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Nancy Grace
Durst Goes Free; Spears Divorce
Aired November 29, 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, superstar Britney Spears facing critics claiming her post-divorce hard partying could cost her custody of her two sons. With a custody battle looming, what will the court have to say?
And tonight, multi-millionaire Robert Durst, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, walks free even after confessing he shot and dismembered his elderly neighbor, the murder of his wife in upscale Westchester, New York, still unsolved. Is Durst the prime suspect?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s formed a quote, "alliance," Paris and Britney have, in that Britney is sort of studying at the temple of Paris Hilton. I think Britney`s trying to have a good time, and who knows more about having a good time than Paris Hilton?
BRITNEY SPEARS: The timing from when, you know, I was on tour and our relationship evolving until we got married, basically, and it`s just -- it`s kind of interesting to see how we fell in love, got in fights, everything, you know? It`s just kind of there.
KEVIN FEDERLINE: I don`t know how much of fights it shows.
SPEARS: Well, it doesn`t show all the fights, but you can feel the tension.
FEDERLINE: If I had a hard day and I really need to get away, or you know, if me and the wife are beefing or something like that, yes, I`ll go out and I`ll have a good time because it keeps my mind off of that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I imagine that somebody, you would think, is whispering into Britney`s ear, Hey, this doesn`t look that good, particularly night after night after night. Maybe she thinks of it as a vacation, or frankly, a bit of a bender. We`ll see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Can you say foster care? Good evening, everybody. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Remember when Britney was just a Mousketeer? She was so cute. What the hay? Have you seen this? I`m scared! But it`s not just about these crazy poses without her underwear on, it`s about child custody. You have to be living under a rock in a cave somewhere out there with Osama bin Laden not to know that Britney Spears has filed for divorce. At the heart of that divorce, the custody of two infants.
Straight out to Carlos Diaz with "Extra." What`s going on?
CARLOS DIAZ, "EXTRA": I don`t know what`s going through Britney`s head right now. I mean, this is -- you know, we just got done with Thanksgiving weekend. It`s a time to spend time with family, and she`s out partying eight nights in a row. I mean, if it was anybody but...
GRACE: Wait a minute. Wait a minute, Mr. Diaz.
DIAZ: Yes, ma`am?
GRACE: Where do you think K-Fed is, Kevin Federline? Do you think he`s at home knitting?
DIAZ: But here`s the thing. We always knew K-Fed was a loser. We actually had hope for Britney. I mean, you know, that`s the whole thing. I mean, we`re talking about K-Fed, too. I mean, when we`re talking about losing kids to K-Fed, you`ve got to be doing some pretty bad things for people to say, You know what? Maybe the kids are better with Federline. So I know. It`s a two-way street. And if Kevin gets to party here in Vegas like he did last weekend at Taos (ph), well, then, Britney should have the same right. But somebody`s got to be watching the kids, and we`re hoping that Britney can repair her image. This is not the best way to do it.
GRACE: Mr. Diaz?
DIAZ: Yes, Miss Grace?
GRACE: Do you have children?
DIAZ: I don`t have children.
GRACE: OK. So where are you getting this right to go out and party all night? As a matter of fact, Elizabeth, I don`t know if you have it or not, but there was apparently a shot with Britney Spears -- no, not that please! Not that one. Asleep in the car at 6:00 AM after a night of partying. I don`t know what you mean, Carlos, about if Federline can party all night, then why shouldn`t Britney Spears. There you go, asleep, 6:00 AM in the morning. Now, I don`t know why Paris Hilton looks like it`s 3:00 o`clock in the afternoon, like she just had a ladies` tea over at the Savoy. I guess -- I don`t know, maybe she`s a vampire and she stays awake all night and sleeps all day.
DIAZ: Well, Paris is...
GRACE: But I`m not worried about her tonight.
DIAZ: Right.
GRACE: I`m worried about two children. Where are they, in the trunk having breakfast?
DIAZ: Well, of course, they`re home with the nanny. You know, they`re with their au pair.
GRACE: How do you know that?
DIAZ: Well, I mean, I hope they`re not home alone, and then we got a serious problem. But I agree with you, Britney does need to be -- she does not need to be out partying. She needs to be worrying about recording a new album, repairing her image. I mean, I agree with what you`re saying. I mean, Britney does not need to be out partying right now. I`m trying to say, though, that I -- I mean, if I would have said that Britney needs to be home with the kids and Kevin can go out and party, you would have jumped all over me there, too. So I`m in a no-win situation.
GRACE: Yes, I would have.
DIAZ: Thank you.
GRACE: Let`s go out to a specialist, Treni Stovall with Dekalb County child advocates attorneys. Treni, thank you for being with us. Look, is it just a fact that the paparazzi catch her and they don`t catch other parents that are out all night? I mean, we know the divorce is going on right now. The biggest bargaining chip Kevin Federline has is these two children, two little boys that belong to Britney Spears. How is all this going to affect her?
TRENI STOVALL, DEKALB CO. CHILD ADVOCATE ATTORNEY: I think that it`s really going to put her in a bad light with the courts. In California, the court has wide discretion in determining appropriate parenting, who`s going to be the best parent for the child. But Britney knows that she`s in the limelight every day. Every single thing she does is being watched. She`s a parent. She needs to be a parent right now.
GRACE: OK, now, we`re just showing her tripping on a pair of long bluejeans with the baby. I believe that one`s name is Shawn Preston (ph). And we`ve seen it a million times. But the reality is -- to you, Treni Stovall, you`re the expert, you`re the child advocate -- that`s an accident right there. That`s an accident.
STOVALL: Yes.
GRACE: And a lot of parents -- how many times have you heard about a kid falling off the bed, jumping out of somebody`s arms, arching backwards and falling off a sofa? That happens.
STOVALL: Sure.
GRACE: But the partying all night long, the flashing the cameras without your underwear on, while desperately asking the paparazzi to leave you alone -- it`s not going to help. They may actually have a case for Federline to get these kids!
DIAZ: She`s raising the case against herself right now. She knows that she is being watched. True, accidents happen. I have a newborn at home, I know accidents happen. But the fact is, every single thing that she does, she`s making a lot of bad decisions. There`s no reason, when you have a 13-month-old and a 2-month-old baby, that you can justify being out all night. The nanny, at this point, is making a better case for being a parent than either her or Kevin.
GRACE: You know, Treni, I`m on the fence right now. I don`t think she`s being a good mom right now. On the other hand, the other night, we had a story where all three of a woman`s children were taken away from her because of gross misconduct, not because she went out and partied.
DIAZ: Sure. Sure. I`ve dealt with thousands of cases of severe abuse. This is not a case where Britney cannot repair her parenting image or her responsibilities as a parent. But the fact is, there`s a slippery slope. And every decision that she makes, the driving with the children in the car, the child in the car without a seat belt...
GRACE: Oh, gosh, there`s aunt Paris Hilton! That`s not going to help. That`s going to be Federline exhibit number one, that photo. Oh, ouch!
OK, take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What she`s doing, according to Paris Hilton`s own spokesperson, Eliot Minz (ph), is that she has formed a, quote, "alliance," Paris and Britney have, and that Britney is sort of studying at the temple of Paris Hilton, which seems a weird place to get an education, if you ask me. But I think Britney`s trying to have a good time, and who knows more about having a good time than Paris Hilton?
Somebody like Kevin Federline, who`s never qualified for, seemingly, father of the year, I doubt is at home with those very young children. Certainly, Britney`s mother has very much been involved in her care. And there`s a platoon of nannies involved. I imagine that somebody, you would think, is whispering into Britney`s ear, Hey, this doesn`t look that good, particularly night after night after night. Maybe she thinks of it as a vacation, or frankly, a bit of a bender. We`ll see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to Jarett Weiselman. He is with "In Touch Weekly", their lifestyle director and reporter. Jarett, welcome to the show.
JARETT WEISELMAN, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Thank you.
GRACE: Why would you make your debut into society with Paris Hilton?
WEISELMAN: Well, you know, wherever Paris goes, the paparazzi follows. This whole last two weeks of Britney`s life has been about getting out there, being seen. There`s no better way to be seen than with Paris Hilton. Unfortunately...
GRACE: Well, they`re certainly being seen, and I don`t mean in a good way.
WEISELMAN: Exactly. Well, unfortunately, she`s choosing all the wrong...
GRACE: I`m sending her a big pair of those granny panties.
WEISELMAN: I think that is an excellent idea, and I`ll send one with you, because the bottom line is, she`s only hurting herself. She thinks she`s getting the upper hand by being in the public eye, and that`s just not what`s happening.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the "Star Chamber." Joining us tonight, three very well-respected trial judges now off the bench. First of all, to Gino Brogdon from the Fulton Superior Court jurisdiction. You`ve handled, Judge, and I believe I saw you handling them, tons of abuse cases on children.
GINO BROGDON, FORMER JUDGE, FULTON SUPERIOR COURT: Absolutely.
GRACE: I remember one of the first ones I had, the child had cigarette burns all up and down their little arms. Instead of getting a spanking or sitting in the corner, they were burned with cigarettes. Look, Britney Houston (SIC is out partying. It doesn`t look good, but does this rise to her not being a fit parent?
BROGDON: No, the -- it`s more falling (ph) to being a fit parent. Judges have a lot of discretion to consider a lot of things, and parents have to be pretty bad to fall to the level where they`re deprived of their children. And partying all night or being seen smoking or no panties, that`s just not enough. And a judge will pay attention to that. It doesn`t help her case, but I don`t think she`s anywhere close to losing her children. It gives her soon to be ex-husband some ammunition, but she`s not going to be in danger of losing her kids.
GRACE: Let`s go out to our other two judges. Also with us, in addition to Gino Brogdon, is Congressman Ted Poe. He`s a U.S. rep out of Texas, former judge in Harris County there. Welcome back, Judge. You`ve got plenty on your plate in D.C. Not going into that. But in this case, I`ve always said you practically had to have a mom in a G-string lying on the front porch of the courthouse, shooting up heroin, to get the kids away. We always see the DFACS, department of children and family services, give the kids back over and over and over. So what`s the likelihood Britney Spears is going to lose custody?
REP. TED POE (R-TX), FORMER HARRIS COUNTY JUDGE: Well, probably, of the two parents -- neither one of them parenting very well -- she probably will retain custody. Kevin is just worthless. He`s abandoned his first two children. He just wants these two kids so he can get money from Britney Spears. He cares nothing about the...
GRACE: Uh-oh!~
POE: He cares nothing about the children.
GRACE: Congressman Ted Poe has been reading "The Enquirer."
(LAUGHTER)
GRACE: How did you know all that, Judge?
POE: I don`t read "The Enquirer," I listen to you, Nancy.
(LAUGHTER)
GRACE: OK, you got me.
POE: And second, you know, Britney Spears will never get a medal for mother of the year. Publicity is more important to her than her children. She`s abandoned them, in a way. She`s turned them over to a nanny to raise. And it`s unfortunate because the losers in this are going to be the kids.
GRACE: Let`s go out to Dayvid Figler, former judge out in Las Vegas. Judge, I know that she is partying, partying hearty with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan. Now, that`s the "Brit pack" going down out there in Vegas. But what`s the difference when it comes to the child`s care -- playing devil`s advocate. Don`t get mad at me. What`s the difference between her and two high-level Wall Street executives that get home from Wall Street every night at 10:30, 11:00 o`clock, and leave their kids at homes with the nannies, Judge Figler?
DAYVID FIGLER, FORMER JUDGE, CITY OF LAS VEGAS MUNICIPAL COURT: Well, I don`t think that the Wall Street executives are relying on publicists for their legal advice, and I think that`s exactly what`s happening here. They`re deciding how this is going to play out in a court of public opinion, and they`re probably not taking too much mind of what`s going to happen in the court of law. And so by using the children in a certain way, as pawns in the war of who`s going to be more famous or who`s going to come out shining better, I think that the best interests of the children are being neglected. That`s the difference here.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the lines. Laura in Ohio. Hi, Laura.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m just wondering -- he has two other children. What`s he doing with those children?
GRACE: Good question. What about it, Carlos Diaz? What do we know about Federline?
DIAZ: Well, he`s got two other children with a woman named Char Jackson, and those women -- those two children are staying with Char a lot. So obviously, he`s not dad of the year. And what I would love to see in this case is the judge to say, Hey, Kevin, here are the kids -- because he`s fighting for custody, as well, and we all know it`s for money. I would love for the judge to call his bluff and go, All right, you want the kids? Here you go. And see what he has to say.
GRACE: Got a question, Carlos. Not to pick on you specifically. Let`s see Carlos. There he is.
DIAZ: Go right ahead. Pick away. Pick away.
GRACE: Well, as you said, he`s not spending that much time with the children. When does he spend any time with his kids from Char Jackson, just other than that be photo op when they all came over to Britney`s mansion for a birthday party that Britney paid for?
DIAZ: Well, Char has defended Kevin Federline through all this, saying that he`s a nice guy and a good father. But I agree. I have never seen a picture of Kevin Federline and his two kids with Char Jackson. And for that matter, I never saw a picture of Kevin Federline with his two kids alone with Britney Spears. I always saw him with Britney and the two kids out in public, but never him with the two kids on his own. So I don`t -- and I`ve interviewed Kevin a few times. Not exactly a father figure.
GRACE: Why do you say that?
DIAZ: You know, a lot of celebrities I interview, at one point in the interview, you can get them to be real. You can kind of get them -- you can kind of cut through all the BS and you can get right to the real -- their core. There`s no core there. It`s just kind of, like, he`s just Kevin Federline 24 hours a day and there`s no real person there that I`ve seen in the three or four times that I`ve talked to him.
GRACE: Let`s go out to the lines. Kim in Michigan. Hi, Kim.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How`re you doing, Nancy?
GRACE: I`m good, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has she -- has Britney been caught doing anything illegal out in public with Paris Hilton?
GRACE: Other than flashing her crotch without underwear on, which is indecent exposure, nope. Nothing. And what I`m concerned about -- not that I approve of that or think that`s a great example to give to your kids, I`m just wondering, what`s Federline doing? And will this really hurt her in a custody battle?
Let`s go out to Richard Herman, defense attorney. Give me your best shot, Richard.
RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, this is such a pathetic case here. I got to tell you. But exhibit A to Federline`s case is going to be the meltdown that Britney did with Matt Lauer, where she boasted that Kevin cared so much and his heart was so big and, I`m an emotional wreck, I need him. That`s exhibit A.
GRACE: Well, wait a minute. What do you mean, this is a pathetic case?
HERMAN: It`s pathetic! The two of them shouldn`t be parents.
GRACE: Wait a minute! You know, every night that you come on this show -- I want to see Herman. Every night you come on the show and you go into a court of law -- you represent dopers, child molesters, murderers, extortionists, and now this is pathetic?
HERMAN: It`s pathetic. There are two young kids here...
GRACE: Yes. And you know what?
HERMAN: ... who are at risk. I got a baby -- dropping a baby in front of paparazzi, driving with the baby on my lap, the baby fell from a highchair at the house. Child services have been out there. You said it right at the beginning of the show. These kids are going to be in foster care! I think they`re both going to lose the kids.
GRACE: Well, this is the first time I`ve ever heard you attack the defendant, and frankly, I think it may have something to do with it being Britney Spears as the defendant. And I`m wondering how far this is going to go in a court of law.
Very quickly, to tonight`s "Case Alert." Alabama teen Natalee Holloway back in the news. Judge`s son Joran Van Der Sloot`s lawyer meets with Aruban prosecutors to, quote, "clear his conscience." He allegedly tells them his own client, Joran Van Der Sloot, did, in fact, play a role in Natalee`s disappearance, but it was up to police to get the proof. Well, the defense lawyer later sent a letter backing off that conversation, claiming he was just misunderstood.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything went downhill soon after the birth of Britney and Kevin`s second child in September.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He went to Vegas right after the birth of their second child for a one-year anniversary party for a nightclub, and that didn`t sit very well with Britney. And also during a Halloween party, you know, he was promoting his album, and according to witnesses, they had a really big fight.
SPEARS: The timing from when, you know, I was on tour and our relationship evolving until we got married, basically, and it`s just -- it`s kind of interesting to see how we fell in love, got in fights, everything, you know? It`s just kind of there.
FEDERLINE: I don`t know how much of fights it shows.
SPEARS: Well, it doesn`t show all the fights, but you can feel the tension.
I think my fans are going to fall completely in love with him, just like I did. He is the sexiest thing in the world and he`s very sensitive, and he`s the perfect husband. He`s awesome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Well, the perfect husband got a text message a couple weeks ago saying, I hate you, I`m getting a divorce, according to reports. The big issue tonight is Britney Spears`s recent activity as it relates to a custody battle, a multi-million-dollar lawsuit. Her husband wants to break the pre-nup, get not only the kids but all the money.
Just how much does money have to do with it? Take a look. Here are hers, here`s his. She`s got a lot more money. And how does that come into play? Joining us, Penny Douglass Furr, child custody expert.
PENNY DOUGLAS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, well, he`s probably wanting custody because of the pre-nup, because the one thing you can`t do in a pre-nup is determine anything about custody and child support. So since he may get stuck with the pre-nuptial agreement, now he wants child support because that he would need custody of the children to get the child support. And that`s the one area where he could get a higher amount.
GRACE: Another issue -- back to you, Jarett Weiselman. He`s with us from "In Touch Weekly." Show just some of these headlines that we`ve got laid out here on the set. What judge could possibly ignore all of this, one headline after the next after the next after the next, all about Britney Spears` behavior?
WEISELMAN: Absolutely. You know, a court of law is one thing, but there`s a court of public opinion that absolutely factors in. So when every newspaper and every magazine is inundated with stories of her partying, of her drinking, of her being asleep in a car at 6:00 AM, how can you ignore that? It shows a lack of judgment on her part which could absolutely bleed over into any sort of custody dispute.
GRACE: Back to the lines. To Lynne in Pennsylvania. Hi, Lynne.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How`re you doing?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is -- maybe our laws should be tougher. I`m usually a little liberal that says government shouldn`t be involved in personal life. But what does it take to lose your child? We have a woman putting a child in a microwave last night, and today, you know, Britney`s out all night for eight nights. What`s the drawing line?
GRACE: If I have to look at one more picture of her without her underwear on, I`m about to take custody away myself. But who are we going to give it to? That`s the bottom line.
To you, Treni Stovall. You`re a specialist. You`re a child advocate. What is the legal standard for a child to be taken away?
STOVALL: You`re looking at always what`s in the best interests of these children. Is it going to be dangerous to them? Are they in physical, mental or medical jeopardy by staying with her? And quite frankly, I think I agree with the judges that I`m not sure this rises to that level.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: It all looks like a lot of fun to hard partiers, but this is what a court will be looking at. February `06, photographed driving with baby in lap -- against the law. Family services comes to the home. On 4/06, baby falls out of highchair -- to the emergency room. On 5/06, driving with baby in convertible, not in a car seat correctly. On 5/06, almost drops baby walking with coffee. Now, the walking with coffee, almost dropping, or falling out of the highchair, they`re not great, but they could be accidents. The other things are problems.
Straight back out to Jarett Weiselman, "In Touch Weekly." When do we expect this to go to court regarding child custody?
WEISELMAN: You know, I think it`s going to be one of those things that`s going to take a little time because there`s a lot of factors involved. You`ve got Kevin petitioning for full custody of the children. You`ve got Britney fighting him on that because -- on the grounds that they have a pre-nup. So I think there`s a lot of mitigating factors that are actually going to prevent this to go to trial for some time.
GRACE: Agree or disagree, Carlos?
DIAZ: A long wait because why would Kevin want to hurry this through? Once this goes to trial and it`s over, Kevin`s done. He wants this thing to last forever, so he`s not going to get into court anytime soon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR (voice-over): Britney`s mothering skills have landed her in the tabloids more than once, including when she was photographed driving with her baby riding incorrectly in a car seat, or without one at all.
HARVEY LEVIN, MANAGING EDITOR, TMZ.COM: They`ll bring up the car seat, but I think he`s going to bring up how they partied together or at least threatened to.
ANDERSON: So it looks like K-Fed and Britney are headed into battle. And like so many divorce cases, this one could boil down to two issues: money and children.
KEVIN FEDERLINE, EX-HUSBAND OF BRITNEY SPEARS: Day-to-day life is sitting down, changing diapers, being daddy. At the same time right now, I`ve been away -- I`ve been away from the kids for like a week right now. It`s killing me inside, you know? But, baby, I`ll be home soon, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which baby are you talking to?
FEDERLINE: All of my babies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of your babies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look how big that rock is. Can you tell us what the rock is?
FEDERLINE: This was the diamond that I gave to my wife when we first got married. So, you know, I got her a bigger one, and I made a pinkie ring out of this one. I couldn`t just give it away. Got to keep it in the family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Couldn`t just give it away.
FEDERLINE: Can`t do that.
(INAUDIBLE) it`s just been like (INAUDIBLE) and all the other times that people see me, like, I`m getting paid (INAUDIBLE) you know what I mean? It`s not like I do it because I can (INAUDIBLE) if I had a hard day and I really need to get away or, you know, if me and the wife are beefing it or something like that then, yes, I`ll go out and have a good time to keep my mind off of that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Are those diamond earrings he`s got in both of his ears and that diamond pinkie ring on? Listen. Here`s some legal advice, Mr. Federline. Hold onto those diamonds, because you`re going to need them.
Britney Spears now in the middle of the fight of her life. A custody battle is looming. And her recent party nights with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan are not helping at all. In fact, in one photo, she wakes up at 6:00 a.m. in a parked car. That`s not helping anything.
Talking about -- there you go -- talking about the pre-nup, Carlos Diaz, what exactly is he going to get? And how will that factor into a custody battle?
CARLOS DIAZ, CORRESPONDENT, "EXTRA": Well, that`s the thing, too. I mean, the pre-nup is ironclad. He`s not going to get too much, basically around $250,000 for the time that they spent together, and then maybe half the Malibu home, which is on the market right now for $13.5 million.
GRACE: Is that all he`s going to get?
DIAZ: But here`s the thing though...
GRACE: About $8 million?
DIAZ: She`s worth, you know, tens of millions of dollars. Some people have said over $100 million. So he sees that money, he`s used to that lifestyle. He was driving a Ferrari. He wants that bling, so, I mean, you know, he wants a little more than just around $8 million.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us, Richard Herman out of New York, Penny Douglass Furr out of Atlanta.
I want to talk about that pre-nup. There are a lot of reports that the pre-nup was actually signed after the marriage. How will that affect it, Richard?
RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it will be a post-nuptial agreement, and I`m sure it`s going to be enforceable. But I`ve got to tell you, he should stop wasting his time with this custody situation. Spend some money. Go after that pre-nup. Nothing`s ironclad. And every time I see this guy...
GRACE: Oh, I thought you were going to say spend some money on his rap career.
HERMAN: No, Nancy. Nancy, every time I see him, he looks like he`s loaded. So I`m sure, when he signed that agreement, he was under some influence of something. I mean, I`d go after that agreement; that`s where the big bucks are.
GRACE: You know, Penny, with allegedly about $122 million in assets, you know she called in the top legal firms in the country to make that pre- nup.
PENNY DOUGLASS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think he`ll have a lot of problems getting around the pre-nup, Nancy, because he was well aware of what her earning capacity and what she had earned. He`s been married to her for two years. Do you really think he`s entitled to what she earned before they were married? Even without the pre-nup, he would basically be entitled to one-half of what she`s earned since they were married. And I don`t think she`s produced that many records since they were married.
GRACE: But, wait, wait. She may not have produced so many. I believe they`re called CDs now, Penny. But she`s got the whole perfume line. I`m sure there must be a jewelry line. What else is there, Ellie? She`s got tons of financial...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s got a ton of property. She`s got an eight-bedroom Malibu home, an apartment in Florida, another apartment in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She`s got a bunch of forest land in Louisiana where she`s from.
GRACE: Timber land, I mean, there`s a ton of money-making projects in her life. Let`s go back to the star chamber, very quickly before we go to the lines. First of all, to you, Gino Brogdon, what do you do when neither parent is really fit? I would be loath as a judge to send a kid to foster care.
JUDGE GINO BROGDON, FORMER JUDGE, GEORGIA SUPERIOR COURT: Well, the first thing you`ve got to do is get somebody to speak for the child; that is, put a guardian ad litem, someone who doesn`t have an interest in this, who can look at it objectively and really protect the interests of the babies.
The second thing you`ve got to do is get some mental health people, and some addiction folks, and other professionals involved so that the judge can get a clearer idea of how bad these folks are.
GRACE: I think they`ve got a pretty good idea if they looked in the "Enquirer" this week. I think you see all there is to see of Britney Spears. Judge, I`m sure you wouldn`t look.
What about it, Congressman Ted Poe? Who`s going to win this?
JUDGE TED POE, FORMER JUDGE, TEXAS: Oh, I`m afraid Britney Spears is going to win it. Neither one of them deserves those two boys. Kevin is worthless, and she`s almost that bad. But when the chips are all down, everything`s even, usually the mother -- no matter how bad they are -- will end up with custody of the child.
GRACE: But so far, I`ve got to say, Judge Poe, you haven`t heard much of her regarding partying and wild ways. People may make fun of the way she talks or chews gum. They can throw all the stones they want to. But somebody`s a pretty good businessperson. I`m just worried about this last stint in the headlines, how that`s going to affect her, Judge Poe.
POE: Well, that will hurt her, no question about it. The judge will take that into consideration that she`s out partying when she should be home with her children and who she`s partying with, whether drugs are involved and alcohol. All of that`s a factor.
But when the smoke clears, she`ll end up with both of those boys, and Kevin`s not going to get them, because he doesn`t want them. He just wants her money.
GRACE: And out to Judge Figler out of the Vegas jurisdiction, Judge, what do you do when neither one, in your mind, are a fit parent?
JUDGE DAYVID FIGLER, FORMER JUDGE: Well, you got to give -- first of all, you`ve got to give custody of Britney`s tush some panties. But beyond that, you`re just going to hear a mountain of evidence. I mean, the allegations are going to come fast and furious. It`s going to make War of the Roses look like little buds. It`s going to be huge. And you just have to sort through it all and not be distracted by the circus outside.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Sherri in South Carolina, hi, Sherri.
CALLER: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
CALLER: Tagging onto what you just said a minute ago, we haven`t heard much about her partying ways and what not. I`m just wondering -- the video that we`re seeing right now, is that indicative of her behavior since the separation?
GRACE: I think so. What about it, Jarett?
JARETT WEISELMAN, "INTOUCH WEEKLY": I think that those videos are indicative of her behavior. She`s been out almost every night till 6:00 in the morning. But, prior to that, she had actually been a pretty decent mother, with the few exceptions. She wasn`t out partying. She was pretty attentive.
So I think, because they`re going to take some time before this case actually goes to trial, a lot of people might forget about this week and a half sort of mental lapse.
GRACE: How can they forget it? It is in the "Enquirer" forever. A year from now, we`re going to see this picture again.
Out to Denise in New York. Hi, Denise.
CALLER: Hi, Denise. I love you, and I love your show.
GRACE: Thank you.
CALLER: I watch it every night.
GRACE: Thank you.
CALLER: A question: I`m wondering about the grandma. What happened to Britney`s mom? Where is she in regards to her grandsons?
GRACE: Oh, good question. What about grandparents` rights, Penny Douglass Furr?
FURR: That`s one thing I talked about earlier, is that if both parents are unfit, they can go to the grandparents and look at the grandparents as being possible guardians for these children. And that`s also a possibility. But I just don`t think that a couple weeks of partying is going to be enough to destroy Britney Spears.
GRACE: How about sleeping in a car overnight?
FURR: One time. I mean, Nancy, think about it.
GRACE: Oh, like we all did it once? I didn`t.
FURR: If every single person...
GRACE: Wait a minute. Put the camera on Penny Douglass Furr for a moment. One time. Penny, when did you sleep in the car overnight? Where were your kids? Were they in the back seat having breakfast?
FURR: Well, I`m sure it depends on whether she had her children taken care of during that period of time. If she had a babysitter and a good babysitter staying with the children and taking -- she knew they were provided for or say they were with the grandparents, Britney Spears is a 25-year-old. What`s to stop her from enjoying herself?
GRACE: I don`t know. Crazy me. I was in law school with two jobs, so whatever.
To Dr. Leslie Austin, psychotherapist. Recent reports are after this bout of hard partying she has separated herself from Lohan and Paris Hilton. Do you think that`s an attempt to repair the image in looming child support custody on the verge?
LESLIE AUSTIN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: You know, honestly, I`m not sure she`s thinking about her image or planning anything. She`s a very impulsive teenager acting out. I don`t care what her chronological age is, and so is Kevin.
They`re both irresponsible people. My concern is for these kids. How are they going to feel reading about this 10 years from now?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bob Durst dismembered Morris Black after he was dead, disposed of the body, and ran, not once, but twice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We, the jury, find the defendant Robert Durst not guilty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Morris Black was here right now, he`d be saying, "I`m thinking two words, two words, Robert Durst, and one of them`s bull. One of them`s bull."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Does the name Morris Black ring a bell to anybody? He was a 71-year-old man that lived in the apartment, same building as Durst, a multimillionaire born with a silver spoon in his mouth, his father worth millions and millions of dollars. This guy, Durst, admitted to a jury he shot this old guy and then dismembered him, throwing his body parts into the Galveston Bay.
Also dead, missing, his former wife, Kathleen. And one of their best friends found dead execution-style, Susan Berman. There`s his wife, Kathleen Durst.
Out to Kevin Moran, reporter with the "Houston Chronicle," why is this guy about to walk free with absolutely no parole or probation supervision?
KEVIN MORAN, "HOUSTON CHRONICLE": Well, after all the gore and weirdness and mystery of this case, it was pretty cut and dried today. His obligations under the sentences and parole terms that he had imposed on him expired at about 2:30 this afternoon, and a parole officer released him.
He is free of any obligation to report to anyone. Nobody from the government`s going to be looking over his shoulder, and he`s free to move about the country. Now, whether he`ll remain in Houston, where he has an apartment and a home and has been involved in real estate dealings, remains to be seen.
GRACE: Out to Chip Lewis, Robert Durst`s defense attorney, bottom line is a jury acquitted him of that murder. He was very convincing and told the jury he struggled with his elderly 71-year-old neighbor and the gun, I guess, went off by accident.
There he is, his head and face shaved, including his eyebrows. He was picked up actually wearing a lady`s wig, shoplifting a submarine sandwich at a 7-Eleven. Chip, why is there no supervision on your client at all?
CHIP LEWIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Bob Durst has paid his debt to society, Nancy. He pled guilty to the dismemberment, to the gun charges, to everything that the state and the federal authorities could round up. He served his debt to society, and he`s properly discharged today.
GRACE: I wonder, where in the world is Robert Durst? Let`s see. He could be in L.A., where the Susan Berman murder took place, always been suspected in that case. Or maybe he`s headed back to Westchester to look for his wife`s body. She disappeared back in 1982. I wonder if he`ll stick around Galveston. He was acquitted in his neighbor`s death and dismemberment.
Chip, question: It`s my understanding that a judge involved in one of Durst`s cases found the head of a kitty cat and its paws dismembered and in her front yard. Do you know anything about that?
LEWIS: We`ve heard a lot about that, Nancy. And from all I know about the case, in a most intimate setting, I think it`s more likely that someone who wanted to draw attention to Bob Durst did that.
GRACE: Is it true the judge actually...
LEWIS: The Galveston County police and everybody involved, Nancy, has had an eye on Bob Durst. If he had anything to do with that, he would have been charged and locked up again.
GRACE: Well, I don`t know about that, Chip, because isn`t it true that he actually...
LEWIS: I do, Nancy, because I`ve been here and followed everything for the last five years.
GRACE: If I could finish my question, that would be great. Isn`t it true that the judge actually ran into Durst at the mall, and he wasn`t supposed to be there?
LEWIS: She ran into Bob Durst at the galleria, along with probably another 5,000 or 6,000 citizens who were shopping at the time. The board of pardons and paroles looked into it, found that Bob Durst was doing nothing wrong, and did nothing other than remain on parole.
GRACE: OK, now, that is not correct. I know the board of pardons and parole looked into it, but your client was under orders to let them know everywhere he was going. And he was not allowed to go to that mall, in fact, ran into the judge.
LEWIS: You`re wrong, Nancy. The board of pardons and parole looked at it and said that Bob Durst was in the jurisdiction they committed him to be in. He had 30 minutes a day to do anything he wanted to do -- shop, run, any kind of recreational activities he wanted to. He was clear and free, and that is why he was released under parole today without one violation.
GRACE: Now, why did the judge report it?
LEWIS: The judge reported it because, as does Bob Durst, anywhere he goes, there is a sense of paranoia that emanates from his mere presence because of the overwhelmingly sensational journalism that has followed him for the last 21 years. That`s why we`re doing the show, Nancy.
GRACE: Doing the show because what? Do you have any idea where your client is going?
LEWIS: My client`s going wherever he wants to be. He`s a citizen. He`s free to do just like you or I.
GRACE: Ellie, it`s my understanding that, in January, the parole board put Durst in an intermediate detention facility for 60 days as a result of infractions, including the unauthorized trip to Galveston and Houston`s galleria mall. Is that correct?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s right. That`s right.
GRACE: Are you saying that`s incorrect, Chip? Because I have the court documents in my hand.
LEWIS: I`m saying that`s very incorrect. The Galveston trip was a problem because he`s only supposed to be in Harris County. Galveston County is a separate county. The trip to the galleria in Houston had nothing to do with the board of pardon and parole`s decision to put him in house for 60 days.
GRACE: Is it true that a former Galveston neighbor reported seeing Durst outside the former home there?
LEWIS: That`s true.
GRACE: Was he not supposed to be there?
LEWIS: He was not supposed to be in Galveston County without permission.
GRACE: Well, why was he there?
LEWIS: You`d have to ask Bob that, but Bob Durst was...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Why was he thrown back into this detention facility?
LEWIS: ... Galveston, Nancy, and the board of pardons and parole, upon a full investigation, terminated his parole on the first day available, which was today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If Morris Black was here right now, he`d be saying, "I`m thinking two words, two words, Robert Durst, and one of them`s bull. One of them`s bull." And he`d probably say it that loud, too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Robert Durst, a multimillionaire, is walking free, no restrictions whatsoever. He was acquitted in the murder of a 71-year-old neighbor. He admitted to killing and dismembering.
Out to Kevin Moran with the "Houston Chronicle," Kevin, what is the status into the murder of or disappearance of his wife?
MORAN: Well, as I understand it, the Westchester County, New York, district attorney`s office still considers it an open case. They reopened the investigation a couple or three years ago. And they haven`t come up with any evidence we know of to prove that Mr. Durst did away with his wife. But they`re still working on it, from what we understand.
GRACE: Who was the last person to see the wife?
MORAN: As far as we know, there was a doorman who thought he saw the wife. There`s a theory that the person, the doorman of an apartment in New York, saw was actually Susan Berman helping Mr. Durst in the commission of a murder. That`s one theory.
GRACE: I thought Durst supposedly took her to the train and that was the last recorded sighting?
MORAN: Well, that was the last recorded sighting by him that he admits.
GRACE: What about Susan Berman, who also turned up dead with a gunshot wound to the head?
MORAN: The last that we know of, the guns that Mr. Durst had in his possession here in Galveston were sent out to the Los Angeles Police Department for forensic comparison and ballistic comparison.
GRACE: Right.
MORAN: And there has been no evidence brought forth so far to connect any guns that he`s been caught with to the death of Ms. Berman.
GRACE: Well, according to many recent reports, Durst could be headed to New York.
We stop to remember Staff Sergeant Daniel Isshak, 26, Alta Loma, California. He loved to laugh, his guitar, and acoustic music. Daniel Isshak, American hero.
Thank you to our guests, but especially to you, for being with us. NANCY GRACE signing off for tonight. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
