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Nancy Grace
Mom Leaves 3 Children Home Alone for Overnight Drinking Binge
Aired February 26, 2008 - 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: 911 EMTs race to the scene of a series of mysterious emergency calls where the caller repeatedly says nothing. When they arrive, the scene heartbreaking, a little boy only 9 years old alone and abandoned, left to fend for himself and his little sister and brother, ages 5 and 2, the 2-year-old in tears and dirty diapers. Where`s Mommy? Well, she told the children she was headed out to buy their birthday presents the day before and never came back. But forget the malls or the toy stores, Mommy really left for a night of boozing it up with her boyfriend, still reeking of alcohol the next day, according to police, the little children this close to disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A 2-year-old toddler girl, 5-year-old boy and 9- year-old boy, siblings, left all alone at their South Carolina home by their own mom, 29-year-old Kristina Hope Wright, the shocking discovery uncovered when dispatchers traced several 911 calls from the home dialed in by the 9-year-old. Police arrived to find the three little ones all by themselves, no caretaker in sight. Wright, fresh off a night of binge drinking and hanging out with a friend, returns home to face more than just a hangover, a trip to Lexington County jail and three counts of unlawful conduct towards a child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight: He was the golden boy of the California surf scene. How did 23-year-old Dane Williams end up miles away from his hotel, wrapped in a blanket and dead in a downtown San Diego alleyway?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say it was 6:30 AM in an alley at 52nd at Landis (ph) when a man going to the store came across the body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He saw the body lying in the alley and thought perhaps it was a sleeper, but thought better of it and called police, and the officers came out and confirmed that he was deceased.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police later confirmed the body was 23-year-old Dane Williams. The Huntington Beach man was in town for a convention with Hurley (ph). He was last seen after attending a party at the Hard Rock Hotel early Saturday morning. Authorities say there was nothing to explain why Dane was deceased and they had a lot more questions than they did answers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And also tonight: A deadly shooting rampage at upscale Lane Bryant ladies` clothing store, Chicago suburbs. In the last hour, police release more of a wrenching 911 call just moments before six ladies gunned down execution-style. Only one lady shooting victim survived. The killer actually caught on audiotape, but will it crack the case? Tonight, the manhunt in high gear.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suburban Chicago police are today asking anybody to listen carefully in hopes that someone will recognize the voice of a mass killer.
911 OPERATOR: 911 emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I`m losing it. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gunman isn`t aware here that he`s being recorded in the background, and it`s very difficult to hear him because the Tinley Park police have taken out most of what the woman said, most of what the manager said. But they`re hoping that someone might just recognize the voice, even if they can`t make out what he`s saying in the background.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Can you believe six women shot execution-style? Police have specifically requested that we do not enhance that audiotape, just in case it would stop someone from recognizing his voice. We`ll be back with that later.
But good evening. I`m Nancy Grace, and I want to thank you for being with us. Tonight: South Carolina police follow EMTs to the scene, a 9, 5 and 2-year-old home alone after Mommy promises to go buy birthday presents. Hey, I didn`t know they sell baby toys at the liquor store!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911 calls that deputies say were made from Kristina Wright`s 9-year-old, who never says anything to the phone operator, but you can hear young children in the background. By simply making several calls and hanging up, deputies were able to trace the calls to the location of the house in West Columbia. There deputies found a 2- year-old in a dirty diaper, a 5-year-old in tears and a 9-year-old in charge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Instead of celebrating her son`s 9th birthday, Columbia authorities say this mother stumbled to the front door of her home reeking of alcohol, only to find police waiting to arrest her. Not only was her 9-year-old home alone, but so was his 5-year-old brother and 2- year-old baby sister. Twenty-nine-year-old Kristina hope Wright left home promising to return with a birthday present, but instead she treats herself to a night of drinking on the town, and police say she never returned until the next morning, a morning when her kids ate cold sausage and bread for breakfast, served up by the 9-year-old on his own birthday.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When EMTs and later police arrived, they found a heart- wrenching scene, three little children starting at age 2, home alone, trying to fend for themselves while Mommy was out drinking. The three came this close to disaster -- this close to disaster.
Let`s go out to Sheriff James R. Metts, the Lexington County sheriff. He`s joining us from Columbia, South Carolina. It`s a pleasure to have you with us, Sheriff. Sheriff, what was the scene when your people arrived?
JAMES R. METTS, LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC, SHERIFF: A very tragic situation with three small children who were just devastated over the fact their mom had left them all night home alone.
GRACE: You know -- to Dr. Leslie Austin, psychotherapist -- a lot of kids are really afraid of the dark. In fact, I noticed the other day the light had been turned off in the baby nursery, and they`re used to having a light on all night long. And when I flicked the light on, both of them, unable to talk, were just looking into the dark, clearly, although it had only been a few moments with the light off. Not only alone in the dark but Mommy gone, and they knew she was gone.
LESLIE AUSTIN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Sure. These little kids must have been very frightened. And I just want to say that little 9-year-old deserves any presents he can get for his birthday and any other day for taking care of them. They had to be really frightened.
GRACE: To reporter with WVOC Newsradio 560 joining us tonight, Adam Pinsker. Adam, thank you for being with us. Bring us up to date.
ADAM PINSKER, WVOC NEWSRADIO 560: Well, Nancy, there is a custody hearing tomorrow for the mother, Kristina Wright, Her children now in the custody of the Department of Social Services. So we`ll find out tomorrow what`s going to happen with those children.
GRACE: Well, what exactly do we know so far, Adam?
PINSKER: Well, right now, like I said, Wright is facing three counts of unlawful conduct toward a child, which, again, is related to the neglect of those children. They were left at home for, like the sheriff said, about 12 hours...
GRACE: You know, I know that she...
PINSKER: ... Friday night to Saturday morning.
GRACE: Yes. I know that she left on Friday, returned on Saturday. Pat Brown, criminal profiler and author of "Killing for Sport," when we know so many people that want children, would do anything to have children, and then leaving them alone in this home -- it`s almost unthinkable!
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, Nancy, for this woman, it probably isn`t. She`s probably done it quite a few times. That`s my guess because this young boy, I think what he was doing was, when he made that 911 call, he was confused. He didn`t know if he should make the call because Mom`s been gone before probably and she`s come back. Should he make it, shouldn`t he make it? He makes the call and he thinks, What do I tell them? Do I say, Mom is gone and she`s coming back or mom is gone and maybe something happened to her? I think that`s why he never spoke on the phone.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Jerry in West Virginia. Hi, Jerry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Nancy. Thank you for taking my call.
GRACE: Yes, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I just want to say thank God for parents like you and your husband and thousands of others that aren`t like these people here that we`re seeing on TV now.
GRACE: You know, it`s amazing that these children didn`t have a fate much, much worse, the 9-year-old wise enough or quick-thinking enough to call 911. But listen to what they heard on the other end. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Deputies found a 2-year-old in a dirty diaper, a 5-year-old in tears and a 9-year-old in charge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kids had to take care of themselves. Matter of fact, the young man said the children had cold sausage for breakfast that morning. This is probably not the first time. It`s probably something that happened over and over. And I think that`s what startled the children when they got up and found that Mother wasn`t there the next morning. She`s probably left them in bed and been home prior to them awakening. And but this particular night, for whatever reason, we believe she decided to spend the night with her boyfriend.
911 OPERATOR: 911, hello? 911, hello? 911, hello?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Back out to Sheriff James R. Metts, Lexington County sheriff. What are the EMTs left to believe when they hear absolutely nothing on the other end? You can clearly hear the gurgling of a little baby.
METTS: Yes, we have a lot of 911 hang-up calls like this, and we never know until we get to the location what we`ve got going on because we try to talk to people when they call and get information out of them. And in this situation, all you could hear was some gurgling on the other end of the phone. So we kind of felt like there might be some children there. And when we got there, sure enough, we found the 9 and 5 and 2-year-old just frightened to death because Mommy had left them all night.
GRACE: What was the condition of the home, and what were the reactions of the children when police came to the door?
METTS: The children were real happy to find the police officers there. The home was in disarray. And of course, right after we got there is when Mrs. Wright showed up. And she was reeking of alcohol, as you said. And she was surprised to see our officers there. That`s, I think, the only emotions that she showed is she was surprised that law enforcement was there to arrest her.
GRACE: What did she say, if anything, Sheriff?
METTS: She really didn`t say a whole lot of anything. She had no explanation as to why she was gone. I think she`d done this on many occasions, as was said earlier, and on this particular occasion, she just didn`t get back home early enough before the children woke up and made the 911 call.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Lineesha (ph) in Georgia. Hi, Lineesha. I think I`ve got you. Hi, dear. OK, no Lineesha. To Sheeba in Illinois. Hi, Sheeba.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. At least we don`t have to worry about your babies, sweetie.
GRACE: Well, you know what? I don`t feel that way. I worry about them constantly. Every time I`m away, I worry about what`s happening at home. I can`t help it. But you know, obviously, this mother wasn`t as concerned, huh, Sheeba?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, she wasn`t. My question is, Nancy -- she will eventually, I fear, get these kids back. Now, I know there are people out there that would adopt a 9-year-old, a 2-year-old and the other one and maybe even possibly keep them all together. Why will they put these babies back in this home to be broken where they can never be fixed?
GRACE: You know, Sheeba, you`re dead on. Let`s unleash the lawyers and take a look at that. Joining us tonight, Holly Hughes out of Atlanta, with Ray Giudice and Kathleen Mullin, defense attorney out of New York. Holly Hughes, you know the harsh reality is, unless she is lying -- the mom -- lying on the courthouse steps in a thong shooting up heroin, they will give the children back to her.
HOLLY HUGHES, PROSECUTOR: Yes. And sadly enough, sometimes even then, they`ll give them back, Nancy, because what they`re going to say is, Well, we`re going to put her in rehab, we`re going to give her a chance, we`re going to let her clean herself up, and then we`re going to give the children back to her. It`s very, very frightening to me that you need a license in this country to go catch a fish, but anybody is allowed to have a child and treat them any way they please. And still we will give children back to these neglectful parents.
GRACE: You know, Ray, what I don`t understand is the fact she is basically facing neglect charges. In my mind, this is felony endangerment of a child. To me, this is jail time.
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it could be, Nancy. And keep in mind that each of these counts apparently comes (ph) up to 10 years stacked times three is 30 years. So this is pretty darn serious. And in many jurisdictions, serious felonies are enough reasons to remove children from the home. It may not be to sever parental rights, but I think you`re going to see these children in some kind of foster care for at least reasonable period of time down the road.
GRACE: Disagree. Kathleen Mullin, no matter how much I want them to be in a better home, the reality is, in an overburdened foster home system that we`ve got, she`s going to get those kids back.
KATHLEEN MULLIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, let me say at the jump that I`m not pro-leaving your 9-year-old, 5-year-old and baby home alone. However, are you kidding me that they should be taken away from her?
GRACE: No.
MULLIN: Absolutely not under any circumstances. Look, why should they be taken away from her? Do you see the process that Britney Spears went through in losing her kids? It was a long, drawn-out court battle. You don`t just rip children from their biological parent. This is one time where these kids have been left. We know that they were in good condition, the home was in good condition, they are fed. I understand the idea that what happened here was wrong. But take them away from her and put them in foster care on a permanent basis?
GRACE: OK!
MULLIN: Come on!
GRACE: The reality is, what you just stated is not accurate. Whenever Britney Spears left her children, she left them with a fleet of nannies, of assistants, you name it. Her parents were...
MULLIN: And that`s the difference.
GRACE: As I was saying, her parents in and out, out of the home, co- parenting with her ex-husband. This mom left them alone. How many times, how many times, Holly Hughes, have we seen cases like this when the home gets burned down, where the children have some horrible accident, where they go without food or water for a period of times? I`ve seen it many times while prosecuting and while covering crime and justice cases.
HUGHES: That`s exactly right, Nancy. It`s so sad. And thank God these children -- I mean, that little boy, the 9-year-old, attempted to feed his brother and sister breakfast. Thank God he didn`t try and turn on the stove or he could have burnt the house down if there was a dishtowel on the stove. He could have burned himself if he tried to use a knife to slice something up. Anything could have happened to these children. This is just absolutely inexcusable behavior on the part of the mother.
GRACE: To Dr. Michael Arnall. Dr. Arnall, my question is, when you have a 2-year-old and you don`t feed it prior to leaving, then you`re gone all night long, then what does the child -- what effect does that have on a child?
DR. MICHAEL ARNALL, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, you have to consider the physical effects. And I think sometime during this process, they`re going to get a pediatrician that actually examines these children, measures their height, measures their weight, looks for bruises and find out what`s going on. He`s probably going to look for things like bad diaper rash, to see whether there`s been chronic abuse. But I think you also have to contemplate the ramifications of the emotional neglect when you think about this type of situation.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Christy in Texas. Hi, Christy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was just wondering, is it possible the mother could just get off with paying a fine, or is she most likely going to see some jail time?
GRACE: Reality, she could get off with probation. She`s never going to pay a fine, even if one is levied against her. Probation and parenting classes, which she probably will never go to. That`s the reality, Ray Giudice. Please don`t try to tell me that that`s not true.
GIUDICE: Nancy, I don`t think we`re looking at serious jail time. I think we`re looking at a lot of probation, drug and alcohol rehab, substance abuse rehab, a lot of parenting. But I think there`s going to be a transition period with foster parenting until she proves she can take care of these children properly.
GRACE: I want to find out how much you have to drink the night before to still stink of alcohol the next morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is probably not the first time. It`s probably something that happened over and over. And I think that`s what startled the children when they got up and found that their mother wasn`t there the next morning. She`d probably left them in bed and been home prior to them awakening. And but this particular night, for whatever reason, we believe she decided to spend the night with her boyfriend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities say it was 8:30 in the morning on Saturday when Wright finally arrived back here to the house, nearly 12 hours after leaving her kids unattended Friday night. Now, deputies were there to greet Wright when she walked up to the house. They say she was drunk and reeked of alcohol. And she could pay a harsh penalty. Wright was bailed out of jail Sunday, but could face a prison sentence of up to 30 years for leaving her three kids unattended.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This close to disaster, police get a series of mysterious 911 phone calls, where the caller says nothing, only to arrive at the scene to a heart-wrenching view, three little children left alone, their mom out drinking with her boyfriend.
Back to Adam Pinsker with WVOC Newsradio 560. Where was she the night before, do we know?
PINSKER: She was with a male friend either at a drinking establishment or at their home. She spent the night with that male friend. And like the report said, she returned the next morning. and the first person she saw was the police.
GRACE: To Sheriff Metts. Sheriff, I assume she had birthday presents with her?
METTS: No, she did not.
GRACE: You know, this is going to be...
METTS: She did not have birthday presents. This was just an excuse, I think, to get away from the children on this particular night, as she`d done many nights before. She told the 9-year-old, who was having a birthday the next day, that she was going out to buy a birthday present, but she didn`t have any.
GRACE: You know, to Pat Brown, criminal profiler. What kind of mind is that? You don`t just leave your kid -- kids, but you allow them to grow up, and when they`re older, they`ll relate to somebody, probably a shrink, the story of when Mommy went out to buy the birthday presents and came home drunk the next morning with the cops.
BROWN: Absolutely. Unfortunately, a lot of woman who have children, they`re not really mothers. We call them parents. We call them mothers, but they`re really just people who had children and probably didn`t want to have those kids. They came into their life, and then they thought, Oh, my God, what do I do with them? And they treat them like an older sister, rather than a mom. And they figure, Hey, if I can teach the younger -- the younger kid to take care of the younger ones, well, then I can do what I want to do because, hey, I told them not to turn the stove on. And he didn`t. So he knows what he`s doing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Deputies found a 2-year-old in a dirty deeper, a 5-year-old in tears and a 9-year-old in charge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The kids had to take care of themselves. As a matter of fact, the young man fed the children cold sausage for breakfast that morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911, hello? 911, hello? 911, hello?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Can you imagine that as a childhood memory, calling 911 when your mom goes out to buy your birthday presents and never comes back? Turned out she was out bar hopping with her boyfriend all night long.
To Iesha in Ohio. Hi, Iesha.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a comment, actually. I had my child taken by child and family services.
GRACE: Oh, no!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I worked my butt off to get her back. And I can`t believe women like her are the reason why child and family services are always in people`s business so hard, even innocent (ph). So I worked my butt off and I got my baby back, and I couldn`t imagine not being able to have my baby with me. I couldn`t imagine.
GRACE: What did you have to do to get the baby back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had to go to parenting classes. I had to go to DV (ph) classes. I had to work so hard.
GRACE: And how old is your baby now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My baby is 3. They opened my case when I was pregnant.
GRACE: And they took the baby away immediately?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. No, they took her away when she was maybe about 1-and-a-half, almost 2.
GRACE: Well, God bless you, and I hope you take care of the little baby.
To Leann in Georgia. Hi, Leann.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I was wondering where the children`s daddy is.
GRACE: You know, that was my first question. What about it, Sheriff Metts? Where`s the daddy?
METTS: We don`t know where the father is. The mother was living alone at the home in West Columbia with the three children. She was separated or divorced from the father, as we understand it. But we don`t know where he was in this particular situation. Apparently, she had custody of the children and...
GRACE: So he doesn`t want to take them? He doesn`t want to take them now?
METTS: Well, I don`t know what the situation is. That`s why I`ve been going to court with DSS to have the children in protective custody, determine where the children will go.
GRACE: When we come back: How did a 23-year-old surfer end up miles from his hotel, wrapped in a blanket and dead in a San Diego alleyway?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He saw the body lying in the alley and thought perhaps it was a sleeper but thought better of it and called police and they came out and the (INAUDIBLE) came out and confirmed that he was deceased. We have a gap of three days and really only about the last 12 hours accounted for, so we do have a large period of time that we can`t account for.
This could be anything. This -- yes, it could be a murder, but it could be something different. It could be an accident that people became nervous about. It could be an overdose. We just don`t know what it is. It`s an undetermined death at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Neighbors in the area tell us they heard nothing that night out of the ordinary until police started knocking on their doors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We did not hear anything so I just thought maybe they didn`t -- they just brought him here (INAUDIBLE) instead of, you know, something happening out here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities say there was nothing to explain why Dane was deceased. And they had a lot more questions than they did answers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: He was a golden boy of the California surfing scene, so how did 23-year-old Dane Williams end up miles away from his hotel, wrapped in a blanket, and dead in a downtown San Diego alleyway?
I want to go straight out to Lieutenant Kevin Rooney with the homicide unit there in San Diego.
Lieutenant, what happened?
LT. KEVIN ROONEY, HOMICIDE UNIT, SAN DIEGO P.D.: Well, we know that Dane had traveled down from Huntington Beach. He worked for Hurley International and was here in town for the Action Sports Retailers Convention. And he was last seen with some co-workers at a hotel bar at about 2:45 in the morning on the 26th of January.
He last was seen leaving the bar about 2:45 in the morning headed in the direction of the hotel that he was staying at. He wasn`t staying at the hotel that had the bar. And he vanished, to be quite honest. He didn`t show up the next morning for his responsibilities with the convention. His friends immediately became concerned and thought it was very much out of character for him to not report in. And they immediately formed a search and notified Dane`s parents that he was missing.
GRACE: What a cute kid. You know, you just threw out Hurley International. A lot of people may not know what that is. Explain.
ROONEY: It`s an apparel retailer, I think, commonly associated with the surf culture in the United States, a very popular company, and I`m sure played an integral role in this convention in San Diego.
GRACE: A huge role. Hurley International is known all over the world. It is synonymous with surfing, with the California surf scene.
Lieutenant, it`s very unusual we still don`t have a cause of death on the young man?
ROONEY: That`s true. We`re still a few weeks removed from the final report from the pathologist. We`ve spoken to him a few times. And he`s considering.
GRACE: Well, I mean, it couldn`t possibly be natural cause with him wrapped in a blanket left in an alleyway?
ROONEY: Well, I do know the doctor is considering everything including having come out to the scene himself and observed Dane in the position he was found and doing the examination as he did on the autopsy, and combining that with the toxicology test which they sent out. We`re hopeful of an answer quite soon.
GRACE: Joining us tonight is a very special guest. It is Valen Williams. This is Dane`s mother.
Miss Williams, thank you for being with us.
VALEN WILLIAMS, DANE WILLIAMS`S MOTHER: Thanks for having me on.
GRACE: First of all, our condolences out to you.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
GRACE: And our heartfelt prayers are with you. I can`t even imagine what this must be like for a mom. What do we know? What do we know about when he left the bar? What condition was he in? Who did he leave with?
WILLIAMS: Well, he left by himself. There is surveillance camera that shows Dane leaving the bar by himself. It looks to me, from what I saw, that he was trying to get a number on his cell phone, trying to get ahold of a friend, perhaps. And as far as his condition, I don`t know. I wasn`t there. I`m sure he probably had a few drinks in the bar. But he wasn`t a drug user. He wasn`t a crazy kid like that. So I don`t know.
GRACE: In fact, by all accounts, he was very much into outdoors and nature and had an excellent job that he held down with Hurley International. When was the last time you spoke to him?
WILLIAMS: Well, that`s just it. Yes. First of all, Dane loved his job and he would have showed up right away on Saturday morning. He`s really responsible with that. And the last time I spoke to him was Thursday evening. But he was a kind of kid that even when he got to San Diego, he texted me and said, "Mom, I`m here safe." So he`s always in touch with people. And this was what was so unusual about it. I knew there was a problem.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Tina in Maryland. Hi, Tina.
TINA, FROM MARYLAND: Hi.
GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?
TINA: Excuse me?
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
TINA: My question is: do they know if the blanket he was found in was a blanket from the hotel or was it a random blanket?
GRACE: Excellent question, Tina.
Lt. Rooney, what about the blanket? What can you learn from it?
ROONEY: No, Nancy. It does appear to have been a random blanket, not one from the hotel that he was staying at.
GRACE: But still, of course, it`s going to be processed for fibers and hairs and any type of DNA on it?
ROONEY: Absolutely. Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: Let`s go to Anne Burris, local reporter with the "Orange County Register."
Anne, how far away is the scene where he was found in the alleyway from the hotel -- the bar where he was last spotted?
ANNE BURRIS, REPORTER, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER: It was about seven miles.
GRACE: What more can you tell us?
BURRIS: Not much more other than he was -- he had a drink at the bar and then a couple days later he showed up wrapped in a blanket in the alleyway.
GRACE: Was there any other evidence left behind at the crime scene?
BURRIS: Not that we know of at this time. So far I`ve just been told about the blanket.
GRACE: Let`s go to Pat Brown, criminal profiler and author.
Pat, it`s very intriguing to try to determine whether where he was found is the scene of the death or simply the scene of a disposal of a body.
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "KILLING FOR SPORT": I would guess, Nancy, that we`re looking at a disposal scene because he`s wrapped in that blanket. If he had gone with someone in a car and then been beaten some place, we would see blunt trauma to the body and we`d probably not see him wrapped in blanket. Somebody would just leave him there where he dropped.
And it`s very interesting. When you find a body that far away from where he was last seen and in an area town that`s not so -- maybe a rundown area of town, it almost looks like somebody`s trying to put the suspicion away from them by moving the body as far away as they can. So I`d be looking back at where he disappeared for that person who might have something to do with is.
GRACE: Let`s go to Dr. Michael Arnall, board certified forensic pathologist, a renown pathologist.
Dr. Arnall, the ME`s office says this could take up to three months. Why? And also there was with no visible signs of trauma, what are the possibilities of cause of death?
DR. MICHAEL ARNALL, BOARD CERTIFIED FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: I think they`re probably looking at the possibility of a drug overdose or excess alcohol. As far as the three months, the toxicology at a lot of laboratories might take a week or two. And it may take the pathologist another week to analyze those results.
Pathologist also has to look at microscopic sections of the heart but those will be out perhaps within a week. So after about three weeks the pathologist is probably going to have a good idea of what`s going on. After that the pathologist talks to the detective and makes out a report.
It may be the case that their workload is so heavy it just takes a lot longer to get that report out.
GRACE: Back to Lt. Kevin Rooney with the homicide unit there in San Diego. Let me get this straight. He was gone -- three days had elapsed since he was last seen but the ME is saying he was only dead for about 12 hours?
ROONEY: No, actually. And that`s part of the story that we haven`t filled in the gap on is that Dane was found at about 6:30 in the morning on Tuesday morning. Somebody had passed through that alley the night before about 10:00 in the evening and was quite confident that Dane`s body was not there.
When the pathologist came out the next morning to examine Dane`s body his professional opinion was, is Dane had been dead longer than that period of, say, eight hours.
GRACE: I see.
ROONEY: Thus it`s our opinion that Dane was already deceased and was transported from another location and left in that alley.
GRACE: Leslie Austin, that is the fear of so many people to actually find a dead body.
DR. LESLIE AUSTIN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: It sure is. Even if you`re comfortable with death, it`s going to be really scary at the very least and terrifying at most. Very, very frightening.
GRACE: Tip line, 1-888-580-TIPS. That`s Crime Stoppers. There`s a $10,000 reward.
If you could speak to someone that knows some information tonight, Valen Williams, what would you say?
WILLIAMS: First of all, I want to say, as far as the tip goes and the reward, it`s anonymous. So if someone could -- you know, you don`t have to give your name. And it is, I think, anything is so important. Any little clue you could give the police is so important.
And Dane was a great kid. He was a great kid. And he deserves better than this. And he didn`t get there by himself and there are people that know and we really need them to have a bit of a heart and step up and tell what happened here.
GRACE: If you can see or hear this tonight, please, give this mother some peace. 1-888-580-TIPS.
When we get back, in the last hours, police have released more of a chilling 911 call just before a shooting rampage at upscale ladies clothing store Lane Bryant, Chicago suburbs. The spree killer actually caught on audio tape. Will it crack the case?
And tonight, all points bulletin for special moms and dads. If you know one who`s an inspiration to others, get that camcorder. Go to CNN.com/Nancygrace, click on i-Report, and enter that parent in the "Extraordinary Parent Contest."
And everyone, I want to thank you for your prayers and support while the twins and I were in the hospital. The prayers worked.
Today, big news. John David and Lucy, their three-month checkup with Dr. (INAUDIBLE). Remember when they once weighed only five pounds and two pounds and they were in ICU? Well, today, they weighed nearly 16 pounds and 12 pounds, 10 ounces.
We are blessed. And tonight I`ll be posting new photos online for you. I hope you like them.
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(NEWSBREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a sketch of the man Tinley Park Police have spent more than three weeks trying to find. Authorities have released short clips of the man`s voice captured during a 911 call made by one of the victims.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP, 911 CALL)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do not answer. (INAUDIBLE). I`m losing it. This is bullshit. (INAUDIBLE)
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Six ladies shopping on a Saturday afternoon at an upscale store, Lane Bryant ladies clothing store, Chicago suburbs, all six shot, one survivor, her identify still under wraps.
Out to Kathy Cheney with the "Chicago Defender," part of a 911 call just released, what do we learn from it?
KATHY CHENEY, REPORTER, CHICAGO DEFENDER: You really can`t hear much of the killer`s voice, just bits and pieces but he sounds extremely agitated. He said, this what you did, I`m losing it, foolish, this is BS, and you can`t hear what he`s saying in between those parts.
GRACE: He sounds like he`s saying, "I`m losing it." You can pick up the word foolishness. What else, Kathy?
CHENEY: This is BS. This is what you did. It`s hard to decipher but those things are kind of audible.
GRACE: "This is what you did." Now very interesting.
To Pat Brown, what does that signify to you? "This is what you did," are his words.
BROWN: That is very interesting, Nancy, because we`ve all wondered why a man would go in and rob a store at 11:00 in the morning. It doesn`t sound like a very good choice for a robbery. There`s not going to be much money in the store. So it looks like there was possibly a reason for this crime other than the money, some kind of targeting going on, somebody was angry with someone. This could be a great help in trying to discern who this is.
GRACE: To Christine in Tennessee. Hi, Christine.
CHRISTINE, FROM TENNESSEE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
CHRISTINE: First of all, my condolences to the family. I have two daughters of my own and whether your -- they`re 3 or 30 the loss of a child just must be devastating.
GRACE: Just horrible, horrible.
CHRISTINE: And my heartfelt sympathies to the parents and family members of these women.
My question is, in this technological age, is there no other forensic evidence that has yet been discovered by the police department, or would that be something that would be kept back from the public in order to help identify the perpetrator if there were to be a suspect to finally be captured?
GRACE: Kathy Cheney, there`s got to be some type of forensic clue, whether it is a finger print, just something, and the guy`s braids were so unusual. The green feathered -- I mean the green beads down one side of the face, the right side of the face, the four corn rows. I mean what more do they know, Kathy? What have you learned?
CHENEY: Actually, they don`t know more than that at all. It`s -- they`re stumped with trying to find some information. They are holding back information, whether they do have more, like you said, forensic details, if they have something they`re not letting the media know. They just want help and that`s one of the reasons why they released the voice of him, so someone could help police, jog their memory and say, oh, this sounds like someone I know.
GRACE: Well, we do know they held that back. That`s just been released.
Out to Bill in Virginia. Hi, Bill.
BILL, FROM VIRGINIA: Thank you for taking my call, Nancy.
GRACE: Yes, sir.
BILL: I was wondering -- I know almost all retail stores have surveillance cameras for shoplifters. Wasn`t there anything in place in this store and was there any fingerprints that was left?
GRACE: Bill, you`re going to be stunned. They did not have a surveillance camera.
Now, Lane Bryant has stepped up to the plate with a reward. I would like to think that they would step up to the plate and put surveillance cameras all across the country. In fact, I have called a couple of Lane Bryant stores and asked people that would answer if they had surveillance and some of them have said, oh, yes, we have one, but it -- doesn`t work. It`s just there to intimidate people, which I`m stunned about that.
To Dr. Leslie Austin, no surveillance camera or if you do have one it`s just as a deterrent?
AUSTIN: Well, you know, a lot of stores don`t want to spend the money unfortunately, and until a crime hits in your own home you don`t take the preparations. It`s very unfortunate.
GRACE: Guess what? You can get one online for $295, $295. I looked it up myself.
Let`s go out to the lawyers, Holly Hughes, Ray Giudice, Kathleen Mullin.
To you Holly, what type of forensic evidence could they reap from the science?
HOLLY HUGHES, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Well, what they`re looking for at this point, Nancy, is hair, fibers, any DNA he might have left behind. It`s my understanding that one of the women was actually able to scratch him. Connie Woolfolk had some blood under her fingernails. Hopefully they can analyze that DNA and make a match.
GRACE: Not only that, Ray Giudice, remember he duck-taped them? Unless he was wearing gloves he had to touch the duct tape.
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s right. You`re also going to be able to trace that duct tape through lots -- what store it was sold at, you know, a home store, appliance store. There also -- he also put some clothing on top of these ladies so there may be some fiber exchange there.
GRACE: And out to Kathleen Mullin. You know, Kathleen, they`re still keeping the identify of the survivor a secret. Why?
KATHLEEN MULLIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, I mean obviously she would be the only surviving witness who may or may not be able to positively identify a suspect if there comes a time when he or she is placed in a lineup. So she`s obviously in some sort of danger given the fact that she is the only remaining witness.
GRACE: And very quickly, Kathy Cheney, with the "Chicago Defender," how is she? What is her status?
CHENEY: As far as we know she`s still recuperating.
GRACE: OK.
CHENEY: Her family wishes to just leave her alone right now because it`s still hard for her.
GRACE: Sheryll in Pennsylvania, hi, Sheryll.
SHERYLL, FROM PENNSYLVANIA: Hi, Nancy. I love you. I love your children. You`re the sweetest mom alive.
GRACE: Thank you.
SHERYLL: In the meantime, I wanted to know if this -- was it ever proven that -- are these ladies all married?
GRACE: Interesting question.
Kathy, what do we know about their personal lives?
CHENEY: Several of them were married, not all.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: We at NANCY GRACE are on the hunt for parents who inspire. And now, tonight`s extraordinary parent.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHERYL MACDONALD, EXTRAORDINARY PARENT CONTEST FINALIST: I do not let muscular dystrophy handle our life. We have not allowed it to (INAUDIBLE) it`s not going to public.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some might let a debilitating disease like Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy slow them down. But not Adam MacDonald. With the help of his mother, Cheryl, the 22-year-old lives life to the fullest.
MACDONALD: You just have to use your imagination on how the get the individual to be able to do that activity, snow mobiling, driving, hiking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sheryl has also instilled in Adam a strong sense of community service. The MacDonalds have raised thousands of dollars for muscular dystrophy research as well as many other charities.
MACDONALD: It`s very important that we give back to our community in any way we can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As Adam continues to grow weaker Cheryl knows her time with him is limited.
MACDONALD: When your child should be graduating in college or high school or getting married or having a family, getting a job, getting their license for the first time. All those things have been taken away from me. As a parent, look at your loved ones and be happy you have them and enjoy them while you have them because you never know when they may be taken from you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army Sergeant Mikeal Miller, Albany, Oregon, killed, Iraq, on a second tour. Awarded the Purple Heart and Global War on Terror service medal. Loved football, wrestling. He loved his country and spending time with family. A newlywed, dreamed of starting a family with his wife, the couple chose baby names before deployment. Leaves behind grieving parents Renee and Steve, brothers Christopher, Kurt and Connor, and widow Meg.
Mikeal Miller, American hero.
Thanks to all our guests but especially to you for inviting us into your homes. And Tonight a special hello and happy birthday to Jim Johnson in Fayetteville.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp, Eastern. And until then, good night, friends.
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