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Nancy Grace
Police Release Melinda Duckett`s Suicide Notes
Aired September 26, 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, live to Florida, a parent`s worst nightmare, a 2-year-old allegedly tucked into his own crib, mom in the very next room with a video. Next, baby Trenton`s bedroom screen found slashed. The mom commits suicide. Police then declare her the prime suspect.
Late-breaking news tonight. Police confirm two additional suicide notes -- two additional suicide notes. What do these notes reveal, not just about the suicide, but what do they reveal as to 2-year-old Trenton`s whereabouts?
And tonight, John Mark Karr -- remember him? He confesses to the murder of 6-year-old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey, now under child porn charges. Guess what? He`s set to walk free. Why? The sheriff lost the evidence. Yes, the guy that wanted to jump into JonBenet`s coffin and make love with the child is set to walk free.
But first tonight, the search by land, the search by water for 2-year- old Trenton Duckett.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s been frustrating from the beginning, knowing a 24-month-old baby is out there somewhere. I know it`s very difficult for the families, and we want to find him and bring him home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. Last night, we read out loud to you and showed you the suicide note of Trenton`s mom, Melinda Duckett. And now police reveal two additional suicide notes found in that same car, that 2000 silver Mitsubishi Eclipse.
Right out to Jean Casarez, Court TV`s correspondent, on the case from the get-go. Three suicide notes? What do the other two reveal?
JEAN CASAREZ, COURT TV: That`s right. Well, one was to her grandparents, the other was to her parents. The one to her grandparents was very emotional and heartfelt, and it talked about that she believed that she shouldn`t live because she couldn`t be a good parent, and when Trenton was found, he deserved to have much better than she could give him.
Also, the letter to her mother was much less emotional, I would say, but talking about that, You don`t understand me, to all extents. There are a lot of things still a mystery to you. Don`t think you are always out -- that people are always out to get you, but please remember I love you.
I think the most important thing, though, was that the note to the grandparents, under the ashtray, there was some money that was left for them. We understand tonight it was $900 in cash.
GRACE: Jean Casarez, where did Melinda Duckett get $900 in cash?
CASAREZ: I think that`s a good question. Law enforcement has said that they do have access to her financial records and her bank account was not cleaned out. So that $900 was in excess of anything that she left in her checking or savings account.
GRACE: Jean, where was she working?
CASAREZ: You know, Nancy, that`s a good question. She obviously was working because she lived in apartment with her child, but I have never heard exactly where she held down an employment position.
GRACE: OK. I heard that she had been working with a local landscaper, like lawn care, and that she had been selling Avon from within the home. But where do you get $900 from that?
CASAREZ: That`s a lot of money because that possibly wouldn`t even be two paychecks. She was so precise, though, in everything she did. Maybe she did save money and maybe she felt that this was the last amount that she truly had she could give to her grandparents.
GRACE: We also learned that -- unconfirmed, that she had a paper route. But wait a minute~! Wait a minute! Something is totally bass- ackwards here. Leave it to her grandparents? What about Trenton?
CASAREZ: Well...
GRACE: Why wasn`t that money...
CASAREZ: ... I think that`s a good point.
GRACE: ... left to Trenton?
CASAREZ: I think that`s a good point. Maybe she indirectly meant it to go to Trenton. But Nancy, she did not leave a note for Trenton. She left a note to the public, to her grandparents and to her parents, but nothing to Trenton.
GRACE: Here`s what police had to say. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Leesburg Police Department is releasing copies of two notes, described as suicide notes, found in Melinda`s car during the death investigation. One note was written to her parents and the other to her grandparents. Neither note was dated nor signed. All these notes were found together in her car that night, and these are the only notes that we would describe as suicide notes, and these are the last of the notes.
First, a person`s name was redacted in the note addressed to Melinda`s parents. The name was the only redaction and was done so because the person being referred to is a young juvenile. Second, the note addressed to the grandparents, a reference was made to something left under the ashtray which was meant for the grandparents. An amount of cash was removed from under the ashtray and was secured with the other items recovered from the vehicle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: In these letters -- and we`re about to read them to you right now -- there is no mention of the money going toward Trenton. Here we go. "To Mom and Dad. I love you and have through everything. No offense, but please do not try to understand me to every extent because, as far as I can tell, some things were still a mystery to you. You two did the best you could, and I thank you for doing as much as you did. Please don`t think people are out to get you. It brings you down, and sometimes being a little naive helps. Thank you for being there when I needed you. Please be kind to Nanny and Poppy" -- the grandparents. "You wouldn`t believe the things they`ve done for me. Let X know I love her, and if it had come down it, I would have taken a bullet for her. I love you two. Don`t forget it. I`m sorry this is short."
OK, let`s stop right there. Lauren Howard is with us, psychotherapist. Analyze to the best you can.
LAUREN HOWARD, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, there`s something in there. There`s -- and reading -- and I`m sure you`ll get next to the letter to the grandparents. There`s some difference in the relationship between the parents and grandparents. There`s some secret. There`s some -- something went on (INAUDIBLE) having to do with the parents` behavior or her behavior. There`s some underbelly there that we need to know about. Somebody knows. Where are the mother and father? Somebody knows. Why doesn`t anybody talk about this?
GRACE: Lookit, there`s nothing in here to her mom and dad about her son. The money, the $900 she left, is not to Trenton.
(CROSSTALK)
HOWARD: Who`s this person, this "her" person? Let whoever know I love her. Who is that "her" person? That`s important!
GRACE: That I don`t know. Jean Casarez, do we have any idea who "X" is that`s X-ed out in here?
CASAREZ: Yes, I believe it is the parents` daughter or Melinda`s sister, younger, a minor.
GRACE: OK. Does that help your analysis at all, Lauren Howard?
HOWARD: It helps in that sometimes being naive is good. What is she saying that to her parents? What would they be naive about? What is there in her relationship with this stepsister, presumably? I mean, I`m assuming it`s a stepsister...
GRACE: Well, another thing...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I, Melinda Duckett, am still a mystery to you. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH DUCKETT, MISSING BOY`S FATHER: I was on the phone with Melinda through it all. I mean, there was -- there was threats made to me as far as things she would do to Trenton, stuff like that. I mean, it was just six hours of her making Trenton cry. I mean, DCF heard it. A lot of people heard it. And so there`s a lot of witnesses to that, and they know what was on the tape.
And now, all of a sudden, the recordings have vanished? I mean, I don`t buy that. I hold DCF really responsible for that, I mean, because that was part of evidence in a case, and all of a sudden, it vanished? I mean, you don`t just lose evidence.
I tried to get the help, and I mean, everywhere that I turned, I finally got (INAUDIBLE) by DCF. I mean, they told me that there was no findings.
The first time that they were ever called out, it took them five-and- a-half hours before they even showed up through calling the hotline. And by the time they showed up, Trenton had fell asleep. I mean, they came in, they supposedly conducted their investigations, but they never checked him over. They never woke him up. They took overhead shots of him laying in his crib. And I mean, what kind of investigative tactics is that? I mean, you can`t tell nothing from a child that`s sleeping with his clothes on. You can`t tell if there`s any marks. You can`t tell nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Let`s go out to the lines. Toni in Missouri. Hi, Toni.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, there. I have a question.
GRACE: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have they checked trash cans and dumpsters on the route Melinda has taken on the day Trenton disappeared?
GRACE: Toni in Missouri, one of my very first questions because, think about it, we have her throwing out Trenton`s possessions in trash bags where? In a dumpster. What are the possessions? Toys, photos of Trenton, the sonogram, his food, his toy box and other baby paraphernalia.
Another issue. We know that there is a nearby dumpster to her apartment. We know when the trash is picked up. We also know there is an incinerator, a public incinerator. I don`t know if she had access to that or not. We also know she threw away a brand-new box of Hefty trash bags, two of them missing.
Out to Jean Casarez. Back to what Josh Duckett was talking about. A, do we know how many times the DFCS, Department of Family and Children`s Services, had been called on Melinda Duckett? And two, have police searched dumpsters and landfills?
CASAREZ: All right. Number one, those records have not been made public yet from DCF. And we do know that two media publications out of the Orlando area are going to court tomorrow under the Public Records Act here in Florida to try to get them to be public. And it`s a very liberal public records act. I`m sure there`ll be a fight, based on privacy and that it was a minor and privileged information, to not release them. So we should know more. But there were a lot of allegations, I think, going back and forth between the two as to abuse or misconduct as the part of a parent.
Question number two, as far as dumpsters, we don`t know specifically other dumpsters that were searched in the area. I do believe, though, in addition to everything you`ve mentioned, Nancy, there is a landfill in the area where the dumpster refuse would go. And we do know that they searched actually some construction sites.
GRACE: And to Mike Brooks, formerly on the FBI terrorism task force. We saw it in the search for Lori Hacking. We saw it in the search for a young man, a college student, last name Fiacco (ph). We`ve seen it in the search for Natalee Holloway. Searching a landfill is not easy. It`s very difficult. And in multiple cases, you don`t find the victim in one piece. You may find hair, you may find a body part. Very often, it`s -- you don`t find anything even when they`re there.
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: No, you really don`t, Nancy. I`ve searched landfills before on some cases in Washington, D.C., and surrounding jurisdictions, and it`s dirty, tedious work. And many times, you don`t find anything. I mean, it`s -- you have to get heavy equipment in because over (INAUDIBLE) it`s been 30 days now, and the trash gets piled on the top of each other. And if there`s no tips coming in, you know, that somebody saw someone down near a landfill, then, you know, they go and search initially, but then they`ll go ahead and stop the search because they haven`t found anything.
GRACE: Let`s go out to Tony in Florida. Hi, Tony.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to know if Joshua has been in contact with any of Melinda`s family.
GRACE: I think they have been. Ellie, last night, we had him on, and he mentioned...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That -- yes. You asked him -- he said that had he not spoken to them until after her death. He tried to reach out to her grandparents, I believe. But he hadn`t had any contact with Melinda after the disappearance.
GRACE: And that was -- actually, Tony, is a question we were talking about before I came down to the set tonight. If you look -- hey, Liz, can you rack up where Melinda Duckett says, "I know who friggin` did it." Those are her words in the 911 tape. And then when police get there, she tells them he left me this threatening -- basically, a terroristic threat under the law, e-mail. We later find out, police say she hacked into his e-mail and sent herself and the baby a life threat.
So long story short, you`d think that the first thing she would do is say, Josh, I know you`ve got Trenton. Bring him home. I`m calling the cops. But that didn`t happen. Or get in the car and go get the baby, if you think that`s where the baby is.
Liz, do you have that sound ready? Let`s take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MELINDA DUCKETT, MISSING BOY`S MOTHER: Hello?
911 OPERATOR: Hi. What is Trenton wearing, honey?
MELINDA DUCKETT: I don`t know. He was ready for bed.
911 OPERATOR: You don`t know what you dressed him in before he went to bed?
MELINDA DUCKETT: He might have had his shoes off and his shirt off -- no shoes. I know who friggin` did it!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: To psychotherapist Lauren Howard. "I know who friggin` did it." And then when cops get there, points a finger at Josh but never calls Josh for the baby. Now, wouldn`t you get in the car and go get your family member, Lauren?.
HOWARD: You know, I got to tell you, you hear that voice, she sounds like -- she sounds so childish, so young.
Nancy, there is nothing that she says about Josh or that Josh says about her that means anything to me whatsoever. The two of them were extremely immature. They were having a bitter break-up, and this child was being used as a spoil of war. So what neither one of them, what they have to say about the other is relevant in any way at all to me. (INAUDIBLE) shouldn`t she have -- wouldn`t she have -- it doesn`t matter.
I want to hear what some other people have to say about her who knew her, somebody she worked with, somebody -- doesn`t anybody -- didn`t anybody know this girl? She was working all these jobs. Doesn`t anyone have anything to offer up about her sort of mental acuity, her stability, her relationship with her child other than, you know, a pretty picture? I don`t get it. Nobody has anything to say.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the lawyers. We`ll unchain them right now. Joining us in the New York jurisdiction, Alan Ripka and Jason Oshins. Let`s talk about something that Josh Duckett said. He said it last night. He said it before. DFCS had been called -- Department of Family and Children`s Services had been called on multiple occasions. Reportedly, Melinda Duckett had threatened to snap the baby`s head off in a parking lot one of the times.
So out to you, Alan Ripka. What, if any, responsibility does DFCS bear for this?
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, you have to prove that this woman murdered this child, and you`re way far from doing that. There`s no forensic evidence. There`s no body. She doesn`t admit it in the suicide note, which would be the place to do it. And if they were to prove she did it and you could show that the bureau of child welfare did nothing to stop potential abuse, there could be a case against them for this problem.
GRACE: What about it, Jason Oshins?
JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, it wouldn`t be the first time that, you know, a child was used as a pawn in a divorce matter. You know, the fact that bureau of child services didn`t react as quickly...
GRACE: You don`t think it`s a big clue the baby`s now gone, Jason?
OSHINS: No, Nancy, in and of...
GRACE: It`s a ploy?
OSHINS: Nancy, in and of itself, it`s not. You`ve got to tie all the loose ends together. Right now, you have a good story that we`re working.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your focus came off of my son. I love him and only wanted him safe in my arms. You created rumors and twisted words. Usually, I am strong and what others say does not affect me. However, I am young, have worked my behind off, and still being faced with ridicule and criticism.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911, do you need police, fire or an ambulance?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) My granddaughter just killed herself. She was in the closet. She shot herself.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: No shoes, no shirt. He`s an Asian male...
MELINDA DUCKETT: He`s wearing jean shorts. He`s 2 years old.
911 OPERATOR: He`s wearing jean shorts?
MELINDA DUCKETT: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: And he`s 2 years old. And how long has he been gone?
MELINDA DUCKETT: I don`t know!
911 OPERATOR: You don`t know?
MELINDA DUCKETT: I was watching a movie that was two hours long. I had checked on him before anyone came down to the house.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back. Police reveal two additional suicide notes left behind by Melinda Duckett, Melinda Duckett killing herself during the search for her son, Trenton.
Out to president of Beyondmissing, Marc Klaas. Marc, when you were looking for your daughter, Polly Klaas, what were your thoughts? How do you relate to what Melinda did?
MARC KLAAS, BEYONDMISSING.COM: Well, we did absolutely everything that we could to recover Polly, including setting up a search center, including enlisting the assistance of thousands and thousands of volunteers. So there`s really nothing to relate here.
And I`m beginning to think that this was an extremely evil woman who was diabolical, vindictive. She seemed to cause great damage to anyone who came anywhere near her. She told her parents that they didn`t understand her. She let her grandparents find her bloody corpse. She did those things to her husband. And this little boy is absolutely missing.
The one thing I think is that she`s probably not nearly as smart as she thought she was because people seemed to be on to her game. Let`s just hope that at some point in time, it results in the recovery of little Trenton and that, in fact, is he alive because that possibility certainly does exist.
GRACE: Marc, why do you say that?
KLAAS: Well, certainly, because -- you know, because of Tamara Brooks, because of Elizabeth Smart, because of Baby Abby, because more and more, we`re recovering these children, and more and more, we`re getting an understanding of human trafficking. She may very well have sold that little boy for $900 that she left to her grandparents. She might have traded him. She could have done something to him for a variety of reasons. It doesn`t have to be sexual in nature. It could be a desperate family simply seeking a child to raise.
GRACE: But Marc, if they were that desperate to get a baby, do you think they`re going to turn around on I-75 and come back home with Trenton?
KLAAS: I would hope that whoever has Trenton, if somebody does, would end this agony for everybody and return him to the family that obviously loves him and misses him very much.
GRACE: Marc, I did not think we would be at this spot so soon, but police tonight are scaling back the search. Please give Josh Duckett some words of wisdom. What can he do now? What can we do now?
KLAAS: Yes, Josh is going to have to completely change his tactics because, you know, we have to understand that it has been a month, and there`s very, very little to go on. So police are going to scale back their investigation. What Josh is going to have to do is he`s going to have to start his own search center. He`s going to have to enlist his own volunteers, and he`s going to have to follow up on his own tips.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MELINDA DUCKETT, MISSING BOY`S MOTHER: Hello?
911 OPERATOR: Hi. What is Trenton wearing, honey?
MELINDA DUCKETT: I don`t know. He was ready for bed.
911 OPERATOR: You don`t know what you dressed him in before he went to bed?
MELINDA DUCKETT: He might have had his shoes off and his shirt off -- no shoes. I know who friggin` did it!
911 OPERATOR: No shoes, no shirt. He`s an Asian male.
MELINDA DUCKETT: He`s wearing jean shorts. He`s 2 years old.
911 OPERATOR: He`s wearing jean shorts.
MELINDA DUCKETT: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: And he`s 2 years old. And how long has he been gone?
MELINDA DUCKETT: I don`t know!
911 OPERATOR: You don`t know?
MELINDA DUCKETT: I was watching a movie that was two hours long. I had checked on him before anyone came down to the house.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back. Tonight, revealed two additional suicide notes found in the car on Melinda Duckett.
Let`s go out to the lines. Lisa in Texas. Hi, Lisa.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy Grace. You`re awesome!
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, what kind of work did Melinda do to have an extra $900 laying around?
GRACE: That is what I`m asking. Jean Casarez, correct me if I`m wrong. I know she had a paper route. I know that she had worked at one time with a lawn company and that she sold Avon from the home.
CASAREZ: That`s right. And in the blogs that she allegedly wrote, and even in one her notes, the suicide note to the public, it talked about that she held down different jobs she worked her behind of and that she just really couldn`t get ahead.
GRACE: She did not say she worked her behind off, but thank you for avoiding the profanity on the air. We try to do that, Jean. Jean, have you taken a look at both of these ransom notes -- both of these suicide notes?
CASAREZ: Yes, I sure have, and they`re very different in nature.
GRACE: When we get back, we`re going to be taking a look at not only the suicide note we read to you earlier, but the note -- the long note that she wrote, two-page note, to her grandparents, on top of -- on top of the ashtray in the car, and then under the ashtray $900. Not left to her son Trenton, but to her grandparents.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CALLER: Melinda Duckett`s son is missing. I`m not quite sure -- I just know that he`s missing and...
DISPATCHER: How old is he?
CALLER: Three years old, like around two, three.
DISPATCHER: Where`s the last place he was seen at?
CALLER: He was in the room and he -- I mean, I came over and was watching a movie. He was in the bed, I guess sleeping. And then she went to check on him and he is not there.
DISPATCHER: What is his mother`s name?
CALLER: Melinda Duckett.
DISPATCHER: Spell Melinda`s last name for me. D-U...
CALLER: D-U-C-K-E-T-T.
DISPATCHER: OK, and he`s about three?
CALLER: Yes, he`s really tall, but he`s like -- he`s two. I forgot how old he is.
DISPATCHER: What was he last -- what was he last seen wearing?
CALLER: Huh? I don`t know. I didn`t -- whenever I came in...
DISPATCHER: Where`s she at?
CALLER: I`m trying to find her. She`s out, I guess, trying to find him walking around the apartment complex.
DISPATCHER: You don`t know what he was wearing or anything?
CALLER: Melinda, Melinda, what was Trenton wearing? I guess he was wearing like a -- I guess like sleeping clothes, because he was in bed.
DISPATCHER: OK, what is his name?
CALLER: Trenton.
DISPATCHER: Trenton like T-R-E-N-T-O?
CALLER: Yes, like T-R-E-N-T-O-N.
MELINDA DUCKETT, LATE MOTHER OF TRENTON DUCKETT: Hello?
DISPATCHER: Hi, what is Trenton wearing, honey?
M. DUCKETT: I don`t know. He was ready for bed.
DISPATCHER: You don`t know what you dressed him in before he went to bed?
M. DUCKETT: He might have had his shoes off and or his shirt off, no shoes -- I know who friggin` did it.
DISPATCHER: No shoes, no shirt. He`s an Asian male.
M. DUCKETT: He`s wearing jean shorts. He`s 2 years old.
DISPATCHER: He`s wearing jean shorts.
M. DUCKETT: Yes.
DISPATCHER: And he`s 2 years old. And how long has he been gone?
M. DUCKETT: I don`t know.
DISPATCHER: You don`t know?
M. DUCKETT: I was watching a movie that was two hours long. I`ve checked on him before anyone came down to the house.
DISPATCHER: Are you at the house right now? Has he ever done this before?
M. DUCKETT: Has he ever done what before?
DISPATCHER: Has he ever walked out of the house before?
M. DUCKETT: No, he was in his room.
DISPATCHER: He was in his room? And how many -- is there a back way out of the house -- she left him, she says, for two hours -- OK, are you at the house right now, Melinda?
M. DUCKETT: Yes!
DISPATCHER: OK, all righty. Stay right there at the house. I`m going to have officers right there to you, OK? All righty, we`ll be right there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And, of course, it just jumps out at you that she thought maybe her child, her 2-year-old baby, the toddler was put to bed in socks and shoes and jean shorts. That jumps out at you from the 911 call.
Let`s go to Sharon in Florida. Hi, Sharon.
CALLER: Nancy...
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
CALLER: I`m just wondering: Was Trenton`s car seat in Melinda`s car?
GRACE: I`ve thought the same question. Ellie, you`re saying yes?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I seem to recall the police chief saying that he had never seen her car without a car seat in it. So I assume that means there was some car seat in it.
GRACE: I don`t know that that is what that means. Jean Casarez, you and I as lawyers, of course, pick everything apart. Let`s pick Ellie apart. The thing is, remember one of the car seats was put up for sale before Trenton went missing. So I don`t know that there was a car seat in the car.
But I wondered that at the very beginning, because under Florida law you have to keep the baby in a car seat up until age three, correct?
CASAREZ: That`s right. And in the paper, there was an advertisement for a toddler car seat. It was the beginning of August that that car seat was up for sale. And as we know, later on in August, a lot of things were found in the trash that had been thrown away. But the car seat appeared to be the first thing to be sold.
GRACE: Tonight, the reward has climbed to $10,000. The number: 1- 800-CALL-FBI, $10,000. The father, Josh Duckett, has been doing things like washing cars at a local car wash to raise money for this reward and for the search. Tonight, police announcing they are scaling back the search for this little boy. Can you help? 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Let`s take a look. What can we learn from the third -- third -- suicide note to nanny and poppy? "Thank you for your love and support through all the hard years. I may not have shown it as much as I should have. I am grateful. You two deserve so much better than what I was as a granddaughter. I know the obstacles were hard, and I`m sorry. I love you. The main reason I`m doing this is because, even after my baby is found, I would not be a good mother."
"With two jobs and full-time school, I tried my hardest but always slacked in some area. Trenton should have had my full attention. I`m sorry. My heart has always been in the right place, honest to God. My reasoning is what is off at times. Please take care of each other." No mention of Trenton. "Have me cremated and pray to me whenever you can. I love you. There`s so much more I would say to you, but please understand I have to do this. It is a release from stress and frustration, and I will be happier in the end. Besides, soon enough, we`ll all be together again."
"Again, I love you and I know it will be hard, but in my car, lift out the ashtray. It is for you. I love you."
OK, Lauren Howard, as a trial lawyer, I immediately start tearing this apart for probative phrases that could help me prove a case, could help me located Trenton Duckett. But you apply your knowledge and expertise to it. What do you see?
HOWARD: Complete self-centeredness. A lack of self insight and intelligence. If she`s guilty of harming this child or subjecting him to malfeance (ph), she`s not covering it up particularly well. There`s something very odd and very clear that there`s a difference in her relationship between her grandmother and grandfather and her relationship with her parents.
There`s guilt. There`s something wrong. She`s done something wrong. She`s done things wrong. Even though it hasn`t been clear to you, you know, my heart was in the right place. She`s saying this over and over. In both letters, she`s saying it.
GRACE: Out to Marc Klaas, president of Beyond Missing, Marc, I`m just looking at this, and never is the name Trenton mentioned in any, any of these -- the letter to the mom and dad or to the grandparents, no Trenton. It says "my baby" once and nothing about taking care of the baby, nothing about the money for the baby, nothing.
KLAAS: It`s like he`s an afterthought, isn`t it? It`s just so terribly sad what Melinda has done for everybody.
I would hope that Josh uses this as an opportunity to start organizing the troops and to realize that he is the general in the ongoing battle to recover his son and that he`s the one who`s going to have to maintain hope. He`s the one that`s going to have to start organizing. And he`s the one that`s going to have to put a real and viable battle plan together, if he expects ever to see this little boy again, whether he is dead or whether he is alive.
GRACE: Out to Jean Casarez, Court TV news correspondent, tell me about the most recent searches. Where were they?
CASAREZ: Well, the most recent searches have been in her home. There were two searches there, the first search and then a forensic search. We understand they are now looking at cell phone calls, that they have subpoenaed cell phone records. They don`t have them all yet, but those are some searches that are going on. And surveillance video, they actually got surveillance video before they tracked those calls the weekend that Trenton went missing. They didn`t find anything we understand on that surveillance video, but that search continues.
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GRACE: Well, I thinking about -- yes, I was talking about, where are they looking? Where are they looking for the baby, those searches?
CASAREZ: Well, there were 42 tips that came in this last weekend. Four of them, once again, in Ocala National Forest, that there were four grave sites. So they went out there. One grave site was actually of an animal. There was another one that there were some toys there. Nothing to have to do with Trenton. Two others were non-important.
GRACE: And back out to Mike Brooks. Mike, right now, what would you advise police to do?
BROOKS: Well, Nancy, they haven`t gotten any of the forensics back for the things in the garbage, in the Dumpster. That`s going to play a key role. What kind of forensics will they find there? They could find hair and fibers.
GRACE: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Mike, as I always say -- and you`ve been around long enough in the law, when there was no "CSI" -- it`s not always about fingerprints or mitochondrial DNA or sleuthing. A lot of times it`s about behavioral or human evidence.
I say, when they finally get into, break into that computer, and see what all she`s written, that was her M.O. When you don`t know a horse, look at the track record. She loved that computer. What could they find there?
BROOKS: There`s a lot of things they could find in a computer. But also, Nancy, those forensics in that Dumpster, they mean a lot. Because who handled the things that were thrown away? Was it just her and the guy that took it to the Dumpster or was there someone else? That`s very important.
And a computer will give a lot of information on who she talked to, when she talked to them. And maybe, maybe that time from 4:00 p.m. Saturday to 8:00 a.m. Sunday when there were no pings. She either had her cellphone off or she was in an area with no coverage.
GRACE: Oh, yes, she went radio silent.
BROOKS: She sure did, in an area with no coverage or she had her cell phone turned off.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s just really attracted to little girls, and he thinks that they`re -- that the perfect kind of love resides in them, that they have no prejudgment. He claims to have molested hundreds of little girls, a lot of them in his car.
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GRACE: John Mark Karr set to walk free. Yes, this is the same guy that confessed to killing 6-year-old beauty queen -- yes, that`s him, with the apparent eyeliner on -- beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey. Yes, this is the guy on tape who says he wants to leap into her coffin and have sex with her one last time. Repeat: She`s 6 years old.
Out to Ed Miller with "America`s Most Wanted," Ed, please tell me this is not true, that he is going to be released because the sheriff lost the child porn evidence.
ED MILLER, REPORTER, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": You know, Nancy, we here at "America`s Most Wanted" are celebrating, you know, the passage of the new Child Safety Act, which would create a national database for sex perverts all over the country, and now we`re going to let one go. And, yes, Nancy, it does look like the Sonoma County court is going to let John Karr go.
You`re right: They did lose the computer. They say they have the evidence, but when they were moving buildings, they think somehow they lost the computer, which allegedly had his child pornography on it. As you might recall, there were five charges against him for possession of child pornography.
They have the hard drives. They have copies of these supposed child pornographic pictures, but they don`t have the computer. And that really means the judge has already warned them that she`s very, very upset about this. And most likely this will mean he not only will walk free, but he will not have to register as a sexual predator. Outrageous.
GRACE: The worst possible news, and it is Trial 101. It is called the highest and best objection.
Let`s go out to the lawyers, Alan Ripka, Jason Oshins. For instance, I can`t go into court to prove a will by bringing a Xeroxed copy of the will. To the lawyers, Alan Ripka, explain the objection highest and best.
RIPKA: Well, the bottom line, Nancy, is you have to have the source of the information. You can`t skip over that step and prove your case in a court of law. And, as a result of that, these prosecutors are not going to be able to.
GRACE: Yes, you`re absolutely right.
But, Jason Oshins, how about them trying to prove the chain of custody in some other way? They`ve lost the computer that allegedly had about 1,600 images on it. I believe five of them, they believe, rose to child pornography. Is there any other way to do it without the highest and the best evidence, that being the computer?
OSHINS: Listen, Nancy, it`s called the chain of custody for a reason. It starts somewhere at the beginning. You need a foundation and a base, and everything off that gets admissible.
I think one of the problems for the judge is that the prosecutor has known since August 30th that this computer was missing. That`s a big problem for her, for the past 26 days, 26 days, she`s been under the impression that it`s existent.
GRACE: Well, I`m not so worried -- I`m not happy that a judge has been misled. That`s never a good thing, all right? And she`s furious now. But let`s go back out to Thomas Roberts with CNN Headline News.
Tom, welcome to the show. Tom, do you believe that the judge is going to throw out the case without ever letting the prosecution prove the images to the jury in some other way?
THOMAS ROBERTS, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: There`s a great example set because of what the D.A. told the judge. I mean, everything that the judge did was based on the fact that the D.A. was saying that she wanted to get more information from this computer, the computer that was lost. So the faith that the judge actually has in the D.A., not really solid right now.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the "Star Chamber." Joining us tonight, very well-respected judges that have been on the bench for criminal and civil trials.
First to Carl Fox out of the Raleigh, North Carolina, jurisdiction. Should the judge throw it out or at least try, let the attorney try to bring it before a jury?
JUDGE CARL FOX, SENIOR RESIDENT, SUPERIOR COURT JUDGE: Nancy, this guy was arrested in Thailand. He`s been to Boulder. They`ve known for months that this guy was out there. They had plenty of time to check and make sure they had all their evidence before they brought him back to California.
There`s no excuse for it. And these are only misdemeanors. What else could the judge possibly do to punish the state and the law enforcement for not producing that computer and bringing him back there, except to throw the evidence out?
GRACE: Well, let me just get this straight, to Judge Leslie Crocker Snyder, former judge out of the New York State Supreme Court, I don`t think judging is about punishing either side. It`s about seeking justice, even if you have to do a backbend. Is there a way, Judge, that under the law we can get this evidence in?
JUDGE LESLIE CROCKER SNYDER, NEW YORK STATE SUPREME COURT: Well, certainly in view of the notoriety of this defendant and the seriousness of his crimes, I would make every effort as a judge to see whether or not it would be possible to reconstruct the chain of evidence to show that, in fact, what is still existent, whether it`s the hard drive, or the ZIP drive, or that everything that`s been printed can follow a legal course. And I would attempt to pursue it, even though this man will not spend another day in jail, from what I understand, if he`s convicted, but he would have to register as a sex offender.
But let me just say this: If a prosecutor`s misconduct rises to a certain level, then the court is sometimes forced to dismiss the charges because of that prosecutorial misconduct. In this case, it appears -- and we don`t really know -- but that the district attorney may have deliberately misled the court as to having evidence. And if that`s so, it is possible the judge would have to consider that.
GRACE: And out to Judge Robert Damiano out of Passaic County, New Jersey, Judge, in this case, I`m not imputing misconduct, intentional misconduct on any lawyer. Maybe they were still looking for the computer, realized they couldn`t find it, had not given up the search yet, thinking maybe they could still find it. Can you think of any way we can establish a chain of custody for these child porn images to take it to trial? We understand John Mark Karr won`t plead to straight probation, so I say, fine, take it to trial.
JUDGE ROBERT DAMIANO, FORMER JUDGE: Yes, Nancy. As you mentioned before, the rule is the best evidence must be presented to a jury. That best evidence is either the original document in this case, the hard drive of the computer.
However, if the prosecutor can show that there is a reasonable reason why that computer doesn`t exist, then you can establish the fact through the chain of custody that there were photographs taken off of that hard drive, the persons who took those photographs off of the hard drive and produced them before the jury, and based upon those photographs, if the chain of custody is successfully shown, you can, in fact, convict him.
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JOHN MARK KARR, SUSPECT IN JONBENET RAMSEY INVESTIGATION: You want to eat, drink, have sex, procreate. That`s your basic instincts. And so those little girls are so absolutely beautiful that you`re saying, "You know, you`re a doll. You`re candy. I want to eat you. I want to eat you."
Is it, "Do I want to eat you, or do I want to have sex with you?" They`re both very -- they`re both primal instincts, and they`re very similar, but are they the same? No, they`re not the same. I want love.
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GRACE: And I want you locked away for the rest of your life, John Mark Karr, but that`s not going to happen. He`s about to walk free because the district attorney`s office lost the evidence.
Joining us tonight, Gary Harris. He represented the Karr family members. When John Mark Karr walks free, I assume they`re going to welcome him home with open arms. Is he going to start up that daycare in the home again?
GARY HARRIS, ATTORNEY FOR KARR FAMILY: Well, Nancy, you know, you`ve been advertising on your program for people to come forward. Nobody`s come forward.
The truth is, John Mark Karr`s been investigated by the FBI, Interpol, the Colorado authorities, the California authorities, evidently the Alabama authorities, and not one person has produced one child that they say has ever been molested by John Mark Karr. The reason he`s going to walk free tomorrow is because the state of California doesn`t have any evidence against him.
I predicted weeks ago that they would come up with some kind of scheme to get out of trying this man. They have no evidence. Now, they say...
GRACE: Sir, my question was: Is he coming home to his family?
HARRIS: I don`t know what he`s going to do. I haven`t talked with him. But the fact of the matter is, they charged him five years ago with five photographs. Then the D.A. tells -- the assistant D.A. tells the judge that they want some more time so they can re-examine the computer. Then we find out the next day they don`t even have the computer.
Now she tells them, "We`ve got 1,600 photographs." Well, my question to her is this: If you had 1,600 photographs, why didn`t you charge him with 1,600 crimes five years ago?
GRACE: OK, sir, sir, your point is well-taken. And I couldn`t agree with you more. I`m equally as disappointed as you are that they don`t have that child porn in that computer.
Thank you to all of my guests, but especially to you. And a specially good night from the New York control room. And a happy birthday -- there he is -- Ben.
Good night, everybody. And until tomorrow night, good night, friend.
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