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Nancy Grace
Joran Van Der Sloot, chief suspect in the Natalee Holloway disappearance, denies having sex with her in a lengthy interview to "A Current Affair" full of inconsistencies.
Aired September 28, 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, breaking news. missing Alabama beauty Natalee Holloway`s mom fights back with an international lawyer after all three suspects in Natalee`s disappearance walked free.
And tonight: Does a 38-year-old man behind bars on child porn charges know anything about the disappearance of 17-year-old Taylor Behl, the Virginia Commonwealth freshman who vanished into thin air? Police are desperately searching for Taylor tonight. Information on a stolen car tag could help crack the case.
Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight.
Tonight: Seventeen-year-old Taylor Behl missing from Virginia Commonwealth University. Tonight: Can a 38-year-old photographer help find Taylor?
And tonight: A powerful politician, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, indicted by a Texas grand jury, who accuses DeLay of criminal conspiracy. Are these charges for real, or is it some kind of political payback? And are they just using Lady Justice?
But first tonight, breaking news in the Natalee Holloway case. Natalee`s mother, Beth Twitty, not giving an inch in the search for Natalee, seeking out an international lawyer after all three suspects in Natalee`s disappearance walk free.
Let`s get the update from "A Current Affair" reporter Harris Faulkner. Harris, What`s happening?
HARRIS FAULKNER, "A CURRENT AFFAIR": Well, you know, Nancy, the biggest news so far has been our exclusive interview with Joran Van Der Sloot, and that is something that Natalee`s mom had said all along that she wanted to see words from Joran. So as soon as we got that tape, we showed it to Beth. And you know, I have to say, in the watching it -- and I know you guys here have watched it on your show -- there are so many nuances in that tape and so many things that pop up that Beth then reacted to that gave us new information.
For instance, I never knew until talking with Beth this week that the FBI was never given a single document, audio or visual, in this case. And now we`ve confirmed that, and I know you have done so, too. All along, we had thought this summer, you know, maybe they were being held at bay because of Dutch or Aruban law. And then we saw the Aruban prime minister about a month ago come out and say, FBI, come on in, inviting them in, I thought in a more substantive manner. Maybe we all thought that, too. But when Beth told me, sure, there was a Dutch official who flew from Holland all the way to Quantico to share information, but didn`t leave a single thing in the hands of the FBI.
GRACE: Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Harris, are you telling me the FBI doesn`t have a copy machine?
FAULKNER: I don`t think it`s about that. I think it`s about being able to have those documents released to them. And you know, I did have an attorney...
GRACE: Wait! You got to give me more than the FBI doesn`t have enough information, OK? That`s why they`re the FBI. They get information. So what else can you tell me?
FAULKNER: All right. So you`ve got that bombshell. But then the other thing was reacting to this interview with Joran Van Der Sloot, as he`s sort of vacillating back and forth between whether or not he and Natalee were intimate, so on and so forth. Beth then brings up another thing that we never knew. I didn`t realize that she had been able to look at those police statements early on in the case. And you had to think that she probably -- she did. But she told me she had never planned to share this information because she wanted to play ball. And she said, simply, what he`s saying in those statements is that it looks like her daughter was sexually assaulted.
GRACE: Guys, take a listen to Joran Van Der Sloot in his most recent statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY WAGSCHAL, "A CURRENT AFFAIR" PRODUCER: Did you have sex with her that night?
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, SUSPECT IN NATALEE HOLLOWAY DISAPPEARANCE: That`s -- first of all, that`s none of your business.
WAGSCHAL: It`s just a question.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, but it`s absolutely none of your business.
WAGSCHAL: Well, what -- I mean, did anything else happen that night?
VAN DER SLOOT: No. Well, yes, I kissed with her. But neither me, Deepak or Satish ever had sex with her, and no one ever, ever said otherwise.
WAGSCHAL: What is the worst thing you think you`ve done since this all started?
VAN DER SLOOT: The worst thing I did was leaving her there at the beach. That was the worst thing, possible thing I could have done and then lie about it to try and -- yes, to try and make myself not look bad, I guess.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I want to go straight out to Natalee`s mother, joining us from Philadelphia. What is your response to Joran Van Der Sloot`s most recent interview?
BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, NATALEE`S MOTHER: You know, Nancy, it`s just amazing how he -- you know, as Harris said, he just -- he seems like he contradicts himself repeatedly through that interview. You know, when he first was asked by the reporter, Did you have sex with Natalee, he says, It`s none of your business. You know, why would that be his first response? And you know, Nancy, yes, he did. In his statements, Joran says that, yes, he had sex with her. And it`s also at his home where he says this happens. And he stamps it with a date and time, 1:40 AM on May the 30th. So yes, in his statements, he says that he does, and...
GRACE: Now, hold on. Did you tell me that he had -- he gave the statement in his home?
TWITTY: Oh, no. In one of his statements that he gave to the interrogators, he specifically stated that he took Natalee to his home, he wants her to come in, and he had sex with her. And he stamps it with a date and time.
GRACE: You know, I was reading a statement that is attributed to you in "The Post." It`s a big, long interview with you. And you say, Deepak Kalpoe also said on tape that he and his brother had sex with Natalee. Now, how did you know that, Beth?
TWITTY: Deepak gave a taped confession to a man by the name of Jamie Skeeters (ph), who`s president of California Polygraph Association. He`s a retired, 38 years, commander chief of police, an extremely credible investigator. And he was able to obtain this information from Deepak. And Deepak says, yes, they all had sex with her.
GRACE: You know, why don`t we call it like it is? We keep saying they had sex with her. This girl had been having drinks at a bar. She leaves with three locals to go home -- have sex with her, it sounds more like gang rape. They also say that she kept going to sleep and then waking up, going to sleep. You know, that`s what happens, Beth, when somebody`s been given GHB, gamma hydroxybutyrate, date rape drug.
TWITTY: You know, Nancy, that is a concern of mine. And also, how Joran says on the interview that Harris -- that "A current Affair" has played, Joran talks about how Natalee says a lot of strange things and very bizarre things, and he makes that comment twice before he says also -- he states that she`s obviously drunk. And when I hear of her speaking of strange things and what she was saying, you know, that sounds like to me that`s not drunk, but it sounds like that could be drugged and how she`s also falling asleep and waking up in his statement.
GRACE: Well, speaking of his statement, take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: She had a lot to drink at Carlos and Charlie`s. She grabbed my hand and took me with her for me to take jelly shots off her. And afterwards, she asked me to buy a shot for her, buy her something to drink, which I did. And that`s all I saw that she drank. I didn`t see her drink anything else.
But from the day -- from the earlier, when I was with her friends at the Excelsior casino at the Holiday Inn, the whole group was already drinking from 5:00 in the afternoon. And I didn`t really see her at that moment. I didn`t even really notice her at that moment. But I guess they came here to have a good time, to celebrate their graduation also, and they might have all gone a little too far. I don`t know.
WAGSCHAL: What do you mean jelly shots with her? You mean off of her body?
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
WAGSCHAL: How does that work? Can you tell me?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don`t know. I never did it myself before. She grabbed my hand and took me with her and asked if I wanted to take jelly shots off her.
WAGSCHAL: And how does it work? I don`t understand.
VAN DER SLOOT: And she climbed on the bar. She laid down on the bar and she called over the bartender by name, and he got a jelly shot for her and then I took a jelly shot off her.
WAGSCHAL: I don`t understand. Is it on her belly? Is it on...
VAN DER SLOOT: On her belly, yes.
WAGSCHAL: On her belly button.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes.
WAGSCHAL: And then what do you do?
VAN DER SLOOT: And then you basically lick it off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Dr. Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist. Patricia, if you take a listen to what he`s saying, the words, It must have all gone a little too far -- now, how would he know things went a little too far, if he claims he has no idea what happened to Natalee? He`s the last one with her. What do you make of his statements? Take a look at him, Patricia.
PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: I think that this guy lies like he breathes. You know, more and more, he`s reminding me of Scott Peterson, the family`s golden boy who has no sense of being able to read other people, of empathy, who`s basically a psychopath. And I think this kid is. I wouldn`t trust anything that comes out of his mouth, Nancy.
GRACE: But don`t you believe, when people make statements, you can gather -- you can garner a lot of information, even though they don`t tell you outright what happened? Here, we`ve got him saying on tape, must have all gone a little too far. Now, what do you make of that, Richard Herman?
RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: ... didn`t try and analyze these conversations. There`s not going to be a prosecution here. It`s not going to happen. "A Current Affair" is not going to force a prosecution. I know...
GRACE: Well, I`m sorry. I didn`t ask you anything about "A Current Affair" forcing a prosecution. You`ve dealt with enough murder defendants, rape defendants, kidnapping defendants. If you look at their statements, you can read between the lines and determine what happened.
You know what? I`m going to go to Renee Rockwell. Renee, you`ve got this guy saying, point blank, into a camera, into a microphone, Things went too far. I mean, am I the crazy one on this panel? Nobody else is hearing this but me?
RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, the most incredible thing is that he won`t shut up. Somebody needs to put a leash on this guy because everything he`s saying can be compared with any prior statement. And don`t forget, Nancy, two years the government has to compare all this, and the government has up to two years to still bring a formal charge against him, two years from the date that she disappeared.
GRACE: Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAGSCHAL: How do you leave a girl on the beach?
VAN DER SLOOT: I told her I had to go home. I had school the next day. And I thought maybe she`d understand. She told me, no, she wanted me to stay there with her because the next day, she was leaving and she wanted to stay there the whole night. I told her, no, I had to go. I even lifted her up to carry her back to her hotel, and she told me to put her down. I left her there. I sat down next to her, talked to her a while, and I called Deepak to ask him if he could come pick me up, which Deepak didn`t do, but...
WAGSCHAL: Was she angry?
VAN DER SLOOT: She wasn`t angry. If anything, she was probably more, you know, upset that I was leaving her there. And I don`t know what reaction she had. I don`t know.
At the time, I didn`t feel it was a bad idea. At the time, I really didn`t. It didn`t seem wrong. It didn`t seem -- of course, now I look back at it and think [DELETED] I`m an [DELETED]. What did I do? But there`s nothing I can do about it now. If I could have that moment back, I would have made sure she got back to her hotel safely. But I can`t change that now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Beth Twitty, in your life, have you ever heard a bigger crock? Here we`ve got a young teenage man saying he left a beautiful young girl on the beach, that she wanted him to stay the night with her, and he went, Oh, no, I have classes tomorrow, which I`d be interested to find out, did he really have classes or go to classes? But long story short, how can he say, I don`t know what reaction he had -- she had. According to him, he was right there talking to her~!
TWITTY: I know, Nancy. You know, I`m so glad you`ve been in this investigation all summer. I mean, you know, it`s just amazing to listen to him. And now I`m thinking, OK, well, then, how did he get home? I mean, you know, if Deepak and Satish now are not picking him up, I mean, he`s stating that, who came -- who came to get him? Paulus Van Der Sloot, like he stated with us. And you know, we have never found out that -- what was happening during those early morning hours. We`ve never had that shared with us.
GRACE: Hey, Beth, I want to replay this. Now, everybody, take a listen to this -- I told her I had to go home, had school the next day. He`s turning down this girl, who he says is asking him to spend the night with her on the beach. Take a listen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WAGSCHAL: How do you leave a girl on the beach?
VAN DER SLOOT: I told her I had to go home. I had school the next day. And I thought maybe she`d understand. She told me, no, she wanted me to stay there with her because the next day, she was leaving and she wanted to stay there the whole night. I told her, no, I had to go. I even lifted her up to carry her back to her hotel, and she told me to put her down. I left her there. I sat down next to her, talked to her a while, and I called Deepak to ask him if he could come pick me up, which Deepak didn`t do, but...
WAGSCHAL: Was she angry?
VAN DER SLOOT: She wasn`t angry. If anything, she was probably more, you know, upset that I was leaving her there. And I don`t know what reaction she had. I don`t know.
At the time, I didn`t feel it was a bad idea. At the time, I really didn`t. It didn`t seem wrong. It didn`t seem -- of course, now I look back at it and think [EXPLETIVE DELETED] I`m an [EXPLETIVE DELETED]. What did I do? But there`s nothing I can do about it now. If I could have that moment back, I would have made sure she got back to her hotel safely. But I can`t change that now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Harris Faulkner is with "A Current Affair." She`s been on the case from the get-go. Harris, what other inconsistencies can you tell us about this statement? And do you really think the Aruban government is going to do anything about it?
FAULKNER: Well, you know, it`s difficult to say what that government will do next. I will tell you this. I interviewed a criminal profiler today, Nancy, who looked at this tape, and she said one of the things that she truly believes was that last statement that you played twice now. She says she believes he wishes he could take back the moment, whatever it was on that evening that has led him to the situation that he`s in right now. She said that`s possibly the only true thing he says in an interview, by the way, that`s more than 33 minutes long.~
You know, I do want to talk about how this came about a little bit, too, because I think it`s important to put this into perspective. He`s living in Holland, going to college. And you know, he and his family have reestablished themselves there. This is a guy who, over a 30-plus-minute period, put down his backpack and freely talked at will. He clearly, clearly wants to talk about this.
GRACE: And Beth, isn`t it true that the father, Judge Van Der Sloot, has also gone, relocated to Holland?
FAULKNER: It is. And you know, Jug and I talk about all the time, how on earth could they possibly have done that on their own? I mean, they just left their home in Aruba and have a new home in Holland just at the drop of the hat? It just seems so unusual to me that they could have made this happen this quickly.
GRACE: Well, you know, a behaviorist may believe that he is sorry. He probably is because he sure has caught a lot of grief for this. But you know, it`s the old saying, I`m not sorry I did it, but I sure don`t want to go to hell for it. I think that`s what we may be seeing in that interview.
Everybody, we`ll all be right back. Joran Van Der Sloot finally speaks -- of course, not to police. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: She was drunk. I had stuff to drink too, but (INAUDIBLE) respect that. The Aruban authorities tried to pin it that it was a rape case. She wanted to go with me. I wanted to go with her. It was totally consensual. I had something to drink and she had something to drink.
WAGSCHAL: Well, I think if you can explain to people what really happened and you were really forthcoming, the more forthcoming you are, the more chance there is of you to get on with your life.
VAN DER SLOOT: One day, I will explain exactly what happened. But right now, I don`t -- I don`t feel ready to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: I knew her for one night. I feel super -- I feel horrible that I even went out that night without my father knowing. I should have just stayed home and this wouldn`t have happened to me, it would have happened to another person. I just try to look at it that I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, maybe even with the wrong people. And I just hope that -- that every -- that the truth comes out, that it just comes (INAUDIBLE) clearly in this case.
WAGSCHAL: But do you understand? I mean, how can a girl just disappear?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don`t know. I think that`s the million-dollar question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. Thank you for being with us.
Joran Van Der Sloot finally speaks, now that he`s safely out of the country. He`s no longer in Aruba. He is at school in Holland.
Let me go straight out to Beth Twitty, Natalee`s mother. Beth, why did he say he only knew her one night? Hadn`t they met several nights before?
FAULKNER: Oh, no, Nancy. Natalee had not met Joran. You know, he had been with a group, but she had not met him.
GRACE: I thought they were -- he had been kind of hanging around her group.
FAULKNER: Well, I think that a lot of the kids had met him, but you know, Natalee had no communication with him.
GRACE: Take a listen to this, Beth.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: I knew her for one night. I feel super -- I feel horrible that I even went out that night without my father knowing. I should have just stayed home and this wouldn`t have happened to me, it would have happened to another person. I just try to look at it that I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, maybe even with the wrong people. And I just hope that -- that every -- that the truth comes out, that it just comes (INAUDIBLE) clearly in this case.
WAGSCHAL: But do you understand? I mean, how can a girl just disappear?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don`t know. I think that`s the million-dollar question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Renee Rockwell, how many times have you heard that one, wrong place wrong time?
ROCKWELL: I`ve got a couple of those right now, Nancy.
GRACE: A couple?
(LAUGHTER)
ROCKWELL: But you know what, Nancy? He`s still talking. Somebody needs to quiet him because what he`s saying is -- he talked about having sex with this young lady and she`s in and out of consciousness. You know what that is, Nancy. That`s rape.
GRACE: you know, the other thing about that, Renee, is can a criminal proceeding, such as an indictment, go forward with just a defendant`s confession?
ROCKWELL: I would say not in Aruba because these guys have -- the media has put so much pressure on the government, and these guys have absolutely been released. There`s no physical evidence, to my knowledge, and what we have is just a number of just contradictions and statements that don`t match.
But now Beth said that Deepak and Satish had admitted that they had sex with her. And if Joran has explained that she was going in and out of consciousness, it`s unbelievable to me that all three of them are not in jail right now for rape. Forget about a murder. We don`t know if this is a homicide. We don`t have a body. But why are they not in jail for rape right now? I don`t understand.
GRACE: That`s my big question, Beth, because you clearly say that you have seen or read of Deepak on tape saying they had sex with her, and Joran says Natalee kept falling asleep, waking up, falling asleep, waking up.
To Harris Faulkner. What are the inconsistencies in the various statements?
FAULKNER: Well, you know, first of all, when we asked him -- and our producer, Jerry Wagschal, was there in Holland, on the college campus, talking to Joran. He said, Look, When they first came to you and asked you about her, Joran said, I didn`t even know her name. And then he said, But you know, it`s not like we talked for a few hours. But then he shares some details of conversation that he had with Natalee. And then it looked like maybe they did know each other, maybe they were kissing on the beach.
So first, he doesn`t know her name. Then, yes, maybe we didn`t talk, but yes, maybe we did, and maybe I kind of remember what she said. Yes maybe, I exactly remember what she said.
And then at one point, he said, I liked her. Then later in the interview, he says, Well, you know, I barely knew her. I didn`t have any feelings for her. At one point, he says, I admit my friends and I lied, but I`m telling the truth now. And then later he says, One day, I`ll say exactly what happened. Well, if you`re telling the truth now, what more is there to say later?
GRACE: So he admits outright that he lied to police.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, he says that in our interview.
GRACE: We have more of that interview of Joran Van Der Sloot, which we`ll show you when we get back.
But very quickly, "Trial Tracking." Another 17-year-old missing out of Richmond, Virginia, Monica Sharp, not seen since she left home to walk her dog 10 days ago. Police suspect she is with Jeffrey Nichols (ph), a 57-year-old. She met him on the Internet. Nichols driving a `99 Oldsmobile Alero, Illinois plates 621 9015. If you have any information on Monica Sharp, call the Richmond police 804-646-6764.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN DER SLOOT: I knew her for one night. I feel super -- I feel horrible that I even went out that night without my father knowing. I should have just stayed home and this wouldn`t have happened to me, it would have happened to another person. I just try to look at it that I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, maybe even with the wrong people. And I just hope that -- that every -- that the truth comes out, that it just comes (INAUDIBLE) clearly in this case.
WAGSCHAL: But do you understand? I mean, how can a girl just disappear?
VAN DER SLOOT: I don`t know. I think that`s the million-dollar question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Beth Twitty. Beth, I understand that you are meeting with an international lawyer. Why?
TWITTY: Oh, you know, Nancy, it`s just -- first of all, it`s really tough to hear Joran. I mean, just over and over again. I just -- just -- it`s just amazing. But yes, we are. And you know, Nancy, we just don`t want to leave one stone unturned. And if there`s anyone else that we need to meet with and if there`s any other avenue we need to pursue, I mean, we have to do it. We just don`t want to look back and think, Why didn`t we. So we just need to pursue our options, if there are any, Nancy.
GRACE: What options do you think there are?
TWITTY: You know, Nancy, I really don`t know, you know, as this case has gone and how frustrating it`s been and how little information we`re allowed to get, and even now, with the FBI not even able to receive a single piece of evidence. So we`ll just have to try.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: As you know, Natalee Holloway went missing on her high school senior trip and now the prime suspects are all released from jail.
With us tonight, Natalee`s mother, Beth Twitty. Beth, responding to another statement that the chief suspect, Joran van der Sloot, has given while he is away at college.
You know, I want to go back to you, Beth, regarding your options at this juncture. I know that you`ve got to have some plan of action. I know you. So what do you want to do? Are you trying a civil suit here on American soil? In a case like that, various parties can be subpoenaed, they can be forced to take the stand. If you could ever get jurisdiction on Joran van der Sloot, that is.
TWITTY: You know, Nancy, I`m just not ready to really say what we`re thinking about. I think that strategic planning committee out of the prime minister`s office watches us closely and, you know, I`m just not ready to say what our next move might be.
What I want to know is, Nancy, what is their next move going to be? I think it is up to them. The ball is in their court and these newly elected judicial officials need to step up to the plate and accept accountability and responsibility and solve this crime.
GRACE: To Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist, you`ve called Joran van der Sloot a psychopath. Why?
SAUNDERS: I think he might be, Nancy. He has very little expression of emotion. And that`s been throughout your media coverage of him. There is something cavalier and glib about him. And just in his last statement, it was all about him. There was no mention about how horrible it was that Natalee went missing. It was me, me, me, me, me. And that kind of egocentrism is something that we do see in psychopaths. He may be a heartless young man.
GRACE: As opposed to a psychopath?
SAUNDERS: Yeah.
GRACE: Elizabeth, do you have that sound ready? Great. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is the worst thing you think you`ve done since this all started?
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, SUSPECT: The worst thing I did was leaving her there at the beach. That was the worst possible thing I could have done, and then lie about it, to try and -- to try and make myself not look bad, I guess.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you have sex with her that night?
VAN DER SLOOT: First of all, that`s none of your business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just a question.
VAN DER SLOOT: Yes, but it is absolutely none of your business.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, what, I mean, did anything else happen that night?
VAN DER SLOOT: No, well, yes. I kissed with her, but neither me, Depak or Satish ever had sex with her, and no one ever said otherwise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Beth Twitty, you know that to be a contradiction of everything else he has said.
TWITTY: Absolutely, Nancy.
You know, there is a part in there where Joran states that her mother knows the truth, and the reason why her mother knows the truth is she has read most of the statements in the case.
So, Nancy, he`s telling us as clearly as possible that his statements are true.
GRACE: Beth, I wish you luck. Thanks for being with us.
TWITTY: Thank you, Nancy.
GRACE: Everybody, we are switching gears to a case that maybe we can have some impact on. Apparently the Aruban government isn`t ready to do justice, but maybe here in our country we can help find a 17-year-old missing girl. Her name, Taylor Behl.
I`m going to go straight out to Jim Moret, "Inside Edition`s" chief correspondent.
Jim, bring me up to date in this case.
JIM MORET, "INSIDE EDITION": Hi, Nancy.
Police are looking for a stolen license plate that they say may be connected with this case. That`s a license plate GRNERTH. Green Earth. They say the license plate was stolen around the same time Taylor Behl went missing. They say that the person that it was stolen from is not connected with this case, but they believe that that plate was put on another car. They want information on what kind of car, where it was seen, who may have been driving it, and police have said that a preliminary investigation indicates that that stolen license plate may be connected with this case.
And, remember, you`ve got somebody in custody, this Ben Foley (ph), the 38-year-old who knew and by his own admission had sexual relationship with Taylor Behl, who calls himself a license plate collector, calls himself a goth skateboarder. So there is some question --
GRACE: Woah, woah, woah -- he`s a 38-year-old man and he calls himself a goth skateboarder?
MORET: He does a lot of strange things. He goes on Web sites that are frequented by teenagers in pursuit perhaps of meeting them. He does a lot of things, including maintaining an appearance that generally keeps him looking young. He says he wants to get a lot done before he starts looking his age.
This is a guy who was a roommate of a college student and obviously made a point of meeting young college girls. He says he had a relationship with Taylor.
GRACE: OK. So this guy describes himself as a goth skateboarder. He`s 38 years old. He`s an amateur photographer and he lives with another college student?
MORET: Yes, and that`s how he met Taylor.
GRACE: Is this guy on disability?
MORET: He is on disability.
GRACE: For what?
MORET: He has no job, he`s got a bipolar condition, according to him. He`s got no job. He`s got two kids that do not live with him. But he is in custody right now on 16 counts of child pornography, totally unrelated to this case. Clearly very disturbing.
GRACE: Have you looked on his Web site?
MORET: Yes, I have looked at his Web site.
GRACE: He goes by the name Skulz, S-k-u-l-z.
MORET: Yeah, that`s enough to give you the creeps right there I think.
GRACE: Yeah, I mean, have you looked at it? It`s all stuff about death and dementia and tormentia. This guy, instead of going out and getting a job and working for a living, like the rest of us, is online all day making his kooky -- look at the skulls! Help me -- Jim.
MORET: I don`t know what to say, because it`s disturbing when you look at it. And it`s even more disturbing that he meets young college girls and he -- you know, you`ve got a 38-year-old man here. I don`t care how savvy a young college girl is, it`s easy to manipulate a young girl, especially when you`re 38 years old. And that reminds me of somebody who may be a predator. I`m not saying that he is, but there is enough disturbing information about this person that gives me cause for alarm.
GRACE: You know, I`m going to go to Lisa Hendricks. She is a close friend of Taylor Behl`s. This guy, while he is not a named suspect in this case, he is behind bars on 16 counts of child pornography on his computer. That`s a whole `nother can of worms, Lisa. But he says he had sex with Taylor, your friend, the night she went missing, placing himself with her the night she goes missing.
Now, isn`t it true they had had a fling, a sexual fling, and she broke it off?
LISA HENDRICKS, FRIEND OF TAYLOR BEHL: Yeah, I don`t know if she broke it off, but I know that they did have a fling.
GRACE: Well, were they still dating?
HENDRICKS: No, they weren`t dating.
GRACE: Then somebody broke it off.
HENDRICKS: So I`m sure she did.
GRACE: Because it`s my understanding that she said he wasn`t what she thought he was, that he had too much baggage. Maybe she found out he`s 38 years old. That hurts. I mean, I just don`t see him breaking it off with her.
HENDRICKS: Yeah.
GRACE: So the theory that he`s telling cops, allegedly, that he had voluntary sex with her within hours of her going missing, uh-uh. What can you tell me about Taylor?
HENDRICKS: She is just a very fun girl, very sweet. Loves to make friends, very outgoing. She`s just an all around good girl.
GRACE: Lisa, I know she was very outgoing, loved skateboarding, just loved life. Where she parked her car, Lisa, was it anywhere near his apartment?
HENDRICKS: I don`t know.
GRACE: Let me go to you on that, back to Jim Moret. Didn`t she park off campus, had quite a walk, I guess the parking was cheaper there. It`s my understanding he could see where she parked her car.
MORET: Yes, she parked very close to Ben Foley`s (ph) apartment, that`s my information as well.
And, you know, the statement that he makes, that he had sex with her that night, it reminds me of somebody who is trying to establish an alibi if there is DNA every found. That`s exactly right, my thought exactly.
GRACE: Hey, Richard, you`ve had a lot of murder cases. When it comes down to DNA, and I`m talking specifically in this case about sperm, how long will that last? I mean, how many days go by before it`s no longer detectable, salvageable or comparable to other DNA?
HERMAN: I think it`s about 36 days, Nancy. But I don`t understand why the police have not gotten search warrants for his house, to do a full DNA testing in his house and Luminol testing in his house.
It is my understanding that the search warrants that were issued were for his computer and related to the kiddy porn and having nothing to do with Taylor`s disappearance. That`s disturbing.
GRACE: Well, I know they did a search warrant on the house. I don`t know what all they got or what the search warrant was for, so before I count them out and attack them about not looking for DNA, hey, maybe they did. But let`s look at a map.
Give me that map, if you would, Elizabeth, let`s look at that area, hold on. I`m not seeing. There`s the University of Richmond. There`s Virginia Commonwealth. I was looking to see if I saw any bodies of water. Just the river there across the bottom, the James River. I also wonder, Jim, do you have any idea where cops are looking?
MORET: No, I don`t. And you know this case was handed over to police late, frankly. It was about 10, 11 days after she went reported missing, and you know as well as I do, Nancy, that time is so critical. And those first 24 or 36 hours after a person goes missing, you know, that`s an opportunity totally lost.
GRACE: I think it languished with the university police for 11 days.
Very quickly to Vito Colucci, private investigator. Vito, this car tag, Green Earth, GRNERTH, they`re not saying how it is connected to the case, but I know for a fact this guy, this photographer, collected tag plates.
COLUCCI: Right, and what better tag plate to collect than something that says Green Earth on it, you know. This guy is a 20-year criminal. Assaults against women, conviction on assaults against women, places himself, like you said before, so if God forbid the body is found his DNA is on it.
You know, this guy -- don`t forget, she had a boyfriend, too. He could have watched her with this boyfriend. She could have broken up with this weird guy and the whole bit and he could have really gone off on her on this, you know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET PELASARA, TAYLOR BEHL`S MOTHER: Whoever knows anything, please come forward and tell what you know. It`s gone on way too long. Taylor needs to be found and needs to be found soon. I believe she`s alive, she`s being held against her will.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Back to Jim Moret, with "Inside Edition." He is the senior correspondent.
Jim, when you`re looking at this guy critically, I know he`s not been named a suspect in this case, but what about his rap sheet? What does that show?
MORET: Well, it shows us he`s got arrests and convictions on various assaults and batteries of family members, against women. You look at his appearance, you showed a couple of pictures. He had long blonde hair, suddenly it`s changed to very dark dyed hair. There are enough things about this guy that are just odd. He doesn`t act like a traditional 38-year-old. He doesn`t take care of his own kids, he doesn`t have a job. He goes on Web sites frequented by teenagers. A lot of things that are just disturbing about this guy.
GRACE: I`m going to go to Mike Davis, who is Taylor Behl`s cousin. I know that she had no history, she had never run away before. Was she a very trusting person? Could somebody take advantage of Taylor Behl?
MIKE DAVIS, COUSIN OF TAYLOR BEHL: Yes, Nancy, I believe that would be easy to do in Taylor`s case.
GRACE: I`m sorry, I couldn`t hear you. Would you repeat that, dear?
DAVIS: I said yes. Taylor is a very trusting person and it would be quite easy for someone to take advantage of her in this case.
GRACE: Everybody, the tip line for Taylor Behl, 877-244-HELP.
I want to quickly go to a breaking story today. A powerful politician indicted. Is it for real or is it political get back?
I want to quickly go to Joe Johns, CNN correspondent. Explain to us what is happening.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he`s been indicted, Nancy, for conspiring, essentially in violation of Texas law, to take $190,000 in corporate money down in Texas, funnel it up through the Republican National Committee and then sent it back down to Texas, where it was used by people running for the state house from the Republican Party.
A bunch of Republicans won in 2002 and then in 2003 they turned around and redrew the Texas congressional districts so more members of Congress from the Republican Party came up here, and that basically expanded Tom DeLay`s power base. Question is whether that is legal or not, and it`s just not clear. He`s been indicted. Of course, Tom DeLay says it`s just a political prosecution. The prosecutor says he`s just doing his job -- Nancy.
GRACE: To Ali Velshi, CNN anchor and reporter. Allie, explain to us what the charges exactly are and how you think the prosecution plans to prove them, if they can.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: It`s tricky. The charges are that they broke Texas electoral law by allowing corporations to give money to an election campaign. Corporations can only donate to political parties for administration parties and within a period before an election they`re not allowed to at all.
Now these are the companies that gave money to the political action committee that Tom DeLay was involved with. Sears gave $25,000. Williams Company, the utility, $25,000. Cornell Companies, $10,000.
You can see that, $155,000. Now here, if you just pull this out, just so you can see this -- I`m going to try to widen this out, because I`ve got sort of a common way of looking at this. I`ve got cups here, three cups to show you what is going on.
The first one is corporations. The second one is Texans for Republican Majority. This is the political action committee. And this one is the Republican National Committee that Joe Johns was just talking about. Now I`ve got $6 here to represent the six companies that gave money.
The idea is that the law says that you can`t take this money from corporations and give it to the Republican National Committee. You can`t give that right to a campaign, especially when it`s around campaign time. So here is what they`re alleging. This is what the indictment says. That this money, $155,000, went from corporations into the Texas Republicans, and what came out of that was this check. This is an actual copy of the check that was written in 2002 for $190,000. This check came out of there, went to the Republican National Committee state election committee and that`s how the money got from here to here. The allegation is that`s not legal, and that`s where the law was broken.
One count of -- the indictment is for one count. Three people have been charged. Tom DeLay and two others -- Nancy.
GRACE: Are you a lawyer?
VELSHI: No, and I know there are a lot of lawyers around here so I..
GRACE: Just yes or no.
VELSHI: No.
GRACE: You know what, you should be, because you just explained -- you could do that with a jury, lay your cups out on a jury rail.
VELSHI: I can do an awful lot with coffee cups.
GRACE: That made a lot of sense.
When we come back, everybody, Joe Johns, along with Richard Herman, Renee Rockwell (ph) and Patricia Saunders. Is it for real or political get back?
Very quickly to tonight`s all points bulletin. FBI and law enforcement across the country on the lookout for this man, William Claiborne Taylor, wanted in connection with the 1977 Florida murders of 64- year-old Water Scott (ph) and 76-year-old Eugene Daly (ph). Taylor, 50, 6`4", 200 pounds, blonde hair, blue eyes. If you have any information on William Claiborne Taylor, call the FBI, 904-721-1211.
Local news coming up for some of you, but we`ll all be right back. And remember, live coverage of the case of the golfing lawsuit over a hole in one. You don`t want to miss that, 3:00 to 5:00 Eastern on Court TV.
Stay with us as we remember First Lieutenant Mark H. Dooley. Dooley was 27, an American hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: We at NANCY GRACE want very much to help solve unsolved homicides, find missing people. Take a look at 8-year-old Christina Hasler, murdered in her own home, March 2000, Lytle, Texas. Her mother`s body also found.
If you have information on Christina Hasler, please call the Carole Sund Carrington Foundation, toll free, 888-813-8389.
Everybody, politics a brewing. Is this indictment for real or is it political payback?
Renee Rockwell (ph), let`s get real. Do you really think they`re going to drag DeLay in front of a jury and try him?
ROCKWELL (ph): Nancy, I`m looking at the indictment. And what is interesting to me is that this indictment, which includes DeLay, is a re- indictment of the first indictment which only included --
GRACE: Oh, good Lord! You`re giving me a headache! Tell me!
ROCKWELL (ph): -- which included the other two co-defendants. Remember, Nancy, the check was not signed by DeLay. It was signed by a co- defendant. So it seems to me that maybe somebody might be talking, and that`s not good.
GRACE: And was the co-defendant running for office too?
ROCKWELL (ph): The co-defendant, Nancy, I don`t know enough about it --
GRACE: Oh, please!
ROCKWELL (ph): One thing we can see, which is just huge, is that there is a $190,000 check that was allegedly --
GRACE: Allegedly.
ROCKWELL (ph): -- and I`m not saying -- the money went in and it was not supposed to go to political campaigns.
GRACE: OK. I got it, I got it.
ROCKWELL (ph): It`s got to go for stationary, it`s got to go for signs, not for political campaigns.
But they have the proof, Nancy, it just does not have DeLay`s signature on it.
GRACE: Very quickly, Ali Velshi, what I make about that, from all of that, means they`re going to point the finger at somebody else, but bottom line, he`s the one that got the benefit. You know what, to heck with Democrat/Republican. But when Lady Justice comes into play, that`s no laughing matter.
VELSHI: You know, the thing here, they`re alleging a conspiracy, and when you`ve got a conspiracy, it means if you can get one of those birds to sing, you could have a case. That`s what this might hinge on.
GRACE: One of those birds to sing? I thought you said you weren`t a lawyer.
VELSHI: I`ve always wanted to say that. Always wanted to say that, from a movie.
GRACE: It was beautiful.
I want to thank all of my guests tonight, but my biggest than you is to you for being with all of us and inviting us into your home. Coming up, headlines from all around the world. I`m Nancy Grace, signing off for tonight. See you right here tomorrow night, I hope, 8:00 sharp, Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
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