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Nancy Grace
Mother and Two Children Killed in Own Home; Family of Murder Victim Says Husband Not Responsive
Aired May 19, 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. A quiet, close-knit, upscale Illinois suburb reeling after a beautiful young mom and her two little sons found dead in their white-finished (ph) two-story home, each in their own bedroom, reportedly strangled. In a heartbreaking gesture, 31- year-old Sheri Coleman and the two little boys, Garett and Gavin, ages just 9 and 11, laid to rest side by side.
Bombshell. After reports a glove, a glove that could crack this case wide open, discovered discarded, flung along I-255 running around St. Louis within five minutes of the Coleman home, where mommy and the two little boys lay dead, cops begging the public for tips on anything unusual along that same stretch of road. Is the glove, allegedly splotched with red paint, a direct link to a chilling message scrawled across the wall of the murder scene, also reportedly written in red paint?
Tonight, we learn potential witnesses to the murders from as far away as Florida. Why? Also, heavy-duty police surveillance of the husband- slash-daddy, former Marine Chris Coleman, has been pulled back. Tonight he is not a suspect. As the specter of a mistress rears its ugly head in the midst of this murder investigation involving -- same old story -- a stripper, Coleman`s high-profile security job with worldwide televangelist Joyce Meyer the latest casualty. That`s right, he`s out of there, police seizing Coleman`s security and electronic equipment.
Tonight, exclusive, with us live, taking your calls, mom Sheri Coleman`s family member. Tonight, who -- who -- crept into that family home in the darkened early morning hours to smother and strangle the life out of a stunning young mother and her two boys, leaving all three dead in their own beds?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "The St. Louis Post-Dispatch" reports detectives found a glove along Interstate 255 near the Coleman family home. Police say it appears to have spray paint stains on it consistent with a threat left on a wall at the crime scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It said, quote, I told you this would happen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is not exactly what was written on the wall. It was close. There was threats towards the family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police found Sheri Coleman and her 9 and 11-year- old boys strangled to death. Detectives say one person is responsible. They say they know who it is, but they`re still waiting for forensic evidence to come back before filing charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this time, we don`t have a warrant that`s been issued by the state`s attorney of Monroe County.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It could be just to make sure they have, besides just a circumstantial case, a good forensics case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe that this was not a random act, that it was actually intended to kill the three members of this family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And breaking news in the desperate search for a 2-year-old Florida girl, Caylee. Six months of searching culminate when skeletal remains found in a heavily wooded area just 15 houses from the Anthony 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.
In the last hours, grandparents George and Cindy Anthony in court as tot mom answers up to the Zenaida Gonzalez who tot mom says kidnapped Caylee in broad daylight. Last time, the Anthonys yelling, cursing out the lawyers and storming out. It`s all caught on videotape. Well, that`s a far cry from their behavior in front of a judge today, and of course, in their recent PR junket.
We confirm grandmother Cindy heading back for round two under oath. The judge brings down the hammer today, refusing to drop the case against tot mom. And tonight, a cop on the tot mom murder case is off the force. This while a parade of witnesses against tot mom under oath.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY`S MOTHER: She doesn`t have black hair. She doesn`t have perfect teeth. She`s not a 10. I`m sorry, ma`am. You`re cute, but you`re not a 10.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the form initially included the name of Zenaida Gonzale, G-O-N-Z-A-L-E -- no Z. I find it strange (INAUDIBLE) a woman would misspell her own name. It doesn`t indicate Zenaida Fernandez- Gonzalez.
CINDY ANTHONY: If your stating that Casey`s accusing her, then on her statement on July 16th, she would have said the nanny was C. Zenaida Gonzale, OK, without a Z on it. Where`s the Fernandez come in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My client said, I don`t know this lady. Never heard of her. Never baby-sat for her. Don`t know what in the world you`re talking about.
CINDY ANTHONY: I didn`t know her name was C. Zenaida Gonzalez or I would have -- Gonzale. I didn`t say C. Zenaida. What`s the C. stand for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lee, George, and Cindy all indicated, I have no idea who that lady is. None. The lady who`s sitting three feet away from her at a deposition has no idea.
GEORGE ANTHONY, CASEY`S FATHER: I`ve looked at her many times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
GEORGE ANTHONY: And I feel sorry for her being here.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So let me ask you a very specific question...
GEORGE ANTHONY: And I mean that from the bottom of my heart. I feel sorry that you have to go through this.
CINDY ANTHONY: You slandered me on TV. And you perjured yourself with this because she`s not Fernandez!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Tonight, exclusive, taking your calls live, mommy Sheri Coleman`s family member with us. Is a glove allegedly splotched with red paint a direct link to a chilling message, an epitaph scrawled on the wall of the murder scene, also reportedly written in red paint?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a break in the strangulation murders of a southern Illinois woman and her two young sons? Detectives found a glove along Interstate 255 near the Coleman family home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is some evidence that we collected. It is no secret. We were around Interstate 255. We believe there was evidence discarded around this route.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris Coleman reportedly says he went to the gym at 5:30 AM to work out. He became nervous around 7:00 o`clock, when he couldn`t reach his 31-year-old wife, Sheri, and two sons, Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9. Coleman called police for a welfare check and found the family dead in their own house, reportedly all the victims of strangulation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our investigation to me reveals who`s responsible for these deaths.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But Major Jeff Connor, the head of the major case squad, won`t reveal who he believes killed Sheri Coleman and her two sons, Gavin and Garett. That`s because no official charges are being filed yet. Connor says after a meeting with the Monroe County state`s attorney, the prosecutor decided that any charges will have to wait until results come back from forensic evidence tests.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know who did this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our investigation to me reveals who`s responsible for these deaths. I`ll leave it at that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Nick Pistor with "The St. Louis Post- Dispatch," joining us from St. Louis. Nick, what`s the latest? Are we any closer to an arrest?
NICK PISTOR, "ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH": No. As of tonight, we are no closer to arrest. Police have not held any briefings of any sort, and there`s been no indication of charges in this case.
GRACE: To Clark Goldband, on the story from the very beginning. Clark, do we have any more information on the glove that was found along Interstate 255, allegedly covered in red paint?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: No, Nancy. We are still awaiting testing results on that glove. However, I can tell you this evening there are reports that suggest law enforcement now saying that they have spoken with several people in the Tampa, Florida, area, and they call them potential witnesses. Now, they won`t get into any more details than that, but of course, Nick Pistor blew this wide open in his report, where he`s saying that there may have been a lover down in the Tampa area.
GRACE: Nick Pistor, back to you. What can you tell me about the husband, Chris Coleman, getting booted from his job based on company policy? And what does that have to do with witnesses in the Florida area on a murder case that happened so far away?
PISTOR: We don`t know what that has to do with anything that happened in Florida, but...
GRACE: Well, is the stripper in Florida? Hello!
PISTOR: Yes, she is in Florida. But as we`ve reported, she was a hostess at a strip club at one point. We don`t know if she did any sort of other activities there. But what we can...
GRACE: You know, Nick Pistor, I appreciate you splitting hairs about whether she was a hostess, a stripper, or an exotic dancer at a gentlemen`s club. Don`t care! What I care about is why witnesses are being brought in from Florida, according to police sources. Obviously, it`s connected to the girlfriend.
I mean, is that fitting together for you? What do we know? Did he discuss killing his wife? Did he discuss leaving his wife? Did he, like Scott Peterson, say his wife was already dead? I mean, what do these witnesses in Florida have to add to a case that happened so far away?
PISTOR: Again, we don`t know what the witnesses have told police, and the police have not said what they`ve told them. But we do know, as we`ve reported, that police sources have said that there was a girlfriend in Florida and that`s what they went down there and investigated. You know, that`s the course of the investigation.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. But right now, I want to introduce you to a special guest joining us as we wait for police to make an arrest in the murder of a stunning young 31-year-old mother and her two little boys, ages 9 and 11. I mean, think about it. Who went into this home in the darkened early morning hours, padding down the hall, going into each of the three bedrooms and systematically and methodically strangling the life out of a 9-year-old boy, an 11-year-old boy and their 31-year-old mommy, each lying asleep in their own bed? Who? Who would do that?
With me, Enrico Mirabelli. He is a family member of murder victim Sheri Coleman. He is the family spokesperson. He is speaking for them. Sir, thank you for being with us.
ENRICO J. MIRABELLI, COUSIN OF SHERI COLEMAN: Thank you for having me.
GRACE: Mr. Mirabelli, I don`t understand the so-called fight over the funeral. What happened between Sheri`s family, if I may refer to her by her first name, and the husband?
MIRABELLI: What simply happened is that there was an offer by Chris Coleman to have the bodies brought to Chicago. Most of Sheri`s family lives in the Chicago area, eight hours away from Chester. When we accepted the offer, because Chris was worried about the cost, we called him back and said, We accept your offer, we will pay all the costs. He then changed his mind, saying that he would not do that, and within 24 hours, he expected hundreds of our family members to travel down state. It was just simply not possible. So I contacted...
GRACE: Wait a minute. Mr. Mirabelli, are you telling me he`s got the money to allegedly wine and dine a stripper down in Florida, but he doesn`t have the money to have a funeral service with her family, her blood family? Did I just hear that?
MIRABELLI: Nancy, those are your words, those are not my words. My words were he said he was concerned about the cost. I don`t know about him wining and dining the stripper in Florida. But in telling you what happened, was, we located a lawyer down there...
GRACE: Go ahead.
MIRABELLI: ... and flew down there -- we flew down there and got a court order with the help of a local lawyer. Chris sent two lawyers to court. And the judge granted our motion, sent the bodies back to Chicago, where we were able to have the service for many, many mourners who otherwise could not see the bodies and pay their last respects.
GRACE: Mr. Mirabelli, by the time he hired two lawyers, he could have paid to have the body transported.
With me, taking your calls, a family member of mother Sheri Coleman.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chris Coleman reportedly said he went to the gym at 5:30 AM to work out. He became nervous around 7:00 o`clock, when he couldn`t reach his 31-year-old wife, Sheri, and two sons, Garett, 11, and Gavin, 9. Coleman called police for a welfare check and found the family dead in their own house, reportedly all the victims of strangulation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the first time since the murder of his wife and two little boys, Chris Coleman appeared in public and said nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any comment, Mr. Coleman?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He appeared at the Columbia police station in compliance with a court order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He just came to give us some fingerprints.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The taking of Coleman`s fingerprints begs one question which no one is answering at this point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point, is Chris Coleman considered a suspect in this case?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re not prepared to say anybody is keyed in on a suspect. We`re just still -- we`re in the investigative stage of this and still trying to determine who killed these three people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sheri`s cousin, Enrico Mirabelli, says he is encouraged by news of a suspect but is still nervous because there`s still no arrest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Again, we`re waiting to see when will the state`s attorney act. So there`s some anxiety in that waiting process. We`re just waiting for an answer. We`re waiting to get a resolution. You know, we always have one question and only one question, and that is, Who did it? And that`s the answer we`re looking for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Yes, you and me both. Who crept into this home and strangled the life out of this beautiful young mother, 31 years old? She had a 9 and 11-year-old boy. They were her life. They, too, were strangled in their own beds.
And I want to go back out to Enrico Mirabelli. This is a family member of 31-year-old mother Sheri Coleman, God rest her soul. You know, every night, Mr. Mirabelli, when I get off the air, the first thing I do when I walk into the house -- I don`t even wait to take my boots off, I go straight to the twins` room to make sure they`re in their cribs, they`re asleep, and everything`s OK. It seems to me that`s the safest place in the world for them, asleep in their little cribs.
MIRABELLI: (INAUDIBLE) Nancy.
GRACE: And these boys were strangled in their sleep, in their little beds, while Mommy`s lying down the hall. I just am having a hard time with the grief that your family must be suffering. But that`s not all. There`s insult to injury. Was the home cleared out of Sheri`s belongings by the husband`s family?
MIRABELLI: Well, that`s what we heard and that`s what we saw on the news, but we certainly didn`t hear it from Chris Coleman. And that`s problematic and disrespectful because it took two days after the murders for Chris to finally call my aunt. And at that time, he never offered condolences. He simply talked to my cousin Mario and said, We`re going to have a service, you can all come down if you want -- I mean, if you want. Of course we want to attend the service.
But then after the house was released, we saw on the news that he was there with his family and they were taking clothes and articles and things out of the house. But I can tell you, no one called my aunt. No one called my family and said, You know, we have Sheri`s military uniform, we have her medals, we have some trophies for Garett and Gavin. Is there anything, Angela (ph), that you would like to have...
GRACE: Oh!
MIRABELLI: ... on behalf of your grandchildren and your mother? Not a single phone call from the Coleman family, except when we called them. And I know my cousin, the minute we found out about the murders, he called for two straight days to get a response from Chris, and it took two days to get a call back. We felt very disrespected, and the whole episode of having to hire lawyers, including myself, to go down to St. Louis and bring the bodies back to Chicago. It shouldn`t have to be like that.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers to join along with the family spokesperson, who is also a lawyer, Enrico Mirabelli. Susan Moss, family law attorney out of New York, Raymond Giudice, defense attorney out of Atlanta, Penny Douglas Furr, also out of the Atlanta jurisdiction.
You know, Sue Moss, two of the dearest possessions I have are a baseball that my fiance had before his death -- he was a baseball player -- and a ring of my grandmother`s. Lucy is named after her. They`re small things, but they mean a lot to me. And this behavior, not letting the wife`s family have any of her possessions or the children`s possessions, I think it would come in at trial. Although as of tonight, he has not been named a suspect. What do you think, Sue Moss?
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: At the very least, it would come in in the penalty phase. The fact that he doesn`t call the mother? That is just crazy. It`s outrageous. But here we go, another murder case that rests on a glove. This hubby better pray that the glove doesn`t fit and that the lawyers can`t rhyme because, as you know, if this glove does fit - - well, you know the rest.
GRACE: Giudice?
RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: All behavior by anybody charged with a felony murder is relevant for sentencing. It`s also relevant for mitigation. So Sue`s right. But let me also say that, to the family, we certainly -- our hearts go out to them, but this is only 15 days after a triple homicide. I think the prosecution is doing a great job keeping its powder dry, waiting until it has its case together. Fifteen days in a triple homicide is not a long time. However, certainly sensitive to the family`s concerns and their emotions.
GRACE: Penny Douglas Furr, if police know, as they say they do, who committed the murders, why hasn`t there been an arrest? And do you think this behavior, if there is ever a charge against the husband, would come in at trial?
PENNY DOUGLAS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think it will come in, Nancy, because this man, if this just happened, why are they doing nothing? Why did the family have to hire attorneys? Why are they fighting over the remains? My question is, Why did they fight to get the remains of these children and this mother? What are they trying to hide? It`s very suspicious.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Chris Coleman had an affair with a woman who went to high school with Sheri and was Sheri`s friend and that he carried on that affair through the time up to the murders. We don`t know what the current status of the affair is. We know that the investigators went down to Florida shortly after the murders and began interviewing this woman and many of the people close to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to the lines. Robin in Oregon. Hi, Robin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I`m such a fan. I watch your show every night.
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I was just wondering, have they established a time of death yet?
GRACE: Excellent question. What do we know, Nick Pistor?
PISTOR: We know absolutely nothing about the time of death. Police have not...
GRACE: Let`s go to Enrico Mirabelli. Maybe the police have told the family something. Enrico?
MIRABELLI: That major case squad has been very tight-lipped.
GRACE: OK.
MIRABELLI: They have not told the family any of the details.
GRACE: To Dr. Michael Bell out of Palm Beach. Dr. Bell, can you determine time of death based on rigor or liver mortis once the police arrive?
DR. MICHAEL BELL, MEDICAL EXAMINER: No, not with any accuracy.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I mean, if the blood in the bodies has already settled downward, doesn`t that take X number of hours? Can`t you take the temperature in the home and compare it to the temperature of the body and get a general idea?
BELL: Well, a general idea is different from the time of death. What you can try to do is narrow down the range of death, but certainly not get an accurate time of death.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was an American hero, a navy vet. They were star football players and members of the church youth group. But mom Sheri and brothers Garett and Gavin Coleman are dead, reportedly victims of strangulation inside their own home.
Many of Gavin and Garett`s classmates and teammates on hand remembering their close friends as boys who love to play sports. Marching to the 50 yard line and leaving messages of hope. Those who knew Sheri will remember her commitment to her church and helping others.
Husband Chris Coleman reportedly asked to give his fingerprints by court order. Police say they have no suspects in the case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We need the public`s help. Right now we don`t have a suspect in custody and we`re asking the public`s help if they know anything at all to contact the Columbia Police Department.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The evidence that we`ve gathered so far was taken to the Monroe County State`s Attorney`s office this afternoon. We`ve had discussions with him throughout the week, and it was decided at this time to defer charges until further forensics come back and/or further interviews, documents, reports.
And there is some evidence that we`ve collected, and it`s no secret, we were around Interstate 255. We believe there was evidence discarded around this route. So I can be a little more specific that if there`s somebody out there in the public that thinks they saw something along that area, maybe along the bridge, to call us. That could be a key to helping us also.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NANCY GRACE, HLN ANCHOR: We are taking your calls live.
Back out to Dr. Michael Bell, Palm Beach County Chief Medical Examiner.
Dr. Bell, I want to go back to the time of death; that`s Robin in Oregon`s question. Generally speaking, we can go back to the last time someone saw her or talked to her on the phone the night before, all right? We`ve got what the husband says that morning.
But you can go back to the night before. Then we can look at her computer maybe? Any way we could see that she`s still alive at x time, maybe one of the boys. I believe that would be the third and fifth grade. I don`t know if they were instant messaging or anything like that.
But some objective proof of the time that they were last alive. Ok. They were in their pajamas, we believe. That suggests they went to bed. But about their food, if we could determine what time they ate dinner the night before, can`t you tell how far along the food got in the digestion tract and determine the time of death?
DR. MICHAEL BELL, PALM BEACH COUNTY CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER: No. Again...
GRACE: Why?
BELL: Because gastric emptying is unreliable. It varies considerably based upon how much food there is, the type of food. And plus, once the food gets beyond the stomach, once it`s in the small intestine, it`s very difficult to actually see how far along it is.
GRACE: How long does that take, to go from the stomach to the small intestine?
BELL: Again, it varies considerably from two hours, six hours, so...
GRACE: If the food had never left the stomach and we know they ate at 7:00, then we know between two and six hours. Right there that narrows it down considerably.
BELL: Ok. If that`s close enough, that`s...
GRACE: No, I`m just putting out a hypothetical. Let me ask you something else, Dr. Bell.
BELL: Oh ok, sure.
GRACE: What about this? If we know the temperature inside the home, you look at the thermostat, you know what the temp is in the home, you measure the temperature of the body, wouldn`t that give you a general idea of the time of death?
BELL: Again, no, because the body doesn`t cool in a linear fashion.
GRACE: Ah. What do you mean by that?
BELL: It doesn`t cool in a regular rate, predictable rate. It cools in an unpredictable manner, usually by an exponential...
GRACE: Ok. What about this, Dr. Bell?
BELL: Ok.
GRACE: What if the bodies were still warm to the touch? What would that tell you?
BELL: Well, that would tell me either the environment is very hot or, yes, they died very -- they were discovered fairly soon after they were alive...
GRACE: Soon after the death.
BELL: ...or after their death, after they died, yes.
GRACE: I want to go back to -- you know, it took me a while, doctor, but I think I finally got maybe an inch out of you.
To Enrico Mirabelli, he is the family spokesperson for mother, Sheri Coleman.
Enrico, the little boys, 9 and 11, what would that be? Third and fifth grade?
ENRICO MIRABELLI, SHERI COLEMAN SPOKESPERSON: I believe that`s correct.
GRACE: I was looking at a statement from Sheri`s brother on behalf of his mother, father, and himself. He says, "We want to know the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. At this time we do not have knowledge or willingness to express an opinion or theory."
To the state`s attorney, whatever your political aspirations are, please put them aside. If you are a true public servant, you will pursue the truth. To the major case squad, thank you. I beg all of you to find the truth about what happened to my little sister and my two little guys. They were my heart, my soul, my pride and my joy."
This is from the little boys` uncle, Sheri Coleman`s brother. Did anybody in your family ever get any personal items of mother Sheri`s?
MIRABELLI: We have not. And that statement you`ve read, Nancy, that`s from Mario.
GRACE: Yes.
MIRABELLI: And he wrote that today from the heart. He could not be on your show. And he wanted people to know how much these kids were loved, how much his sister was loved by him and our family. And he wrote that by himself. And that was a beautiful thing.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Amy in Louisiana. Hello, Amy.
AMY IN LOUISIANA (via telephone): Hi, Nancy. Thank you for advocating for victims and their families.
GRACE: Amy, thank you and hello to all of our Cajun friends. What is your question, dear?
AMY: My question is, is there any history of violence or abuse in that home?
GRACE: To Nick Pistor, "St. Louis Post-Dispatch," what do we know, Nick?
NICK PISTOR, ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH: We know of no history of violence or abuse in the home. By all appearances they had a very happy life together.
GRACE: Put Pistor up, please. I`d like to see Nick Pistor. Mr. Pistor.
PISTOR: Yes.
GRACE: You have corrected me. And I appreciate that. The girlfriend was not a stripper, according to you, she was a hostess at a strip club, whatever hostess may entail.
Now, you say that the marriage apparently was fine. Could you please explain the "not a stripper?" How does that fit with your theory of a happy marriage?
PISTOR: Well, what I`m saying is there were no appearances that other people had said that the marriage was in turmoil. I mean, we`ve interviewed family members. We`ve interviewed as many people as we can, and nobody has said anything that they knew of anything to point...
GRACE: Ok.
PISTOR: ...to trouble within the marriage.
GRACE: To Ellen Gamberg, psychotherapist joining us out of New York. Dr. Gamberg, thank you for being with us. What does that say to you, when women, having worked a battered women`s center, have been abused either physically, verbally, emotionally, how often do they tell their families? Is that uncommon that they don`t?
DR. ELLEN GAMBERG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: It`s very common that they don`t. They keep it a secret. And for all appearances they`re too afraid to even share that information.
GRACE: To Enrico Mirabelli, was there any indication of a rift within the marriage?
MIRABELLI: There was not. I specifically asked my aunt and Mario, who she`s very close with, as did the police officers. And she had never complained about any infidelity. She had not complained about any verbal or physical abuse to any of the family members. So by the time we read Nick`s story...
GRACE: Are you surprised to find out about the hostess?
MIRABELLI: Well, surprised is one emotion. Betrayal is another emotion because my aunt and my cousin, they know this young lady. She went to high school with Sheri.
So it`s not some random girl he met off the Internet. This was a friend of the family, a friend of their daughter`s, their sister`s. So they felt betrayed, and they`re upset.
But they were stunned to read Nick`s story. Nick called me and gave me the heads up the story was coming out. I called my aunt. She was very, very surprised, because Sheri had never complained to her family members about this.
GRACE: Mr. Mirabelli...
MIRABELLI: I don`t even know if Sheri knew.
GRACE: With me is a family spokesperson. He is a family member of mother Sheri, the cousin of Sheri Coleman.
Mr. Mirabelli, I understand that the husband, the father, who`s not a suspect, has been let go from the worldwide Joyce Meyer Televangelist Ministries based on a policy of theirs.
Do you know what policy was violated?
MIRABELLI: We are not aware of any policy. I would be speculating if I were to give any other answer.
GRACE: How did he get hooked up with a preacher, working for a preacher, traveling with her personally? How did that happen? I know his father is a pastor as well.
MIRABELLI: My understanding from Mario is that his father was able to secure him employment with Joyce Meyer Ministries. That`s my understanding. I believe it to be accurate.
GRACE: Got it.
To Clark Goldband, what do we know? What policy did he violate in order to get the boot from Joyce Meyer Ministries?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, at first we had heard it was a violation of church policy and they did not elaborate on that. However, within the last 24 hours we are learning that it is a violation of moral conduct.
GRACE: Now, did he travel with the Joyce Meyer Ministries down to the Tampa area, and is that where the strip club hostess lives?
GOLDBAND: Well, Nancy, according to reports, they have traveled down to Tampa twice within the last six-month period. We do not know if Chris Coleman specifically traveled with Joyce. However, according to some people in the family, Coleman is very close to Joyce and has provided security for her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve developed information that we believe one person is actually involved in this homicide. We believe that this was not a random act, that it was actually intended to kill the three members of this family. At this time we are not going to release the name of that individual. This is a very serious case. And we don`t want to jump to anything. But to put the public at ease, we don`t feel this was a random act. We feel this family was targeted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Well, whoever did the triple murder of a 31-year-old mother asleep in her own bed and her little 9- and 11-year-old boys Garett and Gavin, third and fifth grade, clearly felt at ease in the home, felt there was no problem, took the time to kick back and reportedly spray-paint a chilling epitaph along the wall of the murder scene.
To Tom Shamshak, former police chief, now private investigator and instructor at B.U., Boston University.
Tom, it`s great to see you. Tom, Coleman, the husband, says that he and his family had been receiving threats. Assuming there`s no police reports of these threats, how can investigators verify it? Or is that some story concocted to try to explain the writing on the wall? He`s not been named a suspect. Go ahead, Tom.
TOM SHAMSHAK, FORMER POLICE CHIEF: Good evening, Nancy. The police obviously will be looking to corroborate this tale. They would want to look for documentary evidence in the form of writings: letters that might have been received; voice messages that might have been received; e-mails and things like that. They`d want to know who he shared that information with.
I understand that he spoke to neighbors and had indicated that the family had been receiving threats. How about his employer? Did he report the threats to the employer? Are there any incident reports out there? And I think that the police will be looking at that video surveillance equipment that was installed around the house.
GRACE: Man, you`re not kidding about that, Shamshak. Back to the spokesperson for Sheri Coleman, the murdered mom`s family. You know what`s so ironic, Enrico Mirabelli, is that he provided security, a former marine, for this worldwide televangelist Joyce Meyers but nobody was providing security for his own wife, the mother of his two children.
MIRABELLI: You know, that irony isn`t lost on our family. I don`t care who pays you how much. The most important thing in your life is your family. And if you`re in security and you`re being threatened, you take care of your family first.
I don`t know where he was on that morning, and I don`t know why he wasn`t there. But you know, we`ve gone over this a million times in our collective minds here about what happened and how it happened. And the major case squad has done an extraordinary job in our opinion. They`ve shown compassion, excellence.
When they said they`ve got the case, they`ve got the case resolved, you know, it`s up to the next step, and we need the prosecutor to move forward. And we`ll be patient because patient is something we need to be. But we`re looking forward to a resolution.
GRACE: I`m sure you are.
Back to the lawyers: Sue Moss, Ray Giudice, Penny Douglas-Fir.
Ray, isn`t it ironic that here he is providing worldwide security for a renowned televangelist -- she`s very well known, Joyce Meyers. But whoopsie, left a window open at the home. I guess the killer slunk in through that little three or four-inch opening. What about that, Ray? Isn`t that crazy?
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Without pointing out a suspect, this is not a random burglary, home invasion that went bad.
GRACE: Nothing was stolen, Ray.
GIUDICE: This is not a gang. The murderer knew where, when and how and did what exactly he or she knew where the victims would be.
GRACE: Penny?
PENNY DOUGLAS-FIR, ATTORNEY: This is a domestic violence case. I feel it in my bones. I can`t prove it right now, but it screams domestic violence.
GRACE: Sue moss?
SUE MOSS, ATTORNEY: The key to this case is going to be that police tape that was surveiling the house. That police tape will show whether this guy`s lying or no.
GRACE: Let`s switch gears. Very quickly, tot mom`s family in court.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CASEY ANTHONY, MOTHER OF CAYLEE ANTHONY: They hold all of their information from me, yet at the same time, they`re twisting stuff. They`ve already said they`re going to pin this on me if they don`t find Caylee. They`ve already said that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well...
ANTHONY: They arrested me because they said that...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, because they said that the person that you dropped Caylee with doesn`t even exist.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to Kathi Belich with WFTV. The Anthonys in court. What happened?
KATHI BELICH, WFTV: That`s right. Well, they were hoping that the judge would be convinced to drop this defamation lawsuit altogether brought by Zenaida Gonzalez, who has the same name, you know, as the mysterious nanny. But instead it flipped and it really worked against them because Zenaida`s attorneys convinced the judge to add possible punitive damages on top of pain and suffering and other losses involved in this case. And at some point in the future he may listen to the other side again asking to drop this case.
GRACE: With me right now, the attorney for Zenaida Gonzalez, the woman tot mom pointed the finger at as kidnapping her little girl, later found dead in broad daylight.
Morgan, I see your picture all over billboards and buses and on TV. Long story short, you get punitive damages out of this, you`re worth every penny. Tell me this, Morgan. Punitive damages? That means punishment damages for what you say tot mom did, defaming your client, Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez.
But here`s my question. How do you hope to get any money? She`s behind bars.
JOHN MORGAN, ATTORNEY FOR ZENAIDA GONZALEZ: Well, we don`t know if there`s ever going to be any money. It never started about money.
GRACE: True.
MORGAN: There`s rumors of book deals. And the public seems to be more concerned more concerned about Casey Anthony being rich than Zenaida does.
GRACE: I don`t think they are concerned about her being rich. Correction, Morgan. I think they are concerned about someone that may potentially make money off the murder...
MORGAN: That`s what I`m talking about, to be enriched. I think that they are concerned about that and when the judge in Florida adds punitive damages that is not lightly done in Florida. That is the judge saying you the conduct by Casey Anthony is so egregious that he would add these charges.
GRACE: Right.
To Leonard Padilla, bounty hunt they`re would be under oath in this case. Padilla, I understand that know you are now clarifying the time line, are you saying that George or Cindy Anthony saw her not on the morning of June 16th but on the evening, Sunday, June 15th, Father`s Day evening?
LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: We sincerely believe that after they had the big fight, Cindy and Casey, Casey grabbed her child and left the house that evening, not like George says at approximately noon the next day. She left that night with her child.
GRACE: And what difference would that make to you, Padilla, in figuring out the murder time line?
PADILLA: Well what it does, it fits better with the situation as far as the 2.6 days decomposition before the body was placed, triple-bagged, as you say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: To Natisha Lance, standing by there at the courthouse in Orlando, what happened in court today?
NATISHA LANCE, HLN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Nancy, just as Kathi said, the defense tried to come in today seeking a dismissal. Unfortunately that did not work in their favor. What ended up happening is that the judge granted an amended motion and for this case to eventually -- to an amended motion with punitive damages and the defense is saying that at a later date, they will come back and seek a dismissal.
GRACE: Natisha Lance, standing by there at the courthouse. George and Cindy Anthony in court today.
To Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer, a cop is off the force -- a cop on the tot mom murder investigation. What happened?
ELLIE JOSTAD, HLN CHIEF EDITORIAL PRODUCER: This is Deputy Richard Cane. He is the guy that actually went out there and investigated Kronk`s tip on August 11th. He was fired both for unsatisfactory performance and also for lying about what had happened. He was supposed to have a hearing today appealing that firing. Instead, he resigned.
GRACE: You know that is a stiff price to pay for a lie that he probably considered a white lie. But long story short, it has thrown a monkey wrench in this case for the state that will not soon be forgotten.
Everyone, let`s stop and remember army staff sergeant Sean Diamond, 41, Dublin, California, killed in Iraq on a third tour. Awarded the bronze star army achievement medal. His fellow soldiers in Iraq named a base in his honor in Iraq.
He saved his friend`s brother`s life as he battled non-Hodgkin lymphoma by donating stem cells. His kids and flying, his two passions; first date with his future wife, in an airplane. Leaves behind parents Sally and Gerald; brothers Jason and Michael; widow, Laura May; four children left without a daddy. Sean Diamond, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us.
And I want to thank Bernice in Oakland Park, Florida, for these handmade story books for the twins. They have got Yankee Doodle Dandy, Care Bears, Counting 1-2-3, the American Presidents, a Thanksgiving Apron and believe it or not, I Do Cook.
Everybody, I will see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then. Good night, friend.
END
