of course, we drove immediately down here and have basically been waiting on pins and needles ever since.

Right now, I would hope and pray it would be a case of cold feet. I don`t think that`s -- I don`t think that`s what it is, but I would certainly welcome that at this point in time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know, Caryn Stark, after following the Jessie Lunsford case, the Danielle van Dam case, so many cases where the victim is dead, has been brutally assaulted and murdered, I`m surprised everyone isn`t dancing in the street with joy that this woman, Jennifer Wilbanks, was found alive. Instead, everybody seems angry.

STARK: They`re angry that they put so much out there, Nancy, that they really tried so hard to get her to -- you know, to get her back and to find out what was going on.

I don`t think they`re angry that she`s back, per se. And I really want you to consider that something must have been going on. Maybe she wanted a change of identity. Because she cut her hair, because she ran away that way, I`m not sure it had to do with sex or anything to do with her husband. But running away from her life is how it seems to me it was.

GRACE: So before we go out to Santa Maria, California, and the Jackson trial, Charles Molineaux, how reliable are these accounts about why she took off, the whole "not cold feet, all cold sheets" thing?

MOLINEAUX: Well, the deeper issues -- and when we first heard about this, representatives of her family have said that there were things that the family clearly wasn`t aware of. Well, their sex life may or may not be something the family knew about.

GRACE: I would say that`s something they would not share with their parents.

MOLINEAUX: Very probably not, although, as early as when this first got out and John was making his public comments, he didn`t make any secret of the fact this was, as he put it, a pure relationship, respecting the sanctity of marriage.

So it isn`t as if this was something that Jennifer didn`t know about and something that the friends may not have known about. But of course, in any case, they were due to be married last Saturday. So could that have been an issue? Well, if that was an issue, it was about to come to an end anyway.

GRACE: OK, so apparently the press is more interesting in the honeymoon now than they are the wedding. OK, Charles Molineaux, thank you, friend.

Let`s switch gears and head straight out to California. Standing by, Jane Velez-Mitchell with "Celebrity Justice." Jane, bring us up-to-date.

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Well, Nancy, two moms took the stand today in the Jackson trial and testified one after the other that nothing inappropriate or sexual ever occurred between Michael Jackson and their sons, even as they acknowledged they allowed their sons, when they were boys in the `90s, to sleep in Michael Jackson`s bed over, and over, and over again, too many times to count.

These women say they trusted Michael Jackson from the get-go, that they loved him then, that they love him now. They remain close friends. And guess what, Nancy? Both families, including the two young men who testified yesterday, are staying at Neverland as guests during the time of their testimony.

GRACE: Take a listen to this, Jane.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MACAULAY CULKIN, ACTOR: Nothing happened, you know? I mean, nothing really. I mean, we played video games, you know. We played at his amusement park.

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Did you sleep in his bed?

CULKIN: Well, the thing is with that whole thing, is that, you know, they go, "Oh, you slept in the same bedroom as him." It`s, like, I don`t think you understand. Michael Jackson`s bedroom is two stories and it has three bathrooms and this and that. So when I slept in his bedroom, yes, but you have to understand the whole scenario.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Jane Velez-Mitchell, when is the "Home Alone" star going to take the stand?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, he`s expected to take the stand sometime next week. Now, sources that I`ve spoken with say that he may, may, may be getting some cold feet.

I have to say a caveat here. Nobody seems to be able to predict with any sense at all what anybody is going to do next in this trial. It is such a fluid situation. There is so much tension in the courtroom. There are so many really hostile debates between the prosecution and defense over how much discovery they`ve gotten.

The prosecution today complaining they`re not telling us who the next witnesses are going to be. They`re not giving us discovery. So all that being said, we were told, and there were published reports, that the "Home Alone" star was going to take the stand, be the dramatic witness. But some sources are saying, considering what the reaction was to the first two young men who took the stand yesterday was, that he may be kind of thinking, eh, maybe not such a good idea.

GRACE: OK, Jane, I know that the first -- and what we`re talking about are adult males. Witnesses came on for the prosecution that stated that there were three additional boys that were molested many years ago. Well, they`re grown up now.

Now two of them, a dancer-choreographer, and a young man from Australia, have taken the stand to deny any molestation. Now, their moms and sisters, relatives have come on to back them up. How was the cross- exams that went down in court today of the relatives, the moms and the sisters?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me first say that with these two particular young men, there was never any accusation of specific molestation. It was more like one housekeeper said, "I saw one of the young men appearing to be in a shower with Michael Jackson naked." And another housekeeper said she saw what appeared to be a butt grab and a kiss on the cheek.

So it sort of stopped a little bit short of alleged molestation. But you know, the cross-examination of all of these witnesses has one thing in common. It`s that, in talking about how nothing happened, you have to get in-depth into what did happen.

And just the very fact that these mothers are saying, for example, "Yes, I allowed my son to travel around the world," in one case -- in the case of the boy who came from Australia to testify here, who is now a young man -- "when he was a boy, yes, I allowed him to travel around the world with Michael Jackson, and sleep in his bed literally too many times to count up."

It just has that -- and I`ve used this before, but it really applies - - the "ick" factor, where people just get a visceral gut reaction. On paper, it may be great for the defense, but it`s the emotional reaction that it`s perhaps you can`t count on and that raw feeling.

GRACE: OK, I`ve got to tell you something. Jane, I`m not sitting on the studio by myself. There is one, two, three, four people here. And when you described that, they each one together made a face, the "ick" face, the gross face. Did the jury do that?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: There was a lot of kind of more like this. As I say, this is not a hambone jury that`s doing a lot of eye-rolling. And they`re not very expressive. But in their own quiet way, you could tell that they were paying the utmost attention. And they certainly had expressions on their faces that looked disturbed.

GRACE: When we come back, we`ll bring in our panel. Joe Episcopo, Caryn Stark, and Michael Mazzariello. Please stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: Did you watch the special done by that Londoner, Mr. Bashir, on your brother?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I did.

KING: What did you think?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought he was very unfair to him. I thought that he was manipulated. And I feel bad because he poured his heart out to him. And when you do that, and when you share your privacy in your life with someone, and you put trust in them, and then they turn around and they do this to you, it hurts. And I understand his feelings.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: OK, Michael Jackson and his many, many faces. Those were the good days for Jackson, surrounded by his entourage, being whisked from one plane to the next. Now every day he`s got to trudge into superior court and face charges of child molestation, although this isn`t really trudging.

You`ve got the umbrella holder, not in the traditional sense of a vase that you may have in your front entrance hall, but the human umbrella holder. The vest, the fans. OK, we`re ready for court.

Welcome back, everybody. Let`s go straight back out to California, Jane Velez-Mitchell with "Celebrity Justice."

Jane, the defense scored a lot of points today. Not only have there been two young boys, now grown men, say nothing happened. Didn`t they both say, however, one started sleeping with Jackson around age 7 and then it abruptly ended when he turned 14? What about the other young boy? What age was involved?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you know, there`s a pattern here that emerges with the boys and with the moms. And that`s one of the disturbing things that comes out in cross.

Yes, when the boys reach a certain age, oh, what a coincidence, they suddenly stop spending as much time around Michael Jackson, although everybody here has insisted they remain friends with him to this day.

When it comes to the moms, the pattern is that they seem to trust Michael Jackson immediately. In fact, on cross-examination with one of the sisters -- they also took the stand, two sisters -- one of the prosecutors said, "Wait a second, how did you know him enough to trust him? Doesn`t trust have to be earned?" And the girl said, "Trust doesn`t have to be earned. It`s a feeling."

In a sense, you get the feeling that Michael Jackson mesmerizes these families, lavishes them with gifts and kind of gets them in his thrall. And he is incredibly charismatic. And as I do say, they love him to this day. I have never seen four people come out and try to defend anybody more vigorously than these four have.

GRACE: Well, Jane, very quickly, how were the moms and sisters attacked on cross?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, they were attacked because it was a sense of these prosecutors asking the question, "Wait a second. Why would you allow, and do you think it`s appropriate to allow a 35-year-old man to sleep with an 8- or a 9-year-old boy?" And the answers were, "It`s fine. There`s nothing wrong with it. This was non-sexual."

But it`s almost like, doth protest too much. The more they tried to explain how it was OK and there was nothing wrong with it, it`s like the big elephant in the room. It kind of makes you think, well, what are they thinking? I mean, what is the reason for Michael Jackson to want to sleep with all these boys? If it`s not sexual, what`s the reason?

GRACE: What is it?

Joe Episcopo, response?

JOE EPISCOPO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it looks like Robson slept with Jackson for about seven years and Barnes for about 10 years. Apparently, when they get out of that teen age they lose interest in this. But Michael Jackson is trapped...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Well, we don`t know who lost interest in who.

EPISCOPO: Well, Michael...

GRACE: And Joe, we are not naming any names on air, even though they are grown up. That`s their business.

EPISCOPO: Well, they weren`t molested.

GRACE: But Joe, back to it. Who says they lost interest in hanging out with Jackson and sleeping with him? How do we know Jackson just didn`t move on to another kid?

EPISCOPO: Well, I think Jackson is trapped in this 13-, 14-year-old mentality. And the other kids grow out of it and he doesn`t, and he continues to stay in that mentality.

GRACE: Michael Mazzariello, response?

MICHAEL MAZZARIELLO, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I agree with Joe 100 percent, Nancy. It seems like the pattern is, is they`re young, they`re into him being a celebrity, and when they reach puberty, 14, 15, they move on, as does Michael Jackson.

GRACE: OK, Michael, I`m sorry. I`m not getting the connection. They are into his celebrity. They like his music and his dance moves. How does that translate into sleeping with him practically every night at age 7?

MAZZARIELLO: Well, Nancy, it doesn`t. I mean, a couple of interviews that I saw, I saw that the children asked if they could sleep in his bedroom, if they could sleep with him.

GRACE: That`s what Michael Jackson said, right?

MAZZARIELLO: Right, exactly.

GRACE: Well, he`s on trial for child molestation. You don`t think he may sneak in a little self-serving statement every once and a while?

MAZZARIELLO: Well, absolutely. But Nancy, you know, he`s a celebrity. And the kids look up to him. And our society today dictates that, "Wow, I`m in Michael Jackson`s house. I`m going to sleep in his bedroom."

GRACE: Well, no, no. It`s "I`m Michael Jackson`s bed with Michael Jackson without our shirts on."

MAZZARIELLO: Well, I`m not going to defend that, Nancy. I mean, as parent, I would not let my child sleep with any 35-year-old male.

GRACE: OK, so your kids are held with a different standard than other kids? It`s OK for them but not for yours?

MAZZARIELLO: I can`t respond for other parents.

GRACE: As a defense lawyer, you don`t see a problem with this?

MAZZARIELLO: As a defense attorney, Nancy, I listen to what my client tells me. Michael Jackson tells me that the children invited themselves in and I just couldn`t say no.

GRACE: OK.

Caryn, help me out here. Am I the only crazy person in the room?

STARK: There is no way that the children invited themselves in. And we know from his pattern that actually he gets interested in them. They don`t find him. And then he totally abandons them when he`s had enough.

GRACE: But bottom line, according to Jane Velez-Mitchell, the defense scored big points today, not only the mother of these young boys, the sister, too, said nothing happened. Now, I don`t know how they know, since they weren`t in bed with Jackson that night, but that`s what they said in court.

Quick break. But first to "Trial Tracking": David Onstott, remember him? Convicted sex offender, charged with the murder and attempted sex battery of 13-year-old Michelle Lunde, pleads not guilty today. Sarah`s body found April 14th submerged in a fishpond near her home.

Authorities say Onstott, who once dated Sarah`s mother, confessed he strangled the little girl. Onstott previously served over five years behind bars for rape, was arrested again in March for failing to register as a sex offender. Prosecutors say they will seek the death penalty.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: The King of Pop now in a California courtroom facing charges of child molestation.

Straight out to Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane, the mom of two of these alleged victims of molestation claimed nothing happened. How would they know?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that was one of the points prosecutors made. You weren`t there, were you, moms, when your sons were in bed with Michael Jackson sleeping? You weren`t watching for 12 hours. You weren`t even in the room, so how do you know?

And both moms said, "Well, my sons told me. And I take their word for it. And that`s what I believe." So that`s how that ended.

GRACE: In fact, sometimes they weren`t even in the same structure. Very often, the moms would be shuttled off to a guest house, right?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely. In fact, one time the mother was staying across the street at a hotel and would literally walk her son across to Michael Jackson`s condo, leave him there, and then go back to the hotel to spend the night.

GRACE: OK, Dusty, you saw it. Everybody in the studio once again was making the "ick" face. Every single person, five people in here, they all made the "ick" face.

Very quickly, 25 seconds left, Jane Velez-Mitchell, what`s next?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, supposedly we have a security guard and a housekeeper brought on by the defense to rebut certain testimony. And then we could have that "Home Alone" star. Again, that is still a possibility. We don`t know for sure.

GRACE: And remember, Mesereau promised his client would take the stand.

Jane Velez-Mitchell at the courthouse with "Celebrity Justice." Thank you, friend. I`ll see you on Monday, OK?

Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY KILGORE, DEPUTY U.S. MARSHAL: One of our deputies, who was alert, noticed the individual that fit the description that he had, plus, with a photo. And what he ended up doing was coming back around, positively identifying Mr. Bell. Then, at that point he was able to take Mr. Bell into custody.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Well, it helped a lot that a convicted sex offender was wandering around near the U.S. courthouse in Florida. This is a guy, convicted sex offender Patrick Wayne Bell, has been on the lam after removing his GPS tracking device, leaving it at his mom`s and taking off.

In Tampa, Florida, Pro Tech Monitoring CEO Steve Chapin. He made the ankle bracelet. It`s his company`s. Patrick Bell was wearing that. And, in West Palm Beach, from the Palm Beach County Sheriff`s Office, Larry Wood.

Thank you, gentlemen, for being with us.

First of all, to Detective Larry Wood, what was Bell convicted for? What was his conviction?

LARRY WOOD, PALM BEACH COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: He was convicted of attempted sexual battery of a child under 12 years of age, along with lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 16.

GRACE: So a repeat sex offender on children. Why wasn`t he behind bars? What`s he doing wandering around with a GPS anyway?

WOOD: Well, he did five years in prison.

GRACE: For two victims?

WOOD: Well, five years in prison he did for the victims, yes. And he had two years remaining on conditional release and he was released out on probation.

GRACE: Now, you say conditional release. What`s that?

WOOD: It`s basically the time remaining they have on their sentence and they are released back into the community to serve that time.

GRACE: Oh, you mean like, say, five, to do two, is the sentence. You get five years behind bars -- you do two behind bars, three on probation? Is that what you mean?

WOOD: Basically, yes.

GRACE: So, he had the luxury, the privilege of getting out from behind bars and then he violates his GPS. What happened?

WOOD: Basically, what happened was that, at 1:06 on May 3, he broke his monitor. He basically got on a bus to Tallahassee. He, basically, was hiding out in Tallahassee for a day and a half. And the U.S. Marshals, with some real good work by them, happened to find him walking down the sidewalk in Tallahassee.

GRACE: Does the name John Evander Couey ring bell?

WOOD: Very much so.

GRACE: Yes, the guy that is probably going to end up facing the -- there you go. Thank you, Elizabeth.

The death penalty. That`s a face I`ll never forget. He`s been charged with the murder of 9-year-old Jessie Lunsford. He was a convicted sex offender, too, who hopped a bus from -- I guess to Tallahassee, as a matter of fact, just like this guy.

(CROSSTALK)

WOOD: Right to Georgia, yes.

GRACE: This is what I don`t understand. Steve Chapin. You`re the CEO of Pro Tech Monitoring. How are these guys getting the GPS off their ankle? Is this an ankle bracelet like Martha Stewart wears?

STEVE CHAPIN, CEO, PRO TECH MONITORING: Yes. They wear this ankle bracelet.

GRACE: Wait. Hold it up, OK.

CHAPIN: I`m sorry?

GRACE: Will you hold it up for me? OK. It looks like a running watch.

CHAPIN: Yes. It`s a hard plastic ankle bracelet with a Sanopreme (ph), with a Sanopreme strap.

And, in the case of Bell, he just simply cut it off. But we`ve got -- since 1998, when we`ve been -- when we started tracking people with GPS, we`ve tracked more than 50,000 offenders. And what we`ve found is, less than one-half one 1 percent of the offenders ever cut off their bracelet and run. GPS has proven to be a pretty good deterrent, because, as we`ve seen with the Bell case, when they cut it off, we know about it. In fact, we knew about it 10 seconds after he cut his ankle bracelet off.

We alerted the Department Of Corrections and things started to happen. And what do you know? Law enforcement caught him very soon after.

GRACE: Well, wait a minute. I don`t think they would have ever caught him if he hadn`t been taking a stroll by the U.S. courthouse. Hello?

CHAPIN: But they wouldn`t have even known to be looking for him if he hadn`t been wearing a GPS tracking device.

GRACE: Look, this guy goes to all the trouble to cut the ankle bracelet off. Then he takes a stroll by the courthouse. He needs to go back to jail.

Speaking of jail, how long will he do now, Detective Wood?

WOOD: I believe he has two years and some days left on his present sentence. And if he`s found convicted with a parole hearing, he will possibly do day for day.

GRACE: Well, I`m locking my door.

Let me go back to Joe Episcopo, defense attorney.

Joe, you got any clients with one of these ankle bracelets on, an anklet?

EPISCOPO: No.

But I can tell you that, as far as these hearings go, he doesn`t have a chance. In fact, I stopped doing them. You can`t win one of these parole violation hearings. They`re done by the Department of Corrections in the jail. And there`s -- it`s wrong to take a fee, because you`re not going to win. He`s going to go back and do the rest of his sentence. You can get violated for a traffic offense.

GRACE: He needs to go back and do the rest of his sentence. He shouldn`t have gotten out to start with.

EPISCOPO: Well...

GRACE: Michael Mazzariello, what`s the point of having the anklets if you can just cut it off and get a 24-hour head start on the police?

MAZZARIELLO: Well, like the man, the CEO of the company said, Nancy, the best part is, is that you know he`s loose, 10 seconds after he...

GRACE: Oh. Well, that makes me feel a lot better.

MAZZARIELLO: Nancy, I`m not a big fan of the GPS tracking, because GPS tracking will just let you know where the murder took place.

However, if he takes it off, law enforcement can get on you faster than parole or probation without it, Nancy.

GRACE: You know, back to Steve Chapin. He`s the CEO of Pro Tech Monitoring. This is widely used.

Another issue, Steve, is, you may know where the guy is. But how do you know he`s not committing a crime? How do you know he`s not in the apartment with another 14- or 12-year-old, like he was the time before?

CHAPIN: Well, GPS can`t prevent a crime from happening. But what GPS does is, it modifies offender behavior. They know they`re being watched. They know they`re being watched all the time. They`re constantly reminded by the system that they`re being watched.

And what we`ve found is that the offenders that are on GPS have a much, much lower recidivism rate than offenders that are just out in our communities without any type of tracking device at all.

GRACE: And take a listen to this, guys.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELNA GISSENTANNER, MOTHER OF CONVICTED SEX OFFENDER: They released my son. The question I asked them is the question I`m asking now. Why did they release him and he had no place to go? He had no home. They said he couldn`t live here. I`m his all. I`m his all.

They had me to run around and find places and places after places. They sent me to I don`t know how many different places. I got there. It was just another brick wall. OK? Whatever Patrick did, they led him to do that. Patrick was wrong for what he did. The state was wrong for what they did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know what? I absolutely am in shock. That is Bell`s mother trying to blame the system for what her son did, a convicted sex offender. If she can`t think of a place to put him, I can, Caryn Stark. It`s called jail, jail, J-A-I-L.

Why is it that we keep releasing convicted sex offenders? When will we learn? We`ve got Jessie Lunsford. We have Danielle van Dam. We have Samantha Runnion. Why?

STARK: I don`t know why they don`t learn, Nancy, because...

GRACE: And why is his mom blaming the system?

STARK: Well, his mom is wrong , because there`s no rehabilitation for sex offenders. So, if there`s no rehabilitation, what`s the point of letting them out until somebody can figure out what to do with them? And that`s the truth. They just kind of wander from place to place and nobody lets them stay there. And they`re too threatening. They can`t change their sexual orientation. They`re going to go for kids.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Detective, take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GISSENTANNER: Well, I went and picked Patrick up from the hotel and we sat and we talked for a minute or two. And I left and I went somewhere. But, when I came back, Patrick was gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Leaving behind his GPS anklet.

Very quickly, Detective Larry Wood, she`s saying he couldn`t live with her? Is it because she lived too close a school?

WOOD: She lived too close to a day care center, actually, within 1,000 feet.

But as far as saying that the Department of Corrections did not help her, I work very closely with them. They do help -- tried to help him very much prior to him absconding.

GRACE: You mean help him find a place to live, help him get a job? I know. I`ve actually helped parolees and probationers try to get jobs, try to get straight. You don`t want them to end back in jail.

Bottom line, to Steve Chapin, the CEO of Pro Tech Monitoring. You guys knew immediately this guy had cut the anklet, right?

CHAPIN: We did. Within 10 seconds, we received the alarm.

GRACE: And then you immediately call police?

CHAPIN: No. Our system is automatic. When we receive the alarm, it automatically processes that information and alerts Department of Corrections.

And, in the case of Bell, we received it 10 seconds after. In our data center in Tampa, we received it 10 seconds after he cut it. And, within 45 seconds, the Department of Corrections had the alarms on their pagers.

GRACE: Hey, Steve, can I have one of those?

CHAPIN: Can you have an ankle bracelet?

GRACE: Yes.

CHAPIN: Why? What have you done?

GRACE: Well, nothing yet. But I might do something. But I want to try to trick it and I want to see if you can catch me tricking it.

I`m serious, because these things -- and you say they work. And I know that the alarm went off when he cut it. But I guarantee you, there`s a way to beat one of these things. I don`t want to talk about it on the air. I don`t want to give any hints to you know who. But I`ve got a feeling these things can be beat. And I`m just wondering what the justice system is thinking by allowing a convicted sex offender to wander around with the anklet as protection for society.

So, I want to get ahold of one of those.

Steve Chapin is with us, CEO of Pro Tech Monitoring, made the ankle bracelet, Detective Larry Wood, Palm Beach County Sheriff`s Office. Gentlemen, thank you and congratulations for bringing Mr. Bell back to justice.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Quick break, everybody.

We at NANCY GRACE want desperately to help solve unsolved homicides, to help find missing people. Take a look at Robby Floyd. Robby, oh, what a smile. She disappeared with her sister and her three children January `97. They were on their way to visit Robby`s father in Alabama. They have not been seen since, the entire group. If you have any information on this girl, Robby Floyd, what a beauty, please call the Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation toll free 888-813-8389. Please, help us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPT. RICH LOCKHART, KANSAS CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Harrell Johnson, who has been charged now with her death, kicked her and they basically ignored her, didn`t give her any medical attention for the -- reports vary from several hours to days. And she died as a result of her injuries. They brutally decapitated her, disposed of her body in some overgrown area just near where they were staying in this house. And we found the body, then, a short time after that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: This little girl remained nameless. We only knew her by the name Precious Doe for many, many years, her remains found without a head. But now we know her name. This little beauty is Michelle Marie Green. May she rest in peace tonight.

I want to tell you about a murder mystery solved. In Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City Police Captain Rich Lockhart, Jackson County prosecutor Mike Sanders, community activist Alonzo Washington.

But first to KMBC reporter Kris Ketz.

Kris, tell me what happened.

KRIS KETZ, KMBC REPORTER: April 28, 2001, the decapitated body, the remains of a little girl who was almost 4 years old found in a wooded area on our city`s southeast side, across from a park.

Within the last couple of days, the child`s mother and stepfather have been found in Muskogee, Oklahoma. They been charged with second-degree felony murder and endangering the welfare of a child. Briefly, the story is that this couple visiting Kansas City around Easter time 2001, the stepfather, Harrell Johnson, apparently, according to statements that have been given to police down in Muskogee, the stepfather kicked this child in the head because the child wouldn`t go to bed.

The child laid unconscious for two days. And then the decision was made to carry this child`s body to a church dumpster just down the street. The child`s head was cut off with a pair of hedge trimmers. And then the remains were transferred to, again, that wooded area across the street from this park. But, again, charges have been filed, but such a strange and tragic story, because, all this time, this was a child that didn`t have a name.

And not long after this child, the remains of this child were found, there were community activists and so many people in Kansas City who were concerned about this story. And they gave this child a name, Precious Doe. And that`s what we`ve known this child by since -- up until a couple of days ago.

GRACE: Kris Ketz is with us, KMBC reporter.

I want to go to one of those community activists that worked so hard to help find the identity and find the person responsible for the murder of Erica Michelle Marie Green. His name is Alonzo Washington.

Sir, why did you care so much about a little girl that nobody knew?

ALONZO WASHINGTON, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: Well, it was a number of reasons.

Number one, I`m a father. And, you know, I saw this story when it first broke, you know. And I`m just going to keep it real. It wasn`t in the front of the news. And that somewhat incensed me. And before there were committees, before there were all these politicians getting involved, I challenged the media and the community to put this story in the front of the news.

I said, there`s no way a child can be discarded like trash.

GRACE: And you never gave up. You never gave up.

Mr. Washington kept putting ads, kept trying to find out, who is this little girl? Where did she come from? Who did she belong that? You see that, "We Won`t Rest"? Thanks to this man you`re looking at, the case was cracked.

Let me go to Captain Rich Lockhart in Kansas City, police.

Captain, how did you crack the case?

LOCKHART: Well, we got a tip from a man in Muskogee, Oklahoma, explaining to us some really good detailed information about the case. We sent two detectives down to Muskogee initially. And once the information got really good, we sent some more detectives down, ended up talking to a woman who confessed to being the mother and telling us that she had killed this child.

GRACE: And, Mike Sanders, are the two suspects -- do you believe this horrific act on a little girl by her own mother, her own mother letting her lay there in the floor for two days, then having her decapitated to hide who she is, are they headed back to Kansas City to face charges?

MIKE SANDERS, JACKSON COUNTY PROSECUTOR: They are. And, you know, I think I`ve told a lot of people this. This is why we become prosecutors, is to handle cases like this.

GRACE: Tell it.

SANDERS: We`re going to get our chance.

By the way, they waived extradition today from Oklahoma. They`ll be back in Kansas City to face these charges and answer to the whole community Friday of next week or as early as Monday of next week. And we`re looking forward to seeing them, obviously, in Kansas City court.

When this case first broke, you look at the photographs, you look at the evidence, and it`s inconceivable to think that a parent could do this or really any human could do this to another person, very inconceivable, very difficult.

Now, we are unfortunate up here to see upwards of 100 homicides a year for this entire county, but this is probably one of the most difficult cases that I will see in my career and that many of us have seen. It`s very emotional for us. It`s a bittersweet moment.

GRACE: Mike -- Mike Sanders, yes, no, do you guys have the death penalty?

SANDERS: He have the death penalty and we exercise it.

Just in the last month, we`ve announced the death penalty or our decision to seek the death penalty in two cases. One of the things that we`re going to have to do over the next few weeks and months ahead, as more evidence comes in, as we get more witness interviews...

GRACE: Gotcha.

SANDERS: ... is make the decision whether or not this was premeditated. And, therefore, are they eligible for the death penalty in the state of Missouri?

GRACE: Well, guys...

SANDERS: But if we determine that this is premeditated, it will be.

GRACE: Mr. Sanders, I hope that all of you can join me as we follow this case.

And, as I go to break, Alonzo Washington, and, of course, Captain Lockhart, I can`t thank you enough for cracking the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms.

Take a look at the stories and, more important, the people who touched all of our lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE (voice-over): Fifty-five-year-old Summer Shipp still missing after five long months.

BRANDY SHIPP, DAUGHTER OF MISSING WOMAN: I`m going to keep fighting and I`m going to keep your story out there until we bring you home. Love you.

GRACE: We`re desperately looking for Summer Shipp. What a beauty.

Lock the doors, early release today for a convicted child molester who claims over 200 child victims. He warned us all he would kill his next child victim if he was not castrated. Well, McQuay did less than half his sentence behind bars.

DIANNE CLEMENTS, PRESIDENT, JUSTICE FOR ALL: Larry Don McQuay is a very dangerous man.

PAUL LOONEY, LARRY DON MCQUAY`S LAWYER: He was castrated from six months to a year ago. And it`s helped.

GRACE: A nanny strung out on alcohol and painkillers who mowed down two children answers to a jury.

BOB PACK, SON AND DAUGHTER KILLED IN CAR ACCIDENT: I have lost my two precious children, and it`s almost impossible to recover from that.

GRACE: Convicted sex predator Patrick Bell managed to remove his GPS tracking device and escape. Why wasn`t Bell still behind bars? And what good is a GPS monitor anyway if you can just take it off?

The so-called runaway bride says, I`m sorry, after feeling the heat, after claims she was not remorseful.

REV. TOM SMILEY, FAMILY PASTOR: Jennifer writes: "At this time, I cannot fully explain what happened to me last week. Please, may I assure you that my running away had nothing to do with cold feet, nor was it ever about leaving John."

GRACE: You know, get on with it. Let`s go prosecute some real criminals. Let the woman pay off a fine and be done with it.

GRACE: This is one of these -- an exact replica of something that`s been entered in the courtroom that came out of Jackson`s house.

"The Boy: A Photograph Essay." I will tell you what. I`m afraid I`m going to get arrested having this thing on the set. There are naked boys in this book with their private parts on full display. I really -- I`m not even going to describe it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: As I sign off for tonight, Rene (ph), can you give me the Liz cam? I want to see the control room to wish Elizabeth and all our moms in the control room happy Mother`s Day.

And I also want to wish a special Mother`s Day to my mom.

Happy Mother`s Day.

Thank you to all of my guests tonight, but my biggest thank you to you for being with all of us, inviting all of us into your home.

Coming up, headlines from around the world, Larry on CNN.

Live coverage of Jackson weekdays 3:00 to 5:00 on Court TV.

Good night, friend.

END