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Nancy Grace

Report Lisa Stebic`s Blood Found in Husband`s Truck

Aired May 21, 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. Is there a break in the mystery surrounding the missing Chicago mom? A young mother of two reportedly goes for a jog in upscale Chicago suburbs, then never heard from again. Tonight, blood evidence emerges on day 21, reportedly Lisa Stebic`s blood. Stebic and her husband in the middle of a bitter divorce, still living under the same roof at the time of her disappearance.
And tonight, celebutante Paris Hilton treated to even more star treatment, and before she even sets foot in ladies lockup? Her 45-day sentence slashed by half, the jail planning to house her in a more exclusive wing of the jail. Well, now we learn Hilton is too traumatized about her jail sentence to show up for court, that case against Hilton filed by a diamond heiress. Emotional distress? Hilton photographed all over town, hitting the party scene, but a no-show in court. And what about the psychiatrist that wrote the "sick note"?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paris is due to check into a ladies` lock-up that is sure to look nothing like a Hilton hotel room. But this is not the only problem that Miss Paris Hilton has. Apparently, there is another lawsuit pending, a $10 million lawsuit. According to Paris Hilton`s attorney, she cannot appear to defend herself because she`s too distraught over her upcoming prison sentence.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) this is a civil lawsuit that was filed in 2005 by Zeta Graff, who`s a billionaire who`s filed this lawsuit against Paris because Ms. Graff is claiming that Paris was spreading vicious lies. So Ms. Graff (INAUDIBLE) slap her with a $10 million lawsuit. And they were supposed to be in court. However, Dr. Charles Sophy, a Los Angeles psychiatrist, has filed new papers saying that Paris is so distraught, so emotionally, you know, just a wreck that she can`t go to court. The judge said, OK, I agree, Paris is distraught, and August 21 is the new date for this little (ph) lawsuit.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, poor, poor Paris. Yes, and this doctor also claims that forcing Paris to participate in this lawsuit would exacerbate her current mental condition.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I disagree. She`s been out at the Polo Lounge. She`s been at Heavy`s (ph) nightclub, which is the hottest spot for young Hollywood. So there`s been people who`ve seen her around alcohol, who have seen her partying. Whether -- what she`s doing when people aren`t looking, we don`t know. But she really hasn`t changed her lifestyle that much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us tonight. First, blood evidence emerges in the search for a young mom of two. It`s Lisa Stebic, who disappears from upscale Chicago suburbs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After almost three weeks of searching and still no sign of Plainfield mother Lisa Stebic, who turned 38 on Saturday, Lisa Stebic`s estranged husband left the couple`s Plainfield home quickly this morning with their young son in tow, ignoring media requests for comments about Lisa`s disappearance almost three weeks ago.

The couple was in the process of divorcing but still living together. On the day Lisa disappeared, she reportedly mailed to her attorney a petition seeking to have Craig evicted from their home. Now published reports say that Lisa Stebic may have been the victim of foul play. The report says that Lisa`s blood was found on a tarp recovered from Craig`s vehicle, and that a DNA test has also matched it back to the missing mother of two. The report also says police confiscated two vehicles from the couple`s home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Speculation is always pointing to the husband whenever a spouse comes up missing. And you know, kind of like the O.J. Simpson thing, now you`ve found the blood in the car, and it`s, like, OK, that`s even more convincing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Is there finally a break in the case of a missing Chicago mom? She reportedly goes for a jog, last seen by her husband, and is never seen again. Friends and family say no way would Lisa Stebic leave behind her two young children alone.

Straight out to Michele Fiore with WBBM Newsradio. What`s the latest, Michele?

MICHELE FIORE, WBBM NEWSRADIO: Well, while Craig Stebic has not been talking to police except through his attorney, at this point, he is talking to the media. He spoke with reporters with TV cameras who knocked on his door. He`s also talked to us at the vigil that was held, at the first vigil for Lisa Stebic. He also is answering his telephone still.

He gave -- he talked with us at WBBM Newsradio 780 on the telephone about that report of blood being found on his -- on a tarp that was in his pickup truck. Craig Stebic told WBBM that if this report is true, if there indeed was blood on that tarp, it would be because he hunts, he hunts often. And that would be what he believes that that blood could possibly be.

Later in the day, I did talk to Deon Dauby (ph), who is Craig`s attorney. He is telling us that the report is not official at this point, and that -- he says, you know, the same thing that Craig has said -- if it is true, if there is blood, it could possibly be related to Craig`s hunting. Deon Dauby says it is still just an allegation. He has a hard time believing that there is even a tarp in question because he says he has a list from police of all the evidence that they removed from the house the first two times that they came in for consensual searches of the Stebic home. And Deon Dauby says that nowhere on that list does it show that there was a tarp that was taken from the home.

GRACE: Well, there`s more than one way to explain that, Michele Fiore. I want to ask you a couple of questions about his earlier statement that he made to, I believe, WMAQ. And that statement was -- if it`s correct -- was a little more specific. He stated that he had gone deer hunting the week before his wife mysteriously disappeared and that he believed if there was blood on the tarp in the back of his truck, or in his truck, it would have been from deer hunting. Did he say that to WMAQ?

FIORE: Right. Which is confusing, of course, because it`s not exactly deer hunting season up in the upper peninsula right now, as you know. When we spoke with him on the telephone, our reporter from WBBM did specifically ask about the deer hunting. Craig`s response was brief. He was courteous, but he was brief, and he just said, You know what? I hunt. I hunt often. And that was it.

GRACE: So the statement began to change a tiny bit, to morph a tiny bit from deer hunting to hunting, correct?

FIORE: Correct.

GRACE: Interesting. I want to go out to forensic scientist Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky. Koby (ph), there`s more than way to skin a cat. For instance, what he`s talking -- what the lawyer`s talking about, when police go in for a consensual search, or any search, they must make a list of inventory. It`s called the return on the search, what they take from the home. And if they saw blood or what they believed to be blood on a tarp, they could easily, just like they take a fingerprint...

LARRY KOBILINSKY, FORENSIC SCIENTIST: Absolutely.

GRACE: ... could easily scrape the blood and take it, and that doesn`t turn up on the return.

KOBILINSKY: Absolutely right. You know, blood testing is standard operating procedure. There are presumptive tests that can be done in the field. So if something appears to be blood, it could be easily tested and determined if it is blood. The species determination is also quite easy, but that`s done in a laboratory. Clearly, if they found some evidence in the home that indicated a struggle, something of violence took place, that would trigger a further search of the home.

GRACE: Let me think. Let me think. Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us, Steve Greenberg (ph), Joe Lawless out of the Philadelphia jurisdiction, and Susan Moss out of New York, Steve joining us from Chicago. You know, Joe Lawless, veteran defense attorney and author, I wonder if the law governing curtilage (ph) -- in other words, if you have the right to search within the home, you can also search around the home, the yard of the home, whatever you see in the yard, for instance, garages and so forth -- this would definitely -- if it was in plain view, it would definitely fall within the curtilage exception. They could easily take blood they found in a car.

JOE LAWLESS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely. And the point before you can get there, Nancy, it was consent search. They can have taken anything they`d seen. But I think something has to be remembered at this point. There`s been no public statement by the police that they had blood or that there was any blood tests performed. This is a leak that`s been unconfirmed, and it`s just out there. At this point, we don`t know if there is blood. We don`t know if it`s deer blood. We don`t know if there`s blood at all. It`s just something that`s floating around out there, and it`s way too early to say whether or not it is blood or whether or not it was the blood of the victim.

GRACE: That`s a good point, Joe Lawless. I want to go to a special guest joining us, Melanie Greenberg. This is Lisa`s cousin. Melanie, thank you for being with us again. Has the family questioned the police about this report of Lisa Stebic`s blood being found on a tarp?

MELANIE GREENBERG, LISA STEBIC`S COUSIN: You know, immediately after the vigil that we held on Lisa`s birthday, Saturday evening, was when we first learned of this rumor and that the local paper, "The Naperville Sun," will be publishing the story the next morning. We did contact the police, and they are giving the same story they`re giving to reporters, and that is that they will not confirm or deny what the probable cause was to execute the search last week. So we can`t comment on something we don`t know whether it`s true or not.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: I`m not asking you about the PC -- probable cause -- for a search warrant. Didn`t ask that. I want to find out, did you specifically, or anyone in the family, ask, Has Lisa`s blood been found anywhere, much less on a tarp?

MELANIE GREENBERG: You know, I mean, we just asked them, Is this true? And they`re just saying, Everything is sealed, and we cannot tell you, confirm or deny anything.

GRACE: Got it. Got it. Out to Vito Colucci, private investigator. Vito, let`s get real. If this were totally bogus, do you believe in your heart cops would say, Absolutely not, this is a false lead?

VITO COLUCCI, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: That`s right. I`m sure there`s a lot of weight behind this. And I`ll tell you this much, Nancy. If Craig Stebic winds up being arrested for this, he`s going to regret the day that he didn`t get rid of the tarp with the -- let`s say the body, unfortunately. I hate to use that terminology. And I think he thought there was so much maybe deer blood and different things on there and may not have thought, if he is arrested on this.

GRACE: And again, Stebic not named an official suspect.

Take a listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: New evidence tonight in the case of the missing Illinois woman, Lisa Stebic. Her blood has reportedly been found on a tarp in her husband`s car. A police source in the truck (ph) tells "The Naperville Sun" newspaper it was that discovery that led to a search of the couple`s home.

(INAUDIBLE) Stebic told a local Illinois TV station that that blood was actually from a deer. But what have you learned?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, he didn`t tell "The Naperville Sun" that it was from a deer. He did tell us earlier today that it was from a rabbit during a hunting trip that occurred the weekend prior to Lisa`s disappearance.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police are still saying that they don`t have any suspects. They don`t have a person of interest. Is there a sense, though, from your reporting that that could soon change, that we may be learning of someone?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think any legal analyst will be able to tell you that police have to be careful in who they call a suspect and who they don`t because that can interfere with how they proceed with the investigation. But it does seem that there are some very obvious indicators that they may be the routes that they`re going...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Out to the lines. Becky in Kentucky. Hi, Becky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I was wondering exactly how much blood was found?

GRACE: We don`t know for sure yet. To Michele Fiore with WBBM Newsradio. Do we -- does the report list any amount? And I also want to find out, and this is very, very important -- we may not know yet, Michele -- the nature of the blood marking. Was it a spatter? Was it a smear, as if a body had been wrapped up around the tarp? Is it a drop, such as a nosebleed, where one single drop falls on the tarp? It`s very, very significant where on the tarp the blood is and the nature of the blood marking. Michele, do we know anything?

FIORE: And these are all questions that you`re mentioning Deon Dauby has himself. He said to me, if, indeed, the report comes back and it proves positive that there was a tarp, that it was taken out during one of these first two consensual searches of the Stebic home, he wants to know just what you`re asking. How much blood was on it? Was it indeed Lisa Stebic`s blood? And can we even look at DNA anymore? He says that there`s studies out there that show DNA isn`t exactly as proof positive as we may think.

GRACE: What? Wait, wait, wait! Wait! Wait!

FIORE: This is what he said this afternoon.

GRACE: Wait, wait! Wait-wait! Wait-wait!

FIORE: Yes?

GRACE: Who`s this? Who said that?

FIORE: Deon Dauby. That`s Craig`s attorney. He said that there was a study came out not too long ago that questions DNA`s -- whether or not it`s 99.9 percent accurate.

GRACE: Larry, care to comment on that?

KOBILINSKY: ... ridiculous. I mean, it is the gold standard of forensic testing. The only question really that can be asked is, How much blood was there? How did it get there? And when did it get there? We can`t really date a sample as well as we would like to.

GRACE: You know, you`re right about that. Steve Greenberg, defense attorney, when blood is found inside the home or inside the car -- remember that happened in the Scott Peterson case, as well. When that happens, there may be innocent ways to explain the location of the blood, Steve.

STEVE GREENBERG, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: There would be. This is where she lived. This is the car that she went in all the time...

GRACE: Well, she didn`t live in a tarp, Steve.

STEVE GREENBERG: Well, she lived in the house and she went in the car, and who knows how blood got on the tarp without knowing these other details. But the two things in this case that I think are important is, one, Craig Stebic should be keeping his mouth shut. And two, the police haven`t sealed the house, so I don`t think they found anything too significant when they did their search of the house or nobody would still be living in there.

GRACE: I don`t know. I don`t know. Hold on. Remember, Susan Moss, when Peterson was not a suspect, they were following him around and watching what he would do. Remember, he got that rental car and he went back over to San Francisco Bay and would gaze out, basically, to see if Laci`s body had washed ashore? Just because you think someone is a target, may have not been named a target, I mean, a rose by any other name is still a rose, Susan.

SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: That`s absolutely right. And there may be some additional clues in some of the legal documents that have been filed in the divorce action. Verbal abuse is abuse. Intimidation is abuse. Denigration is abuse. These are all allegations that were set forth in Lisa`s exclusive occupancy motion that was signed by her the day she went missing. Certainly, it is possible that things got too far -- went too far that evening and something might have happened to her.

GRACE: Again, Craig Stebic not a suspect, not named by police as a suspect.

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

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Nancy. Crazy about you. And the question is, has anybody yet checked Mr. Stebic`s financial condition and any recent purchases of life insurance?

GRACE: Excellent question. Michele Fiore with WBBM Newsradio, what can you tell us?

FIORE: I can`t tell you anything about that, unfortunately. It`s been a question that`s come up in our newsroom. I can say that much. And just other than speculation, I have nothing I can add about that.

GRACE: Out to Lisa Stebic`s cousin, Melanie Greenberg joining us tonight, making a plea for information about her missing cousin. Melanie, do we know anything about the status of life insurance policies?

MELANIE GREENBERG: You know, I really don`t know. I think Lisa may have only had a very small life insurance policy. You know, Lisa was a woman that worked part-time as a lunch lady for an hourly wage. I don`t think she -- you know, she herself would have purchased a large policy.

GRACE: Well, it may not have been purchased by her. And what can you tell me, Melanie, about that blue truck that I see Mr. Stebic pulling out in? I thought the police had his vehicle.

MELANIE GREENBERG: His vehicle is a different color. I don`t know if that`s another family member`s truck.

GRACE: OK. Got you. With us, Melanie Greenberg. This is Lisa`s cousin. Is there finally a break in the case of Lisa Stebic? Reports that her blood has been found on a tarp in her husband`s vehicle, unconfirmed reports.

Very quickly, to tonight`s "Case Alert." Pit bulls attack a 5-year- old boy at a Detroit gas station, all caught on tape. The 5-year-old at the station with his dad. The dogs run straight for the boy. Tonight we learn the injuries are minor. Police have taken all the dogs from the owner, all of them unlicensed.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Published reports say that Stebic may have been the victim of foul play. The report says that Lisa`s blood was found on a tarp recovered from Craig`s vehicle and that a DNA test has also matched it back to the missing mother of two. The report also says police confiscated two vehicles from the couple`s home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Has blood been found, Lisa Stebic`s blood, on a tarp in the back of her husband`s pickup? He was quick to say it was deer blood. Oddly, it`s not deer season.

Out to Sarah in Illinois. Hi, Sarah.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you?

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

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a question for you. If her husband is considered a suspect, will he lose custody of the children? Is that why they`re not considering him a suspect right now?

GRACE: Excellent question. No, I don`t know why they`re not announcing him a suspect, but he has absolutely not been named a suspect by police. What effect would that have on the children, Susan Moss, if he were named a suspect but not taken into custody?

MOSS: If he were named a suspect, that might give standing for Lisa`s family to go in and ask for a temporary order of custody to take the children away from their dad. Would it be successful? Sometimes it is and sometimes it`s not. But certainly, it would add new players into the mix for the custody battle.

GRACE: To Melanie Greenberg, Lisa`s cousin. Have the children submitted to another interview with police yet, or is the husband refusing that?

MELANIE GREENBERG: As far as I know, Craig is not allowing the children to be interviewed by police again.

GRACE: OK. Out to Lillian Glass, psychologist and author. Lillian, question. The fact that he so readily stated that the blood was likely deer blood from a hunting trip the week before his wife went missing, then when he gave the statement again, according to Michele Fiore, it had morphed a little bit.

LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Yes, that`s very suspicious when that happens because when people change their stories, oftentimes you wonder if they are telling the truth.

GRACE: Another question. Lillian, what about not allowing the children to speak to police?

GLASS: Well, that`s another red flag because if you have nothing to hide, you speak, you let your children speak. And so you really wonder what is going on here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was not unusual for her to leave and go work out in the evening. However, he says he was in the back yard and did not see if she left or was picked up. What`s hard to understand is that her car is still in the family garage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Has Lisa Stebic`s blood been found on a tarp in her husband`s vehicle? Out to you, forensic scientist Dr. Lawrence Kobilinsky. Now that blood has reportedly been found in the car, how would you follow up? What would you do next?

KOBILINSKY: Well, I think we not only have established, or at least it seems that not only do we know that it`s blood and that it`s human blood, but we`ve also got a DNA analysis which shows that it apparently is Lisa`s, if we can trust what we`ve heard. I think the follow-up is to look at that tarp and see if it was used to transport the body, and if, in fact, she was murdered in her home, in which case, the home would have to be searched for signs of struggle, blood, some other indicator that something violent occurred.

GRACE: Out to the lines. Kevin in Florida. Hi, Kevin.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. Does Mr. Stebic have a criminal record of any sort?

GRACE: To my understanding, Vito Colucci, didn`t he have a weapons charge and that`s it, and the police were called out on a domestic?

COLUCCI: Yes, he did. I believe it was just a weapons charge. And they came to the house. Now, his lawyer is trying to downplay it as a simple argument. I`m a former cop. Cops are not going to come for a simple argument. There had to be a lot more to it than that, either a threat, somebody got hit, things of that nature.

GRACE: Vito Colucci, private investigator, joining us.

Very quickly, to tonight`s "Case Alert." A 41-year-old pizza parlor manager charged in the kidnapping of two Missouri boys pleads not guilty at arraignment today, Washington County, Missouri, Devlin facing multiple charges, including kidnapping, sodomy, attempted murder in the case of a then 11-year-old boy missing for four long years.

When we come back, celebutante Paris Hilton, facing a multi-million- dollar slander suit, a no-show in court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paris Hilton`s psychiatrist says she`s too traumatized over her impending sentence to testify in a slander suit brought against her in 2005 by socialite Zeta Graff. But Graff isn`t buying it. Hilton was reportedly at a club within days of claiming she was too distraught to stand trial. A judge postponed the case until August.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paris Hilton will learn when she has to learn. And so far, she hasn`t been put up to that place where she has to change herself. And a point was made that Paris has gone into hiding a little bit. I disagree. She`s been out at the polo lounge. She`s been at Teddy`s night club, which is the hottest spot for young Hollywood. There`s been people who have seen her around alcohol, who have seen her partying. What she`s doing when people aren`t looking, we don`t know, but she really hasn`t changed her lifestyle that much.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Look, I understand girls just want to have fun, but that does not excuse being a no-show in court. You know, if that had happened on my criminal calendars, someone would be arrested by the sheriff and brought into court. It`s called a summons or a subpoena, and it`s got the court stamp on it, and not for nothing.

Out to Ken Baker, editorial director with "Us" magazine, who is Zeta Graff and what lawsuit? We`re not talking about the DUI.

KEN BAKER, "US WEEKLY": No, this is a whole other legal mess that Paris has been in for almost two years.

GRACE: No, no, not Paris Hilton in a legal mess. OK, hit me.

BAKER: I know, shocking, but just bear with me here. In July 2005, Zeta Graff, who is an ex-girlfriend of the boyfriend of Paris Hilton at the time, so the then-boyfriend of Paris Hilton, they got into a big fight.

GRACE: Wait, wait. You`ve got to be specific. Are we talking about Stavros? Are we talking about Paris Latsis? Which one?

BAKER: We`re talking about Paris Latsis.

GRACE: Thank you.

BAKER: Paris Latsis was the other Paris. There were two Parises at the time.

GRACE: The Greek shipping heir.

BAKER: The Greek shipping heir.

GRACE: Has she ever dated a poor person? Just wondering.

BAKER: Haven`t done a full financial background check on them.

GRACE: So Zeta Graff, girlfriend of Paris` new boyfriend, right?

BAKER: Yes, it was an ex-girlfriend.

GRACE: I don`t think you can sue for that, Ken Baker. Give me some more.

BAKER: No. But what happened was, Paris, it is alleged by Zeta Graff, planted some really nasty gossip items and made it up out of whole cloth that Zeta Graff had actually attacked her at this London nightclub, tried to rip a $4 million necklace off of her neck, shouted words, and just went, quote, unquote "berserk." And this was printed in Page Six at the time. And according to Zeta Graff...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Ken, please, this is a legal show. We have to be specific. Page Six of the "New York Post."

BAKER: Page Six of the "New York Post." Now, this is the important point. Now, she has sued for libel and defamation. And it is now going to trial. When was she supposed to go to trial and have a hearing? This week. So last week, her attorney files a motion and says, she`s too distraught, she`s too disturbed, she`s emotionally just in a mess.

GRACE: Well, in this shot, it looks like she`s smoking a doobie, but whatever. Go ahead.

BAKER: Well, maybe that`s why she`s disturbed. But, either way, the lawyer for Paris said, "Look, she can`t do this. She has this pending incarceration for her DUI, and violating her probation of the DUI"...

GRACE: Hold on. Ken Baker, David Caplan, this is Paris this weekend, just before her no-show in court. This is her trying to work through the emotional trauma. That`s a big, fat drink in front of her. OK, go ahead, Ken.

BAKER: So, anyway, but as UsMagazine.com reported, last week she was out partying. She was at Teddy`s night club in Hollywood, having a good time. She had actually rekindled the romance with another ex-boyfriend at the time and was having a lot of fun, seemed to not have a care in the world. Well, Zeta Graff`s lawyers pounced on that, and filed a brief, and said, "Look, she can go out and party, she`s good enough and healthy enough to go and sit in this courtroom." But the judge has postponed it. They`re not going to have a hearing this week.

GRACE: What judge postponed it?

BAKER: Well, the L.A. judge that was assigned the case postponed it. And it`s now going to be in August. And so she should be completely done with her jail time that she`s going to serve for violating her probation, stemming from the DUI arrest.

GRACE: OK, hold on. I`ve got it. It`s Judge Linda K. Lefkowitz has given Paris Hilton a break. Now, I don`t know if in that jurisdiction you vote for the judges or they`re appointed, but Linda K. Lefkowitz has allowed Paris Hilton to be a no-show in court after she`s clearly partying all weekend, claiming she was too traumatized by her jail sentence.

OK, David Caplan, celebrity journalist, question, isn`t there enough on Page Six about Paris Hilton? Does she really have to plant something?

DAVID CAPLAN, "STAR" MAGAZINE: Yes, I mean, that`s why Zeta Graff was saying this is complete nonsense. You would have thought that Paris would have enough, but that`s what these girls do. They`re mean girls, and that`s how Paris gets back at her enemies, by planting fake gossip.

GRACE: Hey, this is 2007. We`re not girls. We`re women, Caplan. Deal with it.

OK, Caplan, back to the story. The story is, that she claims -- and it got into the paper -- that Zeta Graff attacks her at a London nightclub and tries to rip a diamond necklace off her neck. That is the contention of libel and defamation?

CAPLAN: Yes, it really stemmed from this one item. And interestingly enough, last year, actually, or in 2005, there was a deposition in which Paris` former publicist -- in which Paris gave, you know, statements about the incident, about the alleged leaking, and Paris again blamed her then- publicist at the time, saying it was the publicist who leaked the items and not herself.

GRACE: Elliot Mintz?

CAPLAN: This was a different at the time.

GRACE: Boy, those publicists really take the hard fall for her.

CAPLAN: This was a different publicist she had at the time. So, you see, this is sort of a pattern with Paris, in terms of blaming the publicist. She had a publicist at that time, and then she had a new publicist, you know, Elliot Mintz now, who she blamed again.

GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Susan Moss out of New York, Steve Greenberg, Chicago, Joe Lawless out of Philadelphia.

You know, Joe, on a typical calendar call, if you don`t show up, they will send two big, burly sheriffs to go get you and bring you in. It`s called an attachment, AKA an arrest.

JOE LAWLESS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, I`ve got to disagree with you on this one. This isn`t a criminal case. This is a civil case. Her lawyers filed a motion for a continuance before the judge prior to the trial. The judge postponed the civil trial for two months. It happens every day in civil cases.

I`m sure that one of the other things the judge considered was the fact that there is all this brouhaha going on about the DUI arrest. And it would have been extremely difficult to pick a jury for either side in the civil case. None of the statements, by the way, about the postponement are coming from Zeta Graff`s lawyers. They`re coming from Zeta Graff.

GRACE: I got a problem with what you said, Joe Lawless.

To you, Susan Moss, he`s saying that cases often get continued for further notice. I agree with that. But that doesn`t release you from coming to court. You come to court and tell the judge why you want a continuance.

LAWLESS: She did in the motion.

SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Instead of being distraught and traumatized, perhaps Paris was just drunk.

LAWLESS: That`s ridiculous.

MOSS: Apparently, the definition of good behavior in this jurisdiction is giving your barkeep a good tip. I mean, this is ridiculous. She`s got to be held to the same standards of everyone else. When you have a trial date, you show up.

LAWLESS: That`s not -- that`s ridiculous.

GRACE: And my question is, back to you, Steve Greenberg, sure, when you get a continuance, I understand that, case overload, crowded dockets, a more important case before yours, you have to get a continuance. But that doesn`t mean the parties are allowed not to come to court.

STEVE GREENBERG, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Civil case parties never come to court unless they have to. They don`t even have to show up for trial in a civil case. So I totally agree with Joe.

And the fact that she can`t proceed with a proceeding, a legal proceeding, has nothing to do with whether or not she can go out and self- medicate. After all, how many people after their done with court at the end of the day go out and self-medicate by drinking?

GRACE: You know what? I disagree with you on that.

To Sheryl McCollum, the former director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving George -- and, you know, Elizabeth, could you please show our viewers some victims of drunk drivers? Here`s a no-show in court on the heels of other blatant disrespect in court, the mother heckling the judge. It was totally out of line, Sheryl McCollum.

SHERYL MCCOLLUM, FORMER DIRECTOR OF MADD: Nancy, how much more are we going to take from this child? First of all, like you said, her mama`s heckling everybody. She`s not going to show up. When she does show up, it`s late. Now she`s saying, instead of just saying, look, I got a lot going on with this other case, can we postpone it, she says she`s not capable, because she`s so distraught that she can`t give any meaningful participation. What about these mamas of these babies on your screen that had to participate meaningfully when they`re filling out their victim impact statements about their children being killed? They showed up, Nancy.

GRACE: Another thing that would have been a valid legal argument is to say, "Anything I say at trial could affect a potential appeal in my DUI." There were a lot of reasons not to go forward with the civil trial, but she was just a no-show.

Out to Kristen in Georgia. Hi, Kristen.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy, how are you?

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

CALLER: Yes, ma`am, I wondered, if Paris is so distraught, is she not on any anti-depressants or sedatives?

GRACE: Out to you, Lillian Glass. It looks like she`s on something other than an anti-depressant in those photos.

DR. LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I don`t know what she`s on, because I haven`t seen her up close, or treated her.

GRACE: Well, there`s a big, fat drink in front of her.

GLASS: So I really can`t tell you. But, yes, but she`s really so -- feels so entitled, like she is above the law. And that`s what is very unconscionable.

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CAPLAN: This is a civil lawsuit that was filed in 2005 by Zeta Graff, who`s a billionaire, who`s filed this lawsuit against Paris because Ms. Graff was claiming that Paris was spreading a vicious lie, so Ms. Graff has slapped her with this $10 million lawsuit.

And they were supposed to meet in court on May 21st. However, Dr. Charles Sophy, a Los Angeles psychiatrist, has filed papers saying that Paris is so distraught, so emotionally -- you know, just a wreck, that she can`t go to court.

Ms. Graff has slapped her with this $10 million lawsuit. And they were supposed to be in court on May 21st. However, Dr. Charles Sophy, a Los Angeles psychiatrist, has filed papers saying that Paris is so distraught, so emotionally -- you know, just a wreck, that she can`t go to court. The judge said, "OK, I agree, Paris is distraught," and August 21st is the new date.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Countdown clock until Paris Hilton goes to the big dollhouse on a DUI, violation of her very light probation. But now more legal troubles arise for the celebutante. Out to the lines. Marcella in Delaware. Hi, Marcella.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy, you`re the best, hon.

GRACE: Bless you. You tell that to the defense bar.

CALLER: Oh, I would. I have a question. What would happen to Paris if she decides not to show up to jail or report on June the 5th? Will she just come up with an excuse that she`s just too distraught to go to jail?

GRACE: What about it, Vito Colucci? You`ve handled plenty of people that don`t show up for court.

VITO COLUCCI, PRIVATE DETECTIVE: Oh, definitely. The only difference, though, Nancy, is everybody in the world knows what she looks like and who she is. It would be failure to appear. Of course, that`s what it is in my jurisdiction. But, you know, it would be a very crazy move for her, because they already told her she`s going to be in an isolated area. And the people more worried about something like that happening would be the opportunist guard or a prison official that`s about to be set for life money-wise by their pictures.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Yes, that one cell photo -- the right cell photo snapped by a prison guard could garner between $250,000 and $500,000, the right shot of Paris Hilton.

Out to Lillian Glass, psychologist and author. Lillian, for her to have a sick day from court, a psychologist, a licensed psychiatrist actually wrote a sick note, saying she was too traumatized by her upcoming sentence. But then there she is out partying. And, Liz, if you could show those photos again. Those were taken just before she said she was too traumatized to come to court, which is total -- obviously total B.S. What about the psychiatrist?

GLASS: Well, Dr. Sophy is very reputable. In fact, I believe he works with the Department of Child Services in Los Angeles, so he has an excellent reputation. He also has an office in Beverly Hills.

So what he saw, in terms of Paris` behavior during his session, was the truth probably. And what has happened afterwards is Paris just now feels she`s entitled and can do whatever she wants, just like she`s done all the time. Apparently, there`s been some talk that she plans to write a book about her experience in jail. And I hope she gives that money to the mothers of drunk drivers, because that`s who really needs the money, not Paris.

GRACE: Out to David Caplan, celebrity journalist. What do we know about the possibility -- it`s my understanding there have already been talks about a reality show, about a book deal, about a photo shoot for her to make money off this?

CAPLAN: Exactly. You know, Paris being in prison -- really, many people could reap millions of dollars for this. And one of the plans out there -- there`s a reports from the U.K. -- is that Paris wants to write a diary while she`s prison, and it will be her sort of prison memoirs tell- all. And she`s very excited about doing this.

And this isn`t the first time, actually, Paris has dabbled in the literary world. She had her book a couple of years ago called "Confessions of an Heiress." So this may be "Confessions of an Inmate Heiress" that we`re going to see, and she`ll pour every gory detail into this book. But she`s only going to be mingling with the other people there for an hour a day, so it`s questionable how sort of, you know, in-depth her stories will be of prison life.

GRACE: And is that because, Ken Baker with UsMagazine.com, she is going to a more exclusive wing of the jail?

BAKER: Well, there`s a few things going on here. One is that she`s definitely going to jail. Number two, she`s going to be in a special celebrity area. She`s going to have very limited interaction with any other inmates. She will have a cellmate, but she`s going to be in a place where they put police officers and other high-profile people who could be targets of other inmates.

The other thing here is, look, whether or not Paris is going to write a book or do a reality show, what`s going to be clear is she will attempt to capitalize on this opportunity. This is a girl who had a sex tape. And for most people, to have that revealing of that...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Ken Baker, Ken Baker, Ken Baker...

BAKER: ... she can do everything she can to make the most out of it.

GRACE: Ken, Ken, Ken, just stop with the sex tape. It`s not a crime. It`s not a felony. I don`t have to watch it. Not interested in that. But if it`s not a felony, I don`t care. Are you just saying that that`s an example of making money, making a profit off wrongdoing?

BAKER: Yes, her pattern is that -- what she`ll do is, she`ll turn any bad situation into an opportunity to make a buck.

GRACE: OK.

BAKER: And with the sex tape, everyone was writing her off, saying, "Oh, she`s a joke."

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Did I just tell you to stop the sex tape? And there you go again.

BAKER: I`ll stop.

GRACE: You`re obsessed with Paris Hilton`s sex tape. We don`t care. It`s not a crime. There`s not a victim.

Sheryl McCollum, former director of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving Georgia, profiting with a book, a movie, a diary, it`s so wrong.

MCCOLLUM: It is absolutely disgusting. And, you know, if her mother, how proud she must be that Paris is going to have something in common with the Son of Sam. I mean, I`m old school. I don`t think any perpetrator should ever, ever profit financially from their crimes. So I`m thrilled for her that, you know, May 18th, she`s going to man up. I`m dropping the appeal. I`m going to face it. I`m going to handle it. May 19th, I`m going to write a book and make millions.

GRACE: That`s quite an about-face, Sheryl McCollum.

Very quickly to tonight`s "Case Alert." The search for a 20-year-old Colorado mom, on the run with her 2-year-old son. The boy may need help for severe burns to his body. Take a look. Police alert after Ciarra Elem writes a letter to her jailhouse boyfriend that her 2-year-old has third- degree burns all over his chest from a hot iron. She claims she`s afraid to take him to the hospital. I wonder why.

Police, briefly in contact with Elem by cell, say the mother is still refusing to bring the boy in for treatment or allow relatives to. If you have information, please help this boy. Call Aurora police, 303-489-6246.

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PARIS HILTON, HOTEL HEIRESS: ... making threats to my life, just saying like mean things about me or my sister. I don`t know, just things I don`t even know people could think about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Paris Hilton, a no-show in court, claiming she`s too emotionally traumatized over her jail sentence. I guess this is how she`s working through it. A psychiatrist wrote that sick note.

Out to the lines. Sharon in Illinois, hi, Sharon.

CALLER: Hi, Nancy. Love your show, dear.

GRACE: Bless you.

CALLER: I have a question.

GRACE: OK.

CALLER: OK, if Paris was too distraught and she partied all weekend long, could Paris or the so-called psychiatrist be held for contempt of court for lying to the judge?

GRACE: You know, you were cutting out, but I got your question, Sharon in Illinois. Could she or this shrink be held in contempt?

Out to you, Susan Moss. She clearly is not distraught.

MOSS: She clearly is not distraught. She clearly is going out. She clearly is having a good time and has a big smile on her face while doing it. This is a problem, and there could be ramifications.

GRACE: Let me just say, Susan Moss, that`s not prune juice in front of her.

Very quickly, let`s stop to remember Army Private First Class Christopher Murphy, just 21, Gladys, Virginia, killed, Iraq. Enlisting straight from high school, he led his football team to the state champs. Wanted to be a soldier as a boy, dreamed of college. Loved "Star Wars," chess, making friends. Everybody loved his smile. Got the Purple Heart and the National Defense Service Medal. Often handing out candy to Iraqi children. Leaving behind parents Rosemary and Darrell, Christopher Murphy, American hero.

Thank you to our guests, but especially to you, for inviting us into your home. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

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