Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Brother of Mia Farrow Found Dead/Missing Ohio Mom Seen on Colorado Surveillance Video
Aired June 16, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We begin tonight with breaking news in the case of missing 4-year-old Haylee Donathan. A surveillance camera at a Colorado gas station has captured the pickup truck of suspect Robbi Potter, registered sex offender, believed to be with the missing girl and her mother, Candace Watson. Authorities confirm a female was seen in the footage, believed to be Watson, seen attempting to purchase gasoline. The 4-year-old last seen by friends and family on May 28th, the very same day that Robbi Potter fled a halfway house.
Little Haylee Donathan may be in extreme danger. Will this break in the case help police find the young girl?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New surveillance images released. Is there a break in the case in the desperate search for 4-year-old Haylee Donathan? U.S. Marshals say they`ve confirmed a sighting of the vehicle that sex offender fugitive Robbi Potter, mom Candace Watson and Haylee Donathan are believed to be traveling in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The latest we know now is that we have this surveillance video. One of the most important clues is that we now have more details on the pickup truck that these three are in. We`re now also getting a new license plate number.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That plate on that truck is E as in Echo -- ENS- 9729.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a blue 1988 blue Chevy pickup truck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The pickup traced to 1,200 miles west of Ohio, to Stratton, Colorado. Images show a woman believed to be Candace Watson trying to buy gas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news in the case of 3-year-old Haylee Donathan, who was last seen with her mother and her mother`s sex offender boyfriend.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ohio investigators have turned up some surveillance footage they say shows the missing 4-year-old girl. Police say the video shot at a Wal-Mart -- there it is, that`s in Marion, Ohio -- shows Haylee Donathan`s mother inside the store -- there it is highlighted -- then outside in the parking lot. Investigators say Candace Watson gets into a pickup truck with Robbi Potter, a registered sex offender who escaped from a nearby halfway house. And if you look close, police say you can also see a child in the truck.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The hope is that this video paired with a $10,000 reward will bring Haylee home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And tonight, live to Florida, George and Cindy Anthony hitting the airwaves today, marking the anniversary of Caylee`s disappearance and battling the release of Caylee`s autopsy results. It was one year ago that Caylee Anthony was seen alive for the very last time. One month later, the desperate nationwide search began for the young girl. Dedicated volunteers worked around the clock, hoping for any sign of the missing 2-year-old. Six months later, a utility meter reader discovered a tiny human skeleton only 15 houses from the Anthony home. It was confirmed to be the Florida toddler.
And now Casey Anthony, the 23-year-old single mother to young Caylee, sits behind bars, charged with murdering her own daughter. Will she take the stand in her own defense? Also, grandparents George and Cindy Anthony fight to block the release of Caylee`s autopsy. The Anthonys claim the autopsy report, over 30 pages long, would be too upsetting if released to the public. Will the judge side with the Anthonys?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY`S MOTHER: My granddaughter has been taken. She has been missing for a month.
911 OPERATOR: Who has her? Do you have a name?
CASEY ANTHONY, CAYLEE`S MOTHER: Her name is Zenaida Fernandez- Gonzalez.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What was the last time you saw Caylee?
CINDY ANTHONY: I know for a fact it`s June 15th because the little video clip that was shot that`s playing over and over again was her reading "Suppertime for (INAUDIBLE)" I shot that when she was visiting my father.
(CROSSTALK)
GEORGE ANTHONY, CASEY`S FATHER: That`s the last time that I saw my daughter and granddaughter.
We`ve got to get that little girl back, any way we can. And we`re doing everything we can.
CASEY ANTHONY: I don`t think (INAUDIBLE)
CINDY ANTHONY: Are we going to be able to find her, do you think?
CASEY ANTHONY: I hope we can, Mom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We found a human skull.
911 OPERATOR: Oh, my gosh!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The manner of death in this case is homicide.
GEORGE ANTHONY: I want everyone to have a prayer for all of us today, especially for my granddaughter.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: George and Cindy Anthony fighting tooth and nail to keep the autopsy report a secret, claiming it would be too upsetting, argued to be inflammatory for the public to see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session, in for Nancy Grace tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. Tonight, on the one-year anniversary of Caylee Anthony`s disappearance, grandparents Cindy and George -- they are fighting the release of Caylee`s autopsy report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Newly released pictures in the case of a girl believed to be with her mother and a tier 3 sex offender, the most dangerous kind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. Marshals have a new sighting in the case of missing 4-year-old Haylee Donathan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police in northern Ohio say the mom went on the run with her sex offender boyfriend, took Haylee. Here`s the latest surveillance pictures, the pickup truck believed to be Robbi Potter`s, a gas station in Stratton, Colorado.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators say they`ve confirmed the suspected truck traveled all the way west to a gas station in Stratton, Colorado, the surveillance footage showing a female believed to be Candace Watson attempting to purchase gas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s been a sighting of mom Candace Watson at a Wal-Mart.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: U.S. Marshals released this surveillance video. That is Candace in the white shirts and short walking in alone, an orange tent in her hand. She returns the tent and looks around a bit, then goes to the bathroom before emerging wearing a black pair of shorts. Candace leaves the store and goes to a waiting truck. That`s when we see Robbi Potter in the driver`s seat. They trade places and he walks to the passenger side of the vehicle. Look closely now because it is at that moment that we see a child that U.S. Marshals believe could be Haylee Donathan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it does show Haylee for a brief moment in a truck out in the parking lot, along with her mother, Candace, and Robbi Potter, that sex offender. They were all in the truck together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a large search going on, and there`s pretty much a possibility of them being anywhere at this point. We`re following up leads in many states.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators hope they`re closing in to bring Haylee safely home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Before we get to all of that, there is information coming in to Headline News right now that the brother of world famous international movie star Mia Farrow has been found debt in his Vermont art gallery. Police are saying the death is suspicious. Sixty-six-year-old sculptor Patrick Farrow was found late Monday by police responding to an emergency call from the Farrow Gallery in Castleton, New York (SIC).
We want to go live right now to Brent Curtis, a reporter for "Rutland Herald." He is standing by live in Vermont. Mr. Curtis, what can you tell us?
BRENT CURTIS, "RUTLAND HERALD" (via telephone): Well, I can tell you that even though the police are saying the death is suspicious, they`re also saying that it`s undetermined. And I have one state police spokeswoman saying that they`re not considering foul play in the case.
CASAREZ: Oh, that`s a little dichotomy right there, two different things.
CURTIS: Exactly.
CASAREZ: When his body was found, was he alone? And who made the 911 call?
CURTIS: That`s a good question. The police do not identify the 911 caller in their release. There have been reports from other media outlets that it was his wife, Susan Mia (SIC), who made that call. I have not been able to confirm that, though.
CASAREZ: Is there any word at all that he was having problems with anyone, anyone was upset with him, any issues, financially or otherwise?
CURTIS: No, he`s -- both he and his wife are highly respected and regarded members of the Castleton community. I spoke with people up and down the street that they live on today. They`re seen in the public eye almost constantly. His wife serves on the Board of Civil Authority in the town and had talked with town officials just the day before. Everybody said that there was nothing out of the ordinary about either of them.
CASAREZ: Since you are there in Vermont, is there still a crime scene tape up at the art gallery? Are they still combing through evidence? Is this still a crime scene?
CURTIS: Interesting you should ask. While they had the crime scene up earlier today, by mid-afternoon, the yellow tape was taken down. The troopers that were guarding the entrance to the residence were gone, even though the mobile crime lab was still in the driveway and police were still -- investigators were still back there gathering evidence.
CASAREZ: Has there been an autopsy yet?
CURTIS: No, that is expected to be completed tomorrow. As a matter of fact, the investigator that told me that they`re not considering it as foul play said that they`re still looking at it as suspicious pending the results of that autopsy.
CASAREZ: All right. Let`s go to Dr. Joshua Perper -- we need to go to an expert now -- chief medical examiner of Broward County. Dr. Perper, you have performed so many autopsies. When you hear the word "suspicious," that something is determined to be that, what does that say to you?
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, BROWARD COUNTY CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, you have to realize that in this case, the word "suspicious" is in tandem to the word that there was no foul play and that the crime scene was basically disbanded very fast. So in my opinion, the most likely possibility is that this was a drug death. And most likely it was an accidental drug death, unless there was depression involved.
CASAREZ: All right. Back to Brent Curtis. Is there any evidence at all that it was something like that, or could it be of natural causes, if they are saying they don`t believe there was foul play?
CURTIS: I have a hard time believing that it was natural causes, given the level of the investigation that was going on today and the tight- lipped nature of the police throughout. On the other hand, could it have been drugs? I don`t know the man well enough to say. I know that in his past, he did have a drug problem years ago. But that has not come up in discussion with anybody that I`ve talked to.
CASAREZ: Let`s go to the attorneys right now, Paul Henderson, San Francisco deputy district attorney, Ray Giudice, defense attorney, and Mickey Sherman, criminal defense attorney. First to our prosecutor, our deputy district attorney, Paul Henderson. Right now, are they going to say too much? They said suspicious -- that came first -- and then later, they believe no foul play. But is very much information going to get out at all at this point?
PAUL HENDERSON, SAN FRANCISCO DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Very little, if any. I wouldn`t release any of the information. And this is almost standard operating procedure, especially when you have a high-profile death or an individual that people know. There`s got to be an investigation. Aside from the police inquiry, the family and loved ones also really want to know almost right away exactly how the death occurred. So this investigation is going to be happening pretty quickly to answer the questions not just for police, but for the family, as well.
CASAREZ: To Ray Giudice, defense attorney. Although this is just coming over the wires right now, there was time for a crime scene investigation. The crime scene tape was removed late this afternoon. Do you feel that`s long enough to collect evidence?
RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think the prosecution and the detectives could rule out foul play pretty quickly. They could find blunt force trauma, blood, weapons, break-ins. I think what we`re looking at is exactly what the doctor said, some type of a medical cause of death that leads to suspicion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just tearing me apart.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Another day and no Haylee. I`m just so scared that something`s happened. I`m worried to death about them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking developments today in the disappearance of Haylee Donathan, who was last seen with her mother and her mother`s sex offender boyfriend, Robbi Potter. Has there been a sighting?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: U.S. Marshals say they`ve confirmed a sighting of the vehicle that sex offender fugitive Robbi Potter, mom Candace Watson and Haylee Donathan are believed to be traveling in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this point, we have no evidence to show that they`re not together. We believe all three of them are still together. We believe they`re still running.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just so hard for me to believe, that she would leave her in the truck. I just don`t understand it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know if he`s keeping her and Haylee captive or what.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone is assuming that this mother is there voluntarily. This mother could be an unwilling participant in this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only Candace, who we believe to be Candace, that we can see in the surveillance video at this time. But the good news is that she did exit the vehicle from the passenger side of the truck. So obviously, there`s a driver, who we still believe to be Potter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re all working very hard on this day and night and we`re hoping that we`re going to be able to resolve this soon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As far as I know, she had went and picked him up, was supposed to have dropped him off. I guess they got along. She started going out with him. She didn`t know what his background was. She didn`t know until that Sunday, when she had called my home and we had told her. And now I don`t know if he`s keeping ahold of her or what`s going on. I just don`t know, but I want to know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session, filling in for Nancy Grace tonight. We go back to Ohio -- or should we say Colorado - - tonight, 4-year-old Haylee Donathan with her mother, Candace Watson, 24 years old, and allegedly with a tier 3 sex offender on the highways and byways of this country.
Let`s go out to Matt Bruning, Newstalk WTVN reporter. What`s the latest about this new surveillance video, brand-new surveillance video just released?
MATT BRUNING, NEWSTALK 610 WTVN (via telephone): Absolutely. Well, U.S. Marshals` office releasing this surveillance video, the shot of the gas station, Stratton, Colorado. That`s about 1,500 miles from where Haylee Donathan, her mother, Candace Watson, and the sex offender Robbi Potter live (ph). The video shot back on June 2nd, and it shows Candace attempting to purchase gasoline at that gas station. Marshals do believe that it is the trio in this new surveillance video because the truck in this new surveillance video matches the truck that was seen in the video shot at a Wal-Mart store in Marion, Ohio, back on May 31st.
CASAREZ: OK. Well, this is brand-new video tonight, surveillance video from Colorado. Authorities are saying it is the vehicle that the threesome are in. Let`s go to Clark Goldband, NANCY GRACE producer. Clark, last we heard, it was Ohio. Now we say Colorado. Officials are saying that. How far is that distance?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Jean, that`s one third of the country away. Over 1,200 miles is the area we`re talking about. And in fact, it took just two days for them to travel, in our estimation, over 20 hours to Stratton, Colorado. It`s on the eastern side of Colorado.
CASAREZ: That`s a long drive, but it can be done. Let`s go out to Drew Deserto, assistant chief deputy U.S. Marshal, northern Ohio violent fugitive task force. Thank you so much for joining us again tonight. First of all, how did you locate this surveillance video?
DREW DESERTO, ASST. CHIEF DEP. U.S. MARSHAL: Well, we`re not going to reveal our investigative techniques on that. What we are happy to report is that we do have a sighting out there. It does put us a little closer. It`s two weeks away. But from the footage, we can tell that Candace came out of the passenger side of the truck, which tells us that there is a driver and we believe that`s still Potter. We believe that they`re all together still, and it brings us a little bit closer. It shows us another area of the country that we`re focusing our attention on. So we`re still asking for...
CASAREZ: Are you asking for...
DESERTO: Go ahead, ma`am.
CASAREZ: No, are you able to take your surveillance video and focus in on a license plate or a person to see up close, to confirm that that is the vehicle?
DESERTO: We have agents from Ohio BCI that are doing a great job on that right now. They`re working on the video that we had previously and also on this new video. And we do know the plate. The plate is ENS-9729. It`s an Ohio plate on this truck. We`re working on trying to look through the windshield or the side windows to see if we can get any other confirmation of Haylee, but that`s still in progress.
CASAREZ: So you saw someone get out of the passenger side. You do not see a little girl in that video surveillance, correct?
DESERTO: That`s correct. At this time, we haven`t been able to totally confirm that.
CASAREZ: Can I ask you, was a credit card used to purchase the gasoline?
DESERTO: We`re not revealing our investigative techniques at this time.
CASAREZ: I understand.
DESERTO: We`re continuing our investigation. I appreciate it.
CASAREZ: I understand. Are you concerned for the safety of the mother and the little girl at this point?
DESERTO: I mean, we`re very concerned about the safety of the little girl. That`s part of what`s driving our intensive manhunt here. At this point, we believe the mother`s gone willing. We don`t have anything to show any different. Our focus right now is to find Mr. Potter and find Haylee, and we have a large team working on that right behind me, in this building. We have a command post of deputy marshals, BCI agents, sheriffs -- deputy sheriffs from Richmond County, officers from all our task force members.
We`re working day and night on this. This is a nationwide manhunt. We have Marshals task forces in Colorado working on the tips and also leads in other states. So we`re not going to stop. We`re going to keep going after this so we can get it resolved and hopefully bring this little girl home safe.
CASAREZ: It`s really something, law enforcement all working together like that. Let`s go to Mary Watson. She is the grandmother of Haylee. She is the mother of Candace. She no longer has her daughter or her granddaughter. Miss Watson, thank you so much for joining us tonight. Are you concerned about the safe of not only, of course, Haylee, your granddaughter, but your daughter herself?
MARY WATSON, GRANDMOTHER: Yes, I am. I`m very concerned for them both.
CASAREZ: I want to go back in time because when I look at the timeline, I believe the last time you spoke with your daughter was May 31st. Tell me what she said to you in that conversation.
WATSON: Her voice sounded shaky, and she told me that she would talk to me as soon as she got there. She had just dropped him off in Busiris (ph).
CASAREZ: But get where?
WATSON: I took it as she was coming to my house to talk to me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police in northern Ohio say a 4-year-old girl`s in danger, traveling with her mom and mom`s sex offender boyfriend. This surveillance video was taken May 31st at a Wal-Mart in Marion, Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I spoke with a woman who actually works here at this Wal-Mart. She said that Candace came into the store by herself because she was here to return a tent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators say Candace Watson gets into a pickup truck with Robbi Potter.
GRACE: The mom is in the Wal-Mart, so that means she leaves the 4- year-old baby girl alone and defenseless with a convicted sex predator.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez with the legal network In Session, in for Nancy Grace tonight. Brand-new surveillance video released today, not in Ohio but in Colorado.
Want to go out to Mickey Sherman, criminal defense attorney and author of "How Can You Defend Those People?" Mickey, here`s one thing that just hit me when I heard Mary Watson before our commercial -- she is the mother of Candace, the grandmother of Haylee, a beautiful 4-year-old that is missing. She said her daughter called, the last time she heard her daughter`s voice, quivering, saying, When I drop him off, then I`ll be over. Drop him off -- could there be a situation here where she believed she was going to drop him off, she voluntarily did that, but then it turned into an involuntary sort of a kidnapping kind of situation?
MICKEY SHERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s not what the police officer said who you interviewed a few moments ago. He seemed to indicate that it appeared to him as though this was a voluntary act on her part. And you know, what kills me -- and I know it`s the most unpopular position in the world that anybody can take, especially me -- is that we talk about this sex offender guy as though he is the devil incarnate. I`m not saying he should get the peace prize or the Paris (ph) magazine father of the year, but being a sex offender doesn`t mean he is always going to be committing heinous crimes 24/7.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Ms. Watson, what got into her to romance a convicted sex offender from behind bars? I mean, she knew he was in prison for a sex offense with a minor!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARY WATSON, GRANDMOTHER OF MISSING 4-YR-OLD HAYLEE DONATHAN: As far as I know, she had went and picked him up, was supposed to have dropped him off. I guess they got along. She started going out with him. She didn`t know what his background was.
She didn`t know until that Sunday when she had called my home and we had told her, and now I don`t know if he`s keeping a hold of her or what`s going on. I just don`t know. But I want to know.
I`m just still scared that something`s happened. And I`m worried to death about them. It`s just so hard for me to believe that she would leave her in the truck. I just don`t understand it. The video, I`m glad that I seen that she`s OK, but that was 14 days ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network "In Session" in for Nancy Grace tonight.
I want to go back out to Mary Watson. She is the grandmother of precious Haylee Donothan.
Miss Watson, tell us about Haylee. What kind of a little girl is she?
WATSON: Haylee is very playful, cheerful, very lovable. She was in ballet. She had lots of friends, playmates. Very good little girl.
CASAREZ: Does she.
WATSON: Nobody could want anybody better than her.
CASAREZ: Does she have any health issues or concerns? Because she went -- if she is with them, she went a lot of miles in a very short period of time in that truck.
WATSON: Haylee doesn`t have any that I know of right now.
CASAREZ: All right. Now I know you said that your daughter was living with a roommate. Have you gone to that home to see what your daughter took with her for this trip or what she took for Haylee?
WATSON: I`ve went there, but nobody`s allowed in her room right now because of the investigation.
CASAREZ: So you`re saying that.
WATSON: So I.
CASAREZ: It`s cordoned off so law enforcement will not allow you in?
WATSON: Nobody`s allowed in there right now. They have -- she told - - her roommate has told them what she seen her carry out when she left, that the last time she had seen her, which was a basket with some blankets in it and some of her clothes in the bottom and then a bag of clothes for Haylee.
CASAREZ: Does your daughter -- I know your daughter used to live in Arizona. Do you think she could want to go to Arizona?
WATSON: Yes, I do.
CASAREZ: Why?
WATSON: She`s been talking about going back to Arizona ever since she`s really been here. She likes it there.
CASAREZ: Very interesting. Very interesting.
To Dr. Joshua Perper, chief medical examiner of Broward County. A little girl 4 years old, in a truck, possibly not much money, just enough for gas, could there be an issue of proper nutrition at this time?
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, MEDICAL EXAMINER, AUTHOR OF "WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR": Well, I think that if she got proper care and she was properly fed, then it wouldn`t affect her physical or mental condition. On the other hand, if she was abused and that`s what the concern is, it`s a totally different story.
CASAREZ: That`s right. And let`s go to Marc Klaas, president and founder of the KlaasKids Foundation. You know, Marc, we are talking about a tier 3 sex offender. And I`m sure you are aware the Adam Walsh Legislation went into effect in 2008, reclassified sexual offenders, tier 1, tier 2, and tier 3 being the most serious.
This is the most serious sexual offender, Mr. Potter. What are your concerns right now, obviously, to what could be happening?
MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, first of all, this is not a guy that`s out on a picnic with the family. This is a very dangerous individual who is noncompliant. He is a sexual predator, a convicted sexual predator. He is on the run from federal and Ohio jurisdictions. He has no money.
I think this man is a danger to absolutely anybody that he comes into contact with at this point. I think he`s probably getting pretty desperate. And the sooner we find that little girl, the better off everybody will be. And then I think there`s going to be a lot of people that are going to have face the music for putting her in the position that she found herself.
CASAREZ: That`s right. There are a lot of people involved here.
To Susan Lipkins, psychologist, author of "Preventing Hazing." So many questions that I could ask you, but one that hits me off the top of my head. Potter is not only a sexual convicted predator, but also he is out on -- has been convicted of federal burglary and robbery. There are issues there.
Can someone with a violent past keep progressing to even more violent crimes? Just sort of keep doing what they`ve done in the past?
SUSAN LIPKINS, PSYCHOLOGIST, AUTHOR OF "PREVENTING HAZING": No, absolutely. I think that once you`ve got past one line and you`re successful, you keep going and going and you don`t even see the reality and you don`t see how far away you are from what would be normal behavior.
And I think that speaks to this little girl`s mother, too. Apparently, her brother was in a similar situation, has been in prison. I think he`s a sex offender. And I think, maybe, she just got used to hanging out with these kinds of people and doesn`t really see how awful they are, as we may, in the audience.
CASAREZ: Doesn`t see the reality. To Drew Deserto, once again, thank you for joining us, the assistant chief deputy, U.S. Marshal for the northern Ohio Violent Fugitive Task Force.
Are there any other tips at all that you can release tonight to try to help to find this little girl?
DREW DESERTO, ASST. CHIEF DEP. U.S. MARSHAL, NORTHERN OHIO VIOLENT FUGITIVE TASK FORCE: Unfortunately not. Unfortunately -- we have received a lot of tips and we`re encouraging more and more, but we don`t have any more current information than that sighting on June 2nd.
We are offering $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Mr. Potter and we`re accepting tips on our toll-free hotline, 866-4- WANTED. We`re really asking the public to reach out. At this point, as I stated, they could be anywhere. And we know someone has seen them, someone has spotted the truck.
The truck stands out. If you see it on the video, you`re going to see it and you`re going to remember it. We`re asking someone to spot that and give us a call.
CASAREZ: Can you describe that truck again? I know we see it, but can you describe what makes it unique?
DESERTO: Absolutely. It`s a 1988 Chevy pickup truck. It`s black -- it`s a two-tone black over like a green or teal. And one of the things that stands out the most about it is it has like a lightning storm design on the back window. And I stated the plate before as ENS 9729. That`s an Ohio plate.
Another thing that stands out about it is that it has orange lights that run across the top of the windshield visor. So it is pretty distinctive. If you see it, you`re going to remember this truck. Someone out there has seen it. We`re asking them to call.
CASAREZ: If Robbi Potter, who is the tier 3 sexual offender, if he is watching tonight, because I`ve covered many of these cases and many times they watch the coverage, what do you have to say to him?
DESERTO: You know, the best thing he can do right now is to call us and turn himself in. Obviously, a lot of people are coming to a lot of different conclusions on his situation regarding his past, regarding what`s going on with this case.
If he calls us and turns himself in, that`s the best possible scenario that he could expect. He can shed some light on -- and give his story as to what he has been doing these last couple of weeks. But we encourage him to call. And please, call our hotline.
CASAREZ: All right. To Paul Henderson, I want to talk the law a little bit because I`ve been looking up Ohio law. Paul Henderson, San Francisco deputy district attorney.
PAUL HENDERSON, SAN FRANCISCO DEP. DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Right.
CASAREZ: When I look at the statute for kidnapping in the state of Ohio, and every state has different wording for kidnapping. It`s basically the same thing. But it talks about that no person by force, threat, or deception shall remove another from the place where they are found to facilitate the commission of any felony or flight. This could be a very serious case for a prosecution, couldn`t it?
HENDERSON: It`s already a serious case. But it`s exacerbated because they`ve crossed state lines. So that makes it a federal issue. And then at the core of that, we still have to examine, you know, what`s going on with the little girl in terms of the mother because there are child endangerment laws.
CASAREZ: Yes, there are.
HENDERSON: And really, every parent -- yes, every parent has a legal duty to take every reasonable step to ensure that their child is safe from physical abuse or harm. So that`s always a consideration going on in the back of our minds about what`s going on with children at this young age, because they don`t have a voice.
They cannot say for themselves what they need in order to be safe. And we have an expectation and in fact a legal standard to ensure that parents meet the law themselves, to make sure that they don`t get prosecuted. So that`s a real concern here in this case.
CASAREZ: And that is why this is an international manhunt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES DONATHAN, MISSING GIRL HAYLEE`S UNCLE: Honestly, I don`t know. You know? Usually, people have been making their rounds on a regular basis, they would have found him. Instead, they didn`t find him until about 6:00 a.m., somewhere in there, when they started waking up people for breakfast. That`s when they found out there was a dummy in his bed and he was gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY ANTHONY, MOTHER OF CAYLEE ANTHONY: I truly, truly love that little girl. I miss her so much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Caylee Marie Anthony`s last moments may always be a mystery. Investigators believe her mother, Casey, is the only one who knows what horror she might have suffered. They believe Casey is the one who researched neck breaking and chloroform on her own computer.
Orange County medical examiner Dr. Jan Garavaglia says there is no sign of trauma to Caylee`s bones. And as far as possible chloroform poisoning, the bones are clean of tissue, that even the hair that was found probably won`t help answer that question.
DR. JAN GARAVAGLIA, ORANGE COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINER: It will be difficult to interpret levels from this specimen, and that will not be definitive in helping determine the cause of death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But Dr. G. says the totality of evidence tells her Caylee was missing. Evidence that her mother did not report her missing for a month. Evidence that Caylee`s mother partied during that month made incriminating statement.
SGT. JOHN ALLEN, ORANGE COUNTY INVESTIGATOR: You were here because -- we`ve got (INAUDIBLE) to do what?
We`re here because? We got here how? To do what?
ANTHONY: Because I lied. Because I brought you up here. And honestly, I was reaching for.
ALLEN: No, stop right there. I want you to tell me how lying to us is going to help us find your daughter.
ANTHONY: It`s not going to.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And evidence that Caylee`s body was wrapped in a trash bag and dumped into the woods less than a half mile from Caylee`s home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The manner of death in this case is homicide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network "In Session" filling in for Nancy Grace. Today is June 16th. You may remember that date. It was one year ago that George Anthony said he saw his granddaughter for the very last time. And now the autopsy report should be being released. Over 1,000 documents came out. There was a gap in those documents of about 35 pages. It was void.
Is that where the autopsy report was supposed to be?
Let`s go to straight out to Drew Petrimoulx, reporter, WBDO Radio. Drew, what is the latest on this autopsy report that is a public record in the state of Florida?
DREW PETRIMOULX, REPORTER, WDBO RADIO: Well, it will be up to a judge on whether that is released or not. Attorney for the Anthonys filed a motion on their behalf to stop the release of that autopsy because the family believes that will cause undue pain.
Prosecutors actually filed the motion where they said that they want the judge to decide that out of court, not a hearing, but a judge will have the final say on whether that`s released.
We do have very liberal laws as far as the release of discovery here. So a lot of things are released that wouldn`t be in other states. The media will also have a chance to weigh in on this, saying why they believe this should be released.
CASAREZ: All right. Well, we`ve got the motion right here. It is filed by Brad Conway. He`s the attorney for George and Cindy Anthony. It is a motion to restrict disclosure. They are asking the court to seal the autopsy report so it is not a public record until that trial begins. The defense in this case, Jose Baez, they are not taking a position on this.
Let`s go out to Ellie Jostad, producer for NANCY GRACE. Ellie, I have read this two-page motion. What is the legal basis that they rely on in this motion?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, they refer very briefly to a Florida statute which prevents the release of an autopsy report if it would cause physical harm, intimidation, bribery, something like that, which doesn`t necessarily seem to apply here.
But what they do point out is that they say that the release of this information in the autopsy report would cause great anguish for the Anthony family and would cause even more speculation about the cause of Caylee`s death and the condition of her remains.
CASAREZ: All right. Well, let`s go out to Ray Giudice, defense attorney. You know, Ray, there is going to be a hearing on this matter, because the judge determined there`s a temporary stay. So it is not public, but the judge determined that the media has a right and should have standing in court to argue their point that it should be released.
How do you think it will come down in the end? Do you think this will be sealed?
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: As Drew pointed out, Florida has an amazingly liberal law regarding the disclosure of information in a serious criminal case. It surprises me. I think the judge is going to release it. I don`t think the Anthonys, quite frankly, have much standing in this criminal case. They`re not charged. Baez hasn`t filed this motion. So I do think it`s going to be released.
CASAREZ: That`s what I was wondering. Mickey Sherman, defense attorney, author of "How Can You Defend These People," what are your thoughts on the fact that the grandparents through their attorney are filing this motion. They say that they were given custody of the remains by their daughter, but do they have standing to file this motion?
MICKEY SHERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY, AUTHOR OF "HOW CAN YOU DEFEND THOSE PEOPLE?": Probably not. I mean, I wish they did and my heart goes out to them, because they`re really victims as well. But, unfortunately, anguish is not proper grounds for keeping this out.
The only proper ground is will it ensure or will it deter her from getting a fair trial. And that`s all the judge should be deciding. But as was pointed out by a reporter down there, they have this policy in Florida where anything that comes remotely near the courthouse or in a police report winds up getting in the public. So it`s probably going to come out. It shouldn`t, because I think it will affect the jury pool.
CASAREZ: And George and Cindy Anthony respectfully disagree. They, along with their attorneys, were on the morning shows this morning. Let`s listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S MOTHER: It`s been a year. Yesterday was a tough day, today`s a tough day. Every day`s been a tough day this past year. And I just miss her. I just miss her so much.
GEORGE ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S FATHER: The last time I saw her was June 16th, was one year ago today. You know, woke up with her in the morning at 7:30 and got a chance to have breakfast with her. And just before 1:00 that day, I didn`t ever realize that that would be the last time to see her, to kiss her, hold her, to hear her call me Jojo and put her in the car and wave good-bye to her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And that is an emotional George and Cindy appearing on CBS` "The Early Show" on the one year anniversary of Caylee`s disappearance.
I want to go out to Marc Klaas, the father of Polly Klaas. You know, Marc, I want to tell you on a personal note, a couple of years ago I was in the makeup room here in New York City at CNN. And you were there. We were both going to be on NANCY GRACE`s show and you gave me a button of your daughter, Polly.
And I had it in my purse for two years, I carried it now. It`s now at home in a very safe place. But it`s always been close to me. And what would it be like or what is it like for parents on a year anniversary?
KLAAS: Well, that`s lovely. Thank you for sharing that with me, Jean.
The anniversaries, all of the anniversaries, whether it`s a holiday, a birthday, a one-year, two-year anniversary, whatever it is, they`re very, very definitely. You know, my daughter, Polly, was kidnapped on the first of October and her birthday is on the 3rd of January.
And it took many, many years before I could face that holiday season with my eyes open. It took a lot of counseling. It took a lot of love for my family. And now I`m able to do it, but it`s excruciating, because all of these dates bring back memories, bring back precious memories that can never be relived.
CASAREZ: I am sure. Let`s go to Brandi in South Carolina. Thank you for holding, Brandi. Good evening.
BRANDI, CALLER FROM SOUTH CAROLINA: Hi. Thanks for taking my question.
CASAREZ: You`re welcome.
BRANDI: First I have a comment. I`ve been watching this story since the day it broke on NANCY GRACE, and it`s just seemed like a media circus, even from Cindy`s tapes, when you know, Caylee first came up missing, the mom, for 30 days. They`ve involved the media. I mean they`ve involved the public. Why now do they think that they have a right to privacy?
CASAREZ: That is a very good question. And let`s go out to Leonard Padilla because you were in the family home. You had spoken with the family. You have known them. What are your thoughts to that question?
LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER, WILL BE DEPOSED IN TOT MOM CIVIL SUIT: Well, there`s a lot of things that keep coming up in the media. This morning, George, in some of the programs, stated that he`d seen his granddaughter on the 16th, that he had breakfast, that he helped put her in the car and all that, and none of that is true.
And this is one of the things that concerns them because they don`t want the public to know that the last time they actually saw her was the night of the 15th when Cindy gotten a big growl (ph) with her.
Now we had a lot of discussions about these things when we were there in August. And George knows that we know the truth. Cindy knows that we know the truth. They are concerned about our statements that we made to law enforcement being released also because they`re contradictory to what they themselves have stated.
So any of these things that come up, they are opposed to being in the public eye because they are usually contradictory to what Cindy and George want the public to think.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: Let`s go straight out to Lou Palumbo, former Nassau County police investigator. Excuse me. Mr. Palumbo, I want to ask you because we can`t end the show without talking about this.
Brad Conway this morning on ABC`s "Good Morning America", had an interview, answered some questions, and said that he believed there was no theory that rules our Casey Anthony as being under suspicion. He even uses the word possibly a conspiracy.
As a private investigator, what are your thoughts when you hear these words?
LOU PALUMBO, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, FMR. NASSAU CO. POLICE INVESTIGATOR: Well, I`m curious as to who he is exactly alluding to. In other words -- you know, I have one quick question for the parents. Did they, in the 30-day period that this child was not around, ever inquire with their daughter as to where this child was?
And what this gentleman may have been alluding to is that the parents had some type of knowledge that something was awry with their daughter. And clearly this girl has a severe emotional disorder. And I think the parents were aware of it.
CASAREZ: When he says --when Mr. Conway says I think there is reason to believe that people were involved, the question is what was their involvement? Was it minimal or was it actually bordering on conspiracy. Is that something that helps Casey Anthony or hurts her?
PALUMBO: Well, I would say it doesn`t help her. The issue is what is the tactic that he`s employing. In other words you could consider this an attempt to deflect attention from her or just simply implicate other people in the act which is what it sounds like to me. In other words, he`s trying to figure out or suggest, were other people cognizant of her activity with this child? And could it have been her parents or other individuals like I.
CASAREZ: Can.
PALUMBO: Go ahead. I`m sorry.
CASAREZ: No, you`re exactly right.
To Natisha Lance, NANCY GRACE producer, I want to ask you, Brad Conway also commented on Casey taking the stand? Yes?
NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, he did comment on that saying that based on Jose Baez`s assertions he would not be surprised if Casey Anthony did take the stand in her own defense.
CASAREZ: Thank you, Natisha.
Tonight, let us stop to remember Army Specialist Preston Marckese, 21 years old, Bell, Delaware, Delaware Army National Guard. He was killed in a motorcycle accident serving in Iraq in 2007 and 2008 as a military police officer.
He loved gun collecting. His motorcycle truck -- hot rod. Studying criminal justice at Delaware Technical Community College. He hoped to become a police officer. He leaves behind his parents, Debbie and Tyrone, his brother, his girlfriend.
Preston Marckese, American hero.
Thank you so much to all of our guests. Our biggest thank you is to you for inviting us into your home. See you tomorrow night. Good night, everybody.
END