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Nancy Grace
Casey Anthony`s Father Hospitalized After Suicide Threat
Aired January 23, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight in the desperate search for a beautiful 2-year-old Florida girl, Caylee. Six months of searching culminates when skeletal remains found in a heavily wooded area just 15 houses from the Anthony home confirmed to be Caylee, manner of death homicide, the little girl`s remains completely skeletonized. This after a utility meter reader stumbles on a garbage bag containing a tiny human skeleton, including a skull covered in light-colored hair. The killer duct tapes the child`s mouth, then finishes off by placing a child`s heart- shaped sticker over the duct tape, little Caylee`s tiny skeleton double bagged like she`s trash.
Bombshell. Tonight grandfather George Anthony at a breaking point, the grandfather of the slain Florida toddler taken into custody and hospitalized in the early morning hours, grandfather George reported missing overnight, sending repeated text messages he no longer wants to live and wants to go to Caylee, his location in a Daytona Beach motel tracked by cell phone pings. In George Anthony`s car, a five-page suicide note reiterating he wants to end his life and be with little Caylee. As we go to air, George Anthony under watch at a psychiatric unit. Tonight, the 911 calls alerting grandfather George Anthony`s plan to take his own life.
Tonight, also, will yet another piece of evidence send tot mom Casey Anthony to Florida`s death row? Is duct tape binding little Caylee`s mouth the same duct tape found on gas cans from the Anthony home? That analysis being made right now. This after we learn a trash bag holding little Caylee`s remains is a direct link to trash bags at the Anthony home.
And in the last hours, a Florida judge signs an order forcing tot mom Casey Anthony out of her private jail cell and into the courtrooms. Just days ago, she refused to leave her cell and was dragged to court by bailiffs.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911, what is your emergency?
BRAD CONWAY, ATTORNEY FOR GEORGE AND CINDY ANTHONY: George Anthony has been gone since 8:30 this morning, and he has taken several bottles of medication from his house, as well as some pictures. And what worries us is that something is -- he`s done something to himself.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news in the case of 2-year-old Florida toddler Caylee Anthony. George Anthony, the grandfather of little Caylee, was reported missing last night by wife Cindy Anthony and sent text messages to family telling them he wanted to end his life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At around midnight, we received a call that a George Anthony was in the Daytona Beach area, that he was despondent, contemplating suicide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities say a five-page letter was found in his car indicating he wanted to do harm to himself.
GEORGE ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S GRANDFATHER: You people have no idea we`re going through. You guys don`t give a -- you don`t care about me! You don`t care about her! You don`t care about my granddaughter!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George was taken to a local hospital and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation. Meanwhile, WKMG has learned that duct tape found on a gas can seized from the Anthony home is being compared to the duct tape found on Caylee. The station reports that the tape on the gas can appears to be identical to the duct tape found on Caylee`s skull.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Tonight, bombshell. Grandfather George Anthony rushed to a hospital psych ward after threatening suicide, as new evidence emerges that could send tot mom Casey Anthony to Florida`s death row.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stunning developments today in the case of 2-year- old Florida toddler Caylee Anthony. Grandfather George Anthony was reported missing late last night and found in a motel miles away with a note in his car indicating he wanted to harm himself.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: OK, you said he had a couple of bottles of medication?
CONWAY: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: Are any weapons missing?
CONWAY: No.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE ANTHONY: I`m doing everything I can, everything I can to help you and help her. I wish there was more I could do. I would give my life right now for you and for her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George was taken to the Halifax Medical Center, where he will undergo a psychiatric evaluation. The jail says the tot mom was notified about the incident this morning. Also today, WKMG has learned that duct tape found on gas cans belonging to the Anthonys is being compared to the duct tape found on the mouth area of the skull of little Caylee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take a look at this gas can in the garage the Anthony home. Now take a closer look. It appears to have silver duct tape on it. Back on August 1st, investigators seized a two-and-a-quarter-gallon metal gas from the home. Caylee`s grandfather, George, said Casey had his gas cans in her trunk in mid-June after he reported them stolen. Now Local 6 has learned that duct tape on the gas can is being compared to the tape found over the little`s girl`s mouth because that duct tape appears to be identical.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
GEORGE ANTHONY: She don`t want to go in the trunk of the car. And I just get back where the passenger real tail light is to her car, she throws open the truck, she says, Here`s your F-ing cans.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Rory O`Neill with Westwood 1, standing by at the courthouse. Rory, what happened? How is George Anthony?
RORY O`NEILL, WESTWOOD ONE RADIO: Well, good evening, Nancy. You know, George`s lawyer, Brad Conway, says this was a tragedy averted. He had called the Orange County sheriff`s office, the detective who`s been investigating the Caylee murder, and asked him for his help, saying, Look, George has been gone for the day. We don`t know where he is. We don`t want to wait the 24-hour normal period for a missing persons report. Can you help us out? That`s when the detective said, Call 911. Make the missing persons report, and we`ll get right on it.
And that`s when the sheriff in Orange County worked with sheriffs in Volusia County and the Daytona Beach police and used that cell phone technology to find the motel room where George Anthony was staying.
GRACE: You know, Rory O`Neill, that whole "Got to wait 24 hours" when somebody`s reported missing is archaic. It is ridiculous. It needs to be taken off the law books. Tell me, lay it out for me -- if they had waited 24 hours, George Anthony could be dead right now. Thank God, they didn`t. Lay it out for me what happened hour by hour.
O`NEILL: Well, this is what George -- George`s lawyer, Brad Conway, was saying, they did not want to wait that long. They knew that there were bottles of medication from the home that were gone. There were photos of George with his family members that were also gone. They got these suspicious text messages where they had feared for George`s safety, and they needed the police to act immediately. And that`s why Conway says if they didn`t start the search when they did, George may have done something worse to himself.
GRACE: Well, law enforcement acting wisely, possibly saving the life of tot mom`s father, George Anthony.
And joining me right now is a special guest, Chief Mike Chitwood with the Daytona Beach police. He drove Mr. Anthony to the hospital, possibly saving his life. Chief, thank you for being with us.
CHIEF MIKE CHITWOOD, DAYTONA BEACH POLICE: Good evening, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: Well, I`m distressed. Having been a crime victim myself, hearing what Mr. Anthony is going through is heart-wrenching for me. I understand that he repeatedly said in various text messages and in a letter found in his vehicle he wanted to go be with Caylee. What happened, Chief Chitwood?
CHITWOOD: That`s correct. Shortly before 1:00 AM this morning, we received a request from Orange County sheriff`s office to go to Bethune (ph) Point, which is a park, a recreational park that sits on the Intercoastal Waterway, and asked us to look for George Casey. (SIC) They gave us a description -- George Anthony -- I`m sorry. They told us to look for his vehicle, the tag number. They told us that he was suicidal, that he may be armed with a gun and he may have drugs in his possession and that the last cell phone pings came from this park area.
So we searched the park methodically. We requested the air tac (ph) unit of the sheriff -- Volusia County sheriff`s department to come up and help us come up with their infrared, and we were unable to locate anything. About that time, Orange County showed up, and we were able to track on the computer and we determined that there could be a two-and-a-half-mile radius of this cell phone tower that was pinged. So we started to search the U.S. 1 or Ridgewood-Carter (ph) area, the motel rooms, and we found at the Hawaiian Motel Mr. Anthony`s car.
Myself and several officers knocked on the door to room number 6. After several attempts, he asked who it was. We told him it was police. We`re here to check on your well-being. He opened the door. As soon as he opened the door, I went in the room, introduced myself as the chief of police, introduced my officers that were present. And we began to talk to him.
We`re here to check on you. Your family`s concerned about your well- being. We know you were sending some text messages. And he basically said to me, You know, I need to be left alone. I need to sort through this. And he reiterated that several times, and he kept asking us to leave. And I said, You know, George, unfortunately, we`re in a difficult situation here because morally, ethically and legally, I can`t leave knowing what I know.
And myself and one of my lieutenants talked for probably 20 minutes to convince him that it would be in his best interest if he went and sought psychiatric help at our Halifax Hospital. Eventually, he agreed. If I would drive him, he would go and speak to some mental health professionals.
Based on the totality of the circumstances, Nancy -- and I got to read some of that letter -- there was no doubt in my mind that he -- he anticipated doing harm to himself.
We drove him to the hospital, and en route to the hospital he asked me if I understand how he felt or could understand how he feels because everybody tells him, yes, you know -- we know how you feel. We know how you feel. And I said, George, I got to be honest with you. I don`t know how you feel. I don`t know if anybody knows how you feel. And he said, That`s the first time anybody`s ever said that to me. And I said, Well, it`s the truth. I mean, you`re going through something that I don`t think anybody would ever go through.
And on the ride to the hospital, we had some -- you know, we discussed different things, nothing related to the case, nothing related to Caylee, just about police work and about the city of Daytona Beach. We got into the hospital, and you know, we explained the situation to the mental health workers, where they admitted him for observation. And I think his son may have shown up some time shortly after we got there.
GRACE: You know, Chief Chitwood, I just don`t know how much more this family can take, how much more George Anthony or Cindy Anthony can take. Chief, you may very well, just by getting him out of that environment, have saved his life. And Chief Chitwood, is it true that just before all of this happened, Cindy Anthony had asked him to pick out the jewelry little Caylee would wear at a funeral?
CHITWOOD: You know, I don`t know, Nancy, because we`re in Daytona Beach, so we really don`t have the specifics as to what goes on in Orange County.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911, what is your emergency?
CONWAY: Hi. I`m George and Cindy Anthony`s attorney.
911 OPERATOR: Sorry. I didn`t hear you, sir. Your phone broke up.
CONWAY: Can you hear me now?
911 OPERATOR: Yes.
CONWAY: I just spoke with John Allen with the Orange County sheriff`s office.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
CONWAY: George Anthony has been gone since 8:30 this morning, and he has taken several bottles of medication from his house, as well as some pictures. And what worries us is that something is -- he`s done something to himself.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
CONWAY: John Allen advised that I call 911 right away and get a deputy over here to take a report. And that`s Sergeant John Allen with the Orange County sheriff`s office.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Grandfather George Anthony rushed to a hospital psych unit in the early morning hours, this after sending repeated text messages that he wants to end his life and he wants to go be with little Caylee. He is still under psych evaluation right now. He was taken by police under the Florida Baker Act.
With me right now, special guest Chief Mike Chitwood, the chief of the Daytona Beach police, who acted wisely and quickly, taking George Anthony himself to the hospital.
Chief Chitwood, we have the Orange County sheriff`s office police report that states that Cindy Anthony had asked George to pick out jewelry for Caylee for her funeral. Is it your belief he is depressed over Caylee`s death?
CHITWOOD: Absolutely, Nancy. You know, when I first got the phone call from one of my platoon lieutenants telling me what was going on, the first instinct was, This guy`s coming here to make peace with himself. He`s going to get an ocean view, and he`s going to kill himself. That was without a doubt the first impression that I got.
And in the little bit of that letter that I read -- and I can`t go too much into stuff because I`m sure Orange County investigators are looking at it -- it`s quite obvious that he had a very, very strong attachment to his granddaughter. And you know, as a parent myself and a grandparent, I can`t imagine it. It just seems unimaginable, the stress that this whole thing has placed on him and pushed him probably to the ultimate edge there. And you know, fortunately, things are going to work out.
GRACE: To Natisha Lance, our producer on the story since the very beginning. Natisha, what was the sequence of events leading up to George Anthony disappearing?
NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, he was seen at 8:30 in the morning. Then Cindy said that he came back home. He was supposed to be going to a job interview. The last time that she saw him was about 10:30 this morning.
Now, after that time, there were some meetings during the afternoon that he was supposed to attend. He didn`t show up to those meetings, so they became concerned. Around 11:30 PM is when he started sending these text messages saying that he wanted to end his life, saying that he wanted to go make sure that Caylee was in God`s arms. And then after that time, Brad Conway made that phone call to police, and we heard the 911 call.
GRACE: Also joining me, Drew Petrimoulx from WDBO joining us from the Orlando courthouse. Drew, what is his status right now?
DREW PETRIMOULX, WDBO: They say he`s doing OK. He`s -- the Baker Act stipulates that he should be kept under surveillance for 72 hours. But I talked to his attorney. He said he`s doing better. He`s in bed. He`s talked with Cindy Anthony. She was at first distraught over this whole news, then he said almost -- she was almost kind of angry that this happened.
But they`re going over to visit him now. After he left a press conference earlier today, his attorney was going to visit him. He says that, you know, he`s alive, so that`s the best thing they can take away from today because, as the attorney said, that they were at one time really scared that he had already hurt himself, as you hear in that 911 call.
GRACE: To Dr. Mark Hillman (ph), clinical psychotherapist and author. Mark, thank you for being with us. This family is flying apart. I truly believe that if this had happened to one of my twins, I think that my parents, the twins` grandparents, would want to die. I think they would want to die.
MARK HILLMAN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: ... certainly make peace with that. And as you said, it`s not just about George, it`s about the entire family. This family has seen their entire family splinter, disintegrate and be stripped right before them, item by item, starting from Caylee missing, the media, the protesters, the questions about the private investigators. Everything has been -- the lawyer, the in-fighting, and how people have violated every single aspect.
When there`s more pain than pleasure in life, you can see how this man could see suicide as an option. Hopefully, with these mental health workers, they can bring everything back together.
GRACE: Back to Chief Mike Chitwood, our guest joining us. He`s the chief of the Daytona Beach police. He drove George Anthony to the hospital, possibly saving his life. Chief Chitwood, many people are speculating this evening that he realizes that the tot mom killed little Caylee and it made him suicidal. But as a matter of fact, apparently, in the letter, he still is defending the tot mom.
CHITWOOD: Yes. You know, I didn`t glean anything from that that would indicate any statements that Casey did anything wrong.
GRACE: Exactly. So he was preparing to go to his grave defending his daughter, Casey Anthony.
To Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter, who has been in the Anthony home, has interacted with entire family. What do you make of it, Leonard?
LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: That`s -- you know, every time that I think of George in a cryseye (ph), I remember what the -- a neighbor of his told us this last time that we were back there, and I think about it. He pulled his granddaughter around the neighborhood in a little red wagon, and the little granddaughter would hold her doll.
And I form that mental picture, and I can understand that George is going through hell while still being alive. And he just goes from pillar to post. You don`t know whether to live or whether to die. It`s just -- I mean, we had discussions in the office. Rob was ready to catch a flight and go back there because he considers himself to be, if nothing else, one of George`s last friends. On the other hand, there`s other people that say he was just asking for help. He wants to talk to law enforcement. He wants to...
GRACE: Leonard, he was so clearly deeply in love with little Caylee.
PADILLA: Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. He wants to be with her. He definitely wants to be with her. He just can`t accept what has happened.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE ANTHONY: I`m not talking to anybody. Stay off my property.
CINDY ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S GRANDMOTHER: He`s been angry every day.
GEORGE ANTHONY: You don`t want to be knocked down, get out of my way.
CINDY ANTHONY: Angry with the fact that Caylee`s not home.
GEORGE ANTHONY: You don`t care about my granddaughter~!
CINDY ANTHONY: We are helpless.
GEORGE ANTHONY: You people have no idea what we`re going through. You guys don`t give a -- you don`t care about me. You don`t care about her.
Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! I`m talking. I am talking! Shut up.
CINDY ANTHONY: We`re falling apart.
GEORGE ANTHONY: You don`t care about none of that stuff!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: George Anthony rushed to the psych ward just hours ago after threatening to commit suicide, claiming he wants to be with Caylee.
Out to Mike Brooks, former fed with the FBI. Mike, we know that he was traced by cell phone pings, thank God in heaven. How does it work in real time, when you`re not tracking back and looking at a phone record?
MIKE BROOKS, FORMER D.C. POLICE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Nancy, I don`t want to give away the whole technology, so -- so any bad guys watching -- but it`s amazing technology. Real time, they can get a court order or if there`s exigent circumstance, you can go ahead and get verbal.
But you know, we heard the chief say they were able to get within a two-and-a-half-mile radius. It`ll follow you from ping to ping to ping. Every little cell site where you see -- sometimes you`ll see a pole up and then you`ll see the cell sites. It looks like those squares (ph). That`s a cell site. You can follow it from ping -- from cell site to cell site to cell site and get within -- they got within about two-and-a-half miles, which is -- which is pretty darn good, you know especially since he did have some lead time on him. They go back, take a look, OK, where did he start out? And they`ll be able to track exactly where he went, Nancy.
And I want to commend the Orange County sheriff`s office and the Daytona Police Department for a job well done. I`m glad see that they went ahead and said, This is a critical missing person, we need do this right now.
GRACE: Right now, to Alexis Weed, our producer on the story. Alexis, explain in a nutshell how the Florida Baker Act works.
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE RESEARCHER, ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, this is a law in Florida that permits a temporary detention of a person who is suspected to have mental illness. And if it`s found that there`s a substantial likelihood that that person might do bodily harm to themselves, they can then detain that person and bring them for a valuation into a mental health evaluation facility.
GRACE: When we get back, we`ll unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Gloria Allred, child advocate out of LA, Daniel Horowitz, famed defense attorney out of San Francisco, and Doug Burns, trial veteran, joining us out of the New York jurisdiction. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Several Orange County deputies surrounded the Anthony home immediately. They brought dogs and helicopter because they were prepared for an all-out search to find George Anthony. Even the lead investigator in charge of the case against Casey Anthony showed up.
Cindy Anthony had been inside of the home waiting for George so they could meet with their attorney Brad Conway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right now, she`s relieved and she`s excited.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: George and Cindy were supposed to meet with Conway at 4:00 Thursday afternoon. He didn`t show up so Cindy called the sheriff`s office. Conway told us there`s only one way to explain why George left home Thursday morning and never came back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George isn`t gone. George is here. And he hasn`t left.
GEORGE ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S FATHER: I would give my life right this second to have her be dropped off in front of all of us. I would do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: George Anthony rushed to the psych ward at a hospital in the early morning hours around 2:30 a.m. after multiple text messages were sent claiming he wanted to end his life. That he wants to be with Caylee. That he wants to protect her and make sure that she is safe in the arms of God.
Right now, that 911 call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 DISPATCHER: 911. What is your emergency?
BRAD CONWAY, GEORGE AND CINDY ANTHONY`S ATTORNEY: Hi. I`m George and Cindy Anthony`s attorney.
911 DISPATCHER: I`m sorry, I didn`t hear you, sir. Your phone broke up.
CONWAY: Can you hear me now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, mm-hmm.
CONWAY: I just spoke with John Allen with the Orange County Sheriff`s Office.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
CONWAY: George Anthony has been gone since 8:30 this morning and he has taken several bottles of medication from his house as well as some picture and -- we`re worried that something is -- he`s done something to himself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
CONWAY: John Allen advised that I call 911 right away and get a deputy over here to take a report and that`s Sergeant John Allen with the Orange County Sheriff`s Office.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said you`re wanting to report him missing?
CONWAY: Yes, he`s not taken.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. What is the address there?
CONWAY: Hopesprings Drive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And you say he was last seen at 8:30 this morning?
CONWAY: Yes, ma`am. White male, about 5`11". White hair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What color eyes does he have?
CONWAY: What color eyes? Brown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can she -- can she tell you what color clothes he was wearing?
CONWAY: Yes. What color -- what was he wearing? Dress black pants and a blue button down shirt, collared dress shirt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. You said he had a couple of bottles of medication.
CONWAY: Yes. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know what kind of medication it was?
CONWAY: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Are any weapons missing?
CONWAY: NO.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
CONWAY: But, but he had a weapon that was confiscated so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. But nothing that he had on his person or in the house, correct? I just want to verify.
CONWAY: No, no, no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. All right. All right. We will definitely be sending out a deputy for you. If anything changes or he happens to return.
CONWAY: I`ll call you right away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) please give us a call right away.
CONWAY: I sure will.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Is there anything else that you could think of as far as scars, tattoos.
CONWAY: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing on his person that`s more identifiable.
CONWAY: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
CONWAY: Just -- white hair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. All right. So I have white hair, brown eyes, blue shirt, black dress pants, no weapons and the medication. Is that correct?
CONWAY: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he was last seen from the Hopesprings address?
CONWAY: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. All right. We will getting a deputy out to you, OK?
CONWAY: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you. Bye bye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Natisha Lance -- Natisha, did his threats to commit suicide occur after Cindy Anthony asked him to pick out jewelry for little Caylee`s funeral.
NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, Nancy, according to the incident report, the picking out jewelry was the date prior and then this happened with the threats the following day.
GRACE: To Dr. Mark Hillman, the tot mom has no idea of the wake of pain she is leaving behind her. Or does she? She just doesn`t care.
MARK HILLMAN, CLINICAL PSYCHOTHERAPIST, AUTHOR OF "MY THERAPIST IS MAKING ME NUTS": Nancy, she`s a psychopath. They have no emotion. They -- they`re very callous. They`re very cold. Any of the emotion that we see on TV, that`s the affect to give an impression she cares.
She doesn`t, Nancy. She is completely detached. Doesn`t care. The crying, the hysterics, even in the videos that you`ve shown, they come in - - on the lost video. Why is mom crying? She just got here. She has no connection to that. She doesn`t care, Nancy. This is a very deep psychologically troubled woman.
GRACE: To Rory O`Neill with Westwood 1 Radio standing by at the Orlando courthouse -- Rory, all of this is happening as many believe another direct link between the crime scene where little Caylee`s skeleton was discovered is being made to the Anthony home. I am referring to the duct tape spotted of the gas cans at the Anthony home. Is it the same duct tape?
RORY O`NEILL, REPORTER, WESTWOOD ONE RADIO, COVERING STORY: Well, that`s exactly what the tests are going to find out. We have not gotten confirmation of that yet. The tape was on one of those gas cans. Clearly spotted in the back -- in the garage of the home. That was confiscated. And of course now that will be linked back, that tape will be linked back to the tape that was found on Caylee`s skull where she -- where her bones were discovered.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Gloria Allred, Daniel Horowitz, Doug Burns.
Gloria Allred, weigh in.
GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIM`S RIGHTS ADVOCATE: Well, Nancy, it`s really very sad what George Anthony is going through. Obviously, he`s under a lot of stress, under a lot of pressure. Writing a note like that, texting, is obviously a cry for help. And I`m glad that he`s getting the help that he is getting and we don`t know whether he knew about this particular evidence but I`m sure it couldn`t help.
GRACE: Do you believe, Mark Hillman, that the grandparents think there`s something they could have done to save little Caylee`s life? I mean speaking as a crime victim myself, I`ll take off my former prosecutor`s hat. I always wondered over and over and still do, this is 20-plus years later, was there something I could have done to save Keith`s life? Could I have stopped it? And what did I do wrong? And I`m surety grandparents must be thinking that.
HILLMAN: How do you reconcile the self-doubt, the guilt because this family is looking at not only lost Caylee, but what about Casey? Because there is a death penalty in Florida. It`s the guilt, Nancy.
GRACE: To -- and of course, I believe that there`s nothing they could have done to save little Caylee`s life.
Out to Daniel Horowitz and Doug Burns. Daniel Horowitz, not only are you a veteran defense attorney, but you are a crime victim after the murder of your wife. How much more can one person take? I mean, Daniel, I know what you went through. Can you imagine, can you even imagine what it would be like to lose a baby? A child like Caylee?
DANIEL HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy you know it`s different for everybody and yes, you were there for me so much and I -- never will forget that. I think that he just feels so powerless. You know, he said he would give up his life to save Caylee and, of course, he can`t. It`s a sign that there`s nothing that he can do.
And I do believe, too, that with the evidence coming against his daughter now he can`t help her either.
GRACE: You know, Doug Burns, as the evidence begins to mount against the tot mom, I`m thinking about it early this morning before I knew this full story, the one thing that may save her from the needle the Florida lethal injection.
DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right.
GRACE: Is the fact that her parents are not going to want it. The victim, Caylee`s family, are not going to want to seek the death penalty.
BURNS: No, I agree. And just to amplify some of the other points, and Daniel`s point, I mean, you know, a person who loses a precious granddaughter could not -- could be in a position where they just can`t handle it but here, his daughter`s charged with that horrific crime. So that double aspect is enough to push anybody to where we are tonight.
GRACE: You know, to Dr. Pepper, he is the chief medical examiner of the Aaron Broward County, author of "When to Call the Doctor," -- Dr. Perper, thank you for being with us.
Dr. Perper, he had with him, we know, high blood pressure or blood pressure medication. Tell me, could any of -- medications, such as blood pressure medication, could that affect your emotions? Could that make him more emotional?
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, MEDICAL EXAMINER, AUTHOR OF "WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR": No, but obviously any kind of chemical taken in excess including water can kill someone so.
GRACE: So -- so there are many factors that could have weighed in on his emotional state?
PERPER: That`s correct. And -- basically suicidal behavior has four major characteristics. It may be suicidal threats. It may be suicidal attempts. It may be completed suicide. And it may be conditional suicide. And obviously suicidal threats are a call for help.
GRACE: Very quickly a special happy birthday to Kentucky friend of the show, Donna.
Happy 55th birthday, dear Donna.
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G. ANTHONY: Don`t paint a bad picture of this family. The emotions just take over sometimes. You believe your child. You put faith in everything, you know? I wouldn`t wish this on anyone. This is a tough day for us today. Think about wanting to turn your child in for whatever it might be. It`s hard. It`s quiet. The house is just too quiet. Just tearing you apart.
Whenever these sightings come through and photos are taken of a child that could possibly be my granddaughter, I get excited. My hopes are up there and if it`s not, they get deflated a little bit. My focus is on my granddaughter, it always will be. I love my daughter. I love my wife. I love my son.
I would give my life right this second to have her be dropped off in front of all of us. I would do that.
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GRACE: Grandfather George Anthony rushed to a hospital psych ward in the early morning hours around 2:30 a.m. last night. He is still there at the hospital right now undergoing evaluation. This after sending repeated text messages that he wanted to end his life, that he wanted to go and protect little Caylee.
I want to go straight back out to Rory O`Neill. He`s joining us from the Orlando courthouse from Westwood 1.
Rory, I understand the tot mom was told about her father`s condition?
O`NEILL: Yes, about midmorning this mornings a jail representative did inform her of what happened and they also did offer the services of the chaplain who was regularly available to the inmates at the jail. We don`t know if she took -- took advantage of that service.
GRACE: Back to Chief Mike Chitwood with the Daytona Beach Police. He is their chief of police. He drove George Anthony to the hospital.
Chief, again, thank you for being with us. How long will George Anthony be in the hospital under evaluation?
CHIEF MIKE CHITWOOD, DAYTONA BEACH POLICE, DROVE GEORGE ANTHONY TO HOSPITAL: Nancy, he could be anywhere in there from 12 hours to 72 hours. My understanding is he could probably be released sometime tomorrow afternoon, Saturday afternoon, if everything goes well.
GRACE: Chief Chitwood, you found the five-page suicide letter in George Anthony`s vehicle. Was the letter completed? Did it leave any doubt he`d planned to go and be with Caylee?
CHITWOOD: It didn`t leave any doubt. I mean he obviously had said his good-byes. And, you know, he expressed without getting into too much details. He -- he basically was saying good-bye to everybody and expressed his love for Caylee and I`m sure he is a man who is broken and at the edge of his rope.
GRACE: You know, Chief Chitwood, you found him in the nick of time. How does it work? And in my trial experience I`ve only dealt with retracing cell phone pings that have already happened. How did that happen? You were getting the information and you were following along with it from your patrol car?
CHITWOOD: Actually, Orange County Sheriff`s Office did an absolutely phenomenal job. Their -- high-tech surveillance people were able to get us into the location of where we needed to be and then keep us consistently updated by interacting with our department and liaisoning with us. Got us to where we needed to go and provided us with all the information.
They -- they are really the ones who took the bull by the horns and got this to where it needed to go. We were just there to give the assistance - - obviously, we know our city a lot better than they do when it came time to.
GRACE: Yes.
CHITWOOD: . scouring the area.
GRACE: You know, Chief Chitwood, you see so much in law enforcement especially as chief of police. I know you must be very happy knowing that you have done something so good, so wonderful and what is seemingly horrible situation. The family is splintering apart.
Everyone, it culminated in the early morning hours when George Anthony threatens suicide today at a Daytona Beach hotel.
To the lawyers, Gloria Allred, Dan Horowitz, Doug Burns.
Gloria, this all occurred, it`s doubtful that George Anthony even knows that they were attempting to make a match, the state making a match between the duct tape on the child`s mouth and duct tape on his gas cans at his home.
ALLRED: Well, exactly. And can you imagine it`s good that he is where he is getting the help that he needs while this is being put together because who knows that might have been a breaking point for him if he had been left alone and heard about it.
GRACE: And to you, Daniel Horowitz, you and I -- well, all four of us know this. But when people analyze cases and they do legal strategy and they analyze witnesses and forensics, there are real people here with real emotions and real suffering and it`s easy to forget that for a lot of people.
HOROWITZ: Well, Nancy, I learned that with -- in the Peterson case when I said things they I really regretted and apologized for with Sherry Roche. I mean the Roche family suffered tremendously as did the Peterson family. And we do have to watch out for them when we`re on the air and when we`re - - you know, attorneys on these high-profile cases.
GRACE: I mean, Doug, how much more can one person take and can one family take? The reality is this will likely have no bearing on the tot mom`s trial except for the fact that the state may reconsider its consideration of the death penalty.
BURNS: Yes, and I think that`s right and also that Gloria was saying, I mean, you know, as we march along and we get more scientific tests and more holes get buttoned up, the pressure just mounts and mounts.
And Daniel`s right, we have to be sensitive. And you made the point, Nancy, sensitive to the fact that these are living, breathing human beings and we saw that tonight with the grandfather, who my god, as I said, I don`t want to be a broken record, but he loses his granddaughter and face the prospect of his daughter going to trial for it and the evidence is mounting.
GRACE: Mark Hillman, Dr. Hillman, is this a natural stage of grief? Where you really -- all you want to do is go be with your loved one?
HILLMAN: Absolutely, Nancy. If you go back to the five stages of denial, anger, depression, bargaining and acceptance, George Anthony reconciled within himself to go be with Caylee.
GRACE: Tonight, our prayers and our thoughts with George Anthony and his family.
Right now "CNN HEROES."
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.
DANA DELANEY, ACTRESS: Hey, look how I`ve changed.
I did this television movie called "For Hope," based on this little known disease, it`s scleroderma. It an autoimmune disease where your body can over produce collagen. Rather than making your skin softer, it makes it harder. So many people are so disfigured, they don`t want to go out in public and they don`t want to talk about it.
I`m Dana Delaney and my hero is helping to fund ground breaking research to find a cure for scleroderma.
LUKE EVNIN, MEDICAL MARVEL: I`m committed, partly, because I am a patient. I was diagnosed with scleroderma in 1998. I don`t look sick and most of the time I don`t feel sick. I decided to go and make a difference for other scleroderma patients who aren`t so lucky. It can affect almost all of the organ systems.
We still don`t know why someone gets scleroderma and today, it doesn`t have a cure. So I wanted to spend a couple of minutes to see if we can get cut up a little bit.
The scientists do feel like there`s someone looking over their shoulder. I think that it drives them to put everything they can into it. It`s hard to (INAUDIBLE) scleroderma anything but, of course, there are patients out there that I feel like they`re counting on me. I want to do it for them.
DELANEY: Luke just does it. And that to me is a hero. Just don`t talk about it, do it.
ANNOUNCER: Tell us about your hero at CNN.com/heroes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and more important the people who touched our lives.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigative documents show duct tape was found on the mouth area of the skull later identified as little Caylee. Along with the remains, the black garbage bags found in the wooded also contain the 2- year-old`s clothing and a Winnie the Pooh blanker.
GRACE: Who else, other than someone that had a relationship with a child would bother to bury her or discard of her in a trash bag with her favorite blanket?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You and I are on the same page. And my theory is as follows. We already know that Casey Anthony has a wild fantasy life about where she works and what she does. And she had probably fantasized that she was putting her child to sleep for good with her blankie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 11-year-old Adams Hermann disappeared from his Wichita area home in May of 1999. Only problem is, Adam`s parents never reported him missing.
GRACE: The adoptive/foster parents continued to collect checks for taking care of this little boy to the tune of $80,000.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The trash bag in which Caylee`s body was placed is also identical in appearance to a bag the child`s grandmother Cindy Anthony gave detectives in July.
GRACE: (INAUDIBLE) direct link between something found there at the crime scene where little Caylee`s skeleton was discovered back to the Anthony household.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Marine Corporal Stewart Trejo, 25, Whitefish, Montana, killed Iraq. Lost his life weeks before his tour was set to end. Fulfilled a dream of serving his country like his grandfather. Awarded the National Defense Service medal, Iraqi Campaign medal.
Loved the outdoors, restoring cars, played guitar and drums. Dreamed of a trip to Disneyland, renewing his vows after Iraq. Leaves behind grieving parents, Cynthia and Robert, widow Kathy, two children.
Stewart Trejo, American hero.
Thank you to our guests, but especially to you for being with us. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp, eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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