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Nancy Grace
Taylor Behl`s Remains Found
Aired October 06, 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. Police formally announce remains discovered in a shallow grave hidden away in a heavily wooded area, Mathews County, Virginia, are 17-year-old missing student Taylor Behl, the Virginia Commonwealth University freshman last seen alive Labor day.
And tonight, police say they believe a Pennsylvania landfill reveals missing mother of Valery Lozada, the 4-year-old little girl walking the streets of New York City after midnight, barefoot, in pajamas, abandoned.
And authorities point the finger at a lawyer in a 9-year-old missing person case. But will the case by stymied? No body, no case?
Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. Tonight, breaking news. Police reveal remains at a Pennsylvania landfill likely those of 26-year-old Monica Lozada. She vanished nearly two weeks ago from her New York home, her live-in, a reported physician, Cesar Ascarrunz, tonight charged with strangling Monica, putting her out with the trash and putting her 4-year-old daughter, Valery, out on the New York City streets.
Also tonight: It`s a 9-year-old mystery cracked. Janet March went missing from a wealthy Nashville neighborhood in 1996, neither she nor her body ever found. And now, Tennessee attorney Perry March, her husband, behind bars for murder. No body, no case? And tonight: Did March get help from an accomplice?
But first tonight, breaking news. I`m sorry to report dental records confirm remains in a shallow grave, Mathews County, Virginia, those of 17- year-old college freshman Taylor Behl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RODNEY MONROE, RICHMOND, VA, POLICE CHIEF: The remains that were recovered here in Mathews County on yesterday`s date have been positively identified as that of Taylor Behl, the missing student from Virginia Commonwealth University.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight: No cause of death in Taylor`s case. The Virginia Commonwealth student went missing a month ago. Tonight, we talk to Taylor`s father, Matt Behl, his first interview since his daughter`s body identified today.
Also tonight, more breaking news, a possible terrorist threat to the New York City subway system. New York police and the FBI say the subway system could be the target of a terrorist attack in coming days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK MERSHON, ASST. DIRECTOR, FBI: I know you don`t like to hear this, but the detail of this specific threat is, in fact, classified. We put down threats, multiple threats, every day, but the detail of this specific threat was so on point that we did raise this concern with the New York City Police Department, Commissioner Kelly, and allied law enforcement agencies have, in fact, ramped up security procedures, I think appropriately so.
The encouraging news is that classified operations have, in fact, partially disrupted this threat, and I`d like you to know that FBI agents and other U.S. government personnel continue to work around the clock to fully resolve this particular threat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: New York raising the level of alert and calling for a major police show of force.
Everybody, I want to go first out on the Taylor Behl case. As you know remains discovered reportedly those of the 17-year-old girl. Tonight, no additional perps behind bars.
I want to go out to Eve Chen with WTOP radio. Eve, what`s the latest?
EVE CHEN, WTOP RADIO: There are no suspects, officially, at this time, but there are two potential suspects. The first one is that 38-year- old amateur photographer we`ve heard so much about, Ben Fawley. Now, he was one of the last people to have seen Behl on the day she disappeared. He`s being held right now without bond on unrelated child pornography charges.
However, the second person is 22-year-old Jesse Schultz. Again, these are not formal charges. They`re not official suspects. But he supposedly had a date with Behl the night that she disappeared. Now, Schult`s attorney says that he does not know Behl and that they had no known relationship. However, what is known is that about a couple weeks after Behl disappeared, her car was found, and police K-9s used the scent from her car to lead them to Schultz`s home.
And so while no relationship is known rigiht now, we do know that K-9s did trace a scent from Behl`s car to Schultz`s home. He has been questioned. He was taken in on unrelated drug possession charges. He`s not been charged in the Behl case at all.
GRACE: Here`s a statement by Schultz`s attorney. Here we go, Elizabeth. If you could put that up for me? ``My client knows nothing about Taylor. Never, to his knowledge, has he been in her presence. The same answer goes for Mr. Fawley. He does not know the man and has not been with the man at any time, to his knowledge.``
Eve Chen, very quickly, regarding this guy, Jesse Schultz-- has he been in court today on another charge?
CHEN: He has been in court today in relation to that charge I mentioned earlier, the drug possession charge. It was just a procedural appearance, just to show that he had an attorney, but it had nothing to do with the Behl case. He will be in court for that next month.
GRACE: OK. Very quickly, Jason Oshins, listen, if this guy were even remotely connected to Taylor Behl`s death-- he was in court today on a drug charge. You don`t think they would have snagged him right then? I`m just telling you, I-- just from what I`m hearing, it`s not Jesse Schultz.
JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, that`s-- Nancy, that`s what police do. They like to sweat people that they have in custody for information on other crimes. And from there, they can try and lead to other instances where they can actually capture the targets that they`re looking for. That`s a pressure tactic that they use. They get them on anything that they can find.
GRACE: Well, this guy-- what I`m saying, Jason, is he was in court today on a minor cocaine charge and walked out of the courthouse. If this guy were linked to Taylor Behl, believe you me, he would be under police questioning right now.
Now, there is one guy behind bars, Eve Chen. That guy is 38-year-old amateur photographer Fawley. He remains behind bars, no bond tonight. Very quickly, Eve Chen, what do we know about the area where Taylor`s body was found?
CHEN: Shallow grave, in the woods, near a ravine, behind a barn that was adjacent to the property of one of Fawley`s ex-girlfriends` families.
GRACE: Speaking of Schultz, take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good afternoon, Mr. Schultz. Do you have any comment on your court appearance today.
JESSE SCHULTZ, QUESTIONED IN TAYLOR BEHL DISAPPEARANCE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you think that you`re being unfairly mentioned as police continue their investigation into Taylor Behl`s disappearance?
SCHULTZ: I really can`t say.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How come?
SCHULTZ: Because I don`t want to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why do you think the dog would track a scent back to your apartment?
SCHULTZ: Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m Joanna Massey (ph) with Channel 8. Do you think the investigation--
SCHULTZ: You should really speak to our lawyer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is your lawyer.
SCHULTZ: Joseph Owen (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Joseph Owen? Is he going to be here?
SCHULTZ: He`ll be here later.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Do you think that the investigation is bringing them any closer to Taylor? Did you know Taylor?
SCHULTZ: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I want to go straight out to a very special guest joining us tonight. Taylor`s father is with us, Matt Behl. Sir, I sure am sorry.
MATT BEHL, MISSING GIRL`S FATHER: Thank you.
GRACE: Mr. Behl, this must have just been the worst day you could ever have imagined.
BEHL: It`s a day that I never would have imagined would have happened. Parents don`t outlive their kids.
GRACE: We`re showing you a shot right now of Taylor. The other shot was with her parents.
Matt, Taylor was only-- there you go. Taylor was only in the second week, I think 10 days, into her freshman year at Virginia Commonwealth University, just brimming-- look at this picture!-- brimming with vitality and life. These are shots of Taylor as a little, tiny baby, her whole life in front of her. I believe she was 18 months old in this shot. And you can already see those eyes reaching out at you, engaging you.
Matt, she stopped at your home on her way to college, correct?
BEHL: Right, Nancy. She was headed back to school on Labor Day, and I live closer to Interstate 95, which is the direct shot to Virginia Commonwealth University. And she stopped by my house at about 4:30, quarter of 5:00, spent about 15 minutes, gave me a poster from a movie, gave me one of her graduation pictures that showed her receiving her diploma. And you know, I gave her a kiss and a hug, several times, one on the driveway, but at that time, I never would have guessed that that was the last time I was ever going to see her.
GRACE: I just now got that picture of my head of you kissing her in the driveway and her heading off to school. Now, next week, Taylor would be 18, correct?
BEHL: Yes, she was-- she`d turn 18 on October 13.
GRACE: Did she have a birthday party planned?
BEHL: No. It was-- I would assume she would be down in college. I had things set up to-- people I knew at school to deliver balloons or flowers and a bracelet-- or a necklace and a card, of course. But you know, there was-- a lot different with her being in college, her being 18, her being her own woman, being responsible for everything now. And we just felt like this is the way it was going to be.
GRACE: Now, what were your last words when she left that day from your house?
BEHL: I love you, and be careful.
GRACE: What has been going through your head since Taylor went missing?
BEHL: Just a bunch of different scenarios. Did she run off? Was she abducted by somebody? Is she being held against her will? Is she OK? Is she cold? It just-- the range of emotions is just incredible. And there`s so many things that occurred during the course of the month that she was gone, that, you know, when we-- when they found her car in Richmond, you think the next day, they`re going to find your child. When they convene a grand jury, you feel that you`re going to get the answers that are going to bring your child home. Well, we got those answers, and it wasn`t the one we were looking for.
GRACE: You know, I keep seeing pictures of Taylor. We`re showing the video that your family had of her as a little girl, just so full of life. I was hoping against hope, weren`t you, that Taylor was going to turn up, that this couldn`t possibly be her, that somehow everything would be explained away?
BEHL: Yeah, you always hold that glimmer of hope, but I guess when there were so many things were pointing to Mathews, the Mathews site where the body was found, and the investigation that the task force had done, that I think that we were pretty resigned to the fact that that was probably going to be her.
GRACE: When you say so many things led to the site, what?
BEHL: The location, the pictures, the fact that it was reported that Taylor had been at that site, which I was not aware of, and when the site was identified by one of, I believe, Ben Fawley`s former girlfriends that recognized the photograph of that site.
GRACE: I want to go out to commonwealth attorney for the city of Richmond. Joining us tonight, David Hicks. David, thank you for being with us. What can you tell us about Taylor`s remains?
DAVID HICKS, COMMONWEALTH ATTORNEY, CITY OF RICHMOND: Very little, Nancy. The important thing that we have to remember-- you know, and again, first let me extend to Mr. Behl, you know, our greatest sympathies in this matter. We know it`s very difficult for him and his family.
The important thing we have to remember is for the past month, we`ve had a missing person investigation. As of yesterday, we have a death investigation. So today we`re on day two of a death investigation.
GRACE: David, you`re saying death investigation, not homicide. You mean, you think maybe she died of accidental causes and buried herself in a shallow grave?
HICKS: No, absolutely not, Nancy. But what we have to follow is the evidence. And as you know, as a prosecutor, prosecutors have the evidence. So right now, we have to wait for the medical examiner, so we know exactly what the cause of death was. And then our job is about finding the individual who brought about that cause of death and bringing them to justice.
GRACE: David, was she clothed?
HICKS: I really can give no details because any details that I might give could potentially-- coming from me, as the chief prosecutor, could potentially jeopardize the investigation.
GRACE: Right. Eve, was the body closed?
CHEN: (INAUDIBLE) very badly decomposed.
GRACE: Did I hear you say yes or no?
CHEN: I have no word as to whether it was clothed or not. There have been reports that clothing was found in the woods. That has not been confirmed.
GRACE: Everybody, stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONROE: The remains that were recovered here in Mathews County on yesterday`s date have been positively identified as that of Taylor Behl, the missing student from Virginia Commonwealth University.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MONROE: Ms. Pelasara and her husband-- what can I say? Today is Ms. Pelasara`s birthday. Not a very welcoming birthday present for her. But on the other hand, I`m happy that we`ve been able to progress rapidly in this case. I`m happy that we`re able to get closer to bringing final resolution to this case.
JANET PELASARA, MISSING GIRL`S MOTHER: I`m positive the authorities will bring these subhumans to justice, and I pray they receive the death penalty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: As many of you may know by now, the 17-year-old girl we have all hoped so desperately would be found was found, in a sense, today, her remains discovered near a farmhouse about 70 miles away from Richmond, Virginia. The Commonwealth University student had been missing since Labor Day.
I want to quickly go to the commonwealth attorney David Hicks. When can we expect charges in this case?
HICKS: Nancy, we aren`t going to able to say that. First, obviously, we`re going to have to determine the cause of death, and then we`ll be able to make the decision as to what charges could be brought at that particular point in time.
GRACE: I want to go to Richard Herman, defense attorney. Richard, I know that you typically take the defense side, but take off that hat for a moment. Why is it that everyone continues to pretend this was not a homicide, as if somehow she slipped and fell into a shallow grave and buried herself?
RICHARD HERMAN, CFS ATTORNEY: Nancy, they`re being extremely cautious. They`re taking it very slow, and they`re playing it by the book. They do not want to taint this prosecution. This is a devastating crime, and they want to dot the I`s and cross the T`s. They want to get their man, or men or persons, who were involved in this.
GRACE: To Dr. Kathy Reichs. She`s a forensic anthropologist. Doctor, thank you for being with us. How long, in a case like this-- Taylor has been in this location likely since on or about Labor Day. How long will it take them to determine cause of death? I understand the match was made through dental records, not DNA.
KATHY REICHS, FORENSIC ANTHROPOLOGIST: Yeah, the identification through dental records, that was pretty quick. but that`s a fairly straightforward process. You look at the X-rays, you look at the shapes on the X-rays, you match them to-- the ante-mortem X-rays to the post-mortem X-rays.
There`s a difference between manner of death and cause of death. And you`ve kind of been talking about manner of death, and there`s really only five of those: natural, suicide, accidental, homicide, and then unexplained. I think we can probably rule out natural, suicide, and pretty much leave it to either homicide or unexplained.
Cause of death is something a little bit more complicated, and that takes longer. Cause of death is going to be the immediate factors, the physiological factors that cause this person`s heart to stop beating. Was she stabbed? Was she shot? Was she strangled? With a young person, it could be very difficult-- some of those are going to be easy. Some of those are going to show up. One of the first things they would have done is X-rayed that body. They`d have seen metallic trace, if there`s gunshot. They might even have seen bullets or bullet casings.
If she`s strangled-- she`s young. There`s a little bone in the throat that sometimes fractures in a strangulation. In someone that young, it`s very elastic. It might not fracture. So for some causes of death, it could be very difficult to pinpoint those, if the body is badly decomposed.
GRACE: To Matt Behl, Taylor`s father. I keep thinking back on the photos that you had given us of Taylor. And when you hear all this discussion, how hard is it for you to reconcile? We`re talking about your girl.
BEHL: Right. Nancy. It`s almost surreal. But you know, the reality is, as the chief-- as Chief Monroe said, it`s gone to a point of closure now. Taylor`s not missing anymore. I don`t know how many parents that have lost children that still are missing are still out there looking. For me, and for Taylor`s mother, we know where she is now. We know she`s not missing anymore. And that is at least some comfort. It-- this is a huge loss to us because this is our only child. And I guess the third phase here is the anger. Someone did this. Someone did this to my girl.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Since Labor Day, it has been a missing girl investigation. Today, it turns into a death investigation. Remains in a shallow grave 70 miles from Richmond, Virginia, identified as those of this beautiful girl, 17-year-old Taylor Behl. As of tonight, no suspects behind bars on this case. We`re waiting for the next phase, when the death investigation turns into a homicide investigation.
Very quickly, to Matt Behl, Matt Behl, Taylor Behl`s father. Matt, before we went to break, you said the words, Somebody did this to my girl.
BEHL: Well, as you said, Nancy, she just didn`t trip and fall into a shallow grave. Somebody`s responsible for the death of my daughter, and somebody is going to pay.
GRACE: I want to go straight back out to our doctor, Dr. Kathy Reichs, forensic anthropologist . All this time, we`ve been looking for Taylor and looking for Taylor and looking for Taylor. We found Taylor. Now I want to know what happened to Taylor. Doctor, what can we learn from this shallow grave? What can we learn from Taylor? What can her remains tell us?
REICHS: They`re going to go over-- this is very difficult to talk about with Taylor`s father there. Also, I want to say I`m so sorry for your loss.
They`re going to go over the body very, very carefully. They`re going to use microscopic analysis of everything that`s removed from that body. They`re going to look for anything that doesn`t belong on that body-- under the fingernails, internal fluids, anything that might might be a clue to someone that had come in contact with the body.
And the same is going to take place with the grave and the area surrounding the grave. One of the things you look at when you enter a crime scene is what doesn`t belong here, what`s wrong? Or what ought to be here and isn`t here? What`s missing? They`re going to look in that grave. They`re going to look for fibers. They`re going to look for hairs. They`re going to screen the dirt. They might even use flotation. They`re going to try to take every tiny piece out of that that they can, that might tie it to a particular person.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOPHIA CHOI, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: Hi there. I`m Sophia Choi. And here`s your "Headline Prime Newsbreak."
A terror threat against the New York City transit system has the city on edge tonight. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says it`s the most specific threat they`ve received. He`s asking people to be vigilant and to look out for suspicious briefcases and baby strollers. Meantime, police have boosted security in and around subways.
Canadian health officials say that mysterious illness that killed 16 people this week is likely legionnaire`s disease. Earlier reports said doctors had ruled out legionnaire`s as the cause. So fair, the disease has affected at least 70 people. The SARS epidemic killed 44 people in Toronto in 2003.
And police say remains found in Virginia are those of 17-year-old Taylor Behl. Behl was last seen one month ago today. Behl`s mother called for the death penalty for whomever killed her daughter.
That`s the news for now. I`m Sophia Choi. And now back to NANCY GRACE.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RODNEY MONROE, RICHMOND POLICE CHIEF: Ms. Pelasara and her husband, what can I say? Today is Ms. Pelasara`s birthday. Not a very welcoming birthday present for her.
But on the other hand, I`m happy that we`ve been able to progress rapidly in this case. I`m happy that we`re able to get closer to bringing final resolution to this case.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The remains of 17-year-old Taylor Behl discovered today in a remote area 70 miles outside of Richmond near a farmhouse.
Apparently, Eve Chen, the location where Benjamin Fawley had taken photographs, apparently of several women, including Taylor Behl. Is that correct, Eve?
CHEN: He did take pictures. They were on his web site. It`s not clear whether or not the pictures of Taylor were taken at that location. But he definitely had been there before. It`s reported that she had been there, as well.
GRACE: How do you know Fawley had been there before?
CHEN: It`s been on his web site. His ex-girlfriend, whose property, mind you, is next to the site where the remains were found, said that that had been a place that they`d been before.
GRACE: OK, Richard Herman, you know, there is no coincidence in criminal law. Everything means something. Now, how you going to get out of this one, Herman?
HERMAN: Well, that`s a tough one. I`ll tell you, the fact that, number one, he admitted right away that he had sex with her the night she was missing and he was with her the night she was missing, and now they find her at a location, a remote location that he took her to in the past, that`s trouble, Nancy. For a defense attorney, that`s big trouble.
GRACE: Yes, you`re not kidding.
Back to David Hicks, commonwealth attorney city of Richmond, David, so much, as the doctor, Dr. Reichs was telling us earlier, is going to depend on how the body is handled, how the grave is handled.
Where are her remains tonight? What crime lab is being used? What coroner is being used?
HICKS: The medical examiner`s officer of Virginia is the lab being used, to my knowledge, Nancy, as in any case here in Virginia. So we have a very good lab and we have very good medical examiners. So we have every degree of confidence that the best handling of this matter is being taking place.
GRACE: Matt Behl, have police been in touch with you, giving you daily reports? And what do you think about the timing of a charge in this case? I`ve got the sense it`s not going to be long.
BEHL: Well, I guess what we`re waiting for now -- and, yes, the police have been in touch with us pretty regularly, not daily, but we`ve -- Detective Hamilton from the city of Richmond police was available 24/7. She just did a tireless job of keeping us apprised of the situation and progress.
GRACE: Matt, what do you know about the possibility of a suspect?
BEHL: I haven`t -- I would assume that the evidence that they`re garnering from the site now will point them in the right direction.
GRACE: Do you have any idea, Matt, whether there is the death penalty in Virginia?
BEHL: Oh, I`m keenly aware of it. It`s one of the states that utilizes it more out of the 50 states.
GRACE: Again, Benjamin Fawley tonight not a suspect, as named by police in this case. He is behind bars on charges -- multiple charges of child pornography. That pornography, we believe, was found on his computer, when police did a search in his apartment pursuant to the Taylor Behl mystery.
Is that correct, David Hicks?
HICKS: Yes, that is. I can confirm that, Nancy.
GRACE: And Jason Oshins, listen, if he becomes a suspect, Jason, which he is not officially at this time, you know all that child pornography, if it exists on his computer, will come in to this case as an incident of the search.
OSHINS: Well, no doubt, Nancy, they`re going to go after him. He`s certainly a target of their investigation, while not publicly naming him. Obviously, they want to protect their case. But as the attorney for the city of Richmond has told you, they don`t want to do anything to trip this up. This is a high-profile case and has national attention to it. They`ve got to -- as Mr. Herman said, they`ve got to cross their i`s, and dot their t`s, or be certain that they have the right target.
GRACE: To psychotherapist Dr. Leslie Austin, Leslie, this guy -- give me a profile. We`ve got a white male. And we`ve got him on disability. No job. Don`t know what the disability is.
Elizabeth, is Ellie in the control room with you? Wasn`t it a bipolar? Right. Thanks, Ellie.
Bipolar. He`s on disability, not working. It`s my understanding -- I would ask David, but I don`t want him to comment on the facts -- that he has this apartment where she can see where she parks her car and walks to her dorm or to classes.
You know the items found in the search. Do we have that full screen, Elizabeth? You had bondage, S&M stuff, spiked bracelets, sex aids, a couple of dildoes, a box of bones -- don`t let me bury the lede -- the tissues and the tampon wrappers -- you may say, why? Well, I`ll tell you why: DNA, DNA, DNA. Got to have a machete. Everybody needs one of those in the home. And lady`s underwear.
Leslie Austin, give me your profile after studying this guy, who is not a suspect, repeat.
LESLIE AUSTIN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, to put it mildly, clearly, he`s a fellow who`s interested in some unorthodox sexual activities, and some not so healthy.
GRACE: Did you see his web site, Leslie?
AUSTIN: I did not see his web site.
GRACE: "Nickname: Skulz," S-k-u-l-z.
AUSTIN: It`s clear that he`s got some real serious mental health problems. I haven`t interviewed him...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Don`t tune up about mental health. Bipolar is not a defense.
AUSTIN: No, bipolar is not a defense. And I do want to say that there are a lot of people who are bipolar who don`t murder and who also don`t have, quote, unquote, "deviant sexual interests." So the fact that he`s bipolar is important here, but not necessarily evidence of guilt.
However, you have a profile of a person who clearly is out of the norm and out of the ordinary. What we don`t know -- and I want to be careful about being graphic is -- how he used those things, whether they were used on him, he used them on others.
In any case, they`re not your average, normal healthy relationship to sexuality. So we have a very troubled person here, based on what we see was found in his apartment. And the involvement in child pornography is certainly not a healthy activity in any way.
GRACE: To Dr. Kathy Reichs, I`m not so interested in his emotional troubles tonight as I am in what kind of evidence we can hope for in this case.
David just told us -- David Hicks, commonwealth attorney, city of Richmond, just told us that Taylor is en route -- well, is at the medical examiner`s office right now. I`m thinking possibly, regarding her nails, that hopefully her hands were bagged and wrapped before she was en route, fibers.
What do you think, Doctor?
REICHS: Well, they`re going to look at all of that. They`re going to try to determine, possibly from something associated with the body, where she was killed. She wasn`t necessarily killed at the same location where she`s buried.
You could look at insect inclusions. You could look at any kind of minute plant materials that could suggest if, in fact, she was killed there or was killed elsewhere.
I think, from a psychological point of view, an interesting point is also that disposal of the body probably would have taken place in a comfort zone. Whoever killed her isn`t just going to randomly wander around and find a location to dig a shallow gave. They`re going to do that where they feel a certain degree of comfort.
So, from a psychological point of view, I think that`s the rather telling piece of circumstantial...
GRACE: Well, Kathy, I know you`re a forensic anthropologist, but haven`t you seen it to be true that people go where they`re comfortable? Scott Peterson, fisher person, he dumps Laci out in the water. This guy, who`s not a suspect, had been to this farmhouse many times to take photographs. I mean, people go where they`re comfortable.
REICHS: Yes. And I think, generally, that`s what psychologist profilers will tell you.
GRACE: I want to go back to Matt Behl, Taylor`s father. Matt, I see things as a trial lawyer. I look at evidence. You know, what can I glean? What can I learn? How can I use it? Can I use it?
But in the back of my mind, I know you`re sitting there. And we`re talking about your girl. What is your hope tonight?
BEHL: My hope is that -- and I feel that the task force that did the investigation into Taylor`s disappearance did a thorough job, did -- you know, collected as much evidence as they could, and that evidence will help them bring whoever to justice.
GRACE: Matt, when is Taylor`s funeral?
BEHL: Sometime next week. We haven`t firmed up a date yet because we`re waiting to see when the medical examiner will release her body.
GRACE: You know, this should have been her birthday a week from tonight...
BEHL: Right.
GRACE: ... not her funeral.
BEHL: Right, 18th birthday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET PELASARA, TAYLOR BEHL`S MOTHER: I`m positive the authorities will bring the sub-humans to justice, and I pray they receive the death penalty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know how you got lost, honey?
VALERY LOZADA, 4-YEAR-OLD FOUND ON NEW YORK CITY STREETS: I got lost when I was sleeping. He took me in the car, and he...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your daddy?
LOZADA: ... took me outside with no shoes. So I was crying. And some people find me, and they give me a sweater and everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You are looking at video of a 4-year-old little girl, a little girl that was released on New York streets in the early morning hours after midnight in her PJs and pajamas. The miracle of that story is that she was found by a good Samaritan who heard her crying through his window. And he and his wife took her in, and dressed her, and helped establish her identity.
Now, the bad news. Today, we learn that her mother`s remains have been discovered in a Pennsylvania landfill.
Elizabeth, do we have that map? We have video of this location from today. Elizabeth, let me know when you get that up. There you go.
Now, she was found wandering in Queens. The mother`s body, Monica Lozada`s body, found that far away in Pennsylvania. I want to quickly go out to the "New York Post" reporter, Philip Messing.
Welcome, Philip. Bring us up-to-date.
PHILIP MESSING, "NEW YORK POST" REPORTER: Hi, Nancy. Well, at about 12:10 this afternoon, the people that were tasked with the responsibility of finding this missing mother made a grim discovery.
They had some excavation equipment. And inside, basically, the basket, they found a bag with the hands of the mother sticking out. And it was a horrible end to what most people expected once she didn`t show up and there was stories about where she was.
It was really a double tragedy. This child is an adorable child. Everybody fell in love with her. And this is a woman that was described by her daughter as a princess. And she ended up under the most horrible conditions, just abandoned amid 750 tons of trash, 12 feet deep beneath the trash piles.
GRACE: What can you tell me about the suspect, Philip?
MESSING: Well, the suspect is a man that has a medical background. His name is Caesar Ascarrunz. And as of now, there`s police and other people that were involved in the investigation are saying that he basically confessed that there was a disagreement over jealousy over her whereabouts the night before and how she was raising her daughter.
And one thing lead to another. And that ended up with him allegedly making a confession. He has given an interview to another reporter at my paper and some other reporters saying that he didn`t give a confession, but from what I`m told, they believe that not only did he give it but he gave it on videotape.
GRACE: He gave it on videotape, did I hear that, Philip?
MESSING: That`s what I`m told, and that it`s signed, sealed and delivered. I mean, as you know, sometimes people will say certain things and things will play out later where there`s a reasonable dispute as to the validity of what was said in the confines of a police interrogation room.
But right now, they do believe that there`s evidence. And I`m also told that they even found a tooth of the woman in the house, which is certainly incriminating, given the fact that she`s now deceased.
And the only other thing I could add, Nancy, is that, later in the day, after this discovery was made, the child welfare officials in New York City conferred with the child, one of the child`s relatives, and they did break the news to the little girl that her mother is not here anymore.
And as they described it, they said that she`s a resilient child and that they`re going to continue working with her. It`s a sad end to a sad story.
GRACE: Jason Oshins, what is he looking at? What`s he looking at, as far as a penalty? No way will there ever be a death penalty in New York. Forget about it!
OSHINS: Well, the death penalty was recently overturned by the court of appeals in New York State. But he`s facing a second-degree murder charge, with the penalty potentially being on conviction, 25-to-life.
GRACE: Why are you saying second-degree?
OSHINS: Well, first-degree would have been the death penalty, which New York now doesn`t have, pending their court of appeals overturning.
GRACE: So you`re saying the actual charge is first-degree if you`re seeking the death penalty...
OSHINS: First-degree can be...
GRACE: Malice murder, premeditated murder.
OSHINS: Well, first-degree in New York could be for killing of a police officer or killing while already in prison. But nonetheless, death penalty is not an option on the table in New York.
GRACE: Not even an option.
OSHINS: No.
GRACE: So what they`re looking at, Richard, if this guy is convicted, who now says he didn`t give a statement -- surprise, surprise. Thank God cops got him on video. I hope they read his Miranda statement to him on video, too.
But, Richard, what he`s looking at is life behind bars plus abandonment charges on this little girl.
HERMAN: Absolutely, Nancy. But, you know, this -- there will be a hearing on this confession. We don`t know if it was freely or voluntarily given, or if he was in a headlock when he gave it, so if there was video...
GRACE: Oh, yes, you wish.
HERMAN: ... there will be a hearing, and we`ll see if he really freely and voluntarily made this confession. If he did, it`s over. Case is over.
GRACE: Leslie Austin, very quickly. I`ve only got 30 seconds left here, but we already see him backing off his confession. And also, he already moved another woman into the apartment.
AUSTIN: Yes, I know. And, you know, all of that just -- it`s very hard to say that he`s not guilty. We know that he has to go through a court process. It has to be proved. The evidence has to be shown. But this certainly is a person who shows some tendency towards sociopathy and no regard for other human life at all.
GRACE: You know, the argument with the mother resulting in her strangulation death is bad enough but leaving this child out on the streets?
Philip Messing, thank you, friend.
Very quickly to tonight`s "All-Points Bulletin."
FBI and law enforcement across the country on the lookout for this man, Richard Lynn Bare, wanted in connection with the murder of Sherri Elaine Hart (ph), just 24 years old when she passed away.
Bare, 41, 5`8", 175 pounds, brown hair, green eyes. Take a look. If you have info on Richard Lynn Bare, please call the FBI, 704-377-9200. Local news next for some of you. We`ll all be right back.
And remember, live coverage of the Wisconsin hunting murder case, 3:00 to 5:00 Eastern Court TV.
Please stay with us as we remember Specialist Jacob T. Vanderbosch, just 21, an American hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Nine years ago, Janet March went missing without a trace. Now, an attorney behind bars for her murder, Perry March, her husband. He claims, "No body, no case." Let`s go straight out to Ashley Webster, WZTV reporter.
Ashley, bring us up-to-date.
ASHLEY WEBSTER, WZTV REPORTER: Well, Nancy, so far, Perry March is in jail. He`s being held on $3 million bail. As you mentioned, it was nine years ago that Janet March disappeared. And it`s taken prosecutors this long to come up with some evidence.
The big question tonight is, what kind of evidence do they have? In the meantime, March is in jail. Again, he`s being held on $3 million bond. And we all want to know exactly what the prosecution has that made them go ahead and get this indictment.
GRACE: Well, I`ve got a pretty good idea, because I`m looking at the state`s response to defendant`s motion for bill of particulars. And it says, in paragraph two, "There are possible witnesses" -- and I emphasize - - "or co-conspirators in the murder or the disposal of the body." They are Paul Eichel, Morris Clinard, and Arthur March.
Isn`t that his father?
WEBSTER: Yes, Arthur March is Perry`s father, who lives in Mexico. Paul Eichel is a businessman here in Nashville that has ties to Perry March. He also owns some property just west of Nashville. And it was speculated that maybe Perry March, if he, in fact, killed his wife disposed of the body on this property. Their property was searched. No body was found.
As for Morris Clinard, very little is known about him. We know he has a long criminal history. And in fact, he was in jail in the year 2000. We know that, but we also know that, five days after Clinard was released from jail, Janet March went missing. But his tie to Perry March at this point is really not known.
GRACE: I also see in this response, the computer hard drive was present September 10, missing September 17. It`s kind of hard to lose one of those in your house.
WEBSTER: Yes, it is. Certainly, the state wants to know what happened to that hard drive. Perry March maintains that, when his wife left on the night of August 15th, she had left him a list of things to do on the hard drive. And apparently, when police came in to if that`s the case, the hard drive was missing.
GRACE: Ashley, reporter WZTV, thank you for being with us.
Thank you to all of my guests. But our biggest thank you is to you for being with us and inviting us into your home. And a good night from the whole team, the whole team there in the control room.
Coming up, headlines -- there you go -- headlines all around the world. I`m Nancy Grace signing off for tonight. See you here tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
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