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Nancy Grace
Prosecutors Question Anthony Defense Funding
Aired March 09, 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 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 Anthonys` home confirmed to be Caylee, manner of death homicide. A utility meter reader stumbles on a tiny human skeleton, including a skull covered in light-colored hair, the killer duct taping and placing a heart-shaped sticker directly over the mouth, then triple bagging little Caylee like she`s trash.
Bombshell. New private and personal videos surface of tot mom with little Caylee in life, the home video shot just before Caylee is murdered. They show tot mom playing, laughing with Caylee, tot mom even manning the camcorder to video Caylee in tot mom`s bedroom. But do the videos show tot mom in a sympathetic light or as a calculated mooch who doesn`t want to ruin her hair and make-up? Will they come in at trial?
And tonight, what a gravy train tot mom`s floating in! Tom mom`s defense team more expensive by the minute! Cha-ching! Nearly a dozen lawyers, plus a fleet -- a fleet! -- of high-powered, high-paid experts. Nobody`s working. Not to mention the crab puff feast the Anthonys all enjoyed shacked up at the luxury Ritz Carlton hotel paid for reportedly by ABC News.
But now motions in court to find out just how tot mom is bankrolling the whole thing. Is she selling off little Caylee bit by bit? Photos and videos of the little girl reaping nearly a quarter million dollars so far, and that`s before book and movie deals, plus all the lovelorn guys across the country sending tot mom money behind bars. All the while, tot mom`s ready for her close-up, the next court appearance in less than 72 hours. She`s ordering up lipstick, mascara, beauty products, and of course, chocolate cookies, expensive bottled water and treats for herself to enjoy in her private jail cell.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Casey, do you still think you`re an unfit mother?
CASEY ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S MOTHER: I truly, truly love that little girl and miss her so much!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Video posted on YouTube shows a very caring mother Casey playing and laughing with her daughter, Caylee.
CASEY ANTHONY: She`s absolutely captivating.
GEORGE ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S GRANDFATHER: She has a personality that`s...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could this be a strategic move to win the PR war against the state by the defense?
LEE ANTHONY, CASEY`S BROTHER: It`s hard for me to accept that she would do anything to Caylee.
CASEY ANTHONY: I want to see that little girl.
LEE ANTHONY: She was a loving mother. Her life resolved around how she was going to be a mom.
CASEY ANTHONY: I want to hear Caylee laugh. I want to be with my baby.
LEE ANTHONY: Mom has thrown it in my face many times before that I`m an unfit mother.
CINDY ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S GRANDMOTHER: I`ve never seen her be a bad mom. She loves her daughter.
CASEY ANTHONY: Mommy loves her very much!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, police high alert, a 4-year-old Kansas City girl in extreme danger tonight after her mother found dead inside the family home, the little girl gone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a tragedy that Catty (ph) is -- that Catty is gone, but she`s gone. Now we`ve got a 3-year-old girl that we`re looking for, and I hope somebody can help find her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are desperate to find missing 4-year-old girl Allison Corrales (ph) after her mother was found dead inside the family home. Police are treating the death as a homicide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now it`s her daughter and estranged husband who`ve disappeared, along with the family`s 2001 Kia Sportage. Police say 31- year-old Luiz (ph) Corrales is a person of interest in the case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to court documents, Corrales was ordered to stay away from Allison`s mother after he allegedly threatened to kill her and take Allison.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. New private and personal videos surface of tot mom with little Caylee in life. Will they come in at tot mom`s murder one trial? And motions in court to find out just how tot mom is bankrolling nearly a dozen lawyers and a fleet -- a fleet! -- of high-powered, high-paid experts.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
LEE ANTHONY: Casey began to break down and cry. And she said, Lee, do you want to know the truth? I haven`t seen Caylee in 31 days.
ANTHONY LAZZARO, CASEY`S EX-BOYFRIEND: I would just wake up in the middle of the night and see that she was sweaty in bed. She was having a nightmare or something.
LEE ANTHONY: That`s when she opened up to me and said, Mom has thrown it in my face many times before that I`m an unfit mother, and you know, maybe she`s right, maybe I am. She`s like, well, maybe this should have been done a long time ago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you cause any injury to your child, Caylee?
CASEY ANTHONY: No, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you hurt Caylee or leave her somewhere and you`re worried that if we found that out that people are going to look at you the wrong way?
CASEY ANTHONY: No, sir.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Casey was a totally different person when we were together. The person that I was with and the person that sits in that jail, I don`t know her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Casey has been a very wonderful and caring mother.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They will always stand by their daughter. This is their only daughter and their only granddaughter. And their only daughter is charged with the first degree murder of their only granddaughter.
CINDY ANTHONY: I love her and I support her and that I understand. And every day that goes by, I know exactly how hard it is that she`s giving up her life to protect her child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to Kathi Belich joining us there in Florida from WFTV. Tell me about the video that has just surfaced of tot mom and little Caylee in life.
KATHI BELICH, WFTV: Well, in some cases, you see them interacting. In other cases, it looks like Casey might be taking the video. I know a lot of people have a lot of different opinions about it. We`ve even other videos of the two of them together at Caylee`s 2nd birthday party, and it`s obvious, I think, that she loved the child. I don`t -- you know, I don`t know what that says about what happened later. But I think a lot of people are going to read a lot of different things into it.
GRACE: You`re seeing the video from YouTube. It`s tot mom Casey Anthony playing with little Caylee. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Caylee Marie! Hey, look!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say cheese.
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You`re seeing YouTube video of tot mom shooting home video of her little girl, Caylee. We have that video of them in the tot mom`s bedroom with the tot mom behind the camera.
Straight out to Dr. Janet Taylor, psychiatrist, joining us from New York. Dr. Taylor, this video -- it appears that the tot mom genuinely loves the little girl.
DR. JANET TAYLOR, PSYCHIATRIST: I would agree. I mean, more importantly, if you look at Caylee, she looks happy. She`s responsive. She`s smiling. There`s nothing that I could see in that video that would cause red flags, just looking at the video.
GRACE: And let me go out to the lines. Dominic in Ohio. Hi, Dominic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, Nancy. Nancy, just real quick, I know in order to get the death penalty, you have to prove means, opportunity and motive. I think they`re going to have a lot of trouble with motive, with intent...
GRACE: Hold on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think...
GRACE: Hold on, Dominic. Dominic, never does the state have to prove motive. Ever. Not in any case, not in murder, not in shoplifting, not in a carjacking, not in any case, be it misdemeanor or felony or street ordinance. Motive is never required by the state. Now, what`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s the best you think we can hope for, negative (SIC) homicide or involuntary manslaughter?
GRACE: I believe the best we can hope for is that...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Negligent homicide.
GRACE: If you are equating that with the most severe sentence, it would be murder one.
Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Alex Sanchez, Anne Bremner -- Anne Bremner, high-profile lawyer out of Seattle, Sanchez joining me from New York. Anne Bremner, correct me if I`m wrong, but isn`t it true that intent can be formed in the twinkling of the eye?
ANNE BREMNER, TRIAL ATTORNEY: Yes. All it is is more than a moment in time. It doesn`t -- it can`t -- doesn`t have to that lying-in-wait type of premeditated intent. It can be very quick, just like you said.
GRACE: Alex Sanchez?
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, but you know, this tape that has come out to me seems to negate some type of premeditation. Now, true, you know, intent can be developed in the blink of an eye. But if only a few days before this event took place, she`s having a great time with the child and it appears that she loves her child, that`s going to go a long way to helping her defense in this case.
GRACE: Oh, really, Alex Sanchez? Liz, do we have those other photos? Yes, no. OK, what I want to do are the other perpetrators that we have discussed, Liz, where we have photos of them in life. Do you remember Laci and Scott Peterson and all their merry Christmas photos together? Well, he killed her and their unborn child. Oh, yes, Mary Winkler, the preacher`s wife -- she gunned him down while he was trying to dial 911, shot him in the back. Now, Drew Peterson`s wife, Stacy, is still missing, but he`s the number one suspect in the murder of his wife, Kathleen Savio. It goes on and on and on. Oh, I forgot about Bobby Cutts, Jr., and his girlfriend, Jessie Davis, pregnant with his child. And there are so many child murders. The list is exhaustive.
So Alex Sanchez, when you take a look at these happy videos and happy photos of the people together, what did you say that proves?
SANCHEZ: I think it`s going to -- it`s going to negate a long-term plan to have committed this offense, and I think it`s going to help out her defense during the course of this trial.
SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME ANALYST: (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Sheryl McCollum, you were saying?
MCCOLLUM: It doesn`t have to be long-term. She could have premeditated it in one minute -- I`m going kill her, she goes and she kills her.
GRACE: Well, it doesn`t even have to be one minute. Out to Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. Weigh in, Marc.
MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, I think so many things have fallen on the other side of the net that finally to have something that falls on her side of the net would be akin to suggesting that a tenth of an inch of rain in the desert during a drought is going to somehow turn the scales and turn it into a lush garden. I think it`ll probably ultimately be rather inconsequential, although it is nice to see that there is some proof that she did have feelings for this child at some point in time.
GRACE: To Kathi Belich with WFTV. Where did the video come from?
BELICH: There was a woman who I guess lifted these from MySpace and FaceBook back last year and says that she captured them and held onto them to prevent them from being sold for some reason. But if you notice, Casey`s hair is really short in at least one of those videos. Those were not -- you know, at least that one was not a recent video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a motion filed this afternoon, prosecutors say eight different lawyers and numerous experts have been hired by Casey Anthony and that logical conclusions must be drawn, that Casey did not go from pauper to princess before her arrest. She`s in no position now to be managing her only assets, photos and videos of Caylee, so her defense attorney, Jose Baez, must be doing it. Their concern is that Casey might try to argue after her first long, extensive trial that she should get another one because Baez steered the case in a direction that was most financially lucrative for him, not in the best one for her. They want circuit judge Stan Strickland to order the defense to produce every document related to any possible financial deal involving Casey, her defense team or anyone else on her behalf, including for book or movie licensing rights.
GEORGE ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S GRANDFATHER: (INAUDIBLE) about, you know, you being the boss. You`re the one that can control everything. You`re the one that can...
CASEY ANTHONY: No, I -- Dad, please!
GEORGE ANTHONY: Sweetie...
CASEY ANTHONY: I`m completely...
GEORGE ANTHONY: I`m not trying to get you upset. I`m trying to get (INAUDIBLE)
CASEY ANTHONY: No, but I am upset now. I`m completely upset. One, the media`s going to have a frickin` field day with this.
GEORGE ANTHONY: No, they`re not.
CASEY ANTHONY: I wasn`t even -- I wasn`t even supposed to take this.
GEORGE ANTHONY: But this...
(CROSSTALK)
CASEY ANTHONY: Let me speak for a second!
(CROSSTALK)
CASEY ANTHONY: Dad, I`ve let everybody talk. They`re not releasing it? Well, I hope not. I`ll keep saying whatever I have to about the police...
GEORGE ANTHONY: OK, here`s Mom.
CASEY ANTHONY: ... (INAUDIBLE) they don`t want to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Personal and private home videos have just emerged. They show the tot mom with little Caylee before her death. Very, very disturbing video. Will it come in at trial? And what does it mean for the defense and for the state in this case? This while the state is demanding answers in court -- tot mom in court on Thursday. The state wants to know how is she bankrolling nearly a dozen private lawyers and a fleet of high-powered, high-paid experts?
The gravy train doesn`t end there. Nobody in the family is working save brother Lee Anthony, yet the Anthonys enjoyed a crab feast at the luxury Ritz Carlton Hotel allegedly paid for by ABC News. Take a look. Paid interviews, 5,000 bucks for photos, over $200,000 basically for an interview, for video rights. Now up to $50,000. When will it end? Again, what a gravy train. You are seeing video from YouTube.
Straight back out to the lines. Janine in Nevada. Hi, Janine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, my question (INAUDIBLE) back a few months. There were skeletal remains found by Equusearch, if I`m not mistake, a few months before Caylee was actually found. And I remember you reporting that when those bones were found, which turned out to be animal bones, she was in the -- some kind of a rec room and got up and walked away to her room. So it was like she knew that those were not the remains of her daughter.
GRACE: You know, Janine, you have an excellent memory. That`s the way I recall it, too, Nikki Pierce -- Nikki joining us from WDBO. Recall that, when that development occurred and the tot mom just walked out?
NIKKI PIERCE, WDBO: That`s right, Nancy. That was when Leonard Padilla`s search had found what people thought were bones. They had turned out to be some stone, some animal bones, things unrelated to the case. Now, we heard that Casey Anthony was watching that on TV and was completely stonefaced, had no response, turned around and walked back to her cell, which is quite different from how we heard she took the news about the remains being found in the wooded area near her home that turned out to be Caylee`s, where she doubled over twice, where she asked for medication, where she was hyperventilating.
GRACE: You know, I want to go to Rory O`Neill with Westwood One radio. Speaking of that jailhouse video, where the tot mom was watching live coverage of the discovery of Caylee`s remains, is that going to be released? And if so, when?
RORY O`NEILL, WESTWOOD ONE RADIO: We`re still waiting to get a ruling from the judge on that. He is considering whether or not it is appropriate to be released. Jose Baez has petitioned the court, asking that it be kept sealed. He`s been asked, actually, to explain his legal rationing (SIC) behind that argument because it is jail policy to make these things public once they are turned over to the defense -- or it is their policy, rather, to turn things over to the prosecution, and then when the prosecution makes it public, therefore it is available for all of us to see.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Joining me right now a special guest, Sherry, AKA "Momtective." She`s an Internet blogger. She is the one that discovered and posted all of this home video on YouTube. Sherry, thank you for being with us. And how do you find the video?
SHERRY, INTERNET BLOGGER "MOMTECTIVE": Thank you so much, Nancy, for having me on the show this evening. We have something in common. I`m a mother of twins, as well. And your twins are darling.
GRACE: Thank you.
SHERRY: I found these videos on a Web site called MySpace Videos. I`m a member of a community called Webclues (ph). We`re armchair detectives. We just look into missing persons and try to help find clues and things that will help bring them home or bring closure to their family.
GRACE: But how did you -- if somebody told me to go on line and find, dig up video of tot mom with little Caylee, I don`t know where I would start. I guess a Google or Yahoo! search. But how do you do it?
SHERRY: Exactly. Well, first of all, I didn`t find the videos, another member found the videos and posted the link to them. Several of us that were on line went to the site, saw the videos, and several of us downloaded the videos. They`re not just on my YouTube account, they`re on many YouTube accounts. And you know, the purpose for downloading them was for nothing more than to share them with the web sleuth community. I will say that I`m glad that they`re public. I`m very glad that they`re not being sold.
GRACE: Well, you know what? Everything that isn`t nailed down is being sold, Sherry.
Back to the lawyers, Alex Sanchez, Anne Bremner. Will this be admissible at trial, Anne Bremner?
BREMNER: I think so. And...
GRACE: Why?
BREMNER: Well, because this -- I think for the defense, you can go with "hot body" contest versus loving, you know, pictures with her daughter. You`ve got to balance it out somehow. So yes, I think it`s a (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Alex?
BREMNER: ... photos, absolutely.
GRACE: Alex?
SANCHEZ: These videos have done more for the defense than anything I`ve seen in the past six months. So if the objective was to somehow hurt Casey, they are sadly mistaken.
GRACE: Nobody said that was the objective.
SANCHEZ: But it is going to help...
GRACE: And very quickly to Kathi Belich. Have we learned how the tot mom is paying for all of these experts and lawyers?
BELICH: Well, prosecutors want to know. The judge wants to know. They`re asking for a hearing to make the defense produce all of the documents that deal with all of the financial arrangements involving the defense and Casey and anyone else on her behalf. So they`re looking into that. We don`t know yet.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY: If you think of anything that could help, don`t be afraid.
CASEY ANTHONY: Oh, I won`t hesitate to let you guys know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being forthcoming and being truthful are two completely separate things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you all think she was being forthcoming?
CASEY ANTHONY: As far as anything else at the moment, there`s either nothing that I can obviously can give to you now, or you know, there`s really honestly isn`t anything I can think about at this exact moment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It felt to me that there was reluctance.
CASEY ANTHONY: I can only do so much I from where I`m at, and I want to do so much more, but I can`t!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Filed in the last hour, this motion by prosecutors to find out how tot mom is bankrolling a defense that has nearly a dozen defense attorneys and a fleet of high-paid experts.
Out to Rory O`Neill. The state claims there could be a conflict of interest. What do they mean by that, Rory?
O`NEILL: Well, Nancy, they want to make sure Casey Anthony is getting the right and proper defense. They`re concerned that perhaps Jose Baez would be motivated by getting more money for what would be a better story, rather than negotiating what would be in the best defense of Casey. That may be taking a plea deal, whereas a movie of the week may be better if there`s a trial involved. So they want to make sure that she`s getting the best legal advice she can get from Jose Baez.
GRACE: And to you, Sheryl McCollum. You`ve been in the business, in the courtroom for many, many years. The only way that the court can ensure that this would not be an issue on appeal, if there is a conviction, is to bring the tot mom into court, talk about the movie deal, book deal, photo deals, put it on the record and have her waive a conflict of interest and say Baez is allowed to sell it all.
MCCOLLUM: Absolutely. Straight out, he can sell it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S MOTHER: There`s something wrong. We found my daughter`s car today and it smells like there`s been a dead body in the damn car. From day one, you guys are building a case against Casey as a murderer. She is not a murderer. I want to bring her in. I want to press charges. The only thing I know she loves that child.
I feel that my daughter from day one has gotten, you know, she`s been a victim just as much as Caylee has. I lost my granddaughter. I didn`t even care where Casey was at. I still don`t care where Casey`s at. All I want is Caylee back. Do you understand that?
LEE ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S BROTHER: I have no idea who took Caylee. I believe what she was telling me was accurate.
C. ANTHONY: There`s something wrong. I found my daughter`s car today and it smells like there`s been a dead body in the damn car. From day one, you guys were building a case against Casey as a murderer. She`s not a murder. I want to bring her. I want to press charges. The only thing I know she loves that child.
I feel my daughter from day one has gotten, you know, has been a victim just as much as Caylee has. I lost my granddaughter. I don`t even care where Casey was at. I still don`t care where Casey is at, al I want is Caylee back. Do you understand that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Tonight, a personal private home videos of tot mom with little Caylee emerged. Will they be used at trial? Here they are. YouTube video. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S FATHER: That`s cool. I didn`t know you could do that with her?
CASEY ANTHONY, MOTHER OF CAYLEE ANTHONY: You held the camera.
G. ANTHONY: Memory stick does it. OK, cool.
Caylee Marie. Hey, look. Hi.
CINDY ANTHONY: Say cheese.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You`re seeing YouTube video of tot mom with her little girl, Caylee. She`s now charged with murder one in Caylee`s death.
You know, to you, Anne Bremner and Alex Sanchez, I disagree with you that this is going to help the defense. Hold on, I want to come back to you in just a moment.
Marc Klaas, I know you were watching that video. What it shows to me is a beautiful child, and I hear her voice, I see her brimming with life, and now she`s murdered with duct tape around her mouth. Thrown away like she`s trash.
I don`t think this is going to help anything at all if the defense was stupid enough to bring it into evidence.
MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well it just absolutely breaks your heart every time you see this sweet little girl and I think it`s really unsettling, Nancy, that numerous lawyers and so-called defense experts are going to make a very nice living off of the dead body of this little girl.
I just hope that when these experts go to testify on her behalf that - - the prosecutors ask them how much they`re being paid for their testimony because I think that will put some real context into the proceedings.
GRACE: To Sanchez and Bremner, that would be my very first question.
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right.
GRACE: How much are you getting paid today?
BREMNER: Well, and that`s prosecution 101, Nancy, how much are you getting paid. But you know what? She may have an embarrassment of riches right now with this fleet of experts and lawyers. We don`t know if these experts are being paid. We really don`t. And we`ve got these TV deals and everything else.
GRACE: Hold on. I want to see Bremner`s face.
BREMNER: Nancy.
GRACE: So you want to know if the people are getting paid. You want to know if Linda Kenney-Baden is getting paid.
BREMNER: Yes.
GRACE: OK. Alex?
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, it`s a perfectly legitimate inquiry to find out how much an expert is being paid and that`s a fact to be taken into consideration by the jury, but you know, the prosecution is going to be calling expert witnesses, too.
BREMNER: Right.
SANCHEZ: And the defense is going to be allowed to ask how much are you getting paid. So it works both ways.
GRACE: Yes, and you know what? You know what the experts of the state are likely to say? I`m getting paid my annual salary from working down at the Florida crime bureau. The experts are going to be paid state wages. We haven`t heard of high-powered, high-paid experts for the state yet.
They may be brought in, but remember, the state is on a budget. And then, I would follow up that question with the expert, Marc Klaas, and not only ask how much are you getting paid, but I would say how much of those proceedings are coming from the sale of photos and videos of the dead baby? Question number two. Thoughts.
KLAAS: And -- sure, and taking it beyond that, you want to ask, are they exclusively experts for defense attorneys? Because oftentimes you find there are plenty of people out there that only will testify on behalf of the defense. And I think at some point you have to start questioning motivation.
GRACE: I want to go out to Rory O`Neill. I understand there`s been another commissary order. This time the tot mom is ordering red lipstick, eye liner, and mascara, I assume for her court appearance set for Thursday.
What`s happening in court on Thursday?
RORY O`NEILL, REPORTER, WESTWOOD ONE RADIO, COVERING STORY: This coming Thursday, there are a couple other motions going on in the case. I`m looking for my notes here. I can`t find exactly which ones. It`s -- oh, the DNA.
GRACE: I believe it`s DNA results including DNA paternity results. I guess he can`t just ask his client who`s the baby`s daddy? Not only that, I believe the tot mom wants all of the computer records from her former lover Ricardo Morales.
So now we see it all shaping up, first they blame ex-fiance Jesse Grund. Then they blame Ricardo Morales. They want to get his computer searches.
And out to Kathi Belich, is it true that they`re now going to depose Roy Kronk, somehow trying to blame him. He`s the one that found the skeleton and finally put the search to an end.
KATHI BELICH, REPORTER, WFTV, COVERING STORY: Well, actually they`re going to deputy that sort of passed over Roy Kronk`s first tip in August so they`re visiting that issue. This Friday at 1:00, the defense will question Deputy Richard Cane who went to the scene in August based on Roy Kronk`s tip. And he is under investigation for not doing a thorough search at that time.
And the new records that were released last week showed that it seems that Roy Kronk was in the exact same spot in December that he was in back in August.
GRACE: I want to go back to Nikki Pierce with WDBO. Nikki, what can you tell me about the suicide note? I understand that the defense is also going to argue in court that that should not be made public. Why should it be made public?
NIKKI PIERCE, REPORTER, WDBO RADIO: Well, that`s correct, Nancy, and that`s a very good question. Brad Conway, who`s the attorney for George Anthony and Cindy Anthony, he`s going to argue on Thursday that it should not be made public, that it has some embarrassing things in it that would be humiliating for the family but had nothing to do with the actual case and I guess they`re going to be hashing that out on Thursday.
GRACE: To Dr. Janet Taylor, psychiatrist joining us in New York. Dr. Taylor, unless his suicide note -- I believe it was five to seven pages long -- has something probative that suggests guilt or innocence for the tot mom other than his opinion, why do we need to see George Anthony`s suicide note? What business is it of anybody`s?
DR. JANET TAYLOR, PSYCHIATRIST: No, I absolutely agree. It should be sealed and really should not be the business of the public or anyone else unless it has some incriminating evidence. But there`d be no reason to release a suicide note.
GRACE: Agreed. To Dr. Keri Peterson with internal medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital. Dr. Peterson, if this little girl died of a chloroform overdose, would she have experienced any pain?
DR. KERI PETERSON, INTERNAL MEDICINE, LENOX HILL HOSPITAL: There is a good possibility that she may have, Nancy, because initially chloroform can cause nausea, vomiting, dizziness, cough. Eventually it does cause death but there was probably a period of suffering.
GRACE: And with duct tape wrapped around her mouth and skull, I can only imagine what she endured.
As we go to break, everyone, we are taking your calls live and tonight a special happy birthday goes out to one of our CNN stars Eunah. Happy birthday, beautiful friend, and congratulations on your engagement.
And tonight, keep veteran defense attorney Richard Herman in thoughts and prayers. He`s in first stage of remission in his fight with leukemia. Please, send your wishes directly to Richard at GetWellRichardHerman.com.
Richard, please, hurry back, friend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight, the search for 4-year-old Allyson Corrales intensifies, so does concern.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s been hard on everyone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: An AMBER Alert was issued for missing 4-year-old Allyson Corrales.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A relative found Allyson`s mom, 27-year-old, Katya, dead inside her east Kansas City apartment. Relatives say she was missing for several days.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s a single mother, working to raise her daughter. And stay focused on that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities searching for a person of interest in the case, Allyson`s father, Luis Corrales, whose vehicle was found outside the victim`s home. Documents show Allyson`s mother had an order of protection against Corrales for allegedly threatening to kill her.
Police are also on the look out for the family`s vehicle, a red 1999 Kia Sportage with Missouri license plates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tonight, the search for 4-year-old Allyson Corrales intensifies, so does concern.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say Allyson`s mother was murdered last week and they`re searching for a person of interest in the case, Allyson`s father Luis Corrales. Corrales` vehicle was found outside the apartment where Allyson and her mother were living.
According to Allyson`s family, Corrales was inside the apartment Wednesday night while the victim was on the phone with her sister. Allyson`s mother was found dead Friday morning while police are also searching for the family`s vehicle, a red 1999 Kia Sportage with Missouri license plate.
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GRACE: Straight out to Jeff Bell, reporter with Kansas City`s Morning News, KMBZ Newsradio. Jeff, what can you tell me?
JEFF BELL, REPORTER, KANSAS CITY`S MORNING NEWS, KMBZ NEWSRADIO: Well, at this point, the search continues, Nancy. We know that as you -- as I just heard you mentioned, the restraining order, of course, was in place against Corrales and the deceased is described an abusive relationship, abuse including threats of suicide and threats of witchcraft.
But of course we also want to point out Corrales, the father, is only being named as a person of interest not a suspect at this time.
GRACE: Threats of witchcraft? Rupa Mikkilineni, you know, throw it at me. You say you`re going to put a hank on me? Fine. Who cares? But it seems like this woman did everything right. She went and got a temporary restraining order. Now she`s dead and the baby is gone.
RUPA MIKKILINENI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: That`s right, Nancy. Look, this restraining order was very specific. She lists -- this is Katie Langyez (ph), the 27-year-old mother of little 4-year-old Allyson Corrales. She says clearly in this restraining order affidavit that she had been repeatedly abused in the past. She`d been beaten by her ex-boyfriend, bruises on the face, black eyes.
He threatened witchcraft. He threatened suicide actually to kill himself. Then he threatened her life. She was very worried that her 4- year-old daughter even could conceivably be threatened by him.
GRACE: To Sheryl McCollum crime analyst and director of the Cold Case Squad, Pine Lake P.D. Sheryl, have you noticed anecdotally that defendants always threaten to kill themselves and they never do? They kill somebody else. What`s with that?
SHERYL MCCOLLUM, CRIME ANALYST, DIR. OF COLD CASE SQUAD AT PINE LAKE P.D.: Nancy, this is domestic violence 101. She`s got the temporary protective order, now she`s dead, the baby is missing. His car is out in front of her house, so obviously he violated the order. He`s not out looking for the baby. He`s not at all concerned the mother is dead. He would move very quickly from a person of interest to a suspect in my opinion.
GRACE: To Detective Michael Jones, a special guest joining us. He`s the lead detective on the Corrales case. He`s with the Kansas City P.D. and he`s joining us from Kansas City.
Detective, thank you for being with us. What were the events that led up to the murder?
DETECTIVE MICHAEL A. JONES, LEAD DETECTIVE ON MISSING TOT CASE, KANSAS CITY POLICE DEPT.: Well, we discovered her body early on Friday morning. Prior to that, Katie was last seen or talked to by her family members on Wednesday evening.
GRACE: You know what`s interesting -- everyone, first of all, let me give you the tip line. 816-474-8477. Here`s the guy that had a protective order against him, that didn`t seem to matter. He came to the home. The mother, the young mother just 27 years old, Katie Langyez is dead. The little girl, Allyson Corrales, just 4 years old, is gone.
Now to Dr. Janet Taylor, he threatens to kill himself. Police suspect he may have killed the mother. How much danger is this little 4-year-old girl in?
TAYLOR: Well, clearly she`s in a lot of danger. You know we don`t know his -- the state of his mental health. I mean the witchcraft, was that delusional? Was that cultural? And so clearly the little girl is in danger, he`s a threat.
GRACE: Out to Sheryl again, what can they do now?
MCCOLLUM: They`ve got to find that car, Nancy. That car is going to tell them the direction he was going in. How much lead he`s got on them f it was the two days that they, you know, talked to her and then found her dead. So they`ve got to find that car.
GRACE: Detective Jones, does this guy have a cell phone? You`re seeing the vehicle. Let`s put the vehicle back up there again, it`s a red 1999 Kia Sportage, Missouri license plate PB1-R3R. Take a look, a `99 Kia Sportage.
What about it, Detective? Does this guy have a cell phone? Or could he even be using the mom`s cell phone, the dead mother?
JONES: Well, he did have a cell phone but we don`t know if he`s using it or he`s no longer using it at this time.
GRACE: So we don`t if he did have a cell phone or not?
JONES: He did have a cell phone. Yes, he did.
GRACE: And he`s not using it at this point?
JONES: That`s correct.
GRACE: Have you had any sightings of the vehicle?
JONES: No, we have not.
GRACE: So this is her vehicle sitting out front, I guess, there`s not even a chance it had a lojack on it, was there, Detective?
JONES: No, there was no tracking devices on it at all.
GRACE: How often did he see the little girl, Detective? What was their relationship?
JONES: Well, they had been together but they had separated, I believe, about a month ago. And he actually went back down to Texas. He stayed there. We`re hearing anything from maybe one month to two weeks ago. And then he came back here recently and was planning on staying with her for about a week.
GRACE: To Dr. Keri Peterson, internal medicine at Lenox Hill, they say they don`t know how Langyez died. Will an autopsy reveal that? Her injuries must have been so severe they can`t tell whether she was strangled, stabbed or bludgeoned to death.
PETERSON: It very likely well, Nancy. Because this is a homicide, what will be done is called a forensic autopsy. These autopsies are a bit more extensive. They`re going to look at toxicology reports to see if there`s been a poisoning involved. They`re going to using an ultraviolet light to scan for body fluids on the surface and then they`re going to be looking very carefully, both externally and internally, for signs of trauma until they find the cause.
GRACE: Alex Sanchez, Anne Bremner. Anne Bremner, what`s your advice?
BREMNER: Well, in terms of a defense right now. Not all men that have protective orders against them kill their wives. And so he`s.
GRACE: That`s your defense?
BREMNER: Well, you know what?
GRACE: OK.
BREMNER: I think you know what?
GRACE: So his car is parked in front and the baby.
BREMNER: But you know what?
GRACE: . and her car is gone.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You don`t have to be a lawyer to figure that out. Plus the mom told someone he was there in the home.
BREMNER: But Nancy, he was coming to stay with her and -- he could be in the car with protective order when he did -- he had visitation. So he`s a person of interest. Maybe that part. What defense do you need right now? There`s no evidence that he killed her, none. Separate protection order.
GRACE: Alex Sanchez, I was thinking for just one moment that you two might speak out to this guy and talk some sense into him.
SANCHEZ: And that`s, that`s exactly.
BREMNER: What he said.
GRACE: Alex.
SANCHEZ: That`s exactly what I want to do.
BREMNER: Yes.
SANCHEZ: And I would encourage him, if you love your daughter, it`s time to pick up that phone, call a lawyer, call the police and surrender.
GRACE: OK. I agree. Sheryl?
MCCOLLUM: Where is he, then? If he`s not -- you know, a suspect, where is he? Why isn`t he helping look for her?
GRACE: And another question. If he`s not a suspect, Detective, why is his car left there abandoned? He hasn`t come to get it, he hasn`t come to check on the little girl? He hasn`t asked any questions about where`s his daughter and the family`s car is gone, Detective?
JONES: Well, he is a person of interest. We are looking for him and we would like to speak to him as soon as we can.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s a single mother working to raise a 3-year- old daughter and stayed focused on that and never got down, didn`t get depressed about anything, it seemed like, didn`t get emotional about anything. Just kept focused on getting her job done knowing this is how she took care of herself and her family.
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GRACE: This little girl is in extreme danger. Her mother, a 27-year- old single mom, found dead in her home, the little girl missing.
Out to the lines, Abbie in Kansas, hi, Abbie.
ABBIE, FROM KANSAS: Hi, Nancy. I just have a question.
GRACE: OK.
ABBIE: Has anyone talked about him going to the border or like border patrol, him trying to flee to Mexico?
GRACE: What about it, Detective Jones? Any possibility of that?
JONES: There is a possibility. He is from Honduras. He has connections in Texas and also in Virginia. We`ve alerted the FBI and the border authorities to be looking out for them.
GRACE: Tot last seen, Kansas City, Missouri. Take a look. He has relatives in Texas and in Virginia.
You know, Sheryl McCollum, director of Cold Case, it`s pretty obvious to me why the perp took the mom`s car.
TAYLOR: It had the baby seat in it. When he left that house, he was in a hurry. He went straight to where the baby seat was. Didn`t have to change anything out.
GRACE: Because that would have been a red flag of alarm, Marc Klaas, driving in your getaway car with a little child and the cops pull you over because you don`t have a baby seat.
KLAAS: Sure. And here`s what they need to do, Nancy. They need to saturate all the major escape routes from Kansas City, including Highway 70 and Highway 29 and Highway 35 which runs north and south with descriptions including pictures of Corrales, the little girl and the car. And they need to hit highway motels, service stations, convenience stores, et cetera and hope that they will jar somebody`s memory.
GRACE: Marc Klaas, you`re right. This child`s life is in danger.
Let`s stop and remember Army Staff Sergeant Ronald Phillips, Jr., 33, Conway, South Carolina, killed Iraq. On a second tour. Touched so many lives. Dedicated to family and fellow soldiers. Loved R&B, fishing with brothers, basketball.
Leaves behind parents Wanda and Ronald Sr., three brother, widow, Tasha. Two children.
Ronald Phillips, Jr., American hero.
Thanks to our guests, but especially to you. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.
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