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Nancy Grace
Bahamian Authorities Reassign Coroner Dealing With Death of Daniel Smith
Aired September 22, 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: Cover girl Anna Nicole Smith`s 20-year- old son, Daniel, dead in a Bahamas hospital, tonight the Bahaman coroner thrown off the case, an unusual double autopsy ordered for Daniel Smith. Tonight, the final photos of the Smith family taken just before Daniel`s death.
Also tonight, to Florida and a parent`s worst nightmare, a 2-year-old tucked into his crib, the very next thing you know, the baby`s bedroom screen slashed, we think from the outside, the baby gone, Florida police now declaring the baby`s mom, Melinda Duckett, the prime suspect in the baby`s disappearance. Tonight, the search by land, the search by water for 2-year-old Trenton Duckett.
But first, inside the death of cover girl Anna Nicole Smith`s son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. CYRIL WECHT, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: (INAUDIBLE) examination, and even though it`s the second, you know, it`s basically the same, although, certainly...
QUESTION: Why did she ask you to be here?
WECHT: ... incisions will have been made, of course.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. We`ve all seen Anna Nicole Smith from when she was a Guess model to when she became a celebrity star, married a millionaire and took her fight all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court after his death. But now she`s in the headlines in a very, very different way. Her boy, pictured here, passed away in a Bahamas hospital. He was there visiting his mom at the birth of her new baby girl. But now, doubt is cast onto the cause of his death.
Straight out to Dan Wakeford, executive editor with "In Touch Weekly." What is the latest on the investigation into Daniel`s death?
DAN WAKEFORD, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Well, the latest is the toxicology reports -- the early reports have just been released, and they have actually confirmed what "In Touch" actually exclusively reported, that anti-depressants were in his body.
GRACE: Anti-depressants in his body, but to medical examiner and forensic scientist Dr. Jonathan Arden -- you could say that, I would guess, about 80 percent of the people in Manhattan are on anti-depressants, all right? And they are not falling over in the hospital, dead. I don`t see it.
DR. JONATHAN ARDEN, MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, I don`t see it yet, either, Nancy. Many people take many kind of prescription medications, and of course, as you say, they don`t die from those things. We need to know what concentration was in his blood. We need to know what else, if anything else, was in his blood. We have to put together a whole picture here of, could this be something that was lethal, could it be in combination with something, or could it be just totally incidental and it has nothing to do with his death whatsoever?
GRACE: Well, he was only 20 years old, and so far, we know that homicide has been ruled out. Suicide has been ruled out, foul play ruled out, natural causes ruled out. That only leaves accident. That`s the only other formal cause of death, Dr. Arden.
ARDEN: The only other manner of death that you haven`t mentioned, you`re right, is accidents, and of course, that would be particularly include any sort of drug-related death, if he`s using recreational drugs or if he accidentally takes too much prescription medication.
But I don`t think we should be ruling out natural so quickly. There are some natural causes of death that can only be seen under the microscope, so the initial negative autopsy doesn`t completely exclude them yet. And there are even some functional causes of death, such as an arrhythmia. When your electrical rhythm of your heart stops functioning normally, sometimes you feel a little skip of a beat, sometimes it`s something as serious as something that degenerates into a complete heart stoppage, a sudden cardiac arrest. Now, those are the kinds of things that are rare.
GRACE: He was 20 years old, Dr. Arden! It doesn`t make sense to me that this young man would die of a heart attack!
ARDEN: He wouldn`t die of a true heart attack the way we usually see in older people with coronary artery disease, the hardening of the arteries. There are rare examples, though, of people who are young and healthy, who for whatever reason that we can`t see because it`s a functional, not an anatomic lesion, sometimes have an arrhythmia that degenerates into heart stoppage without any kind of obvious cause. But I`m putting my money more on the chemical causes and the microscopic examination to really tell us what happened to this young boy.
GRACE: And from these videos, you can see what many people have seen for years: This is Anna Nicole Smith`s best friend, not just her son but her best friend. He was there beside her for everything. She had him when she was really just a child herself, I believe in her teens.
Take a listen to what Dr. Cyril Wecht said, a very unusual move, a second autopsy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WECHT: (INAUDIBLE) examination, and even though it`s the second, you know, it`s -- it`s basically the same, although some of the...
QUESTION: Why did she ask you to be here?
WECHT: ... incisions will have been made, of course, but other than that -- well, there was examination of the organs and the tissues and the body as a whole, just as you would do if it were the first autopsy.
Well, I`m looking for everything. You know, I think it`s -- it`s been unfortunate, perhaps, I think, for some of the things to have been conjectured upon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Let`s go out to the lawyers, Eleanor Dixon, Renee Rockwell joining us tonight. You know, it`s a very unusual move -- to you, Renee Rockwell -- when a second autopsy takes place. Have you seen ever that happen in one of your cases?
RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, Nancy. She probably wants to know what happened. Don`t forget, she`s in the Bahamas. She could be even the subject of inquiry herself. She wants to know what happened, and he is one of the best. I mean, after all, he was on the JonBenet Ramsey case, I think. He was also in the Kennedy case. Wasn`t he also involved in the Peterson case? Why not? She`s got the money. Get the best she can.
GRACE: But wait a minute. I asked you, in one of your cases, have you ever had an actual second autopsy, not just another expert fly into town on a plane, look at the autopsy report and spout something off on the stand. That`s easy to do. But have you, Renee Rockwell, ever had in your personal cases a second autopsy?
ROCKWELL: Not in my personal case, but I have seen where more than one medical examiner comes in, Nancy, to determine the cause of death.
GRACE: But never in your cases?
ROCKWELL: No.
GRACE: Take a listen to what the coroner said. PS, she`s been thrown off the case! Bye-bye!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDA VIRGILL, BAHAMAS CORONER: We are going to move quite quickly in holding the inquiry, and that will take place at the end of October. So at that time, all matters leading to cause of death and also cause (ph) of death will then be revealed in the coroner`s inquest.
On examination of the body, there are no injuries, visible injuries to the body, no physical injuries. You see, in all of these things -- and that is why we need an inquest, because you need -- though you have the medical cause of death, we need legally to have the legal cause of death. So when I use the word, "no external injury," we`re talking about physical injuries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to the executive editor of "In Touch Weekly," Dan Wakeford. Why was she thrown off the case?
WAKEFORD: It seems that she jumped the gun. She made a decision that it was suspicious circumstances before the toxicology reports were in.
GRACE: And back to the lawyers, Renee Rockwell, Eleanor Dixon. Look, I know the Bahamas are saying, Oh, it had nothing to do with the Anna Nicole Smith case. We just threw her off the case for the heck of it. Eleanor Dixon, there are no coincidences whatsoever in criminal law. Nobody just coincidentally took her off the case after she made this pronouncement.
ELEANOR DIXON, PROSECUTOR: No, because she probably said too much to the press. Even though they`re allowed to talk, it would be better judgment not to talk, especially about a high-profile case such as this, and when there`s so many other people waiting for the results of inquests for their loved ones there in the Bahamas.
GRACE: And to Jonathan Arden, medical examiner. An inquest -- explain to the viewers what an inquest is.
ARDEN An inquest is a quasi-judicial procedure that you see in the coroner system, typically the system that we`ve inherited from the British. We have more of a medical examiner system in most places in this country, and our coroners don`t have that kind of power of inquest generally. But it`s really a legal proceeding to try to take testimony, take the medical evidence, put it all together and come up with, as that magistrate said, a legal determination of officially what is the cause and manner of death.
GRACE: Is a jury involved?
ARDEN In some places, a jury is involved, which, frankly, I find fairly odd because you`re not dealing with guilt and innocence, you`re dealing with expert consideration here, and really, this should be the province of the forensic pathologist...
GRACE: But with an inquest, Jonathan Arden, the jury doesn`t come up with guilt or innocence, they come up with manner of death, cause of death. That is the ultimate decision to be made at an inquest.
ARDEN That`s absolutely correct. And as I was saying, that it doesn`t really seem to me to be the province of the lay jurors to determine cause and manner of death.
GRACE: Oh~! So you think somebody like yourself should make the decision, right?
ARDEN I`m a bit biassed in that regard, yes, I am.
GRACE: Yes, well, we all think we should be making the decision.
Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It appears that he has had some sort of a medical problem in the past. This is what some folks have told us. We haven`t confirmed that yet, but we`re still working on that. Perhaps it might have been a heart problem from maybe two, three years ago, nothing major. It might have led to this. Again, we`re like everyone else, though. We wait until the autopsy report comes out, and then we`ll go along with what the doctors say as to what caused the death.
A lot of friends have pointed to incidents in his past where he had gone to the hospital. They believe there were heart problems there. Again, not totally proven, but that`s the speculation at the moment.
You really have to talk to the people with him and his doctors and, again, wait until Friday, when there will be an autopsy report. You`ll know more then.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Well, of course, the cause of the death is still unclear, still waiting on toxicology reports.
And here in the studio with me is a very special guest, the CEO of Trimspa and a personal friend of Anna Nicole Smith and her son, her late son, Daniel Smith. This is Alex Goen. And Anna Nicole had been -- brought a lot of attention to Trimspa. I had frankly never heard -- no offense -- had never heard of Trimspa until Anna Nicole Smith became your spokeslady. Did you -- were you familiar at all with him having a heart problem?
ALEX GOEN, CEO, TRIMSPA, FRIEND OF ANNA NICOLE AND DANIEL SMITH: Not at all. Never heard that whatsoever. He always looked very healthy, was always a quiet kid but a happy kid, and Anna never mentioned that, or neither has Howard.
GRACE: Alex, a lot of reports have stated he was sitting up in a chair, but you believe he was somewhere else at the time of his death.
GOEN: Well, initially, what happened is, Anna went to sleep in one bed, Daniel went to sleep in the other bed and Howard went to sleep on the floor. And in the middle of the night...
GRACE: The lawyer.
GOEN: The lawyer, correct. And in the middle of the night, they made some additional -- some changes. Daniel woke up. Anna had to go to the bathroom, and then I believe Anna and Daniel went to bed together...
GRACE: Right.
GOEN: ... and then Howard went in the bed next to them.
GRACE: So Howard Stern, the lawyer, have a bed, instead of being on the floor.
GOEN: Right.
GRACE: I want to go out to Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst. I don`t see anything unusual with that. In hospital situations, very often -- you know, they don`t have anywhere -- my dad has been in the hospital so many times with heart problems. There`s nowhere for you to sit. You either have to lie on the bed or sit straight up in a chair or sit on the floor. How badly did that affect Anna Nicole Smith, if that is correct, to literally wake up and her son, 20 years old, be dead, right there in bed with her?
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: It`s disastrous, no matter what the circumstances were in terms of who was sleeping where. But you have to take into account that this is a time for great joy for her. She`s bringing a new child into the world. And at the time of her greatest joy, something happens to her 20-year-old child. That is going to make her feel tremendously guilty. Plus the fact that she may have been medicated or sedated due to the delivery of the child and did not have her full capabilities. She could look back and say, Was there something more I could have done? Should I have been more alert? It is truly a disaster.
GRACE: Joining us again, Dan Wakeford, executive editor with "In Touch Weekly." Dan, the photos, the photos in "In Touch Weekly" that ran of Anna Nicole and her son -- he seems to be in very good spirits. And there`s been a lot of brouhaha about her making money off, as it is said, her son`s death photos. Weren`t there -- wasn`t there already an arrangement for the baby photos to be publicized?
WAKEFORD: Anna had already arranged to sell her baby photos and release them because she wanted to show off her new baby daughter.
GRACE: And in these photos, some of them Daniel is in them, some of them he`s not in them. So all this talk of her trying to make money off death photos of her own son is simply not true, according to you.
WAKEFORD: I think that`s totally not true. Anna has actually set up a fund for Daniel, and some of the money she`s got from these photos she`s contributing to that fund.
GRACE: You know, to Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, it`s amazing what people will say, saying that Anna Nicole Smith`s trying to make money off her dead son -- that`s absolutely not true.
MARSHALL: Well, envy can motivate a lot of resentment, can`t it. But when you think about the fact that she really wanted the publicity...
GRACE: That`s very hurtful!
MARSHALL: Yes, it is.
GRACE: I mean, on top of everything else, to have people putting that in the paper?
MARSHALL: Well, it`s insult to injury, isn`t it. I mean, this is a very difficult time for her anyway. She really needs our support. And to feel that she comes under attack as a mother at the very point where she`s probably attacking herself for failing to keep her child alive -- because that`s what mothers do, they feel they should keep their children alive -- it`s really a double insult, and I think the public really needs to take that into account.
GRACE: And how, Alex, is she doing today?
GOEN: She`s doing, I guess, a little bit better. It`s very difficult for her to talk about Daniel. When she talks about her baby girl, she`s sounding pretty good, but when you go anywhere close to Daniel, she breaks down.
You know, let me just mention one other thing, Nancy. As far as the baby photos, that deal was done before this ever happened. And Anna is in a tricky position. If she doesn`t get those photos into the magazines, she`ll have photographers everywhere she goes, camped out and trying to get those photos. So she really has no choice. She has to either let them become publicly known, or else she`s going to be inundated with photographers trying to get her picture.
GRACE: And the baby, too. The baby, too.
Very quickly, to tonight`s "Case Alert." We`ll all be right back regarding the double autopsy of Anna Nicole Smith`s son. "Case Alert" -- a memorial bike ride in honor of Georgia victim Jennifer Ewing this Saturday, September 23, at the Silver Comet trail. Meet 8:00 AM sharp Eastern, Floyd Road Trail Head, mile marker 4.2, Cobb County rangers on hand giving safety tips. An avid bike rider, beautiful mother of three, Jennifer Ewing lost her life riding on the Silver Comet after allegedly attacked by a registered sex offender. For information or donations, log on to jennyewingmemorialride.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WECHT: (INAUDIBLE) examination of the organs and the tissues and the body as a whole, just as you would do if it were the first autopsy.
Well, I`m looking for everything. You know, I think it`s -- it`s been unfortunate, perhaps, I think, for some of these the things to have been conjectured upon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back. A double autopsy now ordered for the son of Anna Nicole Smith. He passed away in a Bahamas hospital.
Straight out to Dan Wakeford, executive editor with "In Touch Weekly." The Bahamas officials even mentioned, We don`t want to be the next Aruba. But here`s the guy, a young guy, dead in a hospital. I mean, what did they actually do to try to save this young man`s life?
WAKEFORD: Well, Anna woke up at about 9:30 in the morning, and she just tried to nudge Daniel and he was totally -- he just didn`t respond, realized he wasn`t breathing and started screaming. And they did CPR on him for 20 minutes, really tried to revive him, and he just didn`t respond at all, and he was pronounced dead at 10:00 o`clock.
GRACE: With us is Donna Hogan. This is Anna Nicole Smith`s half sister, knew Daniel growing up as a child. Donna, thank you for being with us.
DONNA HOGAN, ANNA NICOLE`S HALF SISTER: Thank you.
GRACE: What have you heard regarding how Anna Nicole is doing now?
HOGAN: Oh, gosh. I`ve heard all different kinds of stories and everything.
GRACE: Have you heard anything regarding some heart ailment the young man may have had?
HOGAN: I`ve never heard of anything in the family or -- nothing that -- I`m sorry, this thing`s kind of static-y.
GRACE: Donna, you mentioned that, regarding Daniel`s death, you are split in your emotions. Why?
HOGAN: I am, I mean, because you hear all different kinds of stories and everything -- I mean, I guess, you know, as a mother myself, I find it hard to believe that, you know, nobody saw any signs of anything to prevent this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had a lot of input, a wise kid, just very, very sincere. And he just absolutely loved his mom. He lit up when he saw his mom, and his mom lit up when Daniel walked into the room. They had a magical relationship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daniel was perfectly healthy. He was -- as I said, he was always very quiet, but he knew how to get his thoughts across and his creative ideas into the film, which is, I think, something he learned from his mother, from being next to her for so long. But he was -- he was vibrant, and as you can see from a lot of the footage, he was a normal -- we were shooting a normal 19-year-old boy. He loved his X-box. I know he was a big surfing fan. He made friends with a lot of the crew members that lasted far after the production ended and had sent e-mails and Post-its and things like that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: At a time that should have been the happiest in her life, the birth of a new baby girl, Anna Nicole Smith, cover girl, faced disaster, her son, just 20 years old, dead in bed with her, both sleeping there together at the hospital, the baby not far away.
Here in the studio with me, CEO of Trimspa and friend of Anna Nicole and Daniel Smith, her son, Alex Goen. Alex, no drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, ecstasy, nothing like that found in his system, correct?
GOEN: Correct. The hospital did the very first...
GRACE: Wait! Not the same hospital where he was when he died?
GOEN: No, the hospital he was -- where he died. They initially did the first examination, and they found nothing unusual, no illegal drugs, anything like that. It came out perfectly clean.
GRACE: So to Dan Wakeford, executive editor with "In Touch Weekly." The most that is being said right now is anti-depressants?
WAKEFORD: No, not just anti-depressants. It`s actually sleeping pills, as well. "In Touch" has revealed that the sleeping pill Ambien he had been actually taking. Also possibly some anxiety drugs.
GRACE: Back to Jonathan Arden, medical examiner, forensic scientist. Who would think that an Ambien, a sleeping drug, and an anti-depressant mixed together could result in death?
ARDEN You wouldn`t think that to be the case under ordinary circumstances. And again, I would want to see some more quantitative results -- how much of this was present, what concentration in his blood of each of these things -- to see if you have enough to act together to end up with a toxic or lethal result. But ordinarily, no, you would not expect a combination of an Ambien and a mild anti-depressant together to cause any kind of harm whatsoever.
GRACE: To Mike Brooks, former D.C. police officer, and with the FBI. What further will be gained from another autopsy?
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Well, I think she needs -- besides another medical examiner, she needs a good investigator, Nancy, to go back and talk to everyone who was with him the last 24 to 48 hours. I mean, like, was he there at the hospital the whole time? They haven`t said much about the investigation. I want to know who was talked to. I want to know what they said in their statements. There`s a lot of investigative work to have been done, and we haven`t heard anything at all about that, Nancy. That`s what I want to know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had a lot of input, a wise kid, just very, very sincere, and he just absolutely loved his mom. He lit up when he saw his mom, and his mom lit up when Daniel walked into the room. They had a magical relationship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back. As you all know by now, the 20-year-old son of Anna Nicole Smith found dead at a Bahama hospital, now a double autopsy ordered.
Back to Mike Brooks, former D.C. police and FBI agents, who should investigators be talking to now specifically?
BROOKS: Well, I want to know who exactly was in that room when he died. Number one, determine the time of death, Nancy, and interview that person. And then go back. Where had he been over the last 24 to 48 hours? What had he eaten? You know, had he been to any new restaurants? Who he`s been with, friends and associates that are there. Everyone needs to be interviewed.
You know, usually the Bahamas police there, they do a decent job. I`ve worked with them on another case, and, you know, they usually do a pretty good job, Nancy. But on death investigations, I`m not so sure now.
GRACE: Let`s go back to the lawyers, Eleanor Dixon, veteran prosecutor, Renee Rockwell, defense attorney. If the Bahama authorities do not expect foul play, why do they continue to intimate criminal charges are possible, to you, Renee?
ROCKWELL: Nancy, I think they`re just trying to be politically correct. They`re trying to find out exactly what happened. I`m sure everybody is on their P`s and Q`s, and I sure everybody is getting lawyered up and they`re not saying anything.
Don`t forget: Somebody could have just gratuitously given him some type of medication that may have resulted in his death, which would have been an accident, but still a homicide investigation ensues.
GRACE: To, Eleanor Dixon, you mean someone at the hospital, hypothetically speaking. We don`t know what happened. But if someone gave him a sleeping pill or gave him something to relax him on the plane, long story short, is that what you`re talking about? What about it, Eleanor?
DIXON: I don`t think that would be it. That certainly wouldn`t be criminal, in my viewpoint. And sadly this could be a natural cause of death. But they`re going to do everything they can to investigate, but there`s no indication at this point that it`s a homicide.
GRACE: Take a listen to what this movie director had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daniel was perfectly healthy. He was -- as I said, he was also very quiet, but he knew how to get his thoughts across and his creative ideas into the film, which is, I think, something he learned from his mother, from being next to her for so long.
But he was vibrant. And as you can see from a lot of the footage, he was a normal -- we were shooting a normal 19-year-old boy. He loved his Xbox. I know he was a big surfing fan. He made friends with a lot of the crew members that lasted far after the production ended and had sent e- mails and Post-its, and things like that.
LINDA VIRGILL, CORONER: Question was asked by me whether or not there was a third person in the room, and I said I could not confirm that. What I could say is, based on the police report, there may have been other persons or person in the room.
That is important. And the reason why it`s important, again, you must protect interested parties. And it`s a jury who will determine at the end of the day whether or not there was, in fact, a third person in the room or whether there were, in fact, persons, other persons, in the room. You see, at the end of the day, it is not Linda Virgill the coroner who makes the decision. That is the decision that is made strictly by the jurists.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And that coroner, Linda Virgill, now off the case. Here with us, Alex Goen, CEO of Trimspa and personal friend of Nicole Smith and Daniel Smith, Anna Nicole Smith.
Alex, how are they being treated? How are they being treated and were they being treated in the Bahamas?
GOEN: Well, over all, the Bahamas people are treating them very, very well. The doctors are very professional. The police have been very professional. Their biggest frustration was with that coroner that`s been taken off the case now. And I think she...
GRACE: Why?
GOEN: ... probably said a few statements that she shouldn`t have, a little prematurely, and...
GRACE: Like what?
GOEN: Well, unnatural causes, and suspicious. And just some little words.
GRACE: Why did she say that?
GOEN: I don`t know.
GRACE: That`s the last thing you want to hear after a tragedy like having your son die, literally in your arms, to have the coroner, the official coroner, publicly state "suspicious," "possible criminal charges."
GOEN: Right. I have no idea why she said it. And I think that`s probably why she`s removed from the case.
It`s very unfortunate. But, you know, people make mistakes. But right now, that investigation is being conducted professionally. Anna and Howard are being treated very well by the Bahamas government. The people are good to them.
GRACE: Are they still there?
GOEN: They are.
GRACE: And the baby is there?
GOEN: And the baby is there.
GRACE: To Dan Wakeford, executive editor with "InTouch Weekly," there have been a lot of allegations flying that Anna Nicole Smith is getting preferential treatment. Dan, her son died in her arms. How is she getting preferential treatment, allegedly?
WAKEFORD: In the Bahamas, it usually takes longer than Anna experienced to get an autopsy and to (INAUDIBLE) a date for an inquest. And this happened very quickly for Anna.
GRACE: Wait a minute. It takes a longer time to get an autopsy?
WAKEFORD: I believe so, yes.
GRACE: Well, wait a minute. Wait a minute.
To Jonathan Arden, doesn`t an autopsy itself have to be performed pretty quickly?
ARDEN: Ideally, you want to do an autopsy very soon after the death. I think what the other participant was talking about is whether -- how soon...
GRACE: The inquest.
ARDEN: ... yes, but how soon you get an autopsy report. You may do the procedure immediately, but then you have lab tests, then you have microscopics, then you have the production of the report. And unfortunately, in some places, that can drag on for months, and people are just waiting for answers. That may be the part that the press...
GRACE: That must be pure hell, to Bethany Marshall, to lose a loved one and then wait on the government to drag its tail, trying to give you the documents.
MARSHALL: Well, I think it would make her feel so helpless. I mean, I was thinking about what you said about the boy dying in her arms.
When you`re a mom, what you do when you have a baby, you go into the crib, look and see if the child`s still breathing. And then 20 years later, if the child stopped breathing in your arms, and you failed to notice, and you didn`t know it, and the child was in the bed with you, that`s a really horrible experience.
And then to wait for months and never be able to have your own guilt, your own anxiety, your own questioning resolved, that`s a very, very difficult situation. I hope this gets resolved very quickly for her.
GRACE: Back to "InTouch Weekly" executive editor Dan Wakeford. Dan, how long does it typically take there in the Bahamas to get an autopsy report? Here usually they`re turned around within a week to two weeks, toxicology a little longer. And how long for an inquest in the Bahamas?
WAKEFORD: This can be -- an inquest can take months and months and months. And the inquest date was actually named as October the 23rd, which is considered soon. So this could be dragged out for a long time. That`s why she`s hired Dr. Cyril Wecht to try and get some answers for herself.
GRACE: Good thinking. OK. Here`s what Cyril Wecht (INAUDIBLE) had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CYRIL WECHT, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: ... examination. And even though it`s the second, you know, it`s basically the same, although...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did she ask you to be?
WECHT: ... some of the incisions will have been made, of course. But other than that -- well, it was the examination of the organs and the tissues in the body as a whole, just as you would do if it were the first autopsy.
Well, I`m looking for everything. You know, I think, it`s been unfortunate perhaps, I think, for some of these things to have been conjectured upon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Here in the studio with me, CEO of Trimspa, Alex Goen, and more importantly to us tonight, friend of Anna Nicole and Daniel Smith.
Alex, final thoughts regarding how she is doing and where this whole investigation is headed?
GOEN: Well, I mean, final thoughts, as far as how she`s doing. I mean, how is a mom going to do that just lost her beloved son of 20? I mean, she`s struggling, for sure. I guess just the last thought is, she needs your prayers. She needs everybody`s thoughts. And keep her in your heart, and she`s going through a horrible time right now.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... very disturbing items that are in it, the very serious threats that are in it, they were very troubling to investigators to begin with. The fact that she was able to write those words and used it as part of even this investigation, for a reason to claim that somebody else had taken Trenton out, all I can say is that was one of the big factors in us looking in her direction.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Where is 2-year-old Trenton Duckett? Last night, we learned that the FBI actually contacted his dad, Josh, during our show, raising everyone`s hope that Trenton had been spotted alive, actually, on an airplane. A stewardess on that flight had seen the little boy. She was 100 percent it was Trenton Duckett. The FBI called in immediately; it was not Trenton.
Let`s go straight out to Court TV`s Jean Casarez, Court TV correspondent. What`s the latest? What happened?
JEAN CASAREZ, COURT TV: Well, the latest is that this flight attendant definitely believed that, because of your publicity on this case, and showing the pictures of Trenton, that this was the little boy, and so contacted the FBI, just like a good citizen should. They investigated. Then the parents happened to have his birth certificate on them, and that proved that it was their child.
So now they`re still looking for tips and searches, anyone with any information to call the FBI.
GRACE: 1-800-CALL-FBI. That reward up to $5,000 tonight.
To psychoanalyst Bethany Marshall, Bethany, it was during our show last night that Josh was contacted by the FBI. They came to the studio and gave him hope. At least we do know they`re trying everything they possibly can, including sightings on planes. But what did this do to Josh Duckett, the dad?
MARSHALL: Oh, it had to have been terrible. And when you think of the stages of grief, denial -- it can`t have happened -- anger -- why did this happen to me or my child? -- bargaining, then depression, and then acceptance, those are the five stages. It probably kicked up all the bargaining part.
Well, what if the police find him? What if he`s somewhere else? What if I should have made more efforts to take him away from Melinda sooner in time? So I bet his mind is just going and going, making bargains with himself, trying to strike deals, and really wishing that this didn`t happen.
GRACE: To Marilyn Aciego, reporter with the "Daily Commercial," we learned on Thursday that Melinda Duckett now named the chief suspect in the disappearance of little Trenton Duckett. What pushed them over the edge? Why, after so many days had passed, did they finally determine her as the chief suspect?
MARILYN ACIEGO, REPORTER, "DAILY COMMERCIAL": Well, Nancy, I think, between finding the things that Melinda threw away, his baby photos, the sonogram picture, the fact that she wouldn`t take a polygraph exam, the fact that she wouldn`t provide a time line for investigators, and then them determining and releasing on Thursday that she was the author of the alleged e-mail that Josh allegedly sent her that actually granted her full custody of Trenton.
GRACE: And, of course, Jean Casarez with Court TV, last night the FBI contacting Josh there at the studio. It must have been horribly, horribly disappointing to him. He understand that he just broke down in tears when he realized it wasn`t Trenton Duckett, his son. But where do they go from here? The items specifically thrown away in the Dumpster, the new map that we have, based on cell phone triangulation of where she was that day, explain.
CASAREZ: Well, now they need to talk with people, Nancy, because they`ve located cell phone records. So they know the calls that she made or that were made to her.
They know routes that she traveled. Surveillance cameras could have seen her, so they need to talk with people, look at the surveillance cameras. But, Nancy, I see a big shift in this investigation, because earlier this week it was the search of the Ocala National Forest, the search of the lake. It was cadaver dogs that were out there.
And although a lot of time, effort and money was spent on that, there`s actually a positive out of all of that. They were searching for a body. They didn`t find that body. So now they can talk to witnesses to maybe see if Trenton could be still alive.
GRACE: To Mike Brooks, former D.C. police, served with the FBI, Mike, I know the statistics are low that Trenton could be alive. But what can these people reveal? Based on this time line, the fact that no one seems to be placing her with Trenton the whole day on Sunday and we`ve got the whole night for Saturday night to figure out where he was.
BROOKS: Well, Nancy, there`s always that possibility that there was someone else involved. Police said that they`ve heard from a tipster that she was seen in a car with someone else, right around 12:00. And one of my sources said -- they`ve also heard earlier in the day.
So, again, as Jean was saying, those cameras are extremely important, because we know where she went. You know, I mean, her phone. Yes, we know where she was went because of the cell phone. The phone didn`t even have to be on. I mean, she didn`t even have to make a call. All it has to be is on.
And on the highway she traveled, they can go back to those Florida Department of Transportation cameras, tollbooths, take a look at those things. And the police have also asked businessmen in Leesburg where she was spotted to go back and take a look at their video, also. So those are leads that are yet to be played out.
GRACE: To private investigator Vito Colucci, with Colucci Investigations, I`m also interested in when she invited her guests over for Sunday. If she invited them to come over to be there when she discovered Trenton missing -- and we know when they were invited -- that could reveal a lot.
VITO COLUCCI, PRIVATE DETECTIVE: Yes, it`s very important. But, you know, I agree with Mike. I really feel there`s somebody else involved in this, in some capacity. I think this was a lot for her to pull off herself, OK? She started calculating this probably way before that July 3rd e-mail, OK?
But she`s very young, and she made mistakes and everything else. And as far as I know, we`ve been talking all during the week and everything about the child being alive. I give it at most maybe a 20 percent possibility.
And the reason I`m saying that, as a detective, she throws out toys. If somebody else has that child, why wouldn`t they have the toys, something that would give him a little more of a comfort level? So as a detective, you look into all different aspects of this case, Nancy.
GRACE: And back to Jean Casarez with Court TV, what do we know about the computer results?
CASAREZ: Well, the computer results themselves have not come back yet. They`re still looking at that.
But in regard to that e-mail that she said her former husband wrote that led her to have full custody of her child, there were some research done on that, some forensic work. Actually, a subpoena with issued to Sprint telephone, and it was determined that she hacked into her ex- husband`s e-mail address, wrote an e-mail threatening her, and law enforcement and the courts relied upon that e-mail to issue the temporary restraining order.
GRACE: And, of course, to the lawyers, Eleanor Dixon and Renee Rockwell, Renee, I believe you were the one that first told me you`d rather defend a killer than go through a volatile divorce case, because you`d probably get shot out in the parking lot.
ROCKWELL: And, Nancy, that`s where the lawyers get killed, in the divorce cases.
GRACE: But in this case, I mean, according to these reports, Eleanor Dixon, she did go online and change his screen name to F-Head (ph) and D- Face (ph).
DIXON: Yes, she did. And, you know, you can`t get away with a lot with computers these days because investigators can go in, high-tech crimes can go in, and they can look at the computers and find out when and where the e-mails are actually coming from. So you can run, but you can`t hide.
GRACE: And to Renee, what about the theory that the baby is stashed somewhere, that the custody dispute became so horrible, she just stashed him away with a friend or a relative?
ROCKWELL: And, Nancy, that`s what I count on, and that`s what I hope for and pray for. And let me telling something: You don`t have to take it to a reporter. You put on a baseball cap, a pair of sunglasses, and you drop that kid off at any hospital and say, "This is Trenton Duckett," no questions asked. And you`re the hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Two child kidnap tragedies, one happy ending. As to the other tonight, Trenton Duckett, the desperate search goes on for the 2-year-old Florida boy. We celebrate, though, the return of Missouri newborn Baby Abby, reunited with her parents just days after she was taken.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: To Lonedell, Missouri, 12-day old Baby Abby Woods found alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My heart just burst open. I`m just so happy and overwhelmed. It`s fantastic.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Horrible ordeal. You hear this happening all over the world, and your heart goes out to everybody. But when it happens to you, it`s overwhelming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The class-A felonies are 10 to 30 years or life. The armed criminal actions are three years to infinity.
GRACE: Give me your best shot, starting with you, Asuncion. What`s the defense for Torrez?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The defense in this case is very, very simple.
GRACE: And please don`t start with, "She didn`t do it." OK, go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will start with postpartum depression.
GRACE: Stunning developments tonight. We are live in Florida. Police now confirming a search of the trash dumpster near Melinda Duckett`s apartment reveals Trenton`s baby photos, his toys, his toy box, baby food, and the sonogram of Baby Trenton all thrown away in the trash the very same day Baby Trenton reported missing.
We`ve got the mom telling the lawyer before her suicide that she was driving through Ocala National Forest with a diaper bag, a baby, and a shotgun.
Let`s go out to our g-men. Now we`ve got two witnesses coming forward placing her somewhere altogether different.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, the stories, they just keep getting on and on and on. And we don`t know what the truth is; that`s the whole thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know I`ll see him again. I don`t know -- it may not be on Earth, but I know I`ll see him again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: Tonight, we remember Marine Corporal Christopher Warndorf, just 21, Burlington, Kentucky. Second tour of duty, joined up straight from high school, awarded the Purple Heart, leaving behind a loving family. He was full of life and full of love. Christopher Warndorf, American hero.
Thank you to our guests, but especially to you, for inviting us into your homes. NANCY GRACE signing off for tonight. See you right here tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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