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Nancy Grace
21-Month-Old Dead From Overdose of Cocaine, Oxycodone
Aired June 09, 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: A 21-month-old baby boy rushed to the ER, but Mommy and Daddy say everything was just fine just hours before. So why did the baby test positive for amounts of cocaine and painkiller Oxycodone so lethal, so high, it would leave an adult dead? Tonight, we want answers and justice!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A shocking discovery, toxicology results are in and show a 21-month-old baby boy is dead from an overdose of cocaine and Oxycontin. According to law enforcement, Darius Clark`s mom says she awoke in the night to find Darius with a white substance on his face. After wiping the substance, she allegedly went back to sleep, only to find Darius stiff in the morning, apparently dead of a drug overdose. Mom and Dad both charged with neglect of a child, both facing serious jail time tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to the arrest report, Nobles told police she fed Darius fried chicken, rice and macaroni and cheese before putting him to bed. The toddler slept in the same bed with Nobles and Clark. Nobles woke up in the middle of the night and found Darius had, quote, "white stuff" on his face, and she wiped it off and went back to sleep. When she tried to wake him up the next morning, she told detectives, Darius was stiff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight: Imagine your children safe and sound, tucked into their beds, you doing everything within your power to protect them, when out of the blue, a drunk driver ricochets down a quiet residential street and plows into your home, the little boy dead, his sister to the hospital. And tonight, we learn it`s not her first DUI. Why was she on the street, much less behind the wheel?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An absolute nightmare for a Georgia family, their son is killed as he sleeps in his own bed, this after an apparent drunk driver slams into the family`s house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The truck crashed through the boy`s bedroom, pushed him into his sister`s bedroom, and did not stop until it hit the wall on the other side of the house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cobb County police say 44-year-old Jeanette Eason (ph) was driving under the influence when she crashed into Eliot`s (ph) bedroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She actually ran through a four-way stop sign into a subdivision, and continued westbound in that subdivision, striking mailboxes, actual trees. I think she took out a cable box. Tragically, the 14-year-old man was killed and his sister was pinned in front of the truck, between it and the wall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Tonight: A baby boy rushed to the emergency room, but Mommy and Daddy say everything was just fine hours before. So why did the baby test positive for Oxycodone and cocaine, levels so high it would leave an adult dead? Well, tonight, Mommy and Daddy`s stories don`t jibe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A baby is dead after authorities say he overdosed on cocaine and Oxycontin. Authorities say 21-month-old Darius Clark was found with enough cocaine and Oxycontin in his blood to kill an adult. Mom and Dad both charged with neglect of a child, both facing serious jail time tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What really happened to 21-month-old Darius Clark? Riviera Beach police detectives believe it was a case of foul play and say the youngster`s parents are to blame. Autopsy results show the baby died of a cocaine and Oxycodone overdose. The baby`s mother, 25-year-old Tocarra Nobles of Riviera Beach, is charged with child neglect causing death. The baby`s father, 29-year-old Vincent Clark, is also charged in the toddler`s death and is already in jail on unrelated charges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you seen what I see up and down the street, you know? Like I said, people don`t care for nobody but themselves. And so it`s awful for something like this to happen to a little innocent baby. It really is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Mommy and Daddy both claiming everything was just fine hours before. Then why was the baby cold and stiff to the touch when he was discovered? And how did cocaine and painkiller Oxycodone end up in this child`s system in levels so lethal and so high it would kill even an adult?
Out to Rory O`Neill with Metro Networks. Rory, what happened?
RORY O`NEILL, METRO NETWORKS: Well, good evening, Nancy. It`s difficult for police to figure this out because there are two conflicting stories from the parents of 21-month-old Darius...
GRACE: Wait, wait, wait right there. I`ve got a problem. It`s difficult to figure out? You`ve got an adult male who`s a drug dealer, an adult female and a toddler boy, 21 months, and they can`t figure out -- what, they think the baby went to the corner and scored a bag of crack?
O`NEILL: Well, we don`t know who did what. That`s the problem. The father says he was the one that woke up the child, or tried to wake up the child unsuccessfully. The mother says she was the one who saw him in the middle of the night with a white substance on his face. She wiped it off, and then she went back to sleep and woke up later in the morning and tried to wake the child then and found him stiff. So there are conflicting reports from the two parents of exactly what happened.
GRACE: Rory, no offense. I know you`re just the messenger. I don`t need to kill the messenger. But I`m not worried about who cleaned the baby`s face off. That`s not what`s bothering me. What`s bothering me is how the baby got cocaine and Oxycodone in its little system, 21 months.
I want to go back out to Dr. Joshua Perper, medical examiner and author. At 21 months, typically, how much does a baby weigh?
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, MEDICAL EXAMINER: Probably, he weighs about 14, 20 pounds.
GRACE: Oh, good Lord in heaven!
We are taking your calls live. This little baby boy did not have to die. This mother allowed her child, her children, to be around a guy with 23 arrests on his rap sheet. That`s that I know of. And they wonder what went wrong? Why is the baby dead?
Out to the lines. Jeanette in Florida. Hi, Jeanette.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I want to say how much I love your show. And I think you`re a wonderful parent. And this has got to kill you.
GRACE: You know, it does because tonight when I left home, I was thinking back when I left Lucy and they were both crying. They didn`t want me to go to work. Can you imagine, can you even imagine, Jeanette, coming home and your baby`s stiff and cold?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s got me crying, and I`m just watching you on TV. What I`m wondering, are the neighbors out there deaf, blind and stupid? Did they not see, hear anything of child abuse? And I mean, where are the grandparents in here?
GRACE: You know what, Jeanette?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody`s out there doing something.
GRACE: You know what? You`re right. And I would like to find out -- you know, we always hear about DFACS and Child Protective Services. Where were they? They don`t know there`s a baby in the home? The reality is, I believe it was in the March prior to this incident, this past March, where the mother was pistol whipped and had a domestic battery charge. I don`t think anything`s happened to that.
I looked through this guy`s record, Jeanette in Florida -- 23 arrests, including multiple batteries, domestic violence. They were all dropped, dropped, dropped, dropped. At what point does a prosecutor say, No, I`m not dropping charges. You, sir, are going to jail.
Out to Rose Anne Brown. She`s the PIO at the Riviera Beach Police Department. Officer Brown, thank you for being with us. What did the neighbors have to say?
ROSE ANNE BROWN, RIVIERA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Nothing, other than they were just very surprised at what happened to the baby. And they were disgusted, also.
GRACE: Well, disgusted is a mild way to put it tonight. Out to Chad Payne. He`s a deputy sheriff. He`s an interdiction specialist with the Butts County sheriff`s office. He`s actually running for sheriff, I believe, in Houston County. Chad, isn`t it true that when things like this happen, nobody knows anything, nobody saw anything, nobody heard anything?
CHAD PAYNE, DEPUTY SHERIFF, CRIMINAL INTERDICTION SPECIALIST, BUTTS COUNTY: You`re absolutely right, Nancy, they don`t. And the sad thing about it is you`ve got the father of this child more worried about himself by hiding in the house when they came to investigate.
GRACE: Oh. Oh! We haven`t even gotten to that part. Out to Rory O`Neill with Metro Networks. The police came to investigate the death of this little toddler boy. Levels of cocaine and the painkiller Oxycodone, I believe -- Heath Ledger had that in his system when he passed away -- so high they would have killed an adult. When the cops got there, Rory, what did the dad do?
O`NEILL: Well, it was the mother who was calling 911, and by the time the cops showed up, there was no sign of the father until they searched through the house and found him hiding under a pile of clothes near a closet.
GRACE: OK. To Dr. Robi Ludwig, psychotherapist and author. Dr. Ludwig, I`m sure the defense attorneys, Greg McKeithen and John Burris and Susan Moss, who`s a victims` rights advocate, are going to tell me that victims` families respond in all different ways, their grief and their shock. But I don`t think hiding under a laundry basket is one of them.
ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I think it is what it sounds like. They were hiding because they felt guilty and responsible, which they clearly are. Listen, it`s their job to protect their child, and they did the exact opposite. And that`s unconscionable, really.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Susan Moss, family attorney and child advocate, Greg McKeithen, defense attorney out of the Atlanta jurisdiction, and veteran trial lawyer John Burris joining us out of San Francisco. Susan Moss, weigh in.
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: News flash, baby powder and cocaine aren`t the same. Parents have an affirmative duty to protect their children. The fact that there was cocaine in the house that this kid could eat, that is per se -- they are guilty of neglect.
GRACE: Wait, wait, wait, wait!
MOSS: But it`s worse than that...
GRACE: Wait. I need to see -- there you go. Thank you, Elizabeth. Susan, you think the baby coincidentally ate cocaine and Oxycodone?
MOSS: I think it was left there because it was probably enough that they can be charged with intent to distribute. And because the parents are going to go down on that felony, this is probably even felony murder rule - - murder one.
GRACE: Right now, Roy O`Neill, they`re only charged with what?
O`NEILL: They`re charged with neglect of a child, but it`s neglect of a child with severe injury as a result. So they do face up to 15 years in prison. But DCF and the police quickly point out the case is still under investigation.
GRACE: Still under investigation. Rory, has it even gone to a grand jury yet?
O`NEILL: I don`t believe so at this time because they just got the results of the Oxycontin.
GRACE: OK. So these are just charges on which the police arrested them. The way it works is all the police information, the reports, everything, crime lab reports, drug reports goes to the district attorney`s office. A grand jury typically -- sometimes you have a preliminary hearing, but the grand jury hears all that evidence, probably through a detective, and passes, likely, a bill of indictment. So other charges are likely to come down.
Let`s go back to the lawyers, Greg McKeithen, John Burris. John Burris, what are they looking at?
JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, certainly, they`re looking at a potential -- potentially having a charge of, I think minimum, negligent involuntary manslaughter...
GRACE: Whoa! Whoa! John!
BURRIS: ... and maybe more than that.
GRACE: John!
BURRIS: You could argue -- I`m saying minimally. I didn`t say maximum. I said minimally.
GRACE: Give me the max.
BURRIS: Well, obviously, maximum, you could look at a second degree murder type thing because you have gross reckless conduct...
GRACE: What about felony murder? They`re dealing drugs. They have drugs in their home.
BURRIS: I don`t think...
GRACE: That`s felony possession of cocaine. And the baby dies.
BURRIS: I don`t think it`s going to be felony murder.
GRACE: I could see it.
BURRIS: Look, there`s a death there, and there`s a homicide there, and there`s obviously a situation where the kid has ingested cocaine and serious drugs that was placed in a position where the child had access to it. So that is gross negligence on my -- on the way I see it. That`s going to either be involuntary manslaughter, or in fact, a second degree murder. Felony murder -- I`ve heard the arguments and I`ve heard them being made, but I think that`s a more difficult argument to make. I don`t think there`s any intent...
GRACE: I think it`s easy as one, two, three because, Greg McKeithen...
BURRIS: You can make the allegation, but proving it is different.
GRACE: Greg, as great a lawyer as Burris is, I`m counting on you, McKeithen, tell me the definition of felony murder. Make it short.
GREG MCKEITHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, felony murder is typically in the commission of a felony when there is a death of an individual. And in this particular circumstance, I`m going to have to disagree. I don`t think they`re going to be able to prove felony murder. Maybe more reckless and negligent conduct.
GRACE: OK. Let me ask you a couple of quick yes/no questions. Would you agree, Greg McKeithen, that possession of cocaine is a felony? Yes, no.
MCKEITHEN: It could be. Yes, that is a felony in most states.
GRACE: OK. Thank you. Now, would you agree that a death occurred, the baby`s dead? Yes, no.
MCKEITHEN: Yes, the baby is dead.
GRACE: Thank you. And to Susan Moss. Isn`t the textbook definition of felony murder, which carries the same penalty as murder one in a lot of jurisdictions, when a death occurs during a felony?
BURRIS: During the commission of a felony.
MOSS: Absolutely. And you don`t even need to be the one to have brought it into the house.
(CROSSTALK)
MOSS: You don`t even need...
BURRIS: I think you got to have an affirmative act.
MOSS: You don`t even need to be the one who brought it into the house. Mom`s going down, too.
GRACE: I`ve got an affirmative act, John.
BURRIS: I think you need an affirmative act. And the affirmative act...
GRACE: The affirmative act...
BURRIS: ... they have to do something.
GRACE: ... is having crack or cocaine around your 21-month-old baby boy.
Out to the lines. Jeanice in Minnesota. Hi, Jeanice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. It`s Jeanice, but that`s OK.
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: First of all, I love what you do for our troops. Thank you.
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What I`m wondering is, has there been any neglect abuse charges?
GRACE: You mean before this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
GRACE: Prior to this? Let`s go out to Rose Anne Brown. She`s the PIO with the Riviera Beach Police Department. Had there ever been any child services intervention in the home?
BROWN: Oh, absolutely. As a matter of fact, they currently had a plan that she had signed that said she was not going to allow him to be in the house with the baby.
GRACE: OK. Rose Anne Brown, would you repeat that one more time? I want to make sure I understand it correctly.
BROWN: The mother had signed what`s called a "safe plan" with the Department of Children and Families that said that she would not allow the father to be in the house with the child.
GRACE: Chad Payne, how many times have you seen this? That just -- that breaks my heart. Everybody knew she had -- the authorities had been alerted about the danger that was posed. She had agreed to never have this guy in the home again. And tonight, there is a 21-month-old baby boy dead because of these two right here, according to police.
PAYNE: Absolutely, Nancy. People have a civic duty to speak up and say something when something`s going wrong, and evidently, the neighbors and even the...
GRACE: The mother.
PAYNE: ... the mother -- she didn`t do this.
GRACE: The mother, the baby`s own mother! What do we know, Rory O`Neill, about why she allowed this guy, 23 arrests, back into the home? To me, if this is correct, that paints her just as guilty as him.
O`NEILL: And she does have a record of her own, as well, on a couple of shoplifting charges.
GRACE: You know what? Shoplifting, shmoplifting. I don`t care if you steal some makeup from Duane Reed (ph). I`m not worried. I`m worried about why she took this guy back into the home and made such a dangerous situation for her baby boy. What do we know?
O`NEILL: We don`t know much about why she let him back in the house. No, she hasn`t talked about that in her interviews.
GRACE: Dr. Robi?
LUDWIG: There are a lot of women that feel that they`re worthless without a man around, and she could be one of those kinds of women.
GRACE: Dig deeper, Robi. Dig deeper. Fine. Feel worthless. But why do you endanger your child?
LUDWIG: And she`s also probably a drug addict. So the fact that her partner...
GRACE: You`re certainly good to make excuses.
Out to Christopher in New York. Hi, Christopher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello.
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know how he got -- excuse me -- how the baby got the cocaine.
GRACE: We don`t know that. But I can tell you this much, he didn`t go score it on the corner. I know that much. And I know the father has a drug history and the mother agreed not to let him back in the home. That`s all I know right now. And their stories are not jibing, Christopher.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A baby is dead after authorities say he overdosed on cocaine and Oxycontin. Authorities say 21-month-old Darius Clark was found with enough cocaine and Oxycontin in his blood to kill an adult, mom and dad both charged with neglect of a child, both facing serious jail time tonight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators say 21-month-old Darius Clark ingested enough cocaine and Oxycontin to kill an adult. The baby dies as authorities now charge mom Tocarra Nobles and dad Vincent Clark with neglect of a child causing great harm. Nobles could face years behind bars, the father also facing an unrelated slew of charges that could land him in jail the rest of his life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The 21-month-old baby boy died from a level of cocaine in his system so high, it would have killed an adult. Also in the mix, Oxycodone.
Out to the lines. Karen in Virginia. Hi, Karen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. My question is, can the mother and father be tested to see if these drugs were in their system, to see ownership of the drugs?
GRACE: Excellent question. Probably not. But let`s go to the lawyers, Susan Moss, Greg McKeithen and John Burris. What about it, John?
BURRIS: I think they could have been tested at the outset. I think now it`s a little late. I mean, you`re talking about a couple days later. But you know, given that at the outset -- I think they could have easily had the drug testing.
GRACE: Well, let`s talk about it, John. Just hold on just a moment. You remember that crazy thing, let`s see, the Constitution, where you`re protected from unreasonable searches? That would include pumping your stomach or taking your blood if you`re a target, which is a defendant.
BREMNER: Well, I think at the outset -- you know, I`m not certain about this particular point, but I think that you could, given the nature of this particular offense that was taking place, You`ve obviously got to get a judge to approve it. But if you go get a warrant...
GRACE: OK, hold on. What about it, Susan?
MOSS: Unfortunately, the answer is not. Absolutely, you can`t do it.
GRACE: I mean, you know, Greg McKeithen, as much as I would love to get their blood, what do you do, hold them down kicking and screaming and take a blood sample? You can`t do that to a defendant.
MCKEITHEN: That`s correct. You can`t. That would be an unreasonable search and seizure.
GRACE: I don`t know what kind of law you guys are practicing out in California, but hey, that`s a new one on me.
MCKEITHEN: I agree.
BURRIS: I think you can get a warrant. But you know, if you can`t, you can`t.
GRACE: A warrant on what? To make a defendant give their blood?
BURRIS: I think that you have cases that have been decided where blood has been given. You have to have a warrant that goes before a judge and...
GRACE: From a defendant. You can make a defendant give blood?
BURRIS: I think you can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dead baby`s grandparents both work for the sheriff`s office. The grandmother, the lady standing on the right, is a sheriff`s lieutenant, but she did not speak at the hearing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What really happened to 21-month-old Darius Clark? Riviera Beach police detectives believe it was a case of foul play and say the youngster`s parents are to blame. Autopsy results show the baby died of a cocaine and Oxycodone overdose. The baby`s mother, 25-year-old Tocarra Nobles of Riviera Beach, is charged with child neglect causing death. The baby`s father, 29-year-old Vincent Clark, is also charged in the toddler`s death and is already in jail on unrelated charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, Mommy and Daddy both behind bars, their stories not jibing. Very typical, have co-defendants begin to point the finger at each other.
To Dr. Joshua Perper. Dr. Perper, how would a child ingest cocaine and Oxycodone, just swallow it?
PERPER: No. Well, yes. There would be probably -- the cocaine might have been crack cocaine, which are small fragments of rock like. And the other one is a pill. And children are great explorers and indiscriminate eaters, and that`s the way they explore the world, with their mouth.
GRACE: And Dr. Perper, very quickly, if you had ingested powder cocaine or eaten powder cocaine or eaten crack cocaine, a blood test would probably not tell you if it was crack or cocaine, correct?
PERPER: That`s correct.
GRACE: So it would be easier for the child to eat crack and then a pill.
Out to the lines. Christopher in North Carolina. Hi, Christopher.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. How are you doing? I just want to tell you I love you. I even watched you when I spent 15 months in Afghanistan. I just got back.
GRACE: Christopher?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes?
GRACE: Thank you for calling in. Thank you very, very much. Did you have a question tonight, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. I was wondering, when they -- when they found everything, did they actually find the crack cocaine or the powder cocaine in the bed with...
GRACE: They did not, Christopher. And Christopher, once again, thank you for calling. And we appreciate what you did for us.
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: How did it happen? Investigators say 21- month-old Darius Clark ingested enough cocaine and oxycontin to kill an adult. The baby dies as authorities now charge mom Toccara Nobles and dad Vincent Clark with neglect of a child causing great harm.
Nobles could face years behind bars. The father also facing an unrelated slew of charges that could land him in jail the rest of his life.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What really happened to 21-month-old Darius Clark? Riviera Beach Police detectives believe it was a case of foul play and said the youngster`s parents are to blame. Autopsy results show the baby died of a cocaine and oxycodone overdose.
The baby`s mother 25-year-old Toccara Nobles of Riviera Beach is charged with child neglect causing death. The baby`s father, 29-year-old Vincent Clark, is also charged in the toddler`s death and is already in jail on unrelated charges.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: And this after the state and the Department of Family Children Services had spent who knows how much time and money trying to help this woman, the mother of baby Darius. They even had a safety plan about how she agreed to keep him out of the home. But where was he that night? In bed with her and the baby boy.
He is dead now, a 21-month-old baby boy, from a huge level ingested of cocaine, possibly crack, and the painkiller oxycodone.
I want to go back out to Chad Payne, deputy sheriff and interdiction specialist, Butts County Sheriff`s Office.
Chad, I was taking a stroll through his 23-entry rap sheet, and I found one of them was HV, habitual violator. What does that mean to you?
CHAD PAYNE, DEPUTY SHERIFF, CRIMINAL INTERDICTION SPECIALIST, BUTTS COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: Habitual violator means he`s a repeat offender, he continues to do it.
GRACE: Habitual violator typically in the sense of DUI. If you get four or more you`re deemed a habitual violator in a lot of jurisdictions, but it could be a recidivist, someone that has so many arrests they are deemed in a special category by the justice system.
We are taking your calls live. Out to Kim in Tennessee. Hi, Kim. Uh-oh. Hold on. I went to the wrong person.
Mike in Virginia. Hi, Mike.
MIKE, VIRGINIA RESIDENT: How are you doing, Nancy?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
MIKE: I wanted to know if, during the autopsy, can the doctors do a toxicology test on the hair of the child to see if he was given drugs over a period of time with the codine and the oxycodone?
GRACE: Excellent question.
Dr. Perper, how would that work?
DR. JOSHUA. PERPER, MEDICAL EXAMINER, AUTHOR OF "WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR": Well, this is almost routine. In a case like that there would be blood taken during the autopsy, the postmortem examination, and the toxicologist would do the analysis and find the drug screen for a variety of drug. In this case those were the two drugs, the cocaine and the oxycontin.
GRACE: And Dr. Perper, how far back does drug use show up in your hair?
PERPER: You mean how long it stays -- the drug stay in the body?
GRACE: Yes. Would it show up in a hair sample?
PERPER: Well, in the hair samples -- if you take hair samples you can divide the hair in segments and can determine what was the rate of taking the drugs by considering the growth rate of the hair itself.
GRACE: I understand.
PERPER: So you can show that it was taken over a certain period of time.
GRACE: I understand. Thank you, Dr. Perper.
Out now to Kim in Tennessee. Hi, Kim.
KIM, TENNESSEE RESIDENT: Hi, Nancy. Congratulations on your twins. I love your show.
I have a comment. How can a mother wake up and see a white substance on her child`s face and just go back to sleep?
GRACE: You know.
KIM: I think she was high.
GRACE: You know what, Kim? That`s a great question because, Susan Moss, I don`t know anymore, it`s all become a big blur, how many times I go in the room during the night and check on the twins. All night long. Between 12:00 and 5:30 in the morning I may have gone in there three to five times.
And even if the blanket is too close to their face I get worried about SIDS and move the blanket away. I mean, how do you -- wouldn`t it ring a red bell of alarm in your mind if you saw a white substance on your child`s face?
SUSAN MOSS, CHILD ADVOCATE, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Apparently, the mobile has a drug motif. No, absolutely, if you wake up and you know your boyfriend has some issues with drugs and you see white powder on your child`s face, you call 911, and the fact that she didn`t, the fact that she had him there in the first place means that she made a choice, boyfriend over child, costing this child`s life.
GRACE: And the other thing, Dr. Robi Ludwig, she says that she came home and touched -- well, she came back into the room and touched the child and the child was cold and stiff.
You wouldn`t notice that? I mean, when I go check on the twins, I`m squinting at them in the middle of the night. I`ll actually touch their chest or their back to make sure that they`re breathing.
ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST, AUTHOR OF "TILL DEATH DO US PART": Yes. Well, clearly, she is not your kind of mother. I mean, this is a woman who probably is so high, disconnected, she wouldn`t know how to determine whether her child was safe or not. And that`s what we`re hearing.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Ursula in Ohio. Hi, Ursula.
URSULA, OHIO RESIDENT: Hello.
GRACE: Hi. What`s your question, dear?
URSULA: My question is if children`s services there in her city was already involved why didn`t they have her going through mandatory counseling and drug screening before she can get that child placed back with her?
GRACE: What about it? Back to Rose Anne Brown, the PIO with the Riviera Bench Police Department. How would that have worked in a perfect world with family services?
ROSE ANNE BROWN, PIO, RIVIERA BEACH POLICE DEPT.: Unfortunately, Family Services doesn`t share their plans with us. They call upon us for assistance when they find out that people are not following the agreements. So what the specific details are, I wish I could tell you, but I don`t know.
GRACE: Officer Brown, it`s a real pleasure to have you with us tonight.
A 21-month-old baby boy is dead while mommy and daddy slept in the bed and claimed nothing was wrong. We`ll continue to bring the latest on the story.
But when we come back, your children tucked into their beds, you doing everything you can to protect them. Out of the blue a drunk driver ricochets down a quiet residential street, plows into the children`s bedroom. The boy, dead. His sister alive but to the hospital. And tonight we learn it`s not her first DUI.
And tonight, as always, we salute our troops.
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LAPONDA, SALUTING THE TROOPS: This is Laponda. I was sending out a special salute the troops to my friend Damon Montgomery stationed in Iraq.
Thanks for the good job you`re doing. Keep up the good work. Hope you come home safely. From your friends and family in Gulfport, Mississippi. We love you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Neighbors jolted out of their sleep by what sounds like an explosion in their quiet Powder Springs, Georgia neighborhood. Outside a horrific scene. Several mailboxes knocked out and a Ford F-250 that slams through a home.
14-year-old Elliott Savery asleep when the pickup crashes into his window, runs him over, pushes him through a wall and into his sister`s bedroom.
Police say the driver, 44-year-old driver Jeanette Eason, had a fight with her husband just a few miles way before jumping into his truck, and according to the arrest warrant Eason reeked of alcohol.
The victim`s family up in arms after bond is initially set at $35,000.
But with Eason`s set to walk on just 10 percent of that the public outrage and her two prior DUI convictions are enough to convince Cobb County chief magistrate Frank Cox to triple bond.
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GRACE: You know, there are so many questions regarding this case I hardly know where to start. The miracle tonight is the little girl lived. The tragedy is the little boy lost his life. And they were both asleep in their own homes, their own home, tucked into their bed, when a drunk driver ricochets down a quiet residential street and plows into their bedrooms.
I want to go out to Eric Jens with WLBB Newsradio. Eric, what can you tell me?
ERIC JENS, NEWS DIRECTOR, REPORTER, WLBB NEWSRADIO: Thank you, nabs Nancy.
As pretty much what you described there, 44-year-old Jeanette Eason in the early morning hours took her Ford F-250 following an altercation with her husband, plowed through signs, mailboxes, cable boxes and a garage before plowing entering the bedroom of that 14-year-old boy, eventually killing him in the process, as he was pinned under the truck.
The momentum of the vehicle actually went all the way through his bedroom into his sister`s bedroom across the way. She was pinned against the wall and the front bumper of the truck.
GRACE: To Eric Jens again, how far off the road did she have to go to crash into the kid`s bedroom?
JENS: She had gone several hundred yards off of the roadway. But from the road itself it was probably maybe 10, 15 yards.
GRACE: 10 or 15 yards. That`s 45 feet. That`s still a pretty good distance.
Joining me tonight is a very special guest out of Atlanta, Judge Frank Cox. Initially Magistrate Hugh Robinson had granted an extraordinarily low bond. When Frank Cox heard about the low bond, he immediately raised the bond. One of the reasons this lady, if I can call her that, is still behind bars tonight.
Judge Cox, thank you for being with us.
JUDGE FRANK COX, COBB COUNTY CHIEF MAGISTRATE, RAISED BOND FOR DUI SUSPECT: You`re welcome, Nancy. Good to talk to you.
GRACE: Judge Cox, what spurred your interest? How did you realize that intervention was necessary? This woman had an incredibly low bond and there`s a dead boy.
COX: Well, I felt television coverage of the accident or the incident yesterday, and I read about it in the paper again this morning, and based on the coverage of the TV programs and the newspaper I felt like the conduct was so egregious that the $35,000 bond was not appropriate.
GRACE: And everybody, on a $35,000 bond -- out to you, Cheryl McCollum, former director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Georgia.
Cheryl, on a $35,000 bond you only have to put up $3,500. You can get that off of -- max out a credit card on a credit.
SHERYL MCCOLLUM, FMR. DIRECTOR, MADD GEORGIA: Absolutely, 10 percent. And I want to follow you, Nancy. I want to tell Judge Cox great job. More judges ought to get out of bed, get on the phone, and triple bond as well. There is no gray area here, Nancy.
GRACE: And back to you, Judge Cox. How is it that you were able to overrule the decision of Magistrate Hugh Robinson? Is it because you`re the chief magistrate?
COX: That`s correct.
GRACE: OK. And you know what I`d like to just throw out there tonight? It`s not very often that you see or hear of a judge reading about a case in their jurisdiction. They read about it. They hear about it. And they get involved.
Typically, we often hear about judges at the point where they`re not involved and all kind of things happen in their courtroom. But here`s a judge that read about a case under his jurisdiction and he involved himself and did the right thing.
What I don`t understand, Judge Cox, and I know it`s very difficult to comment on what a fellow judge did, but I understand the low bond was granted because the judge didn`t have the woman`s criminal history?
COX: Well, that`s part of the reason. He did not know her history. And it was just a judgment call on his part that he felt that was an appropriate bond. After reviewing the facts of the case, I felt it was not an appropriate bond. So I increased it.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers -- everybody, we are taking your calls live -- Susan Moss, Greg McKeithen, and John Burris.
To you, Susan Moss, how do you go about granting -- and I`m not going to ask the judge this because I know he doesn`t want to criticize a fellow judge. What good would that do? But Susan, how can you appropriately set a bond when you don`t know the criminal history?
MOSS: That`s the first question you ask, and it`s the first document that should be put before you, which is a listing of their criminal history. This woman was allowed to drive. She shouldn`t have even been allowed to skip. If the judge properly knew what was going on. Hopefully the judge would have acted the right way.
GRACE: OK, Burris, I can hear you in the background. Weigh in.
JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: This is total nonsense. What are you talking about her criminal record? She had a criminal case 20-something years ago and another one six years ago. There was nothing about that criminal record that would have necessarily caused that bond to be increased.
I think this is the worst part of judging that I can imagine when you read in a newspaper and you decide based upon what you read in a newspaper and a public outcry that you are then going to increase the bond. The judge who had this case at the outset, that person made a judgment based upon the information before him.
I`m not deciding whether the bail should be this or should be that. The point I have a problem with is reading about it in the newspaper and then going out and responding to public pressure and making a decision based upon that.
That`s ridiculous, and that`s outrageous. The worst form of judging I could imagine.
GRACE: Well, John Burris, that`s what I expected you to say. While many other people.
BURRIS: (INAUDIBLE) because that`s what I believe.
GRACE: Well, I`m sure it is.
And let`s go to Brandy in Arizona and find out if she agrees with you, Brandy.
BRANDY, ARIZONA RESIDENT: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: Hi, dear.
BRANDY: I totally don`t agree with anything he`s saying. I`d like to know why there wasn`t some kind of device put on her. Even though it was six years ago, or whatever, doesn`t matter. She was still drinking and driving. It took the life of a child in order to get someone`s attention.
GRACE: You know, speaking of such devices -- back out to Chad Payne, deputy sheriff, interdiction specialist -- Chad, there are those devices that can be put on vehicles so you cannot drive drunk.
And this woman didn`t have just one DUI. She had two DUIs. And I`m going to tell you something interesting about that. What is that device, Chad Payne?
PAYNE: Well, it`s a breathalyzer machine that you can blow into that unlocks the steering wheel if you are safe to drive.
GRACE: And to you Sheryl McCollum, former director of MADD Georgia, what`s the statistic for every DUI? How many times has the person driven drunk?
MCCOLLUM: Oh, sometimes over 100, Nancy. And all we know about her is she`s had this problem for at least 20 years. And I want to say again publicly, Judge Cox, nice job.
GRACE: And you know, Judge Cox, although John Burris out there in, I believe, the 9th Circuit disagrees with you, I`m sure that you verified all the facts in the police record and did not simply rely on what the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" wrote.
Am I correct in that assumption, Judge Cox?
COX: Well, based on the facts as I understand them to be I felt that her conduct was so egregious that she was a danger to the community. So I felt it was only appropriate that I increase the bond until we could properly investigate her history and background and make a better determination of what would be appropriate bond.
But I wanted to err on the side of caution at this point in time.
GRACE: To Barbara in Florida. Hi, Barbara.
BARBARA, FLORIDA RESIDENT: Hi, Nancy. I want to thank you for everything you do for us.
GRACE: Thank you.
BARBARA: And Judge Cox, I appreciate what you did, but I believe she should have been held on a no bond. She`s had this problem over 20 years, and I don`t understand why she got a bond. She killed somebody. She hurt somebody. She`s taken these kids away from their parents. When are we going to stop the drunk driving and put them where they belong?
GRACE: To Diane in Georgia. P.S., Barbara, well put. Diane, what`s your question?
DIANE, GEORGIA RESIDENT: Basically, it`s a comment. I just can`t understand why she`s out on bond.
GRACE: She`s not out. She`s still behind bars, Diane.
DIANE: OK. But why she, you know, has a chance to get out? Just with the look on her face it`s like I feel.
GRACE: Well, I`ve got to tell you, it`s very difficult to issue a no bond. But I believe the bond that she has is going to be very difficult to meet, Diane.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She does not deserve to be on the streets. She can hurt others. It`s not only our Elliott, but she could go out there and do the same to other families.
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GRACE: According to police reports, this woman, a three-time DUI offender, plowed off a residential street into a home, killing a little boy.
Out to the lines, Kay in Kentucky. Hi, Kay.
KAY, KENTUCKY RESIDENT: Hi. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
KAY: I`m so glad I got in. I`ve tried -- I`ve been trying for months and months.
GRACE: Thank you.
KAY: But anyway, this expression this woman has on her face right there, to me it looks like she ran over a squirrel or something. I`ve seen more emotion out of people when they hit a cat or a dog.
GRACE: You know, Robi, Kay in Kentucky`s right.
LUDWIG: It`s true. She does not look remorseful. Now you can`t always tell everything by a look, but it`s quite disturbing that she looks like whatever.
GRACE: You know -- but you know, if this ever goes to a jury trial, they`ll be able to judge credibility, too.
Lisa in Virginia. Hi, Lisa.
LISA, VIRGINIA RESIDENT: Hi.
GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?
LISA: I was curious, she shows no remorse whatsoever. This will be her third.
GRACE: Yes.
LISA: . DUI.
GRACE: Yes.
LISA: She will be allowed a public defender. Why would the public continue to pay?
GRACE: Oh, you know why? Because we have to. If we don`t, the case will be reversed and she`ll walk straight out on the street. Harsh but true.
Let`s stop and remember Army Captain Michael Norman, 36, Killeen, Texas, killed Iraq. A University of Texas grad, awarded the Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Loved family, army, guitar, singing. Favorite song, "Fools Rush In" by Elvis.
Leaves behind parents Beverly and Connie, widow Jean, 10-year-old son Sammy, 4-year-old daughter Summer.
Michael Norman, American hero.
Thanks to our guests, but especially to you for being with us. And tonight welcome back to our star, stage manager Dave Webber, who has fought heart disease and is winning. And a special good night from New York and Georgia friends of the show, Elam, Ely, and Glenn.
Now there`s a nice-looking bunch.
Everybody, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then good night, friend.
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