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Nancy Grace

Woman Smuggles Newborn From Hospital in Tote Bag

Aired March 28, 2008 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We begin tonight with breaking news, a one- day old baby abducted straight out of a hospital, Florida`s newborn unit. In a massive and desperate search, police pull over a vehicle in a nearby town matching a description from eyewitnesses. Who do they find? One woman, 39-year-old Jennifer Latham, seen earlier at the hospital acting suspiciously, and with her the baby, apparently unharmed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One minute, you`re celebrating the miracle of birth. The very next day, you`re a parent and your little boy has been stolen, yes, kidnapped from a hospital. You wonder. We have security bracelets. This is not supposed to happen anymore, but it did in Sanford, Florida.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was able to go in posing as a hospital employee, grab the child and immediately make it out the door with the hospital staff in pursuit. She managed to get into her vehicle and get off the premises.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And also tonight: Police lead an all-out search for the killer of a promising 22-year-old college coed and working mother found stabbed to death in her New Jersey apartment, at the gruesome murder scene, Krystal Skinner`s 3-year-old boy sitting on the floor beside her. Tonight: Authorities try to track down her ex-boyfriend, the boy`s father, for questioning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who killed 22-year-old Rutgers coed Krystal Skinner? The young mom and social services major stabbed multiple times. Now police want to question Skinner`s ex-boyfriend, the father of her little son, left all alone while his mommy lays dead.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was no signs of forced entry into the apartment. They are saying that she was stabbed multiple times. Her young son was found next to her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I found out from a prosecutor that he was a witness and he was sitting near the body at the time. The detectives at the Skinner residence reported that he was pretty graphic about what he saw.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a tragedy. You know, it just really -- at this point now, we`re -- everybody`s focusing on catching the murderer.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," former Court TV, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. A baby snatched right out of a hospital birthing center catches the nation`s attention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A one-day old newborn baby boy missing from the Central Florida Medical Center in Sanford, outside Orlando. And you can imagine the anguish and panic. This is a 6-pound baby, 1 day old, that has disappeared.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A woman came into the hospital, changed into hospital scrubs, a nurse`s outfit, and attempted to take a child. The woman was confronted by the parents of the child. She backed off, and then the woman went and took a second child. This 1-day-old child, male, that`s in question was taken. The hospital`s alarm system immediately went off. Hospital security was Johnny on the spot, was there quickly. The woman managed to get out the door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: Let us go straight out to investigative reporter Eben Brown. Eben, this abducted baby was 1 day old.

EBEN BROWN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: That`s correct. The baby hadn`t even left the hospital with his parents, didn`t even get a chance to make that first leave, that first exit from the hospital with his parents, because this woman, apparently, was seen caught on the security camera walking out with this child.

CASAREZ: Well, Eben, not only did she allegedly abduct one child, she tried to abduct another child? Can you tell us about that?

BROWN: Well, that`s what we`re learning. It`s still a bit of a mystery. Police are trying to talk to this woman, whose name is Jennifer Latham. She`s with the police. She`s being interrogated. First reports said that she would not talk at all until she received a lawyer. Of course, we`re also not hearing much from the parents yet, either, of the baby that was abducted. So as pieces are coming out, we`re also learning these things, that she tried to abduct another child before attacking this one.

CASAREZ: That`s right. And it is 39-year-old Jennifer Latham. She is a suspect at this point.

Let`s go to Chief Brian Tooley from the Sanford Police Department. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. We really appreciate it. First of all, what are the preliminary charges, at this point, that you can tell us?

CHIEF BRIAN TOOLEY, SANFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, at this point, we`re charging the woman with kidnapping. There are additional charges pending. We`re reviewing exactly what happened. We`re still early in the investigation.

This unfolded so quickly, this is so dynamic that we`re still trying to see exactly what happened. But we know we have a kidnapping here. She`s been charged with that. She has, in fact, asked to talk to a lawyer, so we`ve been unable to question her as to what her motivation was, why she did this, you know, what was just going on in her head. We have no idea.

CASAREZ: Well, Chief, we understand that before she allegedly abducted the baby that she did get, that she tried to abduct another one. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

TOOLEY: Sure. She apparently approached -- went to take a second baby, was confronted -- or actually, a first baby -- was confronted by the parents, said something about the baby needed a test. And my understanding is the parents said, No, the child`s already had this test. And so they -- basically, she backed off from those parents and immediately went nearby and grabbed this second child, the child we`re talking about, this day-and- a-half-old infant, and beat feet out the door. It immediately set off the nursery alarms, the newborn alarms the hospital has. And the hospital staff issued a lockdown, but she managed to get out the door.

CASAREZ: And Chief Brian Tooley, Sanford Police Department in Sanford, Florida, that`s the question everybody wants to know. How did this woman get out of the hospital with this baby?

TOOLEY: Yes. Well, I don`t know the answer to that question, other than it happened quick, quick, quick, quick, you know? She got out the door. The hospital people were right hot on her heels. One of the gentlemen who chased her out the door told me he thought about jumping in front of her truck as she pulled off, but then he decided not to do that.

They did get a partial tag for us, and we were able to run the partial tag through our computer and come up with a possible suspect and possible vehicle and a possible photo.

CASAREZ: You know, Chief, what we`ve been looking at on the screen right there is surveillance video. How important was the surveillance video today?

TOOLEY: It was real helpful because as we got this possible tag and a possible owner of the vehicle, we were able to compare that photo with the photo in the -- in the surveillance video, and we were able to say, OK, this is the same person, or appears to be the same person. And then, of course, we had a good piece of police work by everybody, including a Lake Mary (ph) police sergeant who was able to -- saw a suspect vehicle driving down Interstate 4 and was able to apprehend them.

CASAREZ: And that is some great police work right there. I want to ask you, though, about this still surveillance shot that we have because when I look at it and I see the suspect, 39-year-old Jennifer Latham -- and that has been confirmed by police that that is who was in that surveillance shot...

TOOLEY: Right.

CASAREZ: ... I see her holding something in her left hand. What is that?

TOOLEY: Well, we believe that`s the baby wrapped up in a blanket. I can`t see the shot you`re looking at, at the moment. But I believe that`s the image of the child or -- you know, that she`s carrying out of the hospital.

CASAREZ: Well, it doesn`t look like she`s in her green scrubs yet. And she changed into green scrubs, isn`t that correct?

TOOLEY: Yes, that`s correct. As I say, I`m not looking at the photo you`re showing, so I can`t say for sure. But yes, she did change -- we have surveillance of her changing into hospital attire.

CASAREZ: Wow, that is something.

I want to go out to Michael Sapricone, who is a former New York City police detective. Thank you so much for joining us, Detective. What would you be looking at right now? Because this is a very active criminal investigation.

MICHAEL SAPRICONE, FMR. NYPD DETECTIVE, PRES., SQUAD SECURITY, INC.: Well, we`d be looking at the reason. We want to try to find out why, Jean. What was the purpose here? Is it for -- to sell the baby on the black market? Is it because she`s looking for a child of her own?

And we`d be looking to try to work on different ways we should secure the hospital a little bit better. It`s a problem hospitals have always had, and they`re doing a much better job, and it seems here that they did a fine job. But still -- still, the woman was able to get out of the hospital with the baby, and we need to work on those type of things.

CASAREZ: All right. Let`s go out to the lawyers right now because this is a legal case, no question about it. First of all, Paul Henderson, assistant district attorney out of San Francisco, and Eric Chase, defense attorney out of Los Angeles. Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us.

First of all, you heard a preliminary charge of kidnapping. Well, I`ve got the kidnapping statute out of Florida. It is a first degree felony. It is a life felony in the state of Florida. So for five minutes, one can really ruin their life. First of all, to Paul Henderson. What other charges do you think could be forthcoming here?

PAUL HENDERSON, ASST. SAN FRANCISCO DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Well, I think in a case like this -- because you have to keep in mind we`re talking about our most innocent and most vulnerable victim, a baby less than 24 hours old. I am almost positive you`re going to see some charges of child endangerment because this is a child that should have had either medical or parental supervision, that`s being moved from a hospital.

And you can even see from the picture that baby doesn`t look safe. I wouldn`t want my baby to be carried like that or carried around like that, especially after being such a small newborn. So I think that that`s a very likely charge to see. It really is a terrifying case. And you know, fortunately, it all ended up well.

CASAREZ: You know what I was thinking about, Eric Chase, Los Angeles defense attorney? She tried to abduct, allegedly, the first baby. That could be attempted kidnapping, couldn`t it?

ERIC CHASE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, absolutely. Not only attempted kidnapping, but the entry into the hospital could be a burglary. If you enter a structure with the intent to commit a crime therein, that`s a burglary. There`s -- you know, there`s lots of charges here. But keep in mind, you`ve got a kidnapping charge on top that carries life. I don`t think the subordinate charges matter much. They can put her away for as long as they want.

CASAREZ: I think you are right. Let`s go out to the callers. Eileen in North Carolina. Good evening, Eileen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. It`s so nice to talk to you.

CASAREZ: Thank you. You, too. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, is there any connection between the kidnapper and the parents? Did they know each other?

CASAREZ: Oh, that`s a very good question. Let`s go out to Eben brown, investigative reporter. What do we know about the little baby that was allegedly abducted here?

BROWN: Gee, we don`t know much. We don`t even know his name yet. We just know that he`s a little boy. And we don`t know if -- I think, actually, police have said that there was no connection between this woman and the family and this baby, that they had no prior relationship or connection at all, that this was really a very rare case because it was random.

CASAREZ: That is right. And that is what we believe The boy, we believe, 1 day old. We`ve heard it`s a male, that it is an Asian male.

Let`s go out to another caller. Sue in Illinois. Hi. Good evening, Sue.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you?

CASAREZ: I`m fine, Sue. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, how did this woman get into the hospital to this baby with not anybody that was on the nursing staff not knowing this woman to have the availability to this child?

CASAREZ: I think you`re exactly right. That`s the question. Chief Brian Tooley, let`s talk about that. A 1-day-old baby is in a secure area. How did she even get into this area that is obviously a sanitized area that only certain people can get into?

TOOLEY: Yes. That`s a great question. Obviously, we`re looking at that. The hospital, I`m sure, is looking at their -- all their procedures. That`s a good question. How the woman was able to get in there and without being challenged prior to that is a good question. And we`re certainly asking some of those same questions this evening.

CASAREZ: I`m sure you are. That`s part of the investigation.

Julie in Virginia. Good evening, Julie. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I`m good. How are you?

CASAREZ: I`m fine. What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, when she was pulled over, was the baby found in a carseat, or were there other supplies, like this was premeditated, or was she just riding down the road with the baby in the seat?

CASAREZ: It`s a great question. It`s what we`ve been discussing tonight. Let`s go out to Dr. Marty Makary. He`s an M.D. out of Johns Hopkins University. Let`s talk about -- they had said that the child has no injuries, but let`s look at this for a second. First of all, this was a 1-day-old baby that was probably rushed out of the hospital -- I don`t think she walked slowly -- taken into a car. This was allegedly a getaway car and it was found on the freeway. Could this child have any injuries, Doctor?

DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: Absolutely. Dehydration is probably the thing most concerning here. But you know, with 4.2 million new births a year and an increasing black market for adoption, hospitals are really struggling to figure out how to keep track of kids. And the best system is the system that was used. It`s an ankle bracelet, a type of RF ID or radiofrequency identification tag that allows nurses to monitor, like a radar monitor, where everybody is. And when a kid leaves, those alarms go off and the chase begins.

CASAREZ: You know, you bring up a good point, Doctor, about the black market. And there is a black market for infants. But there are also other reasons.

Let`s go to Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist. You know, I`ve covered a number of these cases, and as an attorney, I`ve seen that a number of them have to do with a woman that either wants to be pregnant or has told everyone she is pregnant, and she`s got to produce a child. But yet she is a white, it looks like. This is an Asian baby. What is the profile of someone that would do something like this?

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, it`s really interesting, Jean, because there are few studies on this. And a lot of the women who kidnap babies like this are really trying to preserve -- to save their relationship with a man, and the fantasy, which can escalate to a delusion, that the baby really is theirs, that if they say, You`re the baby`s daddy, that the man will stay. Some women really do become delusional that they are pregnant, when in fact, they`re not. But it is an act of obsession and desperation.

CASAREZ: All right. Eric Chase, defense attorney, I see a mental defect defense right there. How effective can that be, though, when someone intentionally goes into the hospital and takes the time to find the green scrubs and puts them on and proceeds to do what she wants to do?

CHASE: Well, you don`t know until you talk to your client. As a defense attorney, that`s the first thing I want to know. And you`ve already asked the question, and that question is why. Why did she do it? If she did it for some fantasy reason and she has some serious mental defect, you know, she`s not going to walk away. She`s not going to go home. They`ve got her dead to rights. They`ve got her on video. The question is, where is she going to be and for how long? And if she does have a serious mental problem, perhaps as a defense attorney, you could get her into a hospital for a period of time.

CASAREZ: All right. Let`s go to another caller. Damon in Missouri. Good evening, Damon.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How`re you doing, Nancy?

CASAREZ: Hi. I`m fine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering, by any chance is the woman on any type of medication or does she have any type of mental illness?

CASAREZ: Well, that`s what we are just talking, Damon, because a rational person we don`t think would do that, Right? And there`s going to be a defense here. Do we know -- let`s go out to the chief in Florida. Do we know if she`s gotten an attorney yet? And I think you had mentioned that she will not speak with detectives, at this point?

TOOLEY: That`s correct. She invoked her rights and said she wanted an attorney. I do not know if she`s actually spoken to one yet. She`s out at the county jail as we speak, and so we have not been able to interview her. We really can`t -- we don`t know much yet about her mental state or what her history in terms of, you know, any problems are. We just don`t know yet. And the fact she`s not talking to us has obviously complicated this considerably, with privacy acts and so on, with medical records and so on.

CASAREZ: To Paul Henderson, San Francisco assistant district attorney. Would you want her to get an attorney as soon as possible so she will give a statement to police and -- hopefully -- and then proceed to just find out information about this?

HENDERSON: Well, she still might not give a statement. And certainly, after she speaks to a lawyer, I`m sure any lawyer worth his salt as a defense attorney would be telling her not the speak necessarily. I think the real issue is going to be, though, in terms of -- as your previous discussion said about the insanity defense -- whether or not she knew the difference between right or wrong because that`s the standard that she`s going to have to meet in order to use that defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve got her on video changing into hospital scrubs. And she was able to go in posing as a hospital employee, grab the child and immediately make it out the door.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Want to update you on the newborn taken from a Florida hospital. Police have found the 1-day-old baby boy. They say he is safe and he is back with his parents. You see him there being wheeled in from a carseat, actually. He was located in a vehicle with a woman earlier identified by police as a suspect. The newborn was taken from the infant unit of Central Florida Regional Hospital. Police say the suspect initially tried to abduct another child but was stopped by the parents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," former Court TV, in for Nancy Grace tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. Let go straight out to Chief Brian Tooley. He is chief with the Sanford Police Department in Florida. I want to ask you, first of all -- I know the hospital has three floors. What floor was the maternity ward on?

TOOLEY: You know, I`m not even sure. I never even made it into the hospital physically myself. I was busy outside with a couple of other issues. And I`m not sure what floor it`s on.

CASAREZ: OK. You know where I`m going. I want to know how long this took. Is there a timespan as to how long they believe it took for her to get in there, change her clothes into the green scrubs, get into the one- day infant area, and allegedly abduct this child?

TOOLEY: Yes. I don`t have an exact timeline, but it was very tight. I do know that. The alarm went off. They were immediately notified. And it was just a matter of -- well, I won`t speculate, but it was very quickly that they locked the hospital down. But she did make it out the door.

CASAREZ: OK. Let`s go to a caller. Sandy in California. Hi, Sandy. Good evening.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good evening.

CASAREZ: What`s your question?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, does the woman have any criminal records that they know of?

CASAREZ: That`s a great question. And I`m not sure if they know yet, but let`s go to Chief Brian Tooley. Do we know yet if 39-year-old Jennifer Latham has any criminal history at all?

TOOLEY: Yes. So far, we don`t show a criminal history, but our investigators are still working on it.

CASAREZ: All right. Michael Sapricone, would you be concerned that this woman could get out of the hospital? Because there are a lot of ladies, people, that are going to be going into hospitals having infants. And should they be concerned that this could happen to them, too?

SAPRICONE: Well, again, I think the hospital did a great job, but you have to be concerned because she did get out of the hospital. She was able to get in and she was able to get out and...

CASAREZ: All right. And the investigation continues.

Tonight`s "Case Alert." There are new developments in the case of Amy Giordano, the beautiful 27-year-old mother whose remains are believed to have been found in a suitcase at the bottom of a New York pond. Well, tonight prosecutors are saying that Giordano`s lover, Rosario DiGirolamo, allegedly told friends he killed Giordano because of the financial strains of keeping up the extramarital affair. Attorneys for the man, who has now been charged with first degree murder, are saying DiGirolamo had nothing to do with his girlfriend`s death.

We`ll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One minute, you`re celebrating the miracle of birth. The very next day, you`re a parent and your little boy has been stolen, yes, kidnapped from a hospital. You wonder. We have security bracelets. This is not supposed to happen anymore, but it did in Sanford, Florida. Thankfully, the baby has been found safe and is now back with his parents.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," formerly Court TV, in for Nancy Grace tonight. Let`s go straight out to the attorneys, Paul Henderson, San Francisco assistant district attorney. You know, we talked about criminal charges all night. What about a civil suit against the hospital?

HENDERSON: Well, you`re really going to have to evaluate what their safety system was. And one of the things that you`re going to have to keep in mind is that with this action and behavior, you kind of have a -- you could have a break in civil liability with a third party intervening criminal conduct or criminal action because that`s what we have here. This person that did this is likely to be charged with a crime, and oftentimes, that will intervene in criminal liability and civil liability.

But one of the things that people will be looking at is where was the nursery. How accessible was the nursery to the public? Was it on the first or third floor? Was it near the door? Did they have proper safety precautions, or did they have standards of safety that are similar or reasonable that other hospitals may have followed?

One of the doctors indicated earlier that we have 4.2 million births a year. You do need to keep in mind that we have less than 13 abductions like this that take place a year. So that`s the standard that people will be looking at.

CASAREZ: And time will tell.

When we come back: A promising young student and mother is found stabbed to death. In a moment, the latest on the hunt for the killer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 22-year-old Krystal Skinner was found stabbed to death in her apartment. Coworkers at the deli found it very unusual that she didn`t come to work. So they went to search for her themselves and went to her apartment, tried her door. It was locked. They knocked. No answer. They notified the building supervisor that something was wrong. And the supervisor called police. And police made the discovery.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," formerly Court TV, in for Nancy Grace tonight. Let`s go straight out to Marlaina Schiavo is at the scene live tonight. Marlaina, a killer is on the loose.

MARLAINA SCHIAVO: A killer is on the loose, Jean. Right now police are still not naming a person of interest at all. They are still looking to talk to the ex-boyfriend and the father of the young boy. Well, the ex- boyfriend of Krystal). They have been talking to the family members of -- of the ex-boyfriend and they say that they are cooperating. But, again, they`re not saying that he is a person of interest or anyone is a person of interest at this time.

CASAREZ: What are they saying about how she was murdered? How was it done?

SCHIAVO: Well, they`re saying that they found her on the floor with multiple stab wounds to the chest, Jean. They`re not saying how many. And it was -- and the weapon was only a knife. There was no gunshots or anything else. And there was no forced entry.

CASAREZ: Multiple stab wounds to the chest. Keyword right there, chest. Let`s go out to Terry Sheridan from 1010 Wins here in New York. First of all I want to ask you, they do want to talk with the ex-boyfriend. He is not a suspect. He is not a person of interest, but they want to talk with him. Have they spoken with him, Terry?

TERRY SHERIDAN, REPORTER, 1010 WINS: No. Our understanding is that they have not as of yet. They still want to. Even though he has not been labeled a suspect, obviously from what we were hearing from the neighbors the relationship was very contentious. They want to talk to him.

CASAREZ: I want to ask you also Terry about her little boy, 3-years- old was found in the same room with her body?

SHERIDAN: That`s what we`re hearing. It was found in the same room. There are some reports that he might have seen the murder. He supposedly told the police some graphic information, some very specific information. But they have not released that to us.

CASAREZ: Let`s go out to Chris Divello tonight, a very special guest. I want to thank you for joining us at a very, very difficult time, I`m sure. You`re a friend of Krystal`s. You`re actually also her employer, correct?

CHRIS DIVELLO, BEST FRIEND OF KRYSTAL SKINNER: That`s right, yep. For approximately four years Krystal worked with me in the store.

CASAREZ: That`s a long time to have an employee and a long time to know what I know you have described as a wonderful, wonderful girl.

DIVELLO: She wasn`t an employee -- I`m sorry.

CASAREZ: How was her family doing tonight, first of all?

DIVELLO: I actually visited baby John John tonight and I wanted to also visit the rest of the family. They weren`t available. John seems like he`s doing well. You know, fortunately he is young. He`s 3-years- old. So how much he`s going to remember of this, hopefully he doesn`t remember anything.

But the family, at this point I think now is trying to take care of the funeral arrangements and, you know, trying to tie up ends as far as that goes. They just want closure now at this point. So we`re really anxious for an arrest.

CASAREZ: Now, her little boy, 3-years-old, he is the son of her ex- boyfriend, is that correct?

DIVELLO: That`s correct. That`s right. When you say ex-boyfriend, it`s very important that everybody knows that Krystal has been trying to distance herself from her ex-boyfriend for at least two years. So it`s very important that everybody knows that. There was no relationship whatsoever. And she only let him into her life to see the baby for sake of argument, and that`s really the only reason why he was there.

CASAREZ: You just said Krystal was trying to distance herself for five years from this --

DIVELLO: No, I`m sorry, for two years, Jean.

CASAREZ: OK, two years and the baby is 3-years-old?

DIVELLO: That`s correct.

CASAREZ: And the baby is with Krystal`s family tonight?

DIVELLO: That`s right. The baby is with Krystal`s mom and Krystal`s sister.

CASAREZ: OK, now we want to talk about, because obviously police want to talk with the people that are closest to Krystal Skinner, so this ex- boyfriend is.

He is not a suspect. He is not a person of interest. But he does have a criminal background. Let`s look at what his criminal background is. First of all, in 2007, which was just last year, in January he was sentenced for simple assault. Now, we don`t know at this point who that assault was of. But it was just over a year ago. And then seven months ago sentenced for manufacturing or distributing heroin or cocaine. Probation was given on both of those sentences.

Back in 2002, which was a ways ago, but he was sentenced and found guilty on domestic violence charges, prevention of the domestic violence act of 1991. In March of 2002, also stalking, he was convinced of. And the same date and year, assault on a law enforcement officer.

Let`s go out to a caller, Adrienne, in California. Good evening, Adrienne.

CALLER: Good evening.

CASAREZ: What`s your question?

CALLER: I wanted to know, was the baby harmed at all? Were there any injuries sustained to the child?

CASAREZ: That`s a very good question. Let`s go out to Chris. You saw the baby. You saw little John John, right, shortly after her body was discovered?

DIVELLO: Yeah. I was here -- the police entered the apartment approximately around maybe 9:30. I arrived maybe 15 minutes after that. At that time baby John John was in the leasing office, the manager`s office. And he was OK. He saw me and he put his arms up to me. He wanted me to hold him. So he seemed like he was in good spirits. Kids kind of bounce back from even the worst tragedies in the world as fast as you can even imagine.

I`m sure there was some kind of emotional feelings he still had and I`m sure after they questioned him they found out exactly what he saw. And apparently he did see everything that happened.

CASAREZ: Once again, a witness.

DIVELLO: For the most part, though, he wasn`t covered in blood like someone had reported earlier. He was OK. He wasn`t -- you know, I don`t think he was there that long and I think he was doing all right at that time.

CASAREZ: Let`s go out to Michael Sapricone who is a former detective with the New York City police department. This is going to be a DNA case, right, because her body was found in her apartment. Let`s look at it for a second. Her ex-boyfriend is being reported was still in and out of the apartment because he`s the father of the little boy. His DNA`s going to be all through the apartment.

MICHAEL SAPRICONE, FORMER NYPD DETECTIVE: Right. It`s going to be -- it`s going to be a tough thing to prove on DNA alone. We`re going to have to see what the child has to say. And that`s a very difficult thing. You`re going to have to step gingerly with that. That`s going to take time because of his age and emotional. There`s going to be other things. He had access to the apartment. He probably had keys. He`s been seen there. There`s been a history of domestic problems there, arguing. So it`s going to take a little bit of time and I`m sure the children are holding back a little bit of the information they have, just to verify.

CASAREZ: What about the multiple stab wounds to the chest? Can`t blood tell a forensic story that can show who the perpetrator was of a crime?

SAPRICONE: Right. Well you`re probably going to have defensive wounds on her and that hasn`t been shown either yet. If you`re stabbed in the front, you`re going to have defensive wounds on your arms. There may be DNA skin underneath your fingernails. So these are all things they`re looking at through the criminologist and through forensics. And I`m sure that will come out a little bit later.

CASAREZ: All right, let`s go back out to Marlaina Schiavo. Marlaina live at the scene in New Jersey. Do we know about a murder weapon at all? Has anything like that been found?

SCHIAVO: I asked the prosecutor about the murder weapon. He would not specify whether or not they found one or if any was recovered at the scene at all.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One night, the girl comes out right here screaming, call 911, call 911, screaming -- yeah. The guy used to beat her up bad supposedly. This was in the summertime.

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DIVELLO: Baby John John, I found out from the prosecutor that he was a witness and was sitting near the body at the time. So I guess he did see some of what happened. The detectives at the Skinner residence reported that he was pretty graphic about what he saw. And it wasn`t being known at that time, they weren`t going to reveal to the family, but the police felt pretty confident that they knew who the person was that killed Krystal.

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CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," formerly Court TV in for Nancy Grace tonight. Thank you so much for joining us.

I want to go out to Eric Chase, defense attorney out of Los Angeles. You know Eric, a lot of people are going to say that there was a volatile relationship she had with someone. This was a very personal crime, but it will be a manslaughter case because of the passion involved and something just went wrong when there was arguing.

But when I look at the facts of what they know now at this point, witnesses are saying they didn`t hear any altercation that night, that it was silent, that there was music playing. Well, that could be interpreted that this was a premeditated crime, that she was taken off guard, that someone started to stab her when she couldn`t even fight back and that it was planned. Response?

ERIC CHASE, DEFENSE STORY: Well, the facts will tell the story. First of all, I don`t know why the police aren`t even calling this guy a person of interest. Look, he`s got a history of violence including violence against a police officer. He`s got a history of domestic violence. He`s got a history of violent altercations with the victim. Of course he`s a suspect.

In terms of what`s going to happen as the case plays out, the first thing you`re going to want to look at is what evidence do they have he`s the one who did it? If they get over that hurdle, then as a defense attorney we start looking at the manslaughter issue.

Again, I think it`s too early to tell if there was a heated argument that would rise to the level of passion that would even get you a voluntary manslaughter instruction in front of the jury.

CASAREZ: That`s where that 3-year-old little boy comes in possibly, right?

CHASE: A 3-year-old is going to be tough. It`s virtually impossible to use somebody that young as a witness. Even qualifying them as a witness is so hard in court. You want to use them. You think they know. When it comes time to testify a year from now, it`s going to be tough to use that 3-year-old.

CASAREZ: But you know what that reminds me of? Last night, two callers called in and talked about Bobby Cutts and how that little boy in the room said mommy`s in the rug. And that`s very true. That boy was a witness.

Let`s go out to Georgia in Oklahoma. Good evening, Georgia.

CALLER: Good evening. I just want to know if they can use him as a witness on the stand if they can`t find any physical evidence.

CASAREZ: That`s a great question. Let`s go out to our assistant district attorney out of California. Paul Henderson, can a 3-year-old be a witness?

PAUL HENDERSON, SAN FRANCISCO ASST DIST ATTORNEY: He can. I mean, the standard that they use is whether or not he has the ability to observe and recall.

And more than just being a witness, he may be able to tell investigators and law enforcement information about how the incident took place. So as morbid as it sounds, the child may be able to say what the person may have been wearing and looking for those clothes or what color car he may have been in or where the person came from, if he was hiding outside of the door.

And they can collect DNA or scratches or footprints or something. So there`s information that he can provide and he still may be able to call -- be called as a witness.

CASAREZ: It is amazing, a 3-year-old as an eyewitness. Let`s go to Armand in Florida. Good evening, Armand.

CALLER: Hi, how are you?

CASAREZ: Fine.

CALLER: I just wanted to know, where is the baby going to be located?

CASAREZ: OK, good question. Let`s go out to Marlaina who is love in New Jersey. Marlaina Schaivo, where is the baby tonight?

SCHIAVO: The baby is with Krystal`s family tonight, with her mother and her sister.

CASAREZ: All right, safe and sound. Before we go, I want to go back to the family friend, the employer of Krystal Skinner. There`s going to be a memorial service. A lot is planned to honor this beautiful young lady that was just all set to graduate from Rutgers. Can you tell us about it?

DIVELLO: Yeah. She`s -- she worked in the deli, of course, in my store with me and everyone else. She went to school, she went to college at Rutgers for four years and was planning to graduate at the end of this month with a bachelor`s degree in social work. And she was hired by the state of New Jersey to be a social worker. She had that planned. That was scheduled.

CASAREZ: And you have set up a memorial fund, right?

DIVELLO: Yes. We did. We set up a memorial fund at Sun Bank. You can make deposits there or you can come to my store in Cherry Hill to make deposits. It`s the Krystal Skinner Memorial Fund. They have a Web site, Sun Bank Web site and the telephone number there.

And we really ask everybody to feel into their hearts and anything they can give would really be a great help to baby John John because the money ultimately will go to baby John John and that will make a big difference in his life because he`s been through a lot and it`ll be appreciated by everyone.

CASAREZ: Chris, are people in the community wondering why the police are not asking for the public`s help at this point?

DIVELLO: I don`t think anybody -- I think, first of all, being one of the first people at the scene here, the Lindenwold police responded immediately. They had this area taped off within 30 seconds.

And the detectives were out here doing their job immediately. So hats off to the Lindenwold police department because they did respond so quickly.

I think anything that the police are detaining from the public and not asking questions is probably for the better of the case. So as soon as it`s time for the police to do their stuff, they`re going to do it. They`re just waiting to make their move, I`m sure.

CASAREZ: Dr. Marty Makary, M.D. of Johns Hopkins University. I have to ask you, she was stabbed in the chest repeatedly. Did she suffer? Was she in pain before she died?

DR. MARY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN: You know, patients describe all sorts of pain and suffering. Not being able to catch your breath is by far the worst feeling that anybody can feel.

CASAREZ: If she was stabbed in the chest, though, was it better than if she was stabbed in other parts of the body? That`s a vital organ right there, the heart?

MAKARY: Most stab wounds to the chest actually don`t involve the heart, it`s well protected by the sternal bone. What happens is the lungs collapse and they can`t inflate when you have this sense of desperation.

CASAREZ: All right, thank you so much.

Tonight, we`ve got CNN Heroes.

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ANNAMARIA AUSNES, NEEDED KIDNEY: In 1990, I was diagnosed with polycystic kidney disease. It`s genetic and there`s no cure for this disease. I have this lovely little granddaughter, and I want to be so involved in her life. I`m missing out and I just started praying for god to please send me an angel.

SANDRA ANDERSON, DONATED KIDNEY: I work at Starbucks in Tacoma, Washington. I`m the morning person. I work from 5:00 in the morning till 1:00. Annamaria is one of my customers. She comes in every day. This particular morning I could tell she just wasn`t feeling real well. I asked her what was wrong. And so I asked her what was wrong.

AUSNES: I told her that I had been placed on the national kidney transplant list.

ANDERSON: I just looked at her and said I want to test for you. My name is Sandra Anderson and I am a barista for Starbucks and I`m donating a kidney to a customer.

I went and had my blood tested. I sat down with my family and we got as much information as we possibly could. The day came when I was able to tell her, here`s this long line to the door and I just reached over and grabbed her hand and I said, I`m a match. And we both just stood there and bawled.

AUSNES: It was a joyful moment for me. I`ve been praying for an angel. I never in a million years would have thought it would barista, never.

ANDERSON: I knew in my heart this was a time for me to step up and I found out that I could. It`s pretty awesome.

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CASAREZ: Another busy week for America`s justice system. Let`s take a look back at the moments that captured our hearts.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is she breathing? Is she breathing?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, she`s not. She`s not breathing.

NANCY GRACE, CNN ANCHOR: A little girl died while her parents stood by and prayed. She was sick for over a month with a very simple malady, type I diabetes.

A scene local cops will never forget. A 22-year-old mom stabbed to death on her apartment floor. Her 23year-old toddler sitting by her side waiting for mommy to wake up. We want justice.

The bombshell developments of the cold-blooded shootings of UNC co-ed Eve Carson and Duke grad student Mahato.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Laurence Lovett Jr. is not the only one who has a criminal history. His probation officer has one too.

GRACE: A convict supervising the convict.

Mr. Selig, is Mr. Peterson paying you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why wouldn`t he be? Certainly, yes.

GRACE: OK, how much?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t think that`s anything we need to talk about.

GRACE: Really? I`m wondering why he hasn`t put that money toward trying to find his wife? Why do they say they haven`t hauled her in and put her in a jail cell?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, basically the sheriff said that he would have to first blow a wall out of her home, next bring in a forklift, put her on the back of a tow truck with pallets and cushions, take her outside to a lift, put her on the back of a tow truck.

GRACE: Fine, don`t I pay enough in taxes every year for that? If I could pay for the war in Iraq, I can pay for this lady to go to jail.

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CASAREZ: And tonight, let`s stop to remember army sergeant Kyle Dayton. He`s 22-years-old of El Dorado Hills, California. Killed in Iraq. Dayton died before he ever had a chance to meet his 3-month-old son Shawn (ph). Dayton`s wife Nicole (ph) says he was so excited about being a father. Dayton enjoyed shooting at the range, video games, even mud football. His friends remember him for his humor and loyalty. Kyle Dayton, American hero.

Want to thank you, all of our guests, thank you so much and thank you for inviting us into your homes tonight. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Good night, everybody.

END