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Nancy Grace

Tiffany Souers Case

Aired June 07, 2006 - 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. The brutal sex attack and murder of a Clemson co-ed spread fear throughout the South Carolina college town. Late last night, the man wanted for the murder of Tiffany Souers is captured, and just hours ago, the first court appearance of the registered sex offender, on the run no more. Is that man, Jerry Buck Inman, the perpetrator in two other sex attacks?
And tonight: Did an American couple travel south to sell their own children?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I have nothing on me. No, they told me that I was fine. I was fine.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. Tonight: Did an American couple sell two of their own children? The youngest is 18 months.

But first tonight, breaking news: On the run no more, 35-year-old convicted sex offender Jerry Buck Inman behind bars tonight in the brutal sex assault, kidnap and strangling death of 20-year-old Clemson co-ed Tiffany Souers. Murder weapon? Tiffany`s own bikini swim top, still around her neck. And tonight, we are taking your calls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To be completely honest, I can`t wait to see him die. I have no sympathy for him, and I don`t think there`s any justification to do what he`s done now or the things that he`s done in the past. This isn`t the first time that he`s been an absolute terror to society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Right now, straight out to Sheriff David Davenport of Jefferson County Sheriff`s Department. He captured Inman. Welcome. Thank you for being with us.

SHERIFF DAVID DAVENPORT, JEFFERSON COUNTY: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: So how did the capture go down?

DAVENPORT: Well, South Carolina contacted us yesterday afternoon and told us that they were in the process of obtaining a warrant for Inman, and we checked our sex offender registry, found out that he had been staying in the -- an address or two addresses in Jefferson County. We immediately sent people out to stake these residences out.

And as luck would have it, about 15 minutes to 12:00 last night, he showed up, driving the vehicle that we thought he would be driving, drove past his mother`s house. The officer there is the officer that registered him on the sex offender register, so identified him in the vehicle. We ran him down, stopped him a short distance from his mother`s house, apprehended him, took him into custody and brought him to the Jefferson County jail.

GRACE: With us, sheriff David Davenport of the Jefferson County Sheriff`s Department. Sheriff Davenport, I assume that he knew he had been identified and was wanted, correct?

DAVENPORT: No, he did not.

GRACE: You`re kidding me!

DAVENPORT: No. He told us had he known, he would have left the area.

GRACE: What else did he say, Sheriff?

DAVENPORT: Well, we asked him that -- when we told him what the charges were, what he had come back to the area for, and he said he had no earthly idea that he was the subject of a manhunt, that he had been charged in the horrific death over in South Carolina, and had he known, he wouldn`t have come back. He said he had been riding around -- because we asked him, What have you been doing all evening? He said been riding around, up and down the road. So he hadn`t listened to the radio, hadn`t read any newspapers and hadn`t watched NANCY GRACE.

GRACE: Well, Sheriff, that`s a little hard to believe. But you know what, Sheriff? In a way, it`s not hard to believe because this guy apparently believes he exists in a world where there are no rules, where there are no repercussions. Sheriff, is it true that this guy is now wanted in two additional sex attacks?

DAVENPORT: We`ve been able to identify him as the major suspect and he`s going to be charged in at least two other attacks. Wouldn`t surprise me that he`s probably done others. He`s been out of the penitentiary since September 2005, and to say that, you know, he`s only done three, it`s hard for me to believe. I`ve been doing this 40 -- almost 42 years, and he doesn`t -- if he`s done it once, he`s probably done it on more than one occasion. It wouldn`t surprise me that when it all comes out, he`s done more than what he`s told us about.

GRACE: Sheriff, what were the circumstances around the other attacks? I know that at least one of them very similar to the attack on Tiffany Souers.

DAVENPORT: They are all similar. The attack in Alabama, there was not a physical rape. There was a sexual assault, and he robbed the victim. In Sevierville, there was a rape. There was some, you know, binding and things of that nature. These all occurred, also, within a 6 to 7-day period. The two, the one in Alabama and Tennessee, were prior to him going on to South Carolina.

He said that he liked to take day trips, and these areas that he went to were within a three, three-and-a-half-hour drive of where he was residing.

GRACE: Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You understand that you`re entitled to trial by jury on either one, two, or all three of the charges that have been made? You understand that`s your right?

JERRY BUCK INMAN, CHARGED IN CLEMSON COED MURDER: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You understand those charges to be murder, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct first degree?

INMAN: Yes, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know he`s overwhelmed by the attention that this case has generated so far. I know that he`s a little shell-shocked, like I mentioned earlier, just given the fact that there are 14 TV cameras and 14 microphones stuck in his face now every time he shows up someplace. That`s enough to intimidate anybody. And that`s about all I know right now. He`s just a little intimidated by the process so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: In just a few moments, we will be joined by Tiffany Souers`s parents, who will be speaking out tonight. First to Kevin Miller with WPTF radio. Kevin, what happened in court today? This is Inman`s first court appearance.

KEVIN MILLER, WPTF RADIO: Well, Nancy, Inman did appear before court. He was -- as the sheriff said, he was arrested last night in Tennessee. He was -- did not fight extradition, did come to Pickens County. He was appointed a lawyer, who the lawyer said would not reveal who asked him to represent Mr. Inman. And then, in fact, he did hear the charges against him. The judge said that he could not post bond for him because he -- it exceeded his authority, but he could in the sexual assault -- the sexual misconduct -- or the sexual conduct case. So he will wait to hear whether or not he will go with the higher court`s call with this.

GRACE: Joining us right now are the parents of Tiffany Souers, Bren and Jim Souers. Mr. and Mrs. Souers, thank you for being with us.

BREN SOUERS, TIFFANY`S MOTHER: Sure.

JIM SOUERS, TIFFANY`S FATHER: You`re welcome.

GRACE: Mrs. Souers, an arrest has been made. When you first heard that, when you were first told that, what was your immediate reaction?

BREN SOUERS: Well, initially, it was relief, and then followed by a lot of anger because seeing his face and putting it all together just brought forth what might have happened that night, and definitely relief in finding him, so we don`t have to wonder anymore where he`s at, what he`s doing, who it is. And we thank the police for that, for their swift work that they did to find him, and are very grateful to the media for putting this out nationwide so it was an easy manhunt for them.

GRACE: With us, the parents of 20-year-old Tiffany Souers, just a real all-American beauty, beautiful on the inside and on the outside. Here is a girl who had dreams in sight, planning to finish her civil engineering degree there at Clemson University in four years, as opposed to five, already having donated hundreds of hours to volunteer work just out of the goodness of her heart, for no other reason than to do good.

Along with her mom tonight, Jim Souers, Tiffany`s father. Mr. Souers, when you learned what had happened to your girl, what was your immediate reaction?

JIM SOUERS: Obviously, incredible anger and disgust and, you know, maybe even hatred for this person. It was -- it was unbelievable, especially visualizing his face, you know, because we had saw the picture, and then -- and then started transporting ourself back 10 or 12 days to where the event happened. It was horrible. It was a horrific emotion.

GRACE: I`ve got to say something. When you said his face, when I look at this guy`s face, Jerry Buck Inman, 35 going on 36, he looks like one of the "Natural Born Killers." He does!

JIM SOUERS: Exactly. He`s hideous. He`s horrible-looking. He`s ugly.

GRACE: I swear, it is exactly what you would imagine in your worst nightmare, in one of the movies that you see coming out of Hollywood, their vision of what a killer would be. What was so -- one of the many disturbing things to me, Mrs. Souers, is that last night, as we were putting out the APB here on the show to try to find this guy, to let the public know who he was, I looked down and saw "intended release date." It was 6/6, yesterday, was the day he was supposed to have been released from the penitentiary. But oh, no! Oh, no! They had to release him early so he could go prey on young girls like Tiffany.

Did you know that yesterday was his scheduled release date?

BREN SOUERS: I did not know that, but I wish somebody would help me to understand why he was released at all. It makes no sense.

JIM SOUERS: I mean, it`s our understanding he had 30 years. From 1989, he was sentenced to 30 years, and he`s out by 2005? That makes no sense.

GRACE: You know, when I saw that date staring up at me, I was stunned. Here you are seeing some of the charges on Jerry Buck Inman. And it`s our understanding that he is now being charged in two other attacks on young women.

I want to go back to Sheriff David Davenport. Why was he released early? I know not out of your facility, but in the state penitentiary, why was he released early, Sheriff?

DAVENPORT: You know, I have no earthly idea. I`m just like the parents, I`m outraged. I feel great emotions and the greatest sorrow for their loss. He didn`t need to be out of the penitentiary. My information is he even committed some sexual crime while in the penitentiary. He was transferred out of North Carolina to Florida.

And I really don`t know, given all the history of sexual predators, why he was released back into society. I don`t know. You know, it may be -- with the constant things that we`re doing, the media coverage out of this horrific tragedy, maybe we can come up with some way to control these deviants.

GRACE: Let`s go out to a special guest joining us tonight. His name is Symmes Culbertson, and he is Jerry Buck Inman`s defense attorney. He is a veteran lawyer himself. Mr. Culbertson, thank you for being with us.

SYMMES CULBERTSON, JERRY INMAN`S DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Glad to be there.

GRACE: Mr. Culbertson, what prompted you to take the case of Jerry Buck Inman?

CULBERTSON: Well, Nancy, my father was an attorney. My uncle was an attorney. I became an attorney because of them. I mean, I dare say if they had built houses for a living, I be a contractor or a house builder right now. But I`ll represent Mr. Inman because that`s what I was born and know how to do.

GRACE: Well, do you have any belief in your heart, in your mind, in your soul that this guy could remotely be innocent?

CULBERTSON: Well, I`ve not yet seen any of the evidence that authorities have supposedly gathered against Mr. Inman. I know that they`ve filed charges against him, but quite honestly, until I`ve had a chance to review all the evidence they`ve collected against Mr. Inman, I really can`t say whether he is or he isn`t innocent. I mean, as we all know, until a court says, until a jury sitting there says that he`s guilty of the crime that he`s charged with, he`s presumed to be innocent.

GRACE: He certainly is. But the rest of that sentence under the law, which is so often and conveniently left out, is presumed innocent unless and until the evidence overcomes that presumption. Mr. Culbertson, when I first started trying cases, we did not have all the DNA advances that we have now. If the media and the district attorney is to be believed, there is a DNA match from DNA at the scene of Tiffany Souers`s apartment to your client. Response?

CULBERTSON: Well, I understand that`s true. I`ve been led to believe, at least, that they have collected a DNA sample or have DNA evidence that links my client, Mr. Inman, to Ms. Souers`s apartment. Beyond the fact there is just DNA present, I don`t know what that proves. I mean, that doesn`t -- you know, I`ve yet to see that that DNA links up to any sort of sexual assault or yet to see that DNA links up to any sort of murder or any sort of (INAUDIBLE) injuries on Ms. Souers`s body. All I know is that his DNA was present. I don`t know what -- at this point in time, I don`t know what to make of that, other than the fact that his DNA was there.

GRACE: With us, Symmes Culbertson. He is attorney for Jerry Buck Inman, the man apparently facing trial in the murder of Tiffany Souers. Very quickly, Mr. Culbertson, could you explain to me why your client has a satanic pentagram tattooed on his hand and a bat tattooed on the side of his neck?

CULBERTSON: No, I cannot...

GRACE: It`s not going to look good in front of a jury.

CULBERTSON: ... explain that, and I`m not sure that it needs any explanation, at this point in time.

GRACE: Well, you know, there may be 12 people sitting in a jury box who would like to know. With us, Symmes Culbertson, the defense attorney for Jerry Buck Inman, and our special guests tonight, the parents of Tiffany Souers, Bren and Jim Souers.

To tonight`s "Case Alert." Arrest warrants in Illinois for 11 registered sexual offenders. State police asked for the public`s help in tracking down these men. Take a look. A routine check by U.S. Marshals reveals the offenders were not living at addresses that were listed on the state`s registry. Registered sex offenders must alert police when they move. If you have info on the whereabouts of these offenders, call Illinois State Police, 618-346-3701.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Let`s take a look at the timeline on Jerry Buck Inman. May 06, 6:00 AM, police suspect Jerry Inman allegedly assaults a woman in Tennessee; 5-23-06, police suspect Inman allegedly assaults a woman in Alabama; 5-26-06, friends drop Souers off at her apartment in Clemson, South Carolina. That evening, police believe Souers passed away. On 5-26, 1:45 PM, roommate discovers Tiffany; 5-27, Souers was strangled, coroner determines.

Out to Kevin Miller with WPTF radio. Kevin, let`s talk about the DNA for just one moment.

MILLER: Sure, Nancy.

GRACE: I understand that there is an incredible DNA match in this case. Explain.

MILLER: Well, it was excellent work by the state crime lab in Columbia, South Carolina. What they did is, from the crime scene, they conjured up a profile that allowed them to get something called a cold hit, which was a profile that had not been registered, had two hits from Florida and North Carolina. From that, they were able to determine Mr. Inman as a suspect.

And late Tuesday night, they started giving out police authorities in Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina, throughout the Southeast, his picture. They didn`t want to release it just yet because they were worried that he was armed and dangerous. And thankfully, he was apprehended last night.

GRACE: Let`s go out to the lines. Let`s go to Tanya in Georgia. Hi, Tanya.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Nancy. What I want to know is, did the suspect -- has the suspect admitted to anything, or has he given a motive to the police as to why he killed this young girl?

GRACE: Good question. Let`s go out to the sheriff. Sheriff David Davenport is with us tonight, with the Jefferson County Sheriff`s Department. Sheriff, didn`t he admit to having involvement in Tiffany`s death?

DAVENPORT: Nancy, he was interviewed and made statements. I can`t release the contents of those statements, but he certainly put himself in South Carolina.

GRACE: Let`s go out to Becky in Ohio. Hi, Becky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Good evening. First, I`d like to express my condolences to the family. And my question is, was Inman -- did they ever find any kind of drugs? Was he a drug user? And they had made a statement earlier that they asked him where he had been and he was just out driving around. And it just sounds like to me that he was out searching for his next victim.

GRACE: To Kevin Miller, WPTF radio. Do we know anything about drug usage?

MILLER: Nothing has been reported, Nancy. And the authorities in Pickens County, now that they have him, have been pretty tight-lipped. Sheriff Davenport has said, though, that, apparently, he was just out driving around, looking for people and looking for somebody vulnerable. I mean, this is people`s worst fear that it`s a random act of sexual violence.

GRACE: To forensic clinical psychologist Dr. J. Buzz Von Ornsteiner. Buzz, thank you for being with us. You know, the caller had an excellent question. Was this guy out just driving around, searching for his next victim? And that is entirely possible, if you take a look at this random, random attack schedule he has.

J. BUZZ VON ORNSTEINER, FORENSIC CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes. We`re looking at a sociopathic personality disorder, coupled with a sexual predator. All his waking hours, all his thoughts, all his search for power and control is directed to -- to preying on females out there. And I`m glad that he`s in prison because we need to be protected from people like that.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t wait to see him die. I have no sympathy for him. And I don`t think there`s any justification to what`s he`s done now or the things that he`s done in the past. This isn`t the first time that he`s been an absolute terror to society.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: The murder of 20-year-old Tiffany Souers, a Clemson University co-ed, occurred in South Carolina, which is a death penalty state. To Clark Goldband. Tell me about the death penalty in South Carolina.

CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE INTERNET REPORTER: They`re certainly not afraid to kill you in South Carolina, Nancy, I can tell you that. Thirty- five people have died since the reinstatement of the DP back in 1976 action. Compare that here in New York, zero. So they are executing people.

There are currently 74 people who are being held on death row. Two people -- well, they didn`t do it. And now you can be killed by injection or by shock electrocution. Now, Nancy, the last person killed was in December of 2005. It was a botched armed robbery. Now, get this. It took 11 years until he was executed. So we could have a long wait here if this guy is, in fact, found guilty.

GRACE: Well, it`s Trial 101, the circumstances call "aggravation" as to seeking the death penalty. We`ll find out later whether the district attorney will announce this is a death penalty case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYMMES CULBERTSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The message he wanted me to get to his mother, which I`ll try to do as I speak, is that he`s doing well and in good spirits. His primary concern was to let his mother know that he has not been mistreated, that he`s keeping his head up. And he really was concerned about her welfare and wanted to know how her health was and how she was doing.

His first question to me, his first concern, was the welfare of his mother. I would assume that any time somebody comes up, their initial comment is, "How`s my mother? Is she OK? Can you check on her?" That to me would indicate that, yes, he`s close to his family, he`s close to his mother, he`s concerned about their well-being.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Yes, as close to your family as you can be after 20 years behind bars on felony rape, kidnapping and assault charges. Now the guy`s so concerned about his mother, he`s facing murder charges in the death of 20-year-old Tiffany Souers.

Tough question for Tiffany`s parents tonight, Bren and Jim Souers. When you hear comments like that, that this guy`s first concern was, "How`s my mom?" what are we supposed to do with that, Mrs. Souers? "How`s my mom?" I mean, when I think of how Tiffany was left there lying on her apartment floor and...

BREN SOUERS, MOTHER OF TIFFANY SOUERS: Right.

GRACE: ... and the day passed before anyone found her, how she must have fought back to live. And now we are supposed to feel, what, compassion because this guy asked about his mother?

B. SOUERS: Right.

JIM SOUERS, FATHER OF TIFFANY SOUERS: None.

B. SOUERS: I don`t know what the point of the -- you know (INAUDIBLE) what he`s said, I mean, it makes no sense.

GRACE: I agree.

B. SOUERS: I don`t care what he...

GRACE: You know, I`m going -- yes, I`m going to put it to his lawyer. What about it, Symmes Culbertson? That was you talking about how close he is to his family. Now, you`re not going to tell us whether he admits to involvement with Tiffany`s murder, but you`ll tell us he loves his mother and he`s worried about her health?

CULBERTSON: I will tell you that the question was asked by the newspaper reporter what was the first thing he said to me. And, quite honestly, the first thing he said to me is: How is he mother doing? He wanted to know if his mother is OK.

Not trying to mitigate, you know, lack of remorse, not trying to do anything at all other than say -- in response to the question we were asked, what was his first question? His first question, his first comment was concern for his mother`s welfare.

GRACE: Mr. Culbertson, is it true that claims are being made your client is bipolar or possibly even schizophrenic?

CULBERTSON: Well, I`ve heard those allegations that have been made and, you know, obviously I`ve not yet had a chance to have him evaluated or have him tested, have any sort of medical professionals look at him.

That may well have taken place in the past when he was in Tennessee or when he was in Florida, or for that matter when he was any place else. I don`t know of any doctor`s reports or any sort of evaluation that`s been done yet. So I think it`s a little premature to be talking about what his mental condition is until he`s been properly evaluated.

GRACE: Well, sir, listen, we didn`t start the rumors about schizophrenia or bipolar here at Headline News. They are all over the media. And word to the wise, Hillah Katz is with us from Miami, Florida, a veteran defense attorney, former prosecutor.

To claim bipolar, that`s going to get you nowhere but Death Row and fast. I mean, that`s not a defense.

HILLAH KATZ, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Well, it`s the best defense that actually they probably may have, because, Nancy, the truth of the matter is, when we look at aggravating offenses, which the state will present for the purpose of the death penalty, the defense counsel for Mr. Inman better have very good what we call mitigating factors, really good reasons why this man does not deserve either electrocution or a lethal injection.

And the truth is mental health defenses are one of the most common and actually persuasive to any type of jury panel. So if, in fact, he is bipolar or schizophrenic, that may either, one, prevent the state of South Carolina from actually seeking the death penalty or, two, actually enable a jury to give to it -- actually elect to give him a life sentence versus the death penalty.

It`s not always successful, but in the case where the facts are, unfortunately, as egregious as they are here, maybe the best outlet that defense counsel will actually have.

GRACE: I want to go to Mr. Souers. This is Tiffany`s father.

Mr. Souers, when you are hearing this talk about the possibility of the death penalty, about legal maneuvering, legal proceedings, many pundits already speculating how the defense is going to line up, what does that do to you on the inside when you`re hearing that? I mean, it must not have even sunk in yet that Tiffany`s gone.

J. SOUERS: Right. I mean, on one hand, I mean, I realize she`s gone. And on the other hand, every day it becomes more apparent that she`s gone.

And this legal maneuvering is just noise to me right now, because I think the whole system is broke, Nancy. I don`t understand how any of this could happen. The guy should not have been released, and the guy is absolutely a monster.

And for there to even be an opportunity for him to have some mitigating reason why what he did wasn`t really what he did because he didn`t mean to do it is ludicrous. And there`s nobody on the planet right now that could even begin, short of his defense attorney and some psychologist or psychiatrist that was possibly paid by them, to support the fact that there`s a reason why it`s not really his fault, his actions weren`t really his actions.

And my attitude is, you know, I can`t use the right words I want to use today. My attitude is there`s no way anybody, any jury, anybody that was in our position, anybody that could be in our position would agree with that.

The guy is guilty. He deserves to have as much pain and as much time in jail, or death penalty, whatever it`s going to take, to keep him away from anybody else for the rest of his life.

GRACE: Mr. Souers, when you hear this kind of talk about where the defense may or may not be heading, whether there are aggravating circumstances to support the death penalty, whether he has some type of mental incompetence, you know, all of that, of course, is going to be left to a jury.

But when we learn that there is a DNA match and we learned this from the press release the district attorney gave -- it`s not like we read it in some tabloid. The district attorney said so. And unless he has reason to lie about his case, we have no reason to disbelieve him.

DNA is a respected and certified science. So, when you think back, I mean, Tiffany was a bright girl, a very bright girl. There`s been a lot of talk about, was her door locked, were her windows open? What difference did it make?

J. SOUERS: It doesn`t matter.

B. SOUERS: Right.

GRACE: It makes no difference. And in my mind, Mrs. Souers, this is somehow trying to put the blame on Tiffany. You know, when I left my apartment this morning, I left the windows cracked because it`s so hot here. Does that mean it`s OK if somebody lifts the windows and gets in when I come home tonight? No.

B. SOUERS: Right.

GRACE: When you hear these seeming attacks that somehow this is Tiffany`s fault, how do you respond to that, Mrs. Souers?

J. SOUERS: It`s you.

B. SOUERS: Oh, me? I`m sorry.

J. SOUERS: She knows my response.

B. SOUERS: That`s ludicrous. That makes no sense, not at all. Not at all.

GRACE: Mr. Souers?

B. SOUERS: There`s no way Tiffany brought any of this on, no way.

GRACE: Mr. Souers, response?

J. SOUERS: Are you asking me, Nancy?

GRACE: Yes.

J. SOUERS: Yes. My attitude is: It cannot be our responsibility to protect ourselves from evil, ugly people. I mean, there is a certain amount of -- you know, don`t -- I guess don`t go down to a bad part of the neighborhood when you know it`s really bad.

But in this case, your window`s cracked, my daughter`s door may or may not have been locked. That is absolutely insane to think that it`s -- and anybody that begins to think they`re going to start to push the responsibility on my daughter for that in a town like Clemson? Clemson is as good as it gets. And for somebody to start thinking that she should take some, even the slightest amount of responsibility for what happened to her is absolutely wrong.

GRACE: With us right now, Michael O`Dell, the district attorney in DeKalb County, Alabama. Sir, thank you for being with us.

MICHAEL O`DELL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY, DEKALB COUNTY: I`m glad to be here.

GRACE: Mr. O`Dell, you certainly have a long row to hoe before you. What is this guy, Jerry "Buck" Inman, facing in your jurisdiction?

O`DELL: We have issued four separate warrants against Mr. Inman, burglary first degree, robbery first degree, theft of property first degree, and attempted rape first degree, in connection with this home invasion that we had on May 23rd of this year.

GRACE: And you said "home invasion." I`m trying to figure out, having brought in many, many similar transactions at trial before, what the circumstances were surrounding the incident in your jurisdiction, Mr. O`Dell?

O`DELL: Well, you know, it was interesting. I was listening to your discussion just a moment ago with the Souers and not somebody left the door open or whatever. In our case here, the suspect came in through the floor, went through the outside crawl space, and came up through a vent in the floor of this lady`s house.

And she came home for lunch, went into the kitchen, and, shortly thereafter, the suspect approached her and put a knife to her throat, tied her up, and attempted to rape her.

(NEWSBREAK)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CULBERTSON: Absolutely, he`s innocent of these charges.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why do you say that?

CULBERTSON: Because that`s my position to say that until I`m presented with evidence that indicates otherwise. Everybody is innocent of the charges that they`re accused of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That is the defense attorney for Jerry "Buck" Inman, now facing charges of murder, kidnap and sex assault on 20-year-old Tiffany Souers, a Clemson University coed.

Let`s go to the lines. To Jeannie in North Carolina, hi, Jeannie.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I love your show.

GRACE: Thank you, dear. What`s your question?

CALLER: OK, well, my question is, if he`s a registered sex offender in Florida, then he registers in Tennessee, who gave him the OK to do so and roam state to state to work? I don`t get it.

GRACE: Well, I`ll tell you, I just got the number for the Florida Board of Pardon and Paroles who let this guy out. He was registered in Tennessee, went down to Florida to serve time. That`s apparently where he got out. That phone number, in case you`re interested, 850-922-0000, in case you`d like to lodge a complaint about this case.

Let`s go to Angie in Virginia. Hi, Angie.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

CALLER: My question is I`ve seen on news reports today that this evil man`s mother is saying that he is bipolar and...

GRACE: Right.

CALLER: ... and is suicidal. And I was wondering if anybody knows if he was under the care of a psychiatrist and was under or taking any medication?

GRACE: Good question, Angie. I just asked his defense attorney that, Symmes Culbertson. He is a veteran defense attorney who said he has no knowledge of a past psychiatric history, that Inman mentioned nothing about it at the time of his arrest.

And, listen, he`s been in jail for about 20 years. Other than that, the rest of his time has basically been driving around trying to find women to attack, according to prosecutors.

Very quickly, I want to go out to Dr. Michael Hunter, forensic pathologist. Dr. Hunter, generally speaking, how accurate is a DNA match like this?

DR. MICHAEL HUNTER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: You know, one thing about forensic science, as I tell people, that there are very few absolutes. I mean, there are very few absolutes in life. But when you come to DNA, that`s about as close to absolute as you`re going to get.

You`re talking about huge numbers, extremely powerful piece of evidence in a case like this.

GRACE: And what`s so important about the DNA finding, Dr. Hunter, is not only its accuracy -- with us is forensic pathologist Dr. Michael Hunter -- not only its accuracy, such as one in 400 million percentile, but the location of the DNA. For instance, if his DNA is found outside on the window sill or in her car, that`s not very helpful. But if it is found in, on or around her body, then it is damning, Dr. Hunter.

HUNTER: Yes, absolutely. I mean, you really hit the nail on the head.

When you find evidence from an assailant at a scene, that tells you a lot. That tells you that that assailant most likely was injured. What`s the specimen that they`re taking? Could it be blood?

GRACE: Exactly.

HUNTER: Could there be a semen specimen? It`s important to identify what that specimen is and where that specimen is. Is it something that was actually on her body? And that`s incredibly incriminating evidence.

GRACE: Finally, before we take you to our story in Mexico, back to Bren and Jim Souers.

Final thoughts, Mrs. Souers?

B. SOUERS: Well, Tiffany was all that was good, and this man is all that is evil, and he needs to pay for that. He needs to pay for what he did, what he took from us, what he did to my daughter, and we won`t be satisfied until that happens. And he needs to pay in the worst way.

GRACE: Mr. Souers, final thoughts?

J. SOUERS: I am equally as angry and upset at this perpetrator as I am at the parole board that let him go early. They`re both equally responsible for what happened, in my opinion, and that has to be fixed immediately.

GRACE: Mr. and Mrs. Souers, our prayers continue to be with you, and we will stay on this story until justice is sought. Thank you for being with us.

B. SOUERS: Thank you.

J. SOUERS: Thank you, Nancy.

GRACE: Everyone, as we say goodbye to the Souers, like every good trial attorney, we are turning to another file. Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not guilty of everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have nothing on me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still handcuffed and visibly shaken, investigators believe she abducted her two children of whom she did not have custody and took them to Tijuana. The couple sold one of the children.

Now, the children are in the care of authorities, as investigators try to unravel what these children may never understand.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: One of these children found in another home there in Mexico, only 18 months old. Kevin Miller, what the hay is going on?

KEVIN MILLER, WPTF RADIO: That`s a very good question, Nancy. This is a very confusing and troubling story involving...

GRACE: Well, make some sense of it for me.

MILLER: I`ll do that, ma`am. Edward Leader, 37, and Jessica Heird, 20, they`re accused of either giving away or selling their children in Mexico.

Apparently, you had the grandmother of these children had legal custody of two of the kids. Then, mysteriously, one day the mother came home, Jessica Heird, said that she was going to take the kids out for a walk and never came back.

Warrants were issued for their arrest. Those warrants have expired, and now they`re being held in San Diego.

GRACE: But I want to go now to the supervisor Deputy U.S. Marshal Steve Jurman. Sir, thank you for being with us. He is with the U.S. marshal`s department. How were these two little children found, the three- year-old and the 18-month-old, down in Mexico?

STEVE JURMAN, U.S. MARSHALS: Well, the case was referred to the United States Marshal Service by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They requested our assistance in locating the two fugitives, Edward and Jessica, along with Jessica`s two children, Eric and Samantha.

We referred our Mexican liaison program to this case. And they did, in fact, work with Mexican authorities in Mexico to locate Jessica and Edward and their kids down there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve never shown my face in Arizona. They have a charge out on me. It`s child custody disturbance, temporary felon. What is a temporary felon?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Welcome back. Did an American couple try to sell or trade away their infant child to a Mexican family?

Out to Ed Leader, this is the father of one of the suspects. Mr. Leader, thank you for being with us. Mr. Leader, are you there?

OK, Liz, when you can get the satellite up, let me know.

In the meantime, I want go back to Steve Jurman with the U.S. marshal`s department. Let me try this again. Mr. Jurman, what condition did you find the 18-month-old in?

JURMAN: The 18-month-old was found in fairly good condition. The 18- month-old and the five-year-old, Eric, were being cared for by a Hispanic family down in Mexico.

GRACE: Question. Steve Jurman with the U.S. marshal`s department, where did the assertion come from that they had sold -- that they were suspected of selling or trading away their kids?

JURMAN: When Mexican authorities initially made contact with Jessica and Edward down in Mexico, they only had Matthew with them and two of Edward`s kids and Eric was missing still. Further investigation by Mexican authorities led them to believe that they had either been traded or sold...

GRACE: Oh, good lord.

JURMAN: ... in Mexico.

GRACE: Mr. Jurman, very quickly, I`ve only got 20 seconds left. Where are those kids tonight?

JURMAN: All five of the kids that we recovered are in the custody of...

GRACE: OK.

JURMAN: ... of the Palinsky Center (ph), which is in San Diego.

GRACE: Well, all I can say tonight, Mr. Jurman, is God bless the U.S. marshal`s department for bringing these kids safely home, back to, hopefully, their families.

Tonight, everyone, we stop to remember, remember Marine Private First Class Chase Austin Edwards, just 19, Lake Charles, Louisiana, killed, Iraq, an honor student who went to marine boot camp straight after graduation. Chase Austin Edwards, an American hero.

Thank you to all of our guests, especially Tiffany`s parents, and to you for being with us. Nancy Grace signing off. See you here tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END