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Nancy Grace

Court Fines Anna Nicole`s Mother for Frivolous Motion; Sandra Bullock and the Stalker

Aired April 27, 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: Breaking news tonight. In another unexpected twist, the parties square off for a legal showdown in the case of covergirl Anna Nicole Smith and her 7-month-old baby girl, her only heir, Dannielynn Smith, that baby set to inherit nearly half a billion dollars. After California photographer Larry Birkhead`s DNA proves he`s the biological dad, he thought he was home free and set to jet off this morning to the U.S. with the baby. But hey, not so fast. Just hours ago, Anna Nicole`s mom, Virgie Arthur, in court on a last-minute emergency appeal to keep that plane from liftoff, Arthur fighting tooth and nail for baby Dannielynn but also for control of the half-a-billion-dollar stake the baby is set to inherit.
Also tonight, another star falls prey to a stalker, this time all- American good girl Sandra Bullock. Here`s the twist. The star`s longtime female stalker taking deadly aim at Bullock`s husband.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She seems really down to earth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not hard to find fans of actress Sandra Bullock, but one admirer reportedly crossed the line.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She stated that she has seen all her movies and appears to be obsessed with the actress.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-five-year-old Marcia Valentine (ph) was spotted by Bullock`s husband, motorcycle mogul Jesse James (ph), at her Sunset Beach home, lying down on the driveway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She yelled some obscenities at him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When James attempted to call police, Valentine jumped in her Mercedes, allegedly speeding towards him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But every time he moved out of the way, she would try to maneuver the car toward him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bullock and James`s 10-year-old son witnessed the incident from a window. James was not injured. Valentine escaped but was found nearby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. First, just hours ago in a Bahamian courtroom, is it the final showdown over the 7-month-old heir to covergirl Anna Nicole Smith?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A major development in the Anna Nicole Smith baby battle. Larry Birkhead could be coming back to the U.S. with his daughter, Dannielynn, as soon as this weekend, and it looks like he won`t be sharing custody with Anna Nicole`s estranged mother, Virgie Arthur. A judge has all but packed the suitcase for Larry and Dannielynn, paving the way for a long-awaited homecoming.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Up until all of the -- all of these appeals and files by Virgie, had told her and me point-blank that, You know what? We`ll come to Texas. You can come up here. You can see the baby. It`ll be fantastic. I want you to be part of her life because she needs to need to know about Anna when Anna was younger, as well. And now she may be, you know, kind of screwing herself, to be quite frank.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve prevailed all along. We know that no matter what happens, we`re going to come through this OK and she`s going to come home. It`s just sad that we have to go through this fighting because I know Larry had no intentions of keeping Virgie out of the baby`s life, and still doesn`t.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not a very sophisticated woman, and all of a sudden, she`s in the spotlight and she`s got her friends and her family and her attorneys egging her on, egging her on. We know she doesn`t have a leg to stand on, legally anyway. The only judge that matters here is Larry Birkhead, and she is alienating him.

LARRY BIRKHEAD, ANNA NICOLE`S FORMER BOYFRIEND: I`m the father. And it`s been a long road, and I`m just happy to, you know, have this behind me and just to be able to start a life with my daughter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Happy to have it behind you? Hey, you`re still stuck in the Bahamas. This guy can`t get away with his baby girl, Dannielynn.

Let`s go straight out to Jason Kennedy with E! News. Jason, what happened in court today?

JASON KENNEDY, E! NEWS ENTERTAINMENT: Nancy, first off, thank you so much for having me back. A lot went down in the Bahamas today. Virgie Arthur`s last-minute appeal was denied. The judge threw it out, said she really had no basis for calling this emergency appeal, this emergency hearing. They even slapped her with a $3,000 fine.

GRACE: Ouch!

KENNEDY: Pretty upset. Yes, pretty bad there. And still the saga`s not over for Larry Birkhead. He was able to get the birth certificate for the baby changed. You might remember that Dannielynn`s last name was Stern on the birth certificate. That was changed to Birkhead today, so legally, of course, we know he is the father. But now it comes down to this passport issue. He needs to get this passport to get the baby out of the country and bring her back into the U.S. So it`s all a matter of time right now.

GRACE: Well, what`s the holdup with the passport?

KENNEDY: The passport -- this is very interesting. It`s just a saga over and over for Larry Birkhead. There is some sort of annual luncheon in the Bahamas going on today, so they`re not going to be able to give the passport to Larry Birkhead. That may happen possibly over the weekend or as early as Monday.

GRACE: Wait, wait, wait! An annual luncheon in the Bahamas? To you, Diane Dimond. You mean the whole island is at a luncheon and the kid can`t get a passport? What do you mean, a luncheon? Diane?

DIANE DIMOND, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Oh, I`m sorry. I didn`t know that was for me. Yes. Apparently, the embassy there, where you go and get -- you know, you take in your birth certificate and you say, Here it is, I need a new passport, they close down for this annual luncheon.

You know, what could happen to this guy next, Nancy? First of all, they try to do the autopsy. It gets delayed because the ME won`t sign the confidentiality. Then they try to bury her, and Virgie Arthur has this appeal, and so the burial gets put off. Now this baby is delayed in leaving the Bahamas and getting to the United States to meet her father`s parents. I believe that that`s where he wants to take her, to Kentucky, so the baby can meet his family. I don`t know when he`s going to get out.

GRACE: I remember it seemed to all start when that funeral home, that local funeral home would not sign the confidentiality clause. That threw the monkeywrench in the works, and that was months ago.

Back out to you, Jason Kennedy with E! News. OK, what time did court start this morning, and who was there?

KENNEDY: Court started very early this morning, around 10:00 AM, I believe. Howard K. Stern was, surprisingly, there. On whose side, you ask? He was there fighting for Larry Birkhead. They are against Virgie Arthur. And like you mentioned, Nancy, she`s all about these last-minute appeals. You might remember she filed a last-minute appeal to have the funeral stopped for Anna Nicole Smith a while back.

So in the courtroom, there was three-judge panel there to make the decision. They lambasted her attorneys and Virgie Arthur for basically taking everybody`s time up. It lasted about 48 minutes. And she got the fine, three grand.

GRACE: Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: High drama, and a major development in the battle over Anna Nicole Smith`s baby. Larry Birkhead is heading home, and with him baby Dannielynn. This after Anna Nicole`s estranged mother, Virgie Arthur, tried to block him at the last minute.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was with him today when he got the birth certificate, which made him, as you can imagine, very happy, and he was ecstatic. As a matter of fact, I can tell you that when he walked out of the registrar`s office here with the birth certificate, tried to get in the car to go back to his lawyer`s office, people starting say, Oh, it`s Larry. Congratulations. You know, We heard that you`ll be able to go home. He held up the birth certificate out the window, and people went crazy, started cheering him on the streets of downtown Nassau. It was just amazing, saying, Congratulations, we wish the best to you.

But the second step in all of that is he has to go to the U.S. embassy to get the passport, correct, to be able to get off this island. Apparently, they are having an awards banquet this afternoon, the entire embassy, and are unavailable until Monday.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good to know our American tax dollars at work there, the U.S. embassy in the Bahamas.

Take a look at what Virgie Arthur was fighting for in court today. She wanted joint guardianship with the biological father. She wanted joint guardianship, like a mom and dad would have after a divorce. No way! She wanted sole guardianship of the baby in the event of Larry Birkhead`s death. She also wanted some type of control over Howard K. (SIC) Marshall`s estate, at least that portion that Anna Nicole Smith may get. Also, she wants to have a joint wrongful death lawsuit against the doctors. She wants to join in with Birkhead and the baby. Why? Because she doesn`t have standing. Now, the unusual part is, all Birkhead would get out of the deal is that she would no longer fight for baby Dannielynn.

Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us, Renee Rockwell, Doug Burns, Renee out of the Atlanta jurisdiction, Doug out of New York. To you, Renee. Have you ever -- do you see what she`s trying to do, like a little barnacle, trying to glom onto Birkhead or the baby`s claim for wrongful death of Anna Nicole Smith -- I don`t know who they`re going to sue, what doctor -- and trying to get in on that money of Howard K. Marshall`s.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: And you know what, Nancy? You said it, money, money, money, money. But what she needs to be thinking about, if she wants any part of that baby`s life, is to get together with Daddy. She`s not acting like a granny, she`s acting like a litigious person. And what happened today? She got the smackdown. She has to pay $3,000 in attorneys` fees. She`s going about it wrong, Nancy.

GRACE: Well, I tell you, it`s very unusual, Doug Burns, to, A, get defeated at every request you make, especially the most important one, when it would be her having control over J. Howard Marshall`s estate, if baby Dannielynn gets any of that. But then to have to pay $3,000, to write a check for $3,000 -- what was that about?

DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s like the old joke we always say in court, Those are excellent, compelling positions, denied, OK? And as far as sanctions are concerned, you only get sanctioned when you bring a position that has no support whatsoever in any applicable authority. It`s totally meritless. It`s rare, and it just shows how weak and ridiculous those positions were. I said a hundred times, the biological parent controls over a grandparent.

GRACE: To Nancy Hass, joining us, a special guest out of Davey (ph), Florida. This is Larry Birkhead`s attorney. What was Birkhead`s reaction when he found out? Here he is, he`s ready to leave today, our sources say to his family in Kentucky, planning to leave today with the baby, finally coming home, and now a last-minute appeal by Virgie Arthur, once again.

NANCY HASS, LARRY BIRKHEAD`S ATTORNEY: Well, you know what? We weren`t surprised. Virgie has tried every trick in the book to delay the proceedings, to prevent Larry from leaving with the baby. Very disappointing. But you know what? We knew right from the start that she had no standing, that it wasn`t going to be successful. And Larry`s just disappointed that he couldn`t leave the Bahamas with Dannielynn today to join his family. But you know what? That`s going to happen on Monday, hopefully, first thing. And...

GRACE: Nancy, wait a minute. Don`t count the chickens before they hatch because for all I know, while we`re working, OK, and paying our tax dollars, the U.S. embassy down in the Bahamas may have another lunch and they`re gone the whole day. I mean, you go up to your embassy and they`re closed the whole day for a lunch for themselves! That`s what happened to Birkhead today.

Out to the lines. Lisa in Indiana. Hi, Lisa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I love your show.

GRACE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just wanted to ask, is Larry Birkhead planning to let Howard K. Stern have anything to do with baby Dannielynn after he leaves?

GRACE: That`s a really good question. Out to Mike Brooks. It`s my understanding that he is going to allow Stern to see the baby.

MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, SERVED ON FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: That`s our understanding, Nancy. And I tell you what. Virgie -- I think she just cut off her nose to spite her face today. She needs to give it up. You know, I like Virgie. I sat next to her in the court of appeals. I tell you, Nancy, the court of appeals in the Bahamas, they are no- nonsense, as we saw again today. But you know, she may have just given up her grandparent`s visitation because of what she`s done to Larry, trying to hold it up again. So it should be interesting to see what happens when they come back here to the states. But she has no standing whatsoever now.

GRACE: Out to Maureen in New York. Hi, Maureen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I love your show.

GRACE: Thank you, dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) to the chase there. I wanted to ask about the U.S. embassy. And why does Larry Birkhead have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars with an attorney? What about his congressman? To me, this is kidnapping. This is his child.

GRACE: You know what? It`s very unusual that he`s had to go through so many hoops. But I promise you, Maureen, if he had tried to get one of his congressmen to pay attention to him up in Washington, D.C., he`d still be on the phone right now, waiting for somebody to pick up. Going to the Bahamian court may have been the fastest route for him.

I want to go back to Jason Kennedy with E! News Entertainment. Jason, tell me the scene. What happened? I understand the court was so angry at Virgie Arthur, they actually said, You`ve wasted the court`s time. You`re weak.

KENNEDY: Yes. She said -- when she walked into that courtroom, there were, again, a three-judge panel there that were very upset with how, basically, everything was being conducted, how Virgie Arthur`s attorneys conducted themselves. And they were really trying to figure out why exactly was this going on. Why did everybody have to come for this emergency last-minute appeal? What were the grounds? What was her basis? Why was she doing this? And that`s why they slapped her with this fine.

And I remember talking to you before about this, just the whole scene outside of the courtroom -- people boo. They were booing her at Anna`s funeral. She is the bad person in this situation that everybody`s upset with, basically.

GRACE: You know, at the very beginning, remember, Jason, it seemed as if Virgie Arthur had formed an alliance against Howard K. Stern. And somehow, in the end, Stern and Birkhead have formed an alliance. I think they`re all three wet cats in a barrel. It`s all about the baby, and they`ll form whatever alliance they need at the moment to get what they want. But how did this happen?

KENNEDY: It`s very selfish, if you ask me. But when you talk to Larry Birkhead, in multiple interviews, he said, yes, he makes no bones about it, that she was on his side for most of this -- for most of the hearing, through the funeral, where she was going to be buried, all of this. And then for her to basically side with her own selfish motivations is very surprising to Larry.

And we`ve talked about it before. She`s shooting herself in her foot. And Larry`s said clearly, I don`t mind if she is a grandmother. I don`t mind if she sees this baby. But the more we go through this, the more we talk about this and you waste people`s time, you have to ask yourself, is Larry Birkhead going to allow, after all of this, Virgie Arthur to see Dannielynn.

GRACE: So bottom line, when is he going to get to leave the Bahamas and come home to Kentucky with his family?

KENNEDY: If this luncheon can end, maybe over the weekend he can work something out with the embassy...

GRACE: You really think they`re going to be open over the weekend?

KENNEDY: No. Probably...

GRACE: They`re closed. We`ve already tried to call.

KENNEDY: They`re done. They`re done.

GRACE: We got an answering machine. We`ll be lucky if...

KENNEDY: Monday.

GRACE: ... they`re back at 10:00 AM on Monday down there.

KENNEDY: It looks like Monday for him. This guy simply cannot (INAUDIBLE) But let`s hope for everybody that he can get out by Monday and head off to Kentucky, where he`s got family. The guy`s lost 20 pounds. He`s ready to put all this behind him. You can see it physically just talking to him, and in his face.

GRACE: To Nancy Hass, Larry Birkhead`s attorney. Is it true that he made about two million bucks off the photo spread to "OK!" magazine? And if he did, did he put that money in trust for Dannielynn?

HASS: OK, first of all, I cannot reveal anything that my client and I may have discussed with regard to that, Nancy. But I will tell you...

GRACE: What if I said, Please?

(LAUGHTER)

GRACE: OK.

HASS: Sorry. I have good ethics. But -- even though you`re very persuasive. But I will tell you that Larry`s primary interest is protecting Dannielynn and her future and that, with that in mind, you need to know that whatever his earnings are, that he is focused on raising her, on providing her with every benefit possible. And as his attorneys, we`ve advised him accordingly, so...

GRACE: And you know, Nancy, it`s a good thing because it`s going to be a long haul before the J. Howard Marshall estate is ever settled. It`s already been a battle for many, many years. She could be in college by the time that is finally settled.

Very quickly, to Jamie in Nebraska. Hi, Jamie.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How`re you doing?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How is Virgie Arthur affording all these legal bills, these attorney bills?

GRACE: Good question. To you, Diane Dimond. How`s she doing it?

DIMOND: You know, that`s the big $64,000 question. And I think it`s not over. I mean, people keep saying, Well, she`s lost. She`s got no standing. She`s going away. Even the Bahamian judges today, Nancy, talked about when Dannielynn Hope comes back to the United States, the custody issue opens up again. And wherever Virgie`s getting her money from now, she`s probably going to get her money from that place again to start the custody battle again here in the United States.

GRACE: Diane, you`re absolutely right. They`re U.S. citizens. They`re going to come back. And remember, Birkhead may visit Kentucky, but he lives in California, which is governed by the kooky ninth circuit court of appeals. And they`d be just the type to give grandparents rights.

We`ll all be right back. But very quickly, to tonight`s "Case Alert." Caught on tape, a 101-year-old grandmother pummeled by a cowardly punk. Look at him! A person of interest tonight in custody. The super-spunky senior, who uses a walker, was on her way to church when she was knocked to the floor by this thug. He punched her three times in her face. All this to wrestle the old lady`s pocketbook away, containing just $33. Book him!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got a little angry, you know. And I said, Oh, that so-and-so, I hope you get caught!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB CHILTON, "OK!": Larry told "OK!" exactly that in his interview. He said that he was shocked and surprised. And to suddenly hear that Virgie was, you know, up against him, you know, I`m sure he feels betrayed, stabbed in the back by this woman, you know, this very sort of lovely, you know, very sort of grandmother-looking woman all of a sudden saying, Actually, Larry, no, now I`m against you, and I want this, this and this, and I want it now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That`s Rob Chilton reporting with "OK!" magazine. Today, Larry Birkhead set to leave the Bahamas with his baby girl, proven by his DNA, to go home to Kentucky to see his family. Not so fast, Birkhead. Virgie Arthur filing a last-minute emergency appeal to keep that plane from taking off. And you know what? Even though she was overruled, it worked. He`s still stuck in the Bahamas. Probably won`t get out until next week.

Out to you, Nancy Hass. This is Larry Birkhead`s attorney. I`ve got some news for you, a little free legal advice to give to your client. According to the Web site, here are the U.S. embassy hours. Oh, to have these hours, Nancy. Of course, we`d starve if we only worked this much. Monday, 9:00 to 11:00. Then they break for a good two hours. They come back, 1:00 to 3:00. Then it`s over -- 9:00 to 11:00, 1:00 to 3:00, Monday through Thursday. On Friday, they cut it short, 9:00 to 11:00, it`s all over. So I advise him to be there at 8:59 with his toe on the threshold.

HASS: And you can bet that`s exactly what we`ve told him.

GRACE: And I`m not even going to charge him for that legal advice.

Quick break, everybody. We`ll be right back.

But to "Case Alert." Big thank you to our viewers who helped in the search for a 4-year-old Pennsylvania girl. Countless tips poured in after we aired the show Monday night, leading police to discover Alexis Roadside alive and well, Miami, Florida, the alleged kidnapper, the little girl`s own mom, arrested, the grandparents tonight reunited with little Alexis Roadside.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUDY BIRKHEAD, LARRY BIRKHEAD`S SISTER: He got a chance to see what fatherhood is all about. He woke up with her. He fed her, loved on her. And he took care of her. He -- it was great. It was heart-warming, and I just can`t even tell you how excited he was when we talked with him about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That is Judy Birkhead, Larry Birkhead`s sister, speaking.

Out to the lines. Maryanne in Florida. Hi, Maryanne.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good evening, Nancy. My question is, in the wake of the guardianship issue of Dannielynn, if something, God forbid, were to happen to Larry Birkhead, what would happen with the baby? And who would have custody of her?

GRACE: Oh, Maryanne, please don`t throw a wrench in the works. What about it, Nancy Hass? You`re Larry Birkhead`s attorney.

HASS: Well, as we have advised Larry, he needs to do some estate planning, and he will have a will and Larry will name a guardian for Dannielynn. So that`s something we are on top of and that we anticipated, and we`ve advised him accordingly. So Dannielynn would go to one of Larry`s family members, perhaps his sister, Judy, who`s just a wonderful person, a great mom. And so Larry will make that decision ultimately. But we`re on top of the estate planning, and that child will be taken care of.

GRACE: Well, you know what? Let`s just hope he beats the mortality tables or we`ll all end back in court.

Very quickly, Dr. Saunders, why the struggle on Virgie`s behalf? Can`t she just be like a regular grandmother that comes and visits? Does she have to have full custody?

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Look, Nancy, one can`t help but assume that this has to do with the Marshall estate and an awful lot of greed. Look, she was estranged from Anna Nicole for 12 years, and maybe this sort of behavior is the reason why.

GRACE: When we come back, a lady suspect stalking Hollywood superstar Sandra Bullock. Now the stalker`s out on bond. Ridiculous!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN HEADLINE NEWS ANCHOR: In Sandra Bullock`s next film, she`s actually play the role of a stalker. But in a real life, a stalker caused Sandra major drama. Authorities in California say this woman -- take a look -- 45-year-old Marcia Valentine, they say she appears to be obsessed with Sandra Bullock and that she tried repeatedly to run over Sandra`s husband, "Monster Garage" star and motorcycle mogul Jesse James.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesse James was leaving their house on Sunday, opens the garage, and this woman starts shouting at him, and then jumps into her car, which is a fairly late model Mercedes, and, according to the police, tries to run him over by going forward, then backing up, two or three times, and then speeds off. Jesse James got out of the way each time, wasn`t hurt, but clearly this was terrifying, not only for him, but also for Sandra Bullock and James` 10-year-old son, who saw this happen from their home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Incredible! And this lady stalker is actually out on bond. I want to go out to Detective Mike Proctor, expert in stalking investigation. Isn`t this the lady that`s always laying out in their driveway?

DET. MIKE PROCTOR, EXPERT: Yes, that`s the information I`m getting. And probably one of the reasons that she`s laying out in the driveway is, when the garage door opens, she`s hoping that someone`s going to have to stop the car when they back up or see her and then make contact.

GRACE: To Orange County Sheriff Spokesperson Jim Amormino, Jim, thank you for being with us. It`s amazing to me that this -- first of all, the phenomenon of a female stalker, number one, is unusual. But, number two, how many times has this woman allegedly been on Sandra Bullock and her husband`s property?

JIM AMORMINO, ORANGE CO. SHERIFF: She has been on their property several times, where she was lying in the driveway in front of the garage door.

GRACE: Why?

AMORMINO: Well, we believe that she is an obsessed fan of the actress. And like Mr. Proctor said, if she`s lying in the driveway, they have to either back up or go forward and stop the vehicle or run her over. And I`m sure they`re not going to do that. They have to get out of the car, and she makes contact with him.

GRACE: With us, Orange County Sheriff Spokesperson Jim Amormino, Sheriff, what does she want? Does she want to marry Sandra Bullock? Does she want to live with Sandra Bullock? Does she want to star in a movie with Sandra Bullock?

AMORMINO: Well, it`s hard to say what the motive is in this case. It`s hard to get into a sick mind. So, in this particular case, it`s still under investigation. As to the motive, I think we`re just going to have to look into the case a little further and see exactly what her motive is.

GRACE: Well, what I don`t understand is how this woman can come on her property so many times, and she always gets right back out on bond. She`s out tonight. She`s probably right over staring with a pair of binoculars right into Sandra`s kitchen window.

AMORMINO: Well, I hope not. But if we see her anywhere around there, of course, we will make contact with her. She was arrested for assault with a deadly weapon, the vehicle, and that is a bailable offense. Bail was set at $25,000, and she did bail out the next day.

GRACE: To Jason Kennedy with E!, Jason, and the husband, this is a husband you don`t want to mess with. The woman must be crazy. Isn`t this the guy, the big guy that makes choppers and has the "Monster Garage" show?

JASON KENNEDY, E! NEWS ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he doesn`t mess around. He`s all tattooed up. I`ve interviewed Jesse several times. A very nice guy, but huge...

GRACE: Do you mean tattooed?

KENNEDY: Tattooed, yes. Tattooed.

GRACE: OK. Continue.

KENNEDY: And you don`t want to mess around with Jesse James, but you can only imagine, as he`s walking out of his house, you had his 10-year-old son and Sandra watching from the window as this is going down. And, reportedly, I`ve heard from different blogs and Web sites that he has all types of weapons for safety, and it`s probably a hobby of his, inside of the house.

This Marcia Valentine woman, she is lucky that nothing else happened. But it`s so interesting. She didn`t have any prior convictions or arrests, and she just bails out on $25,000 bond. It`s pretty scary.

GRACE: Well, when you were saying that Marcia Valentine is lucky, I don`t know if I agree with you, Mr. Kennedy.

KENNEDY: No.

GRACE: Let me remind you of...

KENNEDY: Sandra`s lucky.

GRACE: Yes, some other celebrity stalkers that didn`t come out as well. Remember Rebecca Schaeffer, the star of "My Sister Sam"? She was killed by her stalker. Anna Nicole Smith was stalked relentlessly. John Lennon was stalked to his death; there`s his stalker, came upon him at the Dakota and shot him dead in front of his wife. Jody Foster, longtime stalker, there he is. In fact, he took a shot at Reagan out of his love for Jody Foster. Madonna, this guy won`t go away. Remember Monica Seles, the tennis star, the superstar? Her stalker actually stabbed her at a tennis tournament. Selena, killed by a female stalker, the president of her fan club.

Jennifer Aniston, this guy, her stalker will not -- turns up inside her home. He gets in the home. Catherine Zeta-Jones, same thing, longtime stalker after her and her husband, Michael Douglas. Also stalked by the same lady. They`ve been in court so many times, they`re going to have to use the public defender. David Letterman, this lady`s been stalking him for years, years. She won`t go away. Brad Pitt, stalker. And of course, Bjork has a stalker, as well.

The scary part, to you, Patricia Saunders, is I don`t think the law treats it harshly enough, like this lady, Marcia Valentine, she goes in jail. She`s out on $30,000 bond. You know what that is? That`s $3,000. I don`t even know if she had to put up $3,000 to get out.

DR. PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: It really is frightening, Nancy, because only about 13 percent of all stalkers are celebrity stalkers. But the vast majority of those people are delusional. That means that a fantasy, one can tell that it`s not real. But in people who are delusional, they believe it`s real.

So celebrity stalkers have a script in their head, and they can get enraged if the object of their affection or obsession doesn`t follow the script. Stalkers are always dangerous, whether they`re delusional or just obsessed, because they`ve already crossed the line between the idea and action. They`re walking around; they`re staring; they`re approaching the celebrity; and it is scary.

GRACE: Now I`ve been told in my ear, it`s not $30,000. It`s $25,000 cash bond! To you, Renee Rockwell, she`s probably in Sandra Bullock`s front yard right now with a pair of binoculars.

RENEE ROCKWELL, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, 10 percent of $25,000 and she`s out. But you know what else? I bet you a condition of that bond is nowhere near, not even 200 yards. And if she violates that, then she`s back in jail with no bond.

GRACE: You know what, Renee? Let me see your face. Let me see Renee`s face. And Doug Burns, too, while we`re at it. Why did you even bother to say, "If she gets back within 250 yards"? This woman has been out like a revolving door. They tell her every time, "Don`t go near Sandra Bullock."

ROCKWELL: Nancy, and she will be back. And if she goes back, she`ll be locked up, no bond.

GRACE: Of course, she`s probably back tonight.

ROCKWELL: If she lays down in front of the car, next time he just needs to run over her. And instead of an obsessed fan, she`ll just be a flat fan, and she`ll be -- then they`ll get rid of her.

GRACE: There has not been an actual arrest of this woman. She has apparently got a fixation with Sandra Bullock.

Out to you, Jason Kennedy. It`s interesting to me that there`s actually apparently going to be a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, that weapon being the car.

KENNEDY: Yes. And it was interesting how everything played out after that. She wasn`t even arrested when this incident took place last Sunday. It actually was the next day, on Monday, where police came to Jesse James, they presented a police lineup, and Jesse actually pointed this woman out, saying, "This was the woman who did this." She was actually arrested close to their house again. Who knows what she was doing in that area? But one can only imagine, probably stalking them again, allegedly.

GRACE: Back to sheriff Jim Amormino, Sheriff, how many times has she gone on the property?

AMORMINO: Several times. Several times. I don`t have an exact number. But on several occasions, she has been on the property. And on several occasions, she has laid down in the driveway.

GRACE: Good lord. Out to the lines, Jennifer in New York. Hi, Jennifer.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. I just have a question. I wonder why this woman, Ms. Valentine, wasn`t charged with attempted murder? I mean, this is a vehicle trying to run somebody over.

GRACE: Good question. Diane Dimond, why not? Apparently she took three to four tries at Bullock`s husband.

DIANE DIMOND, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Yes. And I have to note, she has a 2004 Mercedes. She can put up bond like this. This is a dental assistant, but she seems to have some means, so she takes this Mercedes back and forth against this guy. Why the stalking law doesn`t equate for that, I don`t know. I think it just needs more beef in it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(NEWSBREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Forty-five-year-old Marcia Valentine was spotted by Bullock`s husband, motorcycle mogul Jesse James, at their Sunset Beach home lying down on the driveway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She yelled some obscenities at him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When James attempted to call police, Valentine jumped in her Mercedes, allegedly speeding towards him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But every time he moved out of the way, she would try to maneuver the car toward him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: All this, while his wife, superstar Sandra Bullock, and his 10-year-old little girl, watched from the window, as her dad nearly got mowed down by an alleged stalker. I want to go back to Detective Mike Proctor, expert in stalking, and author of "How to Stop a Stalker." A female stalker, very unusual.

PROCTOR: No, not really. We arrest a lot of them.

GRACE: Really? Tell me about it.

PROCTOR: Females stalk, oh, about probably 15 percent to 20 percent of the time that we run across. A lot of them are involved in domestic violence stalkers. They stalk many times a different way than a male would. They don`t have as much lethality usually. But in this case, that`s obviously something that she`s shown that she has a propensity for.

GRACE: Detective Proctor, explain to me what you believe -- you`ve done so much research on this. I mean, I`ve prosecuted stalker cases, but they`re typically ex-boyfriends that won`t go away, ex-husbands. This is a whole, new territory for me. What does she want from Sandra Bullock?

PROCTOR: Well, I`ll tell you what -- and this is what I`ve explained. In fact, I`ve been in contact with Jim and given him a copy of our stalking protocol that we use. It`s about 16 pages on how to investigate the stalker, lay out the charges, et cetera, et cetera, and they`re looking at that right now.

One of the things is that I`m thinking that this particular female, what she does is she sees Sandra Bullock continually on the boob tube, she sees her in the media, she sees her in newsprint. And if you look at Sandra, she appears to be very approachable on the outside. Whether or not she is, I don`t know. I don`t know her. The thing is, she appears that way.

And what this woman does is she`s built up a fantasy life in regards to her. And over the period of time, when she sees her, she adds to that fantasy life. Unfortunately, at this particular juncture, there`s a void in that fantasy, and she`s decided to act out and go after Sandra to get contact with her, because the fantasy is no longer working for her.

Just like your previous guest explained, they script, and they do. And we see that all the time. People like you are stalked on a fairly regular basis -- not necessarily you, Nancy, but people in your business -- because you come on the television day and night, at the same time, and the people build the fantasy life up around you. In fact, the ones we`ve interviewed come out and say, "Well, I know she was talking directly to me."

GRACE: You know, it`s interesting -- with me, Detective Mike Proctor, an expert in stalking -- I`m just trying to figure out what this woman wants from Sandra Bullock. Does she want to marry her, live with her, have sex with her, make a movie with her, be her best friend, go shopping with her? What`s the typical desire of a female stalker?

PROCTOR: Well, it depends. The thing is that she could want all those things you just described. However, until the sheriff completes their investigation, they won`t know exactly what her motive is. And the other thing is, we see this in lesbian stalking relationships and that type of thing, too. We have a lot of those, cross-gender relationships, as well.

GRACE: To Jim Amormino, with the Orange County Sheriff`s Office, Sheriff, I`m just very concerned. I know this lady has gotten on their property and laid out there in the driveway many, many times. She`s only been arrested this one time. And what I don`t understand is why she`s right back out. We see it happen all the time -- or at least I have -- where the stalker is not treated seriously, they get out, and they find a way to get to their victim.

AMORMINO: Well, sometimes that is true. Of course, when we became aware of the crime on Sunday, we took a crime report. We provided extra patrol in the area. In fact, it was a very alert...

GRACE: You took a crime report? No offense, Sheriff, but, what, are you going to wave that at her when she comes up to the front door?

AMORMINO: Oh, no. But keep in mind that the actress`s husband did not know her name or know who she was. So what we did -- if we knew who she was at the time, we would have went and arrested her. All we had was her physical description and the description of the vehicle.

GRACE: Sheriff, did you run a search to see if she`s got a gun?

AMORMINO: Well, I don`t want to get into any specifics of the case. We don`t think she had a gun that day, on Sunday. But again...

GRACE: Does she own a gun?

AMORMINO: I don`t know that. That, I don`t know.

GRACE: I`m very concerned about this.

To the lawyers, Renee Rockwell, Doug Burns. Doug Burns, typically in an aggravated assault case, which this is charged as right now, the deadly weapon is a gun. I`ve seen it be a stick before. I`ve seen it be a car before. And I assume that`s what the deadly weapon is here?

DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. There`s absolutely no question that a car, a truck or any other 4,000- to 6,000-pound piece of machinery can clearly be a deadly weapon. I think it`s an aggravated attempt at assault, obviously. I`m not sure you can elevate it to attempted murder. It`s technically possibly viable, but in the first...

GRACE: Yes, I bet you can imagine it, can you, Doug Burns, defense attorney. I can imagine it...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: ... when you try to mow somebody down four times in a row with a Mercedes. Can you think I`m Clara Harris? She treated her husband like a speed bump there in the parking lot of a hotel after she caught him shacked up with his secretary.

BURNS: It hurts when it hits you, Nancy.

GRACE: Yes. So she`s behind bars on murder right now. That was not a vehicular homicide.

BURNS: I understand.

GRACE: So I think attempted murder would be in order here -- Doug?

BURNS: Very possible. But you`re going to have to specifically show the intent to kill. That`s the hitch.

GRACE: OK. Well, doesn`t the law, Renee Rockwell, presume you intend the natural consequences of your act? You try to run somebody down with a Mercedes, what do you think is going to happen? You`re going to scare them?

ROCKWELL: Well, that`s exactly what the state is going to try to prove. But what the defense needs to do is not try to say anything but: This is a girl with some mental illnesses, and she`s going to have to use that as her defense.

GRACE: Yes, thank you for that.

Jason Kennedy, what`s next? When is she back in court?

KENNEDY: May 22nd is the court date. And let me add to that that Sandra Bullock, not only is she a smart actress, but they`re very smart and savvy people. And there was a 10-year-old stepson involved, Jesse`s son, Sandra`s stepson involved. And she`s probably going to beef up some major security in that area, because there`s some time now where this woman`s going to be out.

GRACE: Very quickly, to tonight`s "Case Alert." There is a new lead in the missing American girl, 17-year-old Alabama beauty Natalee Holloway, disappeared May 2005 on a high school senior trip, Aruba. Dutch police searching the yard of one-time suspect Joran Van Der Sloot, the last person believed to see Holloway alive. The search included teams of police and forensic investigators digging outside Judge Van Der Sloot`s home. Prosecutors say there have been indications justifying this more...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and, more important, the people who touched our lives.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: We are hearing, as we go to air, that there is breaking news.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, Nancy, Alexis has been found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.

GRACE: They`re all set to jet off to the U.S. with Larry Birkhead, the biological dad, but not so fast. Now, in a last-minute standoff, it appears that the maternal grandmother is putting up a fight.

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Hey, you know what? There`s a saying in my field: Scratch a neurotic, you get a borderline. Scratch a borderline, and you get a psychotic. And that means, where there`s a little craziness, there`s usually a lot of craziness.

GRACE: A man behind bars for the brutally beating of an elderly gentleman walks free after the Kentucky Supreme Court sends a fax demanding his release. It`s faxed from a Kroger, you know, the grocery store?

MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE: It sounds like someone that night was drinking too much Kentucky bourbon.

CALLER: Why has it taken four years to go to trial?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It gives a little bit of perspective to what could turn into being almost a lynch mob.

GRACE: I never saw a lynch mob mentality in this case. Everyone was already jumping on the bandwagon day one that somehow Lana Clarkson was responsible for this.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GRACE: Tonight, we stop to remember Petty Officer Second Class Curtis Hall, 24, Burley, Idaho, killed, Iraq. As a teen, he received a Boy Scott honor medal for rescuing his own dad during a rafting trip. On a second tour, he loved his country, basketball, riding a Harley, driving a Jeep, snowmobiling, diving, even training dolphins to clear minds, a ray of sunshine. The youngest of five, he leaves behind a large family, including brother Randy, who also served in Iraq. Curtis Hall, American hero.

Thank you to our guests but, most of all, to you. A special good night from the New York control room tonight. And good night to Al there blowing kisses. He`s headed to London. Walk slow and hurry back, friend. And good night from Atlanta master control. Grayson and David, get to work!

See you all tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END