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Nancy Grace

Nancy Grace for August 1, 2005, CNNHN

Aired August 01, 2005 - 20:00   ET

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

NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, live to Aruba. The intense search for Natalee Holloway goes on, even after the draining of a local pond turns up dry, in more ways than one. One suspect behind bars while two others remain free. Will the Aruban authorities simply let the case go cold on a missing American girl so a judge`s son will walk free?
And tonight, a Pennsylvania beauty, 24-year-old LaToyia Figueroa, five months pregnant, goes to a doctor appointment and then vanishes into thin air. Philadelphia police search desperately for Figueroa. Tonight, they need your help.

Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. And I want to thank you for being with us tonight.

Tonight, Philadelphia police reach out for help on an intense search for 24-year-old LaToyia Figueroa, five months pregnant and missing. LaToyia vanished after a doctor`s appointment, and she`s got a little girl at home who wants her mother.

Plus, Michael Jackson came close to living in a California penitentiary just before he beat charges of child molestation. Now, his new digs, could it be a castle in the kingdom of Bahrain? Six weeks after beating his child molestation rap, Jackson`s living large.

But first tonight, to Aruba and the search for Natalee Holloway. Sixty-four, six-four, long days since the 18-year-old Alabama girl vanished the last night of her high school senior trip to Aruba.

Will the Aruban police let the search go cold? Well, not if we can help it. Tonight, volunteers search a landfill after a local pond turns up dry.

And tonight, Natalee`s mother has left the island. The judge`s son, Joran Van Der Sloot, still behind bars.

Tonight, in Aruba, Natalee`s father is with us, Dave Holloway, and private investigator T.J. Ward; in West Palm Beach, Florida, defense attorney Michelle Suskauer; in Atlanta, veteran trial lawyer Renee Rockwell; in New York, psychotherapist Dr. Robi Ludwig.

But first, let`s go to CNN correspondent Susan Candiotti. Susan, I just can`t accept that the trail will be allowed to go cold. What`s happening?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I don`t think authorities want it to go cold. They`re really trying, they said, everything do to try to get to the bottom of this.

The latest information we have in that regard is that they`re putting out a public plea to look for -- remember all that talk about a shoe or a pair of shoes?

GRACE: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: Well, finally, confirmation that authorities are putting out a public request to be on the lookout, if you will, for a pair of sneakers that Joran, according to law enforcement authorities, claims that he might have lost the night that Natalee went missing, when he was on the beach with her, he said, at that fisherman`s hut area, which is near the Marriott and the Holiday Inn hotels.

Described as size 14, a pair of brand new sneakers. The brand is K- Swiss.

GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. Size 14, K-Swiss, are those...

CANDIOTTI: White and blue in color, that`s right. And they`re looking for this pair of brand new sneakers that he told police, as they stressed to me, in one of his many statements, that he might have lost this pair of shoes.

Again, they don`t know how much credence to put into this. And they said they have looking for this pair of shoes since the beginning, looked in his home, looked around the pond area that they`ve finished searching, looked around, and now they`re saying, all right, well, we`re putting out a public request now, if anyone possibly stumbles upon this pair of shoes.

GRACE: OK, Susan, let me get this straight. It`s day 64, and now they tell us to look on the beach for the shoes?

CANDIOTTI: They looked at the beach, didn`t find them themselves on the beach, looked other places as well, as I gave some examples, but yes. I said, well, why now? Well, they figure maybe the public can see them somewhere else.

GRACE: OK, to Dave Holloway. Dave, what would it prove if the authorities found Joran Van Der Sloot`s shoes on the beach? I mean, where would that get us in the investigation?

DAVE HOLLOWAY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY`S FATHER: Well, what they were doing, I think, was the pond that they drained, they feel like possibly he may have been cutting across the beach, back to the racquet club, and got stuck in the mud and lost his shoes.

That`s the only plausible explanation I could think of. The police have not told me specifically what the reasoning is, but, as you`re well aware, the gardener pinpointed them at the racquet club in her vehicle. So I think the shoes may have been lost, maybe cutting across the field from the beach area. Other than that, I really don`t know.

GRACE: OK, Dave, do you believe the gardener`s story?

HOLLOWAY: I believe there`s some credence to it. You know, he was pretty specific about it. So, you know, I don`t know. You know...

GRACE: You know what, Dave?

HOLLOWAY: All we know really -- all we know really is they left Carlos and Charlie`s, to tell you the truth about it. But, you know, the witness is adamant that he saw him at the racquet club that night. So I don`t know.

GRACE: Well, here`s the thing, Dave, there`s just something about his story that seems legitimate. Maybe it`s the level of detail.

What about it, Dr. Robi?

DR. ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Yes. And he also seems to be very honest and very interested in helping with this case.

GRACE: No skin in the game.

LUDWIG: Right. Absolutely.

GRACE: He`s got nothing to gain or lose.

LUDWIG: Which makes him sound more valid. And also, one can envision what he`s saying, given the characters in this case.

GRACE: You know, Renee, you and I have been in court a lot. And when you`ve got a witness, a single eyewitness to something, the more detail that they can give about the incident makes the story more believable. Would you agree or disagree?

And what about this story, Renee? The guy says he explains why he`s out at 2:00 in the morning. It`s hot. He`s going to his friends with an air conditioner. He pulls around the corner. Next thing you know, he`s right up on Joran Van Der Sloot, 2:00 in the morning.

Renee, nothing good going on outside at 2:00 in the morning. With the Kalpoe boy in the back and the other brother in the front, the Kalpoes duck down and Joran Van Der Sloot hides his face.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Tries to hide his face. And by virtue of the fact that he remembers those details, it sounds like he`s trying to come forth and give the details of three individuals that are not acting normal at 2:30 in the morning, especially in light of the fact that they`re trying to hide.

GRACE: Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE "JUG" TWITTY, STEPFATHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: From the beginning, you know, Beth and I were there that very first night. And I still believe that, of course, Joran is involved. Deepak`s involved. And the father`s involved.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Dave Holloway is with us, it`s Natalee`s father. Dave, I`ve got a map of the island.

Renee or Elizabeth, if you could pull that up. There we go. No, it`s the other one. The other one you just showed me.

Dave, could you tell me, now, what is your theory about the shoe, Joran Van Der Sloot`s shoe? What would it prove?

HOLLOWAY: Well, it would prove that they were at a certain location at a certain time, based on what the gardener had to say. So he places them at the racquet club around 2:30 a.m.

GRACE: Now, you were telling me -- hold that map. Hold that map, Elizabeth. You were saying something about coming from the beach at the Holiday Inn toward the pond and losing the shoe in some mud. Would you repeat that, Dave?

HOLLOWAY: Well, I was over there this afternoon, just kind of checking it out. And the distance from the racquet club to the beach is probably 500 yards at the most.

GRACE: And what`s your theory about where the shoe -- how the shoe could have gotten lost and what it would prove?

HOLLOWAY: Well, the gardener indicated that they were on that road, right near the racquet club. And if they were down on the beach, possibly running back towards the racquet club, late at night -- there was a lot of mud holes, and sink holes, and that type of stuff in that area -- he could have possibly ran off into one of those and lost his shoes.

That`s the only plausible thing that I can think of, that the police would be looking for would be shoes, you know, in that area.

GRACE: T.J. Ward, the private investigator hired by Natalee`s family. T.J., you have said a couple of times that you believe this case will be solved in a matter of weeks. Why do you say that?

T.J. WARD, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR HIRED BY HOLLOWAY FAMILY: Well, everything is surrounding over here near the beach and over here near the pond that nothing was found.

And last week, you and I discussed, when I was here, about this second witness. Maybe the second witness did see something, and they tried to come back, and they were looking for it, maybe a pair of tennis shoes.

I mean, there may be some validity to that. There`s some new information that we found today. And we`ve got some phone calls and some e-mails...

GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, wait, wait. What new information?

WARD: We`ve gotten some new information today, some new e-mails, in regards to checking out some new leads. And we`re looking on...

GRACE: Can you tell us what they are?

WARD: Well, just to follow up with some of the leads, like we`re looking at today. I returned over there this morning and talked to the manager of the racquetball club, in regards to Van Der Sloot having access to a home somewhere in the area around the pond. And I`m still trying to confirm some additional information to see if this is true.

Secondly, I understand Van Der Sloot today -- I received some information this afternoon is about to hire a private investigator out of New York to represent him. And this investigator claims that we`re looking at the wrong people and the wrong parties, that there`s somebody else that`s involved in this.

But I invited him down after some information that was discussed on another media program.

GRACE: You know, Susan Candiotti, do we have any idea when Van Der Sloot came up with the shoe story?

CANDIOTTI: No. I tried to press law enforcement about at what point he talked about the shoes. But all I got was, "It was during the course of the many statements that he had given," but I couldn`t pin them down on precisely when that was, in the beginning, in the middle, the end.

Remember, he`s given so many different statements, at least 15. And I don`t know how many different versions, of course.

GRACE: Every time you do that, Susan, it sticks in my throat. The last time I heard 22 different stories, I nearly choked, now 15. This guy has told so many different stories.

You know, Michelle Suskauer, as a prosecutor, you got to love a guy that changes his story every time you take a statement from him.

MICHELLE SUSKAUER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know, they`ve been holding him for quite some time. And as I`ve said before, Aruba is a prosecutor`s dream. And he has not had a defense lawyer with him.

So he`s going to give maybe a different story every day and maybe say what they want him to say and point the fingers in every different direction. But...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: I think he has had a defense lawyer with him. I think he has.

SUSKAUER: No, he hasn`t. Only until recently did they give him the permission to have a defense lawyer.

GRACE: He had his father the night Natalee went missing, saying, "No body no case."

Isn`t that right, Dave Holloway?

HOLLOWAY: From what I understand, that`s the statement that was made. He, of course, denies that he ever made that statement. But that`s what they`re playing on.

GRACE: And, you know, Renee, I know it sounds fantastical to a lot of people that are listening that someone would actually leave behind an item of clothing.

Look, I had a guy that left behind his parole notice at a burglary about when to report for his parole sign-in, all right, his monthly parole visit. I`ve had people leave all kinds of -- a driver`s license, much less fingerprints, forget about it.

A parole notice, Renee, at the scene of the burglary. So the shoe is nothing.

ROCKWELL: Nancy, I`m thinking that what probably happened regarding the shoes is that the officers that are investigating the case are saying: What did you have on the night of the incident?

Of course, you can wash your clothes and maybe wash away some forensic evidence, some blood, hair, any type of semen, anything that may connect him with this incident, but typically people do not clean up their shoes.

And it takes this much, and there might be the only piece of forensic evidence that we have. Remember, we have no forensic evidence, no body. We don`t even know if this is a homicide.

GRACE: Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, MOTHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: We`ve been going through this since June 10th. What have I not been exposed to? What have I not been put through? Where has she not been?

It`s been endless. You know, until I am shown definitively, of course I`m going to have hope that she`s alive.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: You know, we`re talking about a missing shoe tonight, that shoe belonging to the judge`s son behind bars, Joran Van Der Sloot. And again, it may sound fantastical, but I`ve actually seen a murder case turn on a discovery of a glass eyeball, a case turn on the discovery of a chipped fake nail. So a shoe is like a gift from heaven to certain prosecutors.

To Susan Candiotti, who`s been on the case from the beginning, you know, the cops finally broke down in Aruba and went and searched Van Der Sloot`s home. Did they find a pair of size -- is it 12 or 14, Ellie?

CANDIOTTI: Fourteen.

GRACE: Fourteen K-Swiss, were they there?

CANDIOTTI: No, they weren`t there. And what your other guest said is true, I`m told by law enforcement. Naturally, they were talking about, well, one of the many questions then asked, what were you wearing that night?

And presumably, when it came down to the shoes, well, where were the shoes? So where are the shoes? So this was one of the things I`m told that was discussed, and where are they?

"I might have lost them," I presume is what he said, because that`s what they said, he told them he might have lost them.

GRACE: Hey, Susan, take a look at the monitor. We`re just showing the bulldozer digging up that muck from the bottom of the pond. If there were a pair of K-Swiss shoes in there, I don`t know that they would ever, ever find them. It`s like a needle -- oh, good lord, a needle in a haystack.

CANDIOTTI: Yep, that other thing -- and you know, Nancy, the map that you had up a little while ago, I just wanted to point out where the racquet club was in relation to that.

GRACE: OK, we`ve got it up, Susan.

CANDIOTTI: OK, great. You see the pond there?

GRACE: Yes.

CANDIOTTI: Well, just on the bottom of the screen -- because of the visuals on the bottom, it`s kind of missing -- but the racquet club would be on the bottom of the screen on that side...

GRACE: Is that it? Is that it, Renee and Elizabeth, the brown square at the bottom?

CANDIOTTI: There you go. There it is. Now you can see it.

GRACE: That`s it, Susan. You`re right, incredibly close.

And take a look. Just as Dave Holloway told us, there`s a clear shot from the Holiday Inn and the Marriott, straight across to the pond, straight across to the racquet club.

Now I get, when you explain it to me like that, Susan, why they`re so interested in this area. You know, you put that in with what the gardener says, seeing them there at 2:30 a.m.

Everybody, we are live Aruba bringing you the latest in the case of Natalee Holloway, the 18-year-old girl. Still authorities still searching for her. But will they allow the case to go cold in Aruba and let a judge`s son walk free? I hope not.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE "JUG" TWITTY, STEPFATHER OF NATALEE HOLLOWAY: There`s been rumors out there for many, you know, weeks, that we can`t find her on the island here, that she`s possibly in Venezuela, Curacao, all these places. And hopefully this will help, you know, if she`s out there, if people have information that they can help us, you know, find her, that they will come forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: One million dollars posted for Natalee Holloway`s safe return; $100,000 for info on her whereabouts. Tip-line toll-free, 877-628-2533.

Tonight, after the disappointing results from a local pond, Natalee`s mother has returned to Birmingham, Alabama. With us from Aruba, Natalee`s father, Dave Holloway.

Dave, what is the thinking about the landfill search that`s going on?

HOLLOWAY: Well, we had a witness that came forward and indicated that he saw something happen at the landfill. And, you know, that`s our last place to look. And, you know, I don`t know what the credibility of this witness is.

But it`s the last place we`re going to have the opportunity to look, unless we come up with some more clues.

GRACE: Susan Candiotti, are authorities bringing in additional equipment to search the landfills?

CANDIOTTI: Well, EquuSearch is bringing in more equipment. They`re bringing in up to six for bulldozers, they said, tomorrow. They`ve already dug up about 40 different holes.

They`re using a stick with a camera, they said, on the end of it that helps them to look into small places. They`ve had some false positives over the past couple of days where they think they found something but, for example, it would turn out to be medical waste.

And they have some dogs in there, as well, they`re trying to look. But they think that they might be able to finish up their work tomorrow.

And I know that Dave talked about credibility questions. And, in fact, police did talk to this witness, I am told, by two different law enforcement sources, within, well, right away, after he came in to talk to them, a few days after Natalee`s disappearance, he was brought to their attention.

And he thinks he saw something that could have been a body. And he even provided them with a tag number on a car. But authorities told me that when they looked into, for example, that car, it matched up to a vehicle that was not in the landfill on the day he claims to have seen it, nor in that immediate timeframe.

GRACE: So, basically, the tag number was wrong. But do we have any reason to discredit him seeing a white Jeep and several men discarding something?

CANDIOTTI: Law enforcement sources tell me they don`t put much credibility -- it just didn`t pan out, in their opinion.

GRACE: You know what, Susan? I get where you`re coming from. But, still, this gardener has such a ring of truth in his story of seeing Van Der Sloot at 2:30 a.m. near this racquet club, destroys Van Der Sloot`s own story.

Everybody, we`ll all be right back. Stay with us.

But quickly to "Trial Tracking." Tonight, a miracle. An 8-year-old girl disappeared July 22 found in Mexico. She was rescued from a convicted sex offender, accused of kidnapping her from her Nevada home. Aguerro and the girl`s mother met at church and became romantically involved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAPTAIN JEFF PAGE, LYONS COUNTY SHERIFF: This man was a predator, a manipulator. He spent a great deal of time working his way into this family. He had planned this abduction for quite some time, as evidenced by the pieces of property he took from the young lady`s house, including a birth certificate, Social Security card, every photo in the house of her, and personal clothing, and those effects.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLOWAY: We`ve heard a lot of different rumors. I mean, when we got on the island, you know, we had a lot of information that, you know, she was here, there, whatever. And all of those turned out to be false, but we still hold onto the thread that maybe she`s off somewhere. That`s my hope.

But the police investigation has always come back and indicated that they`re looking into this as a murder case. But as a father and a parent, you still hold onto a possible miracle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Welcome back. A miracle, that may be what it takes to find Natalee Holloway, or to even find out her whereabouts.

Welcome back, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. Let`s go straight back out to Susan Candiotti. She`s been on the Holloway case from the beginning.

Well, there is some heartening news tonight that a whole new team of interrogators have flown to Aruba to re-question Joran Van Der Sloot, the judge`s son. What can you tell me, Susan?

CANDIOTTI: Well, I know that this team has been preparing for this interview for some time, according to our sources. And by the way, that team of Dutch investigators that have gone to the FBI institute at Quantico that spent last week there, they`re back in Aruba, also.

But this team of specialists -- I`m not sure precisely how many people will be going in -- is scheduled to meet with Joran Van Der Sloot tomorrow. He will be transported from the prison, where he is in the juvenile section, over to the police station to be questioned by these behavioral specialists in hopes of asking him questions again, being able to observe him, look for certain clues, use different techniques, to see what he will say.

I talked with this defense attorney about this, this night. He said he couldn`t get into specifics, but the attorney will be allowed to be present and observe the interview.

GRACE: With us is Susan Candiotti. She`s been on the case from the beginning. A heartening break that a whole new group of interrogators have already arrived in Aruba to question Joran Van Der Sloot.

Quick break. We`ll all be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY`S MOTHER: I don`t even know if we`ve heard all of them, and let alone -- I don`t know if he`s finally disclosed the last story. I don`t think we`ve ever gotten to where he actually -- that he and the Kalpoe brothers actually left Natalee or were with her last.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Welcome back, everybody. Straight back down to Susan Candiotti. Susan, regarding this new team that`s coming in to interrogate Joran Van Der Sloot, who exactly are they?

CANDIOTTI: All I have been able to learn is that they are specialists from the Netherlands who are used to talking to young people and who specialize in their behavior and certain interview techniques. So the theory being that they`ll be allowed -- they`ll be able to, perhaps, discern something that the other investigators haven`t been able to.

GRACE: Dr. Robi Ludwig, why would he open up to a whole new set of interrogators, when he`s remained, you know, lip-locked the whole time, except for what daddy fed him?

LUDWIG: He may not. But if these investigators have a fresh pair of eyes and a fresh approach, they could somehow manipulate him into saying something, although Van Der Sloot is so connected to his father, you almost get the sense his father instructed him on how to behave and he is following suit. And it is working for him thus far. In fact, I wonder, with the sneakers, if his father knows what you know, that anything could implicate him and to get rid of the sneakers. I don`t know how...

GRACE: What about that possibility? That`s a good idea. Renee Rockwell, the theory of actually getting rid of them -- because on that very night, he gave a very dissatisfactory explanation of the shoes he was wearing at the time Natalee went missing.

ROCKWELL: It would all be circumstantial, Nancy, but they could use that...

GRACE: So?

ROCKWELL: ... as him getting...

GRACE: So?

ROCKWELL: ... rid of evidence that may work against him. But whatever this team is, this new team, they need to get busy because after 146 days, he`s out of there. And my math shows me that it`s September the 4th, and if there`s nothing filed against him formally, he`s out.

GRACE: And you know, that`s an interesting point. Dave Holloway, come September the 4th, he walks. Does that totally preclude the Aruban authorities from refiling claims against him?

HOLLOWAY: Well, he actually hasn`t been charged yet, but the investigation will continue. You know, you`ve got to stop and think. I went out to the prison and spoke directly with Paul Van Der Sloot, and you know, I don`t know whether I believe everything he said, but I did believe one thing, and that was that he would do everything he could to protect his son. And you know, these daily visits that he has, you know as well as I do, he`s going to be in there coaching and pumping his son, you know, just to, Keep on, keep on, and you`ll eventually get out.

And you know, that`s obvious to me that`s what`s happening. These special investigators, they may come in, I don`t know that they`ll get much more out of him. Unless they isolate him and not allow him to have any visits with his parents, I just don`t think we`re going to get much more out of him.

GRACE: Dave Holloway, before I let you go, the way I see it is, as it stands right now, the only way you`re going to find out is to somehow divide these three and get one of them to tell what happened that night. But I don`t know that there`s an incentive in Aruba that can be offered. They don`t plea deal down there.

HOLLOWAY: That`s correct.

GRACE: With me is Natalee`s father, Dave Holloway. Also with us, Susan Candiotti -- she`s been on the case from the beginning -- and T.J. Ward, the private investigator, who has literally been knocking on doors, door to door, now focusing in and around the racquet club. Thank you, all three of you.

Quickly switching gears. Another woman missing tonight I want to tell you about. Tonight in Philadelphia, Captain Charles Bloom of the Philly police department, Stephanie Stephenson, a mother figure to missing LaToyia Figueroa.

But first to "Philadelphia Daily News" reporter Leah Zerbe. Leah, bring me up to date.

LEAH ZERBE, "PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS": Well, Nancy, LaToyia went missing two weeks ago, and according to police, the last person she was seen with was the father of her baby. She`s five months pregnant. Now, they did go to the University Hospital of Pennsylvania, and she, from what we reported, did not have enough money to pay the $35 co-pay, so she and the father of her child went back -- what we reported is that they grabbed something to eat at a local take-out restaurant, and then they went back to his house.

He says she left at around 3:00 o`clock. Nobody`s heard from her since. There`s no credit card activity, no cell phone activity. We had search parties out yesterday. Somebody volunteered in Delaware, urban search and rescue, and they had dogs out, searching for her in a cemetery that`s known as a dumping ground for bodies.

GRACE: OK. I want to quickly go to Captain Charles Bloom, Leah. Captain, I understand that you have a car impounded that you are searching. Is it the boyfriend`s car?

CAPT. CHARLES BLOOM, PHILADELPHIA POLICE DEPARTMENT: I`m really not prepared to answer whose car that is...

GRACE: OK.

BLOOM: ... but we do have a vehicle in the impound.

GRACE: Is it still in impound?

BLOOM: Yes, it is.

GRACE: Have you put a cadaver dog on it?

BLOOM: Yes, we have. We still -- we`re not through with this car yet.

GRACE: All right. Is it true you searched the boyfriend`s apartment?

BLOOM: We searched three different locations. We have searched for a missing person, and then we got -- received search warrants. We`re looking for evidence.

GRACE: Now, this has been handed over to you in homicide. You said you searched three places. What would they be?

BLOOM: They were locations that the missing person was known to frequent.

GRACE: OK, that would obviously be the boyfriend`s apartment. Didn`t the boyfriend have another girlfriend at the time?

BLOOM: They apparently were having some problems, some relationship problems. And I`m not -- again, I`m not going to go into their personal lives too much here, but they did have some dispute going on.

GRACE: Let me go to Stephanie Stephenson. She is a mother figure to LaToyia. She raised her. Stephanie, thank you for being with us.

STEPHANIE STEPHENSON, MOTHER FIGURE TO MISSING WOMAN: You`re welcome.

GRACE: Is the boyfriend helping with the search?

STEPHENSON: No, he isn`t.

GRACE: Why?

STEPHENSON: That`s a good question. Only he could answer that. He gave a reason, an excuse, whatever you want to call it, as to why he was not helping.

GRACE: What was that?

STEPHENSON: He said that he would not come around a family because he was afraid that we would harm him. He is of absolutely no importance to us whatsoever.

GRACE: Why would he assume someone wanted to harm him?

STEPHENSON: I have no idea. To me, it seems guilty conscience.

GRACE: Well, we invited him on tonight, everyone. He refused to speak. Also, he is not a suspect at this time. Stephanie, he was the last person seen with -- there`s a shot right there, everybody. That is LaToyia that was skipping rope right there, 24-year-old beauty out of Philly. She`s five months pregnant. Please take a look at her.

He was the last one with her, correct?

STEPHENSON: Yes.

GRACE: To Robi Ludwig, what role does pregnancy play in disappearances?

LUDWIG: It can increase aggression towards a woman, and men sometimes feel very angry if they`re involved with the woman and the woman gets pregnant, if they feel that they`re not ready for a child, or financially, they don`t have the wherewithal to support a child. It can raise aggression and in some cases, lead to murder.

GRACE: And we`re not just looking for LaToyia Figueroa tonight. Elizabeth (ph), do you have a very new picture of the baby? There you go. I know it`s hard to see, but that`s a little baby she`s carrying, five months old. Nobody to protect it but her.

Back to Captain Charles Bloom with Philly homicide. Captain, why has this case been handed over to homicide?

BLOOM: Well, the homicide division has a lot more resources than the investigative unit that was currently investigating the missing person. That`s one reason. We have a lot of experienced investigators also. And the bottom line is, we don`t want to leave any stone unturned.

GRACE: Well, can I ask you this? Speaking of turning over stones, have you searched the other girlfriend`s apartment?

BLOOM: I`m not -- this is an ongoing investigation, and we`re still in the process of actually getting additional search warrants. In fact, we have a couple now we`re preparing to serve.

GRACE: They won`t give you consent? They won`t say, Please come in, search. I`ll be mad if you didn`t?

BLOOM: No, we`re looking for evidence here, so we want to get the search warrant. We want to make sure it holds up in court, if we do find something, if it does turn out to be foul play.

GRACE: OK. Stephanie Stephenson, please join us again. Everyone, the reward -- this is a shot of where they`re searching for LaToyia. The reward is up to $10,000 tonight. Thank you, Stephanie. Thank you, Captain.

Very quickly, to "Trial Tracking." Tonight: Is there finally a break in the case of a missing Pennsylvania prosecutor, Ray Gricar? He went missing April 15 after taking a drive in his car. In just the last 24 hours, two fishermen discovered Gricar`s laptop out of the Susquehanna River, coincidentally right under the bridge near where his car was found. Police say unlikely they`ll retrieve any clues from the laptop. Hard drive gone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Am I supposed to be looking at Paris Hilton or -- oh, no, it`s Michael Jackson. "Jacko Going Gulfin`" -- let me give credit where credit is due. This is "The New York Post," the consummate authority.

Welcome back, everybody. We may have to a say a very sad good-bye. Michael Jackson may be moving out of the country. To Jane Velez-Mitchell with "Celebrity Justice." What can you tell me about Jackson mansion- hunting in Bahrain?

JANE-VELEZ-MITCHELL, "CELEBRITY JUSTICE": Well, Nancy, we know for the past month, Michael Jackson has been vacationing with his family in the very tiny, very rich principality of Bahrain, a guest of the royal family there. And he reportedly loves it so much, according to "The New York Post," he has now purchased a palatial piece of property for an undisclosed sum.

Now, I have to tell you, I spoke with two of Michael Jackson`s attorneys today. Neither could confirm this. They say they just don`t know. They haven`t spoken to him since he`s gone to Bahrain. But "The Post" is very specific, saying Michael Jackson purchased 14 acres right next to the palace of his good buddy, the prince.

Now, you may be wondering why Bahrain, of all places on this planet? Well, apparently, he loves being able to walk around undetected because he has adopted the local custom of wearing the long, flowing white robes and the headdresses that the men wear there. Now, you throw on a pair of sunglasses, and you can really blend in. Apparently, in Bahrain, he`s just one of the guys.

GRACE: You know, to Jim Moret, how do you get to know a prince and then move next door?

JIM MORET, "INSIDE EDITION" CHIEF CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Nancy. First of all, he travels in a circle that`s very different from ours. And think about who he knows. This prince is a fan of Michael Jackson`s, and he supposedly met Michael Jackson over the years. His brother, Jermaine, has been very close with this family. He was traveling to Bahrain during the trial, as a matter of fact.

I have not been able to confirm that Michael Jackson purchased this property, and I frankly don`t know if I believe it. Sure, we`ve reported that he`s been there, and he may, in fact, be living there. But you don`t exactly put one of these palaces up for a listening on Remax (ph) and then hope that somebody`s going to make a bid on it. Presumably, there are only a few people in Bahrain who could afford it. And Michael Jackson has a lot of money problems. I think, if he`s going to be living there, it`s at the prince`s invitation.

GRACE: OK, a lot of people are writing in, Where is Bahrain? OK, give me -- uh-oh! I`m getting dizzy! Whoa! As far away from LA as possible, Bahrain is off the coast of Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

You know, Renee, I guess the defense attorneys probably charged quite a bit of money. Remember, Geragos charged $180,000 for, like, two weeks of work. Where`s he getting the dough, Renee, to pay for -- and Elizabeth, do you have a picture of what the house may look like? Where`s he getting the dough? He`s not in Vegas? He`s not on a world tour. Renee?

ROCKWELL: I`m sure that -- well, I don`t know that Bank America would fund him the money for a palace in Bahrain. But at any rate, you mentioned the defense attorneys...

GRACE: Is that it, Elizabeth? Is that the house? There you -- no? Oh, no, that`s not exactly what it looked like, Renee. Go ahead.

ROCKWELL: And you know, the prince could have bought the house for him. I`m sure he`s got sizable wealth himself. But it`s interesting that you mentioned the defense attorneys because, you know, there are a lot of defense attorneys that would have represented him for free, just for the ink.

GRACE: You`re not kidding.

ROCKWELL: Absolutely. He walked away from that one.

GRACE: And quickly to Jane Velez-Mitchell. What happened to his gig in Vegas?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, a lot of people have been saying a lot of things about what Michael Jackson is going to do. He`s going to move to Berlin, according to one report. He was going to find a permanent home at one of the hotels in Vegas. I think right now, he`s laying low. And if I had to pick one reason why he`s gone to Bahrain, I would say money. It`s a very wealthy place. Michael Jackson, as Jim Moret mentioned, has money troubles. What better way to find a white knight than go into ground zero of all the oil money, perhaps finding someone who could bail him out. For all his many, many millions of dollars of debt, that`s really chump change for this royal family.

GRACE: Yes, who needs Vegas when you can do that? And Michelle Suskauer, I assume that in preparation for tonight, you researched the extradition laws from Bahrain to America?

SUSKAUER: Oh, yes. I spent hours and hours. But you know, he really...

GRACE: Well, we can`t even...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: We can`t even get anybody from Mexico, all right, never mind from Bahrain.

(CROSSTALK)

SUSKAUER: He really needs to be careful, though, because if he is arrested and charged with what he was charged with in California, the penalty is quite different in Bahrain.

GRACE: Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL JACKSON: I would like to thank the fans around the world for your love and your support from every corner of the earth.

I love the community of Santa Maria very much. It`s my community. My home is in this community. I`ll always love this community from the bottom of my heart.

RAYMONE BAIN, JACKSON`S FORMER SPOKESPERSON: Michael lives here. He loves here. His family is here. His friends are here. His children are growing up here. And you know, there have been so many rumors throughout this entire trial. You know, they`ve said that he was bankrupt. He is not. They said he sold Neverland. He has not. They said he was going to flee a long time ago. He has not. I mean, it`s just preposterous, some of the things that people are saying.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: It`s just preposterous!

To Dr. Robi Ludwig, symbolically, what is this? I mean, can you give me that world spin again, Elizabeth? I mean, how much further away can he get from...

LUDWIG: It`s interesting how he wants to be around royalty. It`s like royal by proximity. And for somebody who`s narcissistic and self- entitled, they will want to be amongst their own. So for him to be in a very wealthy place amongst royal people, he probably feels very comforted. I also wonder if he`s finding, like, what this place feels about Americans, and if they also feel victimized, because Michael feels very victimized in the States.

GRACE: I know. I know. He feels persecuted. I still think, Jane Velez-Mitchell, they`ve got to check out those extradition laws.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, but you know, his spokespeople say, Nancy, he is going to be back. He has a lot of lawsuits that he is dealing with right now. And he`s got to come back...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Now, why would you want to come back to lawsuits? Why not just hide out with the prince in Bahrain?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, it`s a good question, but I do ultimately think Michael Jackson will come back and deal with what he has to deal with because, let`s face it, he was acquitted.

GRACE: You know, you`re right about that. You got me over the barrel on that one, Jane Velez-Mitchell. Jane Velez-Mitchell, Jim Moret, thank you, friends.

Very quickly, to tonight`s "All Points Bulletin." FBI and law enforcement across the country on the lookout for this woman, Joanne Chesimard. Chesimard, wanted in connection with the murder of a new Jersey State trooper, Werner Forster (ph), in 1973. Chesimard sentenced to life, escaped in `79, went underground, possibly in Cuba. The FBI reward`s up to $1 million tonight for info leading to her arrest. In her 50s, she`s 5-7, 145 pounds, salt-and-pepper hair. If you have any info on Chesimard, call the FBI, 973-792-3000.

Local news next for some of you, but we`ll all be right back. And remember, live coverage of the verdict in a trial in a teen prank ending in gunfire, 3:00 PM to 5:00 Eastern, Court TV`s "Closing Arguments."

Please stay with us as we remember Corporal Ian W. Stewart, just 21, an American hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Take a look at this family. Just three weeks ago, these toddlers, 18-month-old Bryan and 3-year-old Jennifer Cervantes, went missing, disappearing the same day their mom`s parents and brother were murdered in her Arizona home. Tonight, police have rescued the children from Mexico, where their father, Rodrigo Cervantes Zavala, allegedly went after kidnapping them. He`s also charged with the three murders. Now, the Carole Sund Carrington Foundation announced a reward to these good Samaritans who provided critical information to cops that brought Bryan and Jennifer home to their mother.

I want to take this moment to remind all of you that one of the most important pieces of legislation to hit Capitol Hill in years, the Child Safety Act of 2005, intended to stop children from being victims, is here. Last week, I went to Washington to meet parents of children this act could have saved.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK LUNSFORD, 9-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER JESSIE KIDNAPPED, RAPED AND MURDERED: Our children are the weakest of our group, and they depend on their parents to keep them safe. And we depend on lawmakers for tougher laws.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Mark Lunsford`s girl, 9-year-old Jessie, was kidnapped, assaulted and murdered this year. Her alleged killer, John Evander Couey, finally behind bars, a convicted sex offender with a huge criminal history. This act orders all 50 states to create sex offender registration Web sites, makes not registering a felony and creates mandatory minimum sentences for crimes on children. It forces sex offenders to verify their addresses in person twice a year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LINDA WALKER, DAUGHTER WAS KIDNAPPED AND MURDERED: We ask that the playing field be leveled, the sexual predators be held accountable, that all the system act responsibly and the laws reflect the desire of the people to keep all of our children safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That was Linda Walker. Her daughter, Dru, kidnapped and murdered. She sponsored the rally. Please call your representatives. Make them vote yes.

Thank you to all of my guests tonight, but my biggest thank you is to you for being with us, inviting us into your homes. Coming up, headlines from all around the world, Larry on CNN. I`m Nancy Grace, signing off for tonight. Hope to see you right here tomorrow night, 8:00 o`clock sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END