Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Alec Baldwin Temporarily Barred From Contacting Daughter by Court
Aired April 24, 2007 - 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, can one threatening phone call wreck a lifetime of child custody for a Hollywood superstar? Star of the NBC hit "30 Rock," "The Cooler," "Marrying Man," "The Good Shepherd," "The Departed, "The Aviator," Running With Scissors," "Along Came Polly" -- you know who he is, Alec Baldwin. After a string of alleged angry outbursts, did one bitter, angry call to his 11-year-old girl, calling her a "thoughtless little pig" and threatening to, straighten her ass out when I see you, cost him custody of his daughter, Ireland, for the rest of her childhood years? Will full custody go to Kim Basinger?
And tonight, Amber Alert, a beautiful little 4-year-old Pennsylvania girl missing. The twist? It is revealed the child last seen getting a makeover at a salon, hair cropped short like a little boy, now dyed black. Tonight, we learn the alleged kidnapper withdraws nearly $10,000 in cash the day the girl goes missing. Is the 4-year-old`s own mother connected to her disappearance?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The abduction of Alexis Roadside is viewed as a very serious case. There has been a felony warrant issued for the abductor. Law enforcement is very involved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-one-year-old Veronica Roadside told her husband she`s taking her 4-year-old daughter, Alexis, to visit relatives in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. But things quickly turn suspicious when no one hears from the mother or the little girl for several days. Then a hairdresser in a nearby town come forward with information the 4-year-old girl was given a full makeover by her mother, the little girl`s once long brown hair cut short and dyed black. Now an Amber Alert issued for Alexis Roadside.
GRACE: Corporal, do you believe she`s trying to pass the little girl off as a boy?
CPL. BILL LA TORRE, PENNSYLVANIA STATE POLICE: I do believe she`s trying to mask their appearance. She probably changed her appearance, as well, but there`s on doubt that it was done in an effort to disguise the little girl`s appearance.
GRACE: I understand neither the mother nor the father had supervision of the 4-year-old little girl. Why?
LA TORRE: There was court order which arranged for custody to be awarded to the paternal grandparents. Both the mother and father had to have supervised visitation. Unfortunately, Alexis was in the custody of her father and her mother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Research shows that in 80 percent of family abductions, the motivation for the taking of the child is not love of the child, it`s anger or revenge. So these kids are at risk.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Breaking news. As we go to air, we are just hearing there is a possibility that Alexis Roadside, the 4-year-old little girl, has been spotted. We`re waiting to get the handle on that information. We`ll bring it to you immediately.
Good evening, everyone, I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. Before we take you to the latest on Alexis Roadside, first, legal war between the superstars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An explosive Alec Baldwin lashes out at his young daughter, and it`s caught on tape.
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: You are a rude, thoughtless little pig, OK? I don`t give a damn that you`re 12 years old or 11 years old or that you`re a child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That nasty phone message left by Baldwin for his daughter is the latest chapter in one of Tinseltown`s nastiest divorces. The tape was released by the Web site, TMZ.com. For years, Baldwin and actress Kim Basinger have been locked in a very bitter, very public custody battle over their daughter, Ireland.
BALDWIN: It`s 10:30 here in New York on a Wednesday, and once again, I`ve made an ass of myself trying to get to a phone to call you at a specific time.
I am going to get on a plane or I`m going to come out there for the day and I`m going to straighten your ass out when I see you! Do you understand me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The marriage ended in December 2000, when the couple separated. A month later, Basinger filed for divorce. It was granted the following year. Until now, the couple has shared custody of their daughter, Ireland. But in response to Baldwin`s phone message, a judge has forbidden him from contacting his daughter until a hearing in June.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: She claims angry outbursts. He claims parental alienation. We don`t know where the truth is, but we do know this. Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Hey, I want to tell you something, OK? And I want to leave a message for you right now because, again, it`s 10:30 here in New York on a Wednesday, and once again, I`ve made an ass of myself trying to get to a phone to call you at a specific time.
When the time comes for me to make the phone call, I stop whatever I`m doing and I go and I make that phone call at 11:00 o`clock in the morning in New York. And you don`t pick up the phone at 10:00 o`clock at night, and you don`t even have that (DELETED) phone turned on! I want you to know something, OK? I`m tired of playing this game with you. I`m leaving this message with you to tell you you have insulted me for the last time! You have insulted me! You don`t have the brains or the decency as a human being.
I don`t give a damn that you`re 12 years old or 11 years old or that you`re a child or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass who doesn`t care about what you do, as far as I`m concerned. You have humiliated me for the last time with this phone. And when I come out there next week, I`m going to fly out there for the day just to straighten you out on this issue. I`m going to let you know just how disappointed in you I am and how angry I am with you that you`ve done this to me again!
You`ve made me feel like (DELETED), and you`ve made me feel like a fool over and over and over again, and this crap you pull on me, with this (DELETED) phone situation, that you would never dream of doing to your mother! And you do it to me constantly and over and over again! I am going to get on a plane or I`m going to come out there for the day and I`m going to straighten your ass out when I see you! Do you understand me?
I`m going to really make sure you get it because I`m going to get on a plane and I`m going to turn around and I`m going to come home. So you better be ready Friday, the 20th, to meet with me because I`m going to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are! You are a rude, thoughtless little pig, OK?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining me here in the studio, deputy New York bureau chief of "Star," David Caplan. David, how did this all come about?
DAVID CAPLAN, "STAR": Well, all fingers right now point to Kim Basinger and her camp. In fact...
GRACE: Wait! Wait a minute. Why do you start off on Basinger? Excuse me, but that was not Basinger on the phone. That was Alec Baldwin. Now, I know he`s claiming that Basinger has alienated the child, won`t let the child see him, won`t make her available for visits and phone calls. Fine. I get it. But you just heard a phone call that would make any 11- year-old girl cry if her father spoke to her that way, and the first thing you say is it`s Kim Basinger`s fault. OK, clarify. Where did the phone call come from, Mr. Caplan?
CAPLAN: All right. The phone call was made by Alec Baldwin. How it was leaked is another question. That appears to be leaked by Kim Basinger and her camp because, as Alec Baldwin`s lawyer said, no one else other than Kim Basinger was in custody, possession or control of Ireland`s voice-mail. And in fact, it was also a sealed court document. And Kim`s camp is saying, Oh, it wasn`t a sealed court document. But the interesting thing here is in the several years they`ve had these battles, everything has been sealed. So why all of a sudden would this one item not be?
GRACE: Joining us now from "Newsweek," associate editor Ramin Setoodeh. Ramin, this is not a new thing between the two of them. This is a struggle, a bitter and angry struggle over this little girl, Ireland, for years. Is it possible he`s going to lose custody?
RAMIN SETOODEH, "NEWSWEEK": Well, I am not a lawyer, so I don`t know if he`s going lose custody or not. A judge is going to decide that. But they have been feuding for many years. They`ve been feuding since they divorced in 2001, and the feud has gotten pretty ugly. It`s worse than, I`d say, the Donald/Rosie feud because that was done at a distance. These two once loved each other, and now they clearly don`t.
GRACE: Back to you, David Caplan. This has been going on for a long time. Chronicle the history.
CAPLAN: The interesting thing is these two met on the set of a movie, and they really fell, you know, head over heels in love. They were together for about eight years, and then their marriage essentially ended in 2000. And it wasn`t finalized until a couple years later. Now, actually, the divorce itself was not that messy. They sort of -- they dealt with all the issues, and there was nothing so crazy about it until, though, custody fit in. The one thing they`ve been fighting about is Ireland, and we saw this from the get-go.
Initially, how they divided custody was that Kim Basinger initially had custody and Alec had visitation rights. That was between 2000 and about 2004, by the time it all happened. Eventually, you go fast forward to 2004, and then they had joint custody. But throughout the history, they`ve been fighting. There`s so many public arguments with these two right before the divorce and a little bit afterwards.
GRACE: out to the lines. Christie in Alabama. Hi. Christie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, friend.
GRACE: Hello, dear. Thank you for watching. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just wanted to know if there could be changes filed against Alec Baldwin for telephone harassment toward his daughter.
GRACE: Interesting. Let`s unleash the lawyers and answer Christie in Alabama`s question. With us tonight, Susan Moss, Richard Herman and Elizabeth Kelley joining us from the Cleveland jurisdiction. First to you, Susan Moss. Weigh in.
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Well, sticks and stones may break your bones, but words destroy a child`s our psyche. This girl is probably rehearing those words again and again on her mind simply because it`s on every TV station and on every Web site. That destroys a child`s psyche. Remember, Alec may have gone through six years of hell, but this is a child, and he is the adult.
And for him to leave such a message, there`s -- it`s no wonder that his daughter isn`t picking up the phone when she`s supposed to. Who would want to subject themselves to such violence and such horrible language? It is absolutely a probability that he is going to lose joint custody and have supervised visitation for the foreseeable future, including supervised telephone calls.
GRACE: To you, Richard Herman. Everyone, Richard, is about to embark on a trial that will last over a month, so this will be one of the last few nights he`ll be gracing us with his presence.
RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You`re going to miss me.
GRACE: Yes, I`m going to miss you, all right. So dig in, Richard. Here it comes. Already, the judge has taken away his custody temporarily. There`s going to be a hearing shortly to determine whether he gets it back. Now, look, they`ve both been leveling complaints at each other, but this one phone call could push it over the edge.
HERMAN: This phone call is not going to push it over to the edge. He`s not going to lose joint custodial status in this case. At the end of the call, when he called her a pig, that was the worst thing he said to her. I am sure she has heard him talk like this in the past. Not calling her a pig. I`m not making excuses for that. That was terrible what he did.
GRACE: Well, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute...
HERMAN: This is not your typical...
GRACE: Richard...
(CROSSTALK)
HERMAN: ... 11-year-old girl, Nancy.
GRACE: ... he`s done it in the past makes it OK now?
HERMAN: No, but it wasn`t such a shock to her. This is her dad. This is who she knows. There was a time for him to call her at 10:30 or 10:00 o`clock at night in New York. She wasn`t there. This happens over and over again in these parental alienation cases, the fathers are left out to dry. If they don`t make a support payment, they get threatened with prison. But if the spouse has the child alienates that parent, nothing happens to them, Nancy, nothing. And he`s so frustrated, and that`s why he lashed out.
GRACE: You know what, Richard? You completely avoided the question. Let`s see if Elizabeth Kelley has the backbone to answer about this phone call. We`re talking about this phone call. We can talk about Kim Basinger`s behavior later. But right now -- and you know what? Let`s play the phone call. Go ahead, Elizabeth.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Hey, I want to tell you something, OK? And I want to leave a message for you right now because, again, it`s 10:30 here in New York on a Wednesday, and once again, I`ve made an ass of myself trying to get to a phone to call you at a specific time.
When the time comes for me to make the phone call, I stop whatever I`m doing and I go and I make that phone call at 11:00 o`clock in the morning in New York. And you don`t pick up the phone at 10:00 o`clock at night, and you don`t even have that (DELETED) phone turned on! I want you to know something, OK? I`m tired of playing this game with you. I`m leaving this message with you to tell you you have insulted me for the last time! You have insulted me! You don`t have the brains or the decency as a human being.
I don`t give a damn that you`re 12 years old or 11 years old or that you`re a child or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass who doesn`t care about what you do, as far as I`m concerned.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: You know, out to Elizabeth Kelley, attorney in Cleveland. Elizabeth, it seems to me, if he`s got a problem, it should be leveled against Kim Basinger, the ex-wife, not the child in this manner.
ELIZABETH KELLEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He has a huge problem, and if I were his attorney, the first thing I would do would be to tell him and his spokesman that they should stop speaking to the media. And in particular, he should not blame the child, he should not blame his ex-wife, and he should certainly not try to justify those statements.
What Mr. Baldwin needs to do is focus on that court hearing later this month which is going to resolve the issue of temporary custody. And he needs to tell the judge that he`s sorry for what he did, he will never do it again, and that he will take substantial steps to control his long- standing problem with anger and profanity.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Amy in Pennsylvania. Hi, Amy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thanks for taking my call.
GRACE: Yes, ma`am. Thank you for calling. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I`m a therapist and I`ve worked with this kind of thing a lot with kids, and I want to know if there`s any kinds of charges that can be placed against Kim if it`s found to be that she released the tapes.
GRACE: Well, I would imagine that there would be a charge against her, but the only issue, to my understanding -- to you David, Caplan -- isn`t the Basinger camp saying that this tape was not under the gag order, the sealed order?
CAPLAN: That`s what Kim`s camp is saying, it wasn`t sealed. And Alec`s camp is saying it was sealed. And interestingly enough, actually, Alec`s camp actually has filed papers in Los Angeles for a hearing to be held so that they can look how exactly this tape was leaked. They`re pointing the favor at Kim, her lawyers and TMZ.com.
GRACE: To Mike Brooks, former D.C. cop and former fed. This is not an issue of wiretapping, either, Mike Brooks. This was a phone message left. The caller knows it`s being taped. So unless it was under seal, there`s nothing to stop them from replaying it. If it is under seal, the worst charge would most likely be a contempt charge.
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: That`s exactly right, Nancy. But I can tell you, you know, I mean, somebody, either Basinger, her attorney, one of her employees, had to have leaked it to TMZ.com.
GRACE: OK, fine. Let`s just go with it. Let`s just say they leaked it, OK? Now what? You got what you wanted. Now can we address the real issue? The real issue is how he spoke to the child.
To you, Mark Hillman. Everyone`s all ready to jump on Kim Basinger. I don`t quite get it. The way he talked to the child, what type of damage does that do?
MARK HILLMAN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, certainly, the message in terms of his unmet expectation is disappointment. But clearly, Alec personalized it and then lashed out. He said, I made an ass out of myself for calling you at a specific time. To me, if you want to have a connection in terms of communication, it`s not what you say, it`s how you say it. Hey, honey, I`m calling. It`s 10:30. Sorry I missed you. Hey, I`m looking forward to seeing you next Friday on the 20th. Hope you`re having a great day. Sorry I missed you. I love you, honey.
GRACE: Well, long story short, this seems to be the culmination of years of battle of Alec Baldwin and Kim Basinger. He says she drove him to this. We`ll get to the bottom of it.
First tonight, National Crime Victims Week across the country. It marks the commitment to protect the victims and honor those who help crime victims and their families. From rallies, candlelight vigils, events on Capitol Hill, the nation remembers those victimized by violent crime and thanks volunteers and law enforcement for support. For information about victims` rights and how for to you volunteer, go to Crimevictims.gov.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK LUNSFORD, FATHER OF ABDUCTION/RAPE/MURDER VICTIM JESSICA LUNSFORD: No crime victim, no individual or family, should ever have to go through what my family and I had to go through. This has changed everything I have ever known, between the grass being green and the sky being blue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I am going to get on a plane or I`m going to come out there for the day and I`m going to straighten your ass out when I see you! Do you understand me? I`m going to really make sure you get it. Then I`m going to get on plane, I`m going to turn around and I`m going to come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I got it. I don`t know how the 11-year-old girl feels, but I`ve got it. I`d be hiding under the bed if I thought he was coming to visit me. That was Alec Baldwin in an angry fit. He had been trying to call his daughter. He has certain times to call her and visit her, and she apparently doesn`t pick up the phone.
There`s more to the story, right, David Caplan?
CAPLAN: Absolutely. "Star" magazine is going to break this week in magazines that hit newsstands tomorrow that this is not the first time that Alec has lashed out at Ireland. In fact, in November, an eyewitness, an airport mechanic, told "Star" that he saw Alec Baldwin yelling at Ireland at the LA airport because she did not pack her bag properly. He was screaming, Why did you pack your bag that way? I`m going to f-ing kill you the next time you do that. This is, you know, an airport worker who saw this and...
GRACE: Now, wait a minute. Is this airport worker getting paid for this story?
CAPLAN: He is not. He was an eyewitness, and in fact, other people also eyewitnessed this, as well, at the airport terminal.
GRACE: He`s not getting paid?
CAPLAN: He`s not getting...
GRACE: He has no dog in the fight?
CAPLAN: No dog in the fight. He`s just one of many people at the terminal who saw it who were very surprised. And tears were streaming down her face and her face was red. And this then airport worker tried to take a photo of Alec Baldwin, and he started screaming at him and other people there. So he has a bit of a history with this.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Denise in Pennsylvania. Hi, Denise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. He sort of answered my question there. My -- part of my question was, hasn`t Alec Baldwin in the past been known to have this fly-off-the-handle temper? And even before the divorce, I thought there were things going on between him and Kim. And my main question is, if he is so mad about these phone calls, why and the he been the manly step-up guy and go to court and have it resolved, rather than taking it out on his daughter?
GRACE: Well, actually, it`s my understanding -- out to you, Ramin Setoodeh with "Newsweek" -- fill us in about the custody battle. He has gone to court, I believe, Denise in Pennsylvania. Go ahead.
SETOODEH: Well, he has gone to court. He`s gone to court again and again and again and again. They divorced in 2001. And they have been battling in court since 2001. Their divorce, allegedly, according to "People" magazine, happened because Kim`s father told "People" magazine that Alec was abusive at the time.
GRACE: And isn`t it true they spent about $1.2 million, him alone, Ramin?
SETOODEH: That`s true. He spent over $1.25 million on divorce attorneys. And you know what? He`s going to write a book about this entire divorce. So maybe he`s going to try to get back some of the money through the book. But you can look for that later this year.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
BALDWIN: I am going to get on a plane or I`m going to come out there for the day and I`m going to straighten your ass out when I see you! Do you understand me? I`m going to really make sure you get it. Then I`m going to get on a plane and I`m going to turn around and I`m going to come home.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: That is superstar Alec Baldwin leaving a message for his 11- year-old little girl.
Out to the lines. Cindy in Colorado. Hi, Cindy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. what`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering if you think this is -- is this a clear case of malicious mommy syndrome?
GRACE: Malicious mommy? Why would you say that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it sounds like whenever he tries to call, the daughter`s not there. He`s having a hard time getting in touch with her. It`s kind of parental alienation, where they brainwash them and they don`t -- they`re not there. They basically...
GRACE: Good question. To you, very quickly, Mark Hillman. It seems as if, after hearing this phone call, everyone is siding against the mom, Kim Basinger.
HILLMAN: Well, I don`t really care about the mom or the dad, to be truthful. I care about the 12-year-old little girl. And as was said before, what is this doing emotionally to her? Alec is paying for the phone. She could call her dad back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Hey, I want to tell you something, OK? And I want to leave a message for you right now, because again, it`s 10:30 here in New York on a Wednesday, and once again I`ve made an ass of myself trying to get to a phone to call you at a specific time.
When the time comes for me to make the phone call, I stop whatever I`m doing and I go and I make that phone call, at 11:00 in the morning in New York and if you don`t pick up the phone at 10:00 at night. And you don`t even have the (bleep) phone turned on.
I want you to know something, OK? I`m tired of playing this game with you. I`m leaving this message with you to tell you, you have insulted me for the last time. You have insulted me. You don`t have the brains or the decency as a human being. I don`t give a damn that you`re 12 years old, or 11 years old, or that you`re a child, or that your mother is a thoughtless pain in the ass, who doesn`t care about what you do, as far as I`m concerned. You have humiliated me for the last time with this phone.
And when I come out there next week, I`m going to fly out there for the day just to straighten you out on this issue. I`m going to let you know just how disappointed in you I am and how angry I am with you that you`ve done this to me again. You`ve made me feel like (bleep), and you`ve made me feel like a fool over and over and over again.
And this crap you pull on me with this (bleep) phone situation that you would never dream of doing to your mother and you do it to me constantly and over and over again. I am going to get on a plane, and I am going to come out there for the day, and I am going to straighten your ass out when I see you. Do you understand me?
I`m going to really make sure you get it. Then I`m going to get on a plane, and I`m going to turn around and come home. So you`d better be ready Friday the 20th to meet with me. So I`m going to let you know just how I feel about what a rude little pig you really are. You are a rude, thoughtless little pig, OK?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You know what, Mr. Baldwin, I think she understands how you feel. I think you`re very clear in your message. What I don`t understand, however -- let`s unleash the lawyers, Susan Moss, Richard Herman, Elizabeth Kelley -- to you, Susan Moss, we hear him cursing at his child, calling her a pig, cursing about the mom in a very threatening phone call, and yet everyone that we have talked to tonight, even callers are calling in asking about malicious mommy. Now, maybe I`m crazy, but wasn`t that Alec Baldwin on the phone?
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Well, this court has spoken, and this court tipped their hat when they said there will be no contact between this child and Mr. Baldwin until there`s a full hearing on May 4th. And the reason for that is that this issue is not about Kim. This is not about Alec.
As Dr. Hillman said, this is about a child and what is in the best interests of the child. And it is in the best interests of the child not to be threatened, not to be harangued, not to be talked and called those names, where now all of her friends, all of her family, the whole community that surrounds her has heard this message again and again.
And this is just tremendously damaging. To answer your first question, I do predict that he will lose joint custody, and for very, very good reason.
GRACE: You know, there`s one thing I don`t understand. To you, Elizabeth Kelley, joining us out at the Cleveland jurisdiction, how can you have joint custody when one parent has the child on the West Coast and the other parent lives on the East Coast?
ELIZABETH KELLEY, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I really don`t know. They probably carve out some sort of situation whereby the child spends extended periods of time on both coasts. But, quite frankly, if Mr. Baldwin does not put a lid on his temper, instead of calling his divorce attorney, he`s going to be calling a criminal defense attorney like me. He`s a time bomb waiting to explode.
GRACE: Now, according to sources within the Baldwin camp, they say that Baldwin had just spent time with his daughter while the mom was working shortly before this call, and his daughter`s whole attitude changed when her mom returned and started up a pattern of alienation, parental alienation. Does that excuse his phone call? Absolutely not.
But to you, Dr. Hillman, parental alienation, what is it?
MARK HILLMAN, CLINICAL PSYCHOTHERAPIST: It`s where one parent uses the child and create a public persona about their respective spouse. But, you know, he said in the phone call, "You made me feel," and everybody in the audience knows that no one can make you feel anything without your permission. Then he talks about anticipatory anxiety, scolding her, "When I come out there, you`re going to get it." That to me doesn`t make any sense.
And, lastly, there`s observable pattern, behavioral patterns over a long period of time. Mr. Baldwin, I`d be more than happy to help you with your lack of impulse control and lashing out at your daughter.
GRACE: Well, you know, one thing for sure, to you, Richard Herman, how many cases have been proven because someone leaves a message or blabs. To speak to the child in this manner and leave the message? Now everybody`s mad as Basinger for allegedly leaking it? I don`t get it.
RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, you know, we`re looking at the best interests of the child, and it certainly was not in the best interests for him to say these things, but it was not in the best interest for this recording to keep being played over and over again to the public, so her friends hear it, and they talk about it in school, and it`s just endless.
You know, the best interests of the child is for the father to treat the child with respect. It`s also in the best interests of the parent not to alienate that child from the love and affection of the father, and that`s obviously what`s going on here: $1.2 million-plus is legal fees, fighting for custody, fighting for a relationship with his daughter.
Some fathers couldn`t care less. They take off. They don`t want to see their kids. He`s trying. He`s fighting. There are court-ordered times to call her. I mean, the frustration level on him has got to be overwhelming in this case.
GRACE: You know, to you, Mike Brooks, everyone keeps talking about who leaked it, as if the leak was the problem. To me the phone call is the problem, although having it leaked and for the public to hear doesn`t help anything. But the reality is, in this technological age, can`t they find out how it got leaked?
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE: They should be able to, Nancy. And, you know, hopefully, it was legally obtained, and hopefully we`ll find it out at another hearing, but they need to keep it in court. They don`t need to keep it in the court of public opinion.
Ireland is the one who`s caught in the middle. You know, we talk about them, the parents. You know, going back to 2005, an article in the "New York Post" said that Kim`s mother was siding with Alec, calling him wonderful. So I`m sure at these hearings, at the next hearing we`re going to get people in to talk about the behavior of both parents.
GRACE: You know what? I don`t put any stock in what either side`s parents think, because, let`s think about it -- I`ll put this back to you, Mike Brooks. You`ve handled plenty of cases. How often when there are marital problems does either side actually ever reveal to their own parents what`s really happening behind closed doors?
BROOKS: It happens now and then. I`ve seen it happen, Nancy. And especially when you get...
GRACE: Now and then, so you`d say not often?
BROOKS: I would say 50-50. I`d say 50-50. And so you`ve got the mother, Kim Basinger`s mother siding with him? You know, let`s keep it all in court, not in the court of public opinion, Nancy. That`s where it should be, because Ireland is the one who`s caught in the middle of all this.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Jean in Colorado. Hi, Jean.
CALLER: Hello, dear friend.
GRACE: Hi. What`s your question?
CALLER: Well, I was wondering, what are Ireland`s rights? Does she have to answer the phone if she doesn`t want to?
GRACE: Susan Moss, I believe under the court order, she is set to have x number of phone calls with her father, x number of visits. How does that work? I mean, he does have to fly all the way from New York to California to see her.
MOSS: Technically, she is ordered to see her father when the court document says and answer the phone when the court document says, but what are you going to do when the child doesn`t follow the court order? Are you going to put her in contempt? Some judges do put the other parent, hold them in contempt, but it`s very, very rare. And in this particular instance, there`s good reason why she wasn`t answering the phone.
GRACE: To you, Ramin Setoodeh with "Newsweek," the custody agreement, what is the actual agreement between these two?
RAMIN SETOODEH, ASSOC. EDITOR, "NEWSWEEK": Well, the two were awarded joint custody. Now, the specifics were sealed so we don`t know exactly when Ireland is with Kim and when she`s with Alec, but the two sort of flip-flop, and Ireland goes from one parent to the next.
Another point that I wanted to make, we were talking earlier about Kim`s mother. Kim`s mother and Kim have been estranged for quite some time, so, obviously, she doesn`t know what`s going on there. They haven`t been really speaking. So for her to -- she spoke to "The National Enquirer," so I don`t think we can take those statements with a grain of truth at all.
GRACE: I hope you heard that, Richard Herman.
And to you, David Caplan, what is his history regarding angry outbursts?
DAVID CAPLAN, "STAR" MAGAZINE: Alec Baldwin has been spotted all over, really, the New York area getting into fights. First of all, him and Kim got into a very loud fight in Long Island. Photographers caught that on tape. He got into a fight with someone on his play last year, and an actress actually stormed off the set and said she didn`t want to work with him anymore, so he was a bad boy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-one-year-old Veronica Roadside told her husband she`s taking her 4-year-old daughter, Alexis, to visit relatives in Newton Square, Pennsylvania. But things quickly turn suspicious when no one hears from the mother or the little girl for several days.
Then, a hairdresser in a nearby town comes forward with information the 4-year-old girl was given a full makeover by her mother, the little girl`s once long brown hair cut short and dyed black. Now, an Amber Alert issued for Alexis Roadside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In this particular case, both the mother and the father were ordered to undergo psychiatric examinations, and so there must be some -- and because the court almost always sides with the child`s natural mother, the fact that this child was ordered to be in the custody of the grandparents is evidence that they did not feel the child was comfortable or the court did not feel the child was safe in the hands of the mother.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A 4-year-old little girl goes missing, a little girl with long, light brown hair. Here`s the picture of Alexis Roadside. She`s missing day 13, and then we learn that she was last seen with her mother getting her hair cropped short and dyed black.
Is the mother connected to her disappearance? This is what the little girl may look like now. We are hearing, as we go to air, that there is breaking news. Out to Kathleen Brady Shea with "The Philadelphia Inquirer," what can you tell us?
KATHLEEN BRADY SHEA, REPORTER, "PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER": Well, Nancy, Alexis has been found. She and her mother are in the custody of police in Miami-Dade County, and I learned this while I was sitting here waiting to be on the show, because the district attorney, Joseph Carroll, got a phone call.
GRACE: Let`s go out to Mr. Carroll, Joseph Carroll joining us. What happened? Where is she? Where`s the child?
JOSEPH CARROLL, CHESTER COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: The child is now in the custody of Miami-Dade Police Department in Florida. And that information came to me just as I was sitting here preparing for your show.
GRACE: With us, the Chester County district attorney, Joseph W. Carroll. How was she traced all the way to Miami-Dade, Florida, from Pennsylvania?
CARROLL: That`s quite a bit of good police work by the Pennsylvania State Police, the FBI, U.S. marshal`s office and state and local police departments all across the country. She had been traced through various means to the Houston, Texas, area. There was actually video discovered of her in Houston, Texas, trying to board a train bound for Florida. She, however, got immediately off that train and tried to hire a private driver to take her to Florida, and police have been following up leads ever since, and they made out very well.
GRACE: Also with us tonight, Corporal Bill La Torre. Welcome back, Corporal. You first told us about this case. Tell me the chain of events as they unfolded.
CORPORAL BILL LA TORRE, PA STATE POLICE: Hi, Nancy. I was advised by my office that the Miami-Dade Police Department had become aware that Veronica had Alexis Roadside down in the Miami-Dade area. We quickly arranged communication between the various agencies. We can confirm at this time that Veronica Roadside is under arrest, she is in custody, and that Alexis Roadside is safe and unharmed.
GRACE: You know, back to you, Corporal Bill La Torre, why did the mother have her to start with? Neither the mother nor the father had custody. The grandparents did.
LA TORRE: The grandparents -- the paternal grandparents, I should say -- had custody of Alexis. You know, the details of the order that was issued and everything else, I think your correspondent from "America`s Most Wanted" actually got into some of that.
GRACE: And, also, how did they make their way from Pennsylvania all the way down to Florida un-apprehended?
LA TORRE: Well, certainly, we discussed peripheral issues that needed to be looked into, and this is the time where we`ll start doing that and finishing up our investigation.
GRACE: Joining us, Ed Miller with "America`s Most Wanted." Welcome back, Ed. What can you tell us?
ED MILLER, REPORTER, "AMERICA`S MOST WANTED": Well, Nancy, first of all, let me just say this, because we`re very excited here at "America`s Most Wanted," because, you know, this show was founded on the notion that a kidnapped child is everyone`s business, that no matter where a child is kidnapped, whether it be Montana or Virginia or Florida, that everyone all over the country should be looking for this child. And that sort of proves that, because there were a lot of eyes and ears because of your show and because of "America`s Most Wanted," that they were out looking for this child.
And that`s the most important thing here, because, you know, other children will be kidnapped, whether by a stranger or by a parent, and that`s the important thing. If there is a kidnapped child, everyone should be looking for it.
To answer your question of how that child ended up with the mother, you`re absolutely right: Neither the mother nor the father were supposed to be left alone at any time with that child. The child was supposed to be in the custody of the grandparents. We have learned law enforcement sources are telling me that the mother threatened -- or the father threatened to return the child to the grandparents, and that`s when the mother took her.
GRACE: Back to you, Corporal Bill La Torre with the Pennsylvania State Police, were you getting tips from callers?
LA TORRE: Yes, as a matter of fact, as soon as your show aired the segment, we immediately began to get phone calls from callers and, you know, we began following up leads since last night. So that was very helpful.
GRACE: Corporal, I`m just not getting that she came all the way from Pennsylvania to Miami-Dade. She didn`t have a car; she didn`t take a flight. What, did she take the train the whole way?
LA TORRE: Well, you know, certainly these are some of the things that we need to look into. She did have a large amount of cash with her, approximately $10,000. So, you know, I`m sure that went a long way towards whatever means that she used to get from Newark down to Houston.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Alexis Roadside has been found. Apparently, her appearance altered to look like a little boy. The 4-year-old girl missing now 13 days.
Out to the lines. Pam in North Carolina, hi, Pam.
CALLER: Hi.
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
CALLER: Can you tell me why the mother was ordered to have a psychiatric evaluation and why the little girl was taken from her?
GRACE: I think both parents were ordered that, correct, Joseph Carroll? Do I have Mr. Carroll with me? Yes, were they both ordered to have a mental evaluation?
CARROLL: They were.
GRACE: And why Florida, Corporal Bill La Torre?
LA TORRE: I`m sorry, Nancy, what was that?
GRACE: Why Florida? Why did they go to Florida?
LA TORRE: Nancy, we did do some homework, and we did find that there were some contacts in Florida on the Atlantic side of the state.
GRACE: We can confirm, at 7:55, the child was found in Miami-Dade, Florida. Veronica Roadhouse (sic) being processed at the jail. Right now, the little girl safe.
Let`s stop to remember Army Sergeant Mario de Leon, just 26, San Francisco, California, enlisted straight from high school. He put his studies on Santa Rosa Junior College on hold to re-enlist. He loved hip- hop, "Star Wars," drifting, fast cars. Known by the Hawaiian name Kawika, he always had a smile. Loves making people laugh. Dreamed of becoming a firefighter. He leaves behind a widow, Erika, and a 2-year-old son, Keoni, mother, Barbara, and two brothers, Dave and Bryce (ph). Mario de Leon, American hero.
Thank you to our guests, but especially to you for inviting us into your home. And tonight happy birthday to 86-year-old Fay Truet (ph). Happy birthday, friend.
And tonight, congratulations to Laura Moody (ph), set to graduate Florida A&M, the College of Law, as valedictorian. She`s a victims` advocate and plans to work with the state attorney`s for victims` rights, a cause dear to both of our hearts. Congratulations, valedictorian, superstar, Laura Moody (ph).
See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
