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Nancy Grace
Missing Florida 5-Year-Old Spotted in Massachusetts Wal-Mart
Aired September 08, 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. To Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old little girl tucked into bed. Five hours later, she`s gone, vanished, the back door propped wide open. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh.
Bombshell tonight. To Abington, Massachusetts. In the last 72 hours, a credible sighting of 5-year-old Haleigh at a local Wal-Mart in a shopping cart with an adult pushing the cart. Florida police head north to Massachusetts for hours of questioning the brother, the brother of baby- sitter-turned-stepmom Misty Croslin, this the same brother who lives in the area of this sighting, also the brother in town when Haleigh goes missing. Phone records confirm multiple calls between Croslin and the brother when Haleigh disappears.
And major blow-out between Haleigh`s dad, Ronald Cummings, and Misty Croslin just before Haleigh disappears. It`s backed up by phone records. But is it motive for murder? And tonight: After new stepmom Misty Croslin fails the poly, family and friends push her to undergo hypnosis about the night Haleigh goes missing. Croslin refuses.
We also learn her bed not slept in the night Haleigh vanishes. Was she ever even in the home? Croslin changing her story, now saying up to four people in the home that night, but calls it a dream-like memory. Croslin caught on tape trying to explain the failed poly. We have the video.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: Hello?
911 OPERATOR: OK, sir, let me talk to your wife so I can get some information from here.
CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: OK...
CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: Can I talk to her?
CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: OK.
CUMMINGS: How the (DELETED) could you let my daughter get stole (DELETED)
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news in the case of missing 5-year-old Florida girl Haleigh Cummings, who disappeared from her own home in the middle of the night. Has there been a sighting of little Haleigh at a Wal- Mart in Massachusetts?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some anonymous tips were given by phone to some media outlets in the Cape Cod and Boston area Saturday. Some of those calls indicated there was a possible sighting of a girl matching the description of Haleigh at a Wal-Mart store in Abington, Massachusetts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Haleigh`s grandmother, Teresa Neves, also said that she was told she was seen with an adult. She was seen in a shopping cart, shopping with an adult. She didn`t say if it was a male or a female.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meanwhile, Florida authorities have confirmed they are in Massachusetts conducting interviews in the case. Among those interviews is reportedly Misty Croslin`s brother, Timothy Croslin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Timothy and his wife moved up there a couple months ago for economic reasons. And maybe there was something that has come out in some other line of questioning that has led them to make contact with him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities have continued to speak to Misty. She is the last person who has seen her. They just know that there are some missing pieces from that puzzle the night that Haleigh went missing, and they think that Misty`s the only person who can fill them in.
MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER/STEPMOTHER: They haven`t left me alone for six months. I`ve been the one, the main focus. They just need to move on and look for the right person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And breaking news in the search for 2-year-old Florida girl. Six months of searching culminates when skeletal remains found in a heavily wooded area 15 houses from the Anthony home confirmed to be Caylee. 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.
Just in, what tot mom says behind closed doors when she bonds out of jail so damning, the defense fights tooth and nail to keep it out of court. They failed. Tonight, we have the audio, tot mom`s face-off with grandfather George when he angrily presses her for the truth in the middle of the night, tot mom obsessed about her celebrity, what to wear, selling autographs, appearing on the Howard Stern show, and of course, money.
In another twist, tot mom openly volunteering info about chloroform, the powerful knockout drug used, we believe, in the murder of little Caylee. And this is before it`s found in tot mom`s trunk along with traces of human decomposition. And tonight, torpedo to the defense. Duct tape wrapped around Caylee`s head matching duct tape inside the Anthony home so rare, it accounts for less than 1 percent of duct tape sales in North America. And of all the people the FBI asked to take polys, the only three to refuse, George, Cindy, and Lee Anthony.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
TRACY MCLAUGHLIN, CASEY`S BODYGUARD: The first morning I was there, I woke up to George -- I couldn`t really hear Casey, but I woke up to, Quit your (DELETED) lying! I mean, screaming. They could have heard it across the street, Don`t (DELETED) lie to me! I`m not putting up with your (DELETED)! Don`t do that -- you know, he`s screaming at her. She`s going, No, no, you have to believe me. Don`t treat me like a scumbag cop!
This is before Leonard talked to her. You act like my father. Act like you`re my father instead of a cop. I`m not listening to your (DELETED). Quit (DELETED) lying! I mean, just boom, all over the house like that.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY`S MOTHER: I realize Casey lied, but bottom line is it still doesn`t change my beliefs that Caylee is not dead, that Caylee is alive and is out there.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: George had gotten upset, come in the room and said, I want to know what happened to my granddaughter. The response from Casey was, Quit acting like a (DELETED) cop and act like a father for once in your life.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY: She did tell some lies. But again, he also -- a couple times, he actually cut her off when she did want to tell him things.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: George walks to his friend Jim`s -- because the door`s right next to mine. He said, I can`t do this. I`m not going to live this lie. I`m not going to do it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
CINDY ANTHONY: The way the system worked against Casey, I said, Now, George and I -- I said, I`m stopping. I said, I`m going to cooperate all I can, but I don`t have to take that polygraph.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
PADILLA: Never once did I see her eyes turn red, shed a tear at any time. I saw more tears shed amongst my people that were there than her family and her all put together.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: And a beautiful young nurse, the mother of a little girl, vanishes, Philadelphia suburbs. Where is 29-year-old Toni Sharpless?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She spends her days helping others and caring for the sick as a nurse at Lancaster General Hospital, and now she`s missing, 29-year-old Toni Sharpless, last seen during a night out with friends, driving a black 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix. Her last known contacts, text messages with her 12-year-old, who was having trouble sleeping that night, and an argument in the car with one of her girlfriends. But since then, there`s been no sign of her car, no cell phone activity, no bank activity, and no sign of 29-year-old Toni Sharpless.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. In the last 72 hours, 20 miles north of Boston, a credible sighting of 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has Haleigh Cummings been spotted at a Wal-Mart? According to reports, Haleigh was sighted on Saturday at a Wal-Mart just south of Boston. Whether surveillance video captured the alleged sighting remains unclear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Haleigh, as you may remember, is described as about three feet tall now, with blond hair, brown eyes, and a peanut-shaped birthmark on her left cheek.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The investigation now shifts to Massachusetts as Putnam County authorities confirm they have traveled north to conduct interviews, one of those interviews reportedly Misty Croslin`s brother, Timothy Croslin.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sergeant there on duty that day said, yes, in fact the Florida (SIC) County sheriff`s department is here interviewing a local family, and that`s really all I can say. And he referred all other questions to the district attorney`s office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to Misty Croslin, authorities met with her brother over the weekend and reportedly asked for his phone records.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities went up there. They say that they were questioning him with regard to phone records that they were investigating and that this sighting actually just came as a coincidence around the same time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to T.J. Hart with WSKY 97.3 FM. Tell me what was observed in the alleged sighting. Now, you know, you`ve got to take this sighting with a box of salt. But so far, it has not been disproved. What was seen?
T.J. HART, WSKY 97.3 FM: What was allegedly seen here is that the young girl was in a shopping cart being pushed by an adult. It`s not been determined yet, from what we`ve been able to find out, whether that adult was male or female.
GRACE: Now, do we know what time of the day or night? Was there surveillance video, T.J.? Come on, don`t make me pull teeth!
HART: Well, I`ve been pulling teeth all afternoon trying to get the information. I`ve not been able to get any kind of tapes or records from Wal-Mart locally, in the Abington Wal-Mart, with our phone calls and persistence, and also up at the corporate level, as well. They asked for our deadline. They did not meet our deadline in getting the information back to us right before we went on the air. So we have no pictures at this point in time, but it`s being pursued.
GRACE: To Art Harris, investigative journalist who`s been on the story from the get-go. Art, come on. The FBI, they go to Target and Wal- Mart to try to get their surveillance techniques, all right? I mean, have you seen the surveillance at Target and Wal-Mart? I mean, it rivals NASA. It`s incredible. And every square inch of the place is covered. So Art, don`t try to shoplift at Wal-Mart or Target.
Bottom line, tell me, do you believe there`s going to be surveillance video of this?
ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: You know, they are combing it, Nancy. And it should be there, and it just takes a while to go over it frame by frame. You don`t know what angle it`s shot at. You know, a lot of little girls look the same from the back, the side. And so this is something that they obviously don`t want to talk about until they have something solid.
GRACE: Oh, Art, you know, granted, you don`t have little girls, but you have little boys who are now big boys, and I don`t think they necessarily look the same from the side or the back. I believe I would recognize Lucy`s little head of curls from the side or the back, and I would not mistake it for anybody else.
HARRIS: If they had it, they would have shown it to the family by now. I know I talked to Misty`s lawyer today, Robert Fields. She is very excited that this could be something happy to report.
GRACE: OK, I want to go to Marlaina Schiavo, who`s been on the story, our producer, from the beginning. Marlaina, right around the time of this sighting, we learned police in Florida hot-foot it to Massachusetts and began hours of questioning of the girlfriend-turned-new-stepmom, Misty Croslin`s, brother. This is the same brother that was there in Satsuma when Haleigh went missing. This is the same brother that we`ve confirmed a lot of phone calls between Croslin and her brother around the time Haleigh goes missing. And also, he lives in the area of this alleged sighting. What do we know about this brother?
MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: What we know, Nancy, is that there are a series of phone calls between Misty and her brother Timmy, the same brother that lives in Massachusetts. This is what led police to question him for half a day over the weekend on Saturday regarding things that were said to him by Misty the night Haleigh went missing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CROSLIN: If they go out and look for the right person, maybe they would have the answers, but they`re trying to get all the answers from me that I don`t have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROSLIN: Three o`clock in the morning, I got up. And I got up because I had to use the bathroom. I seen the kitchen light on, and I walked in the kitchen and the back door`s wide open. And then I go in her room and she`s gone!
CUMMINGS: It had nothing to do with her, man. She can`t help that. She can`t help she was the last one to see her.
CROSLIN: She didn`t make no noise that night. I would have woke up if I heard any noise. I mean, I didn`t hear anything at all. I mean, I was really exhausted that day, you know? I just wish they would have took me instead of her! What do they want with a little 5-year-old?
CUMMINGS: Could have been any one of -- any one of us and our children, any one. You know, nobody knows whether it`s a psycho or sicko. Nobody knows.
CROSLIN: She is scared of the dark. She would not go anywhere by herself.
I did take a polygraph. I mean, my understanding is that I passed it.
CUMMINGS: I want to let everyone know that I`m not hiding anything for anybody, and if somebody had something to do with it, so be it. Whoever it might be, that`s who it -- that`s who it is. Let`s bring Haleigh home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: So back to Marlaina Schiavo on the story. Marlaina, this brother who was living in Satsuma at the time Haleigh goes missing, he leaves after she goes missing. He`s relocated near where this alleged sighting took place, this sighting in the last 72 hours. And Florida police travel to Massachusetts and question him, and I understand his wife, for hours?
SCHIAVO: They do. As a matter of fact -- so tracking back, he wasn`t (ph) in Satsuma at the time when Haleigh went missing. He was actually living on the same street, staying with Misty`s other brother at the time, during this whole entire time of the investigation. Then his wife has a baby and then they moved straight to Massachusetts near her family.
GRACE: OK. Pause.
SCHIAVO: Yes.
GRACE: This is the brother living in Satsuma when Haleigh goes missing?
SCHIAVO: Correct. Both brothers were living in Satsuma at the time.
GRACE: OK. Got it. Do we know about the phone calls made between Misty Croslin and the brother when Haleigh goes missing?
SCHIAVO: We know that phone records show that she called her brother, but the police won`t say what those conversations were about.
GRACE: OK. Marlaina, did she call the brother before the 911 call?
SCHIAVO: Yes, she did.
GRACE: OK. Let`s unleash the lawyers, Gloria Allred, victims` rights advocate out of LA, Raymond Giudice, defense attorney Atlanta, Alex Sanchez, defense attorney New York.
Gloria, she calls him before she calls 911?
GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIMS` RIGHTS ADVOCATE: Yes. And what`s the reason, Nancy? That`s what we want to know. Because one would think one would call 911 first. Now, she`s probably going to say she`s 17 years old and just was scared and confused. But I think anyone, even 17 years old, would know to call 911.
GRACE: Raymond Giudice, I assume you don`t, but I see a problem with calling your family before you call 911.
RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I`d go with what Gloria just said. A 17-year-old young girl, scared, she calls her brother. He`s right down the street. She may even know that he`s going to respond in an emergency faster than 911 will. I don`t see that`s any inconsistency. I don`t see a problem with it.
GRACE: I want to see Giudice`s face when he says things like that.
GIUDICE: I`ll say it again, and let me just say something. The police...
GRACE: No, please don`t repeat yourself.
GIUDICE: The police have sat on this for eight months. They`ve talked to this brother before. This just didn`t come up today about the phone calls. It`s no bombshell.
GRACE: No. I didn`t say the phone calls were a bombshell, Raymond. Focus!
GIUDICE: OK.
GRACE: Keep it in the middle of the road. The bombshell is that there`s an alleged sighting in the vicinity of the brother!
GIUDICE: Yes, and...
GRACE: Alex Sanchez, weigh in.
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, the police are saying there`s a credible sighting. I`d like to know what they mean by the term "credible sighting." Either there`s photographs or there`s not photographs. It should be easy to resolve. Get those pictures, bring the person that supposedly witnessed this, show them the pictures and expose exactly what happened and expose the person if anyone who`s connected with this offense.
GRACE: Alex, you`re absolutely correct. And I want to add something onto this. To Gloria Allred. She never did call 911. 911 was only called when Ronald Cummings comes home from the night shift, walks in and finds out Haleigh`s gone. That is when 911 gets called. That`s a little correction to the facts, Gloria.
ALLRED: Well, and that`s a very important correction, Nancy, because if she didn`t call 911 at all, one has to wonder why? Did she feel guilty about something? Did she feel that perhaps it was her responsibility and she messed up, or was there something even more malicious involved?
GRACE: Out to the lines. Sharon in Alabama. Hi, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, hi, Nancy.
GRACE: What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to know, if Timothy does have Haleigh, what charges would he face by taking her from Florida all the way to Massachusetts?
GRACE: What about it, Sanchez?
SANCHEZ: How about kidnapping charges? I mean, if he took that child without permission and he`s holding onto that child, he`s facing class A felony charges of kidnapping, and there`s very serious consequences for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You either fail it or you pass it. Well, according to these reports, she`s flunked it.
CUMMINGS: Well, until I see more physical proof of what`s going on, Miss Nancy, there`s -- my concerns are still on keeping Haleigh`s face on the TV and being sure that she is found.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ve thought all along that she had something to do with it.
CROSLIN: When I showed up there, they told me I was taking a polygraph. I was, like, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you at any point say, I don`t want to do this?
CROSLIN: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
CROSLIN: Because I thought I was helping.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to special guest joining us tonight, Terry Shoemaker. He is the attorney for Haleigh`s biological father, Ronald Cummings, who has been on the show many times, taking your calls live. Terry, thank you for being with us. I understand that when Ronald Cummings heard about the alleged sighting of his little girl, he was up all night, he was so beside himself in the hope that maybe it could be her.
TERRY SHOEMAKER, ATTORNEY FOR HALEIGH`S FATHER, RONALD: Yes, Nancy. I spoke with Ronald this morning in my office, and he said he`s going on about 35 minutes of sleep since he first heard of this. He`s very excited.
GRACE: Do you believe that law enforcement has officially cleared your client, Ronald Cummings, of anything to do with her disappearance?
SHOEMAKER: Well, it`s kind of a tough situation to say they`ve officially cleared him 100 percent. When we met with law enforcement last week, they basically said they moved him from, you know, top of the list to the bottom of the list.
GRACE: Got it.
SHOEMAKER: Unless they were with him all night long, they can`t officially rule him out.
GRACE: Yes. And I guess that the reality is they`re not ruling anybody out totally until the case is solved. But Terry, now that I`ve got you, I want to nail down the timeline. Wasn`t he reported into work the full evening...
SHOEMAKER: Yes.
GRACE: ... the evening she went missing? And he punches in around 5:00 PM and he got there early, correct?
SHOEMAKER: Yes. He got in about 30 minutes early that night.
GRACE: OK. I want to go back to this alleged sighting. What more have you learned? What more has Ronald learned about it?
SHOEMAKER: Well, law enforcement`s being pretty quiet about what actually took place. We have made some phone calls to some people we know in law enforcement, and what they said is they can`t confirm anything at this time, but there was obviously a report that Haleigh was spotted up there in Massachusetts and they`re checking it out. But they wouldn`t go so far as to confirm anything.
GRACE: To Julie in North Carolina. Hi, Julie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m just wondering why Ron Cummings told Crystal Cummings that he had no problem with Misty`s story, but then he turned around and told police or a reporter when he was asked...
GRACE: What about it, Art? What about that?
HARRIS: Well, when I was with Ronald months ago, you know, he, you know, did not have doubts about Misty, but he said, you know, he loved her, despite this, he wanted to keep his friends close and his enemies closer. So...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRACY MCLAUGHLIN, CASEY ANTHONY`S FORMER BODYGUARD: She comes in. I`m a little bit nervous to meet her because I`m thinking that poor -- you know, she`s got to be upset. Something`s got to be -- she comes in happy as can be, hey, hi, and gives me a big hug. And -- just oh, I want to take a shower. And not a word about Caylee. OK? Nothing.
I want to take a shower and oh, those (INAUDIBLE) were so nice and I got to do this and -- you know, they were sneaking me food in the jail and they`re doing all these other things. Just -- and they love me, they love me. I was like, I`m thinking, wow, she`s not even upset. Not a word about her daughter.
Not -- and George didn`t say anything, and Cindy didn`t say anything. And it`s all just -- you know, it`s just like -- it was just unbelievable because there`s nothing -- you know, it`s just like Casey`s home and here we go. So she went and took a shower and came out and started talking about what she wanted to eat for dinner and her mom is -- just -- it was like she`d gone to Iraq or something and just got back. So there`s still nothing about Caylee.
The first morning I was there I woke up to George -- I couldn`t really hear Casey, but I woke up to, "Don`t -- quit your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) lying." Screaming. They could have heard it out across the street. "Don`t (EXPLETIVE DELETED) lie to me. I`m not putting up with your (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Don`t do that. Just," you know, he`s screaming at her.
She`s going, "No, no, you have to believe me, you can`t -- don`t treat me like a scumbag cop." This is before Leonard talked to her. "You act like my father. Act like you`re my father instead of a cop. I`m not listening to you (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Quit (EXPLETIVE DELETED) lying." Just boom, all over the house like that.
LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER, INTERVIEWED BY FBI IN TOT MOM CASE: George had gotten upset, come into the room and said, "I want to know what happened to my granddaughter." Something in a violent fashion. And Cindy had attempted to get him out of the room and couldn`t and therefore she called for Jim, his cop buddy, to come help.
And at the same time the response from Tracy -- from Casey was, "Quit acting like a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) cop and act like a father for once in your life."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Straight out to Ellie Jostad, our producer on the story. Ellie, what can you tell me?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, Nancy, these tapes that we`ve been listening to, the defense didn`t want us to hear these. They didn`t want these tapes released. They tried to argue that Leonard Padilla and Tracy McLaughlin, who were there at the Anthony house right after Casey got released from jail the first time, they didn`t want -- they tried to argue that they were part of the defense team.
So anything that they witnessed, any conversations that they heard would be privileged. But the judge disagreed. That`s why these tapes were released.
GRACE: So it`s my understanding that as hard as the defense fought it all of this is coming into evidence. Is that correct, Ellie?
JOSTAD: Yes, that`s correct, Nancy.
GRACE: To Natisha Lance, our producer also on the story. Natisha, she is talking about they love me, they love me, they`re sneaking food in to me behind bars, in the jail. She gets out, and for the first day or two there`s no mention of Caylee.
NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: That`s right, Nancy. And it`s not just the first day or two. If you listen to Tracy`s full interview she says that Casey did not does not talk about Caylee at all. She even talks about how she would hammer into her trying to get her to talk about Caylee and she said it became more like a competition.
She would try to bring up Caylee and Casey would say oh, but look at what I did. Look at these things that I did on my birthday, and it was always about Casey rather than Caylee.
GRACE: Now, where does it fit in, to you, Ellie Jostad, where she`s more concerned about her celebrity, signing autographs, appearing on the "Howard Stern Show"? No offense, but this is while her daughter`s allegedly missing?
JOSTAD: Right.
GRACE: And she`s thinking about being on air with Howard Stern?
JOSTAD: Yes. That`s why right. Apparently, she thought that she might be able to raise some money for her defense by signing autographed pictures and selling them.
GRACE: But I`m still waiting to hear how Howard Stern fits into this scenario.
JOSTAD: She thought that perhaps she`d be a good guest on the "Howard Stern Show." But she was worried that Howard might ask her questions about, I think, it was like her bra size and whether or not she and Jose Baez were having some sort of affair.
GRACE: To Dr. Leslie Austin. Her daughter`s missing. And before I had the twins I thought I understood where crime victims are coming from as a crime victim. But I hardly think that if your child is missing you`re concerned about Howard Stern asking you your cup size.
DR. LESLIE AUSTIN, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: I would hardly think so either. And it would lead me to not use the words "crime victim" for Casey here. She may be more of a crime perpetrator by her behavior.
GRACE: Take a listen to the damning testimony the defense has fought tooth and nail to keep suppressed. They failed. We have the audio.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PADILLA: She just sad there and looked at me, looked me straight in the eye and said, "You want to talk to me like a cop, you get out of my house." Pointed to the front door. I said OK.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: Now she accused of you being like a cop?
PADILLA: Talking to her like a cop. "You`re going to talk to me like a cop, you get out of my house.
MCLAUGHLIN: By the time I walked back in the bedroom she`s in there with the news on. I go oh, hold on just a second. I go yes, something came up. It`s whatever news and they said, yes, the samples came back decomposition. She looks at the TV and she goes, a lot of people had access to that car.
I bring up GHB. I don`t know if you guys have heard of it. I`ve used it before. I know a lot about it. They call it a date rape drug now. So I brought that up and asked her if she`d ever heard of it. And she said oh, yes, but I mean, if I would have said have you ever heard of LMSQP she would have said yes. And that`s just how she was.
She agreed with everything and I said well, it`s in a liquid form and you can take a cap and you take a little bit too much and you`re out. And she said, "Like Ruffies." And I said yes or ether and she said, "or chloroform." That was the extent of the conversation. We didn`t go into anything else. But that was before chloroform was brought up.
If I would really hammer for Caylee`s name, not about what happened and not -- I mean, a couple of little things she said that -- I would try to bring up -- we go in the bedroom, she`s showing me, I`m putting my suitcase in there, and there`s pictures of Caylee all over the place. And.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: And whose room is this?
MCLAUGHLIN: This is Casey`s room. This is where I stayed.
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: OK.
MCLAUGHLIN: So there`s pictures of Caylee all over. And I said oh, this is cute. Oh, yes, well, we did this. But on my birthday one time and she pulled out a photo album of when she was little. Yes, and she`d just go on and on and on about this thick, thick photo album, every picture. It was competition. She wanted the limelight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter, who has been interviewed by the FBI, and much of this is what he and the other bodyguard for tot mom learned in the days and the hours after she was bonded out from behind bars.
Leonard Padilla, you have hinted to a lot of this throughout the many times you`ve been on our show, but you`ve never come out and told us exactly what happened until now. Because police had interviewed you.
The FBI had interviewed you about all this. It`s actually more disturbing than you ever intimated.
PADILLA: Well, a lot of the conversations that Tracy`s talking about I never questioned -- I never discussed with her. Every now and then, myself and her, Rob, Tony, we`d talk about things, but we never really discussed it in depth as to what I said to the FBI, what I was privy to, what Rob said.
When I heard the conversations the other day when they were released is the first time I`d ever had a full knowledge of what Rob`s interviews were about and what Tracy`s interviews were about. So it`s just as disturbing to me to hear some of the things that Tracy is now saying as it is to the public.
GRACE: It really is. I want to go to Bill Sheaffer, defense attorney, WFTV legal analyst, who has been in court today.
Bill Sheaffer, what`s also disturbing is that just out of the blue when she`s having this conversation about drugs she just blurts out oh, yes, and chloroform. And that was before scientists had identified that in her car trunk with traces of human decomposition.
BILL SHEAFFER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, WFTV LEGAL ANALYST, IN COURT TODAY: I agree. That`s a very damning and telling statement that she made. I think in the order of significance the rarity of the duct tape that we find now was present on the gas can and present on Caylee`s body.
Her attempt to say that oh, the decomposition air in the trunk of the car, lots of people had access to the car, and then the hair, which is consistent with hers or Caylee`s, cavalierly saying that, well, at least -- well, I`m alive.
All of these are very damning.
GRACE: Yes. And I want to put that in context. With me, Bill Sheaffer out of Orlando, well-known attorney in that area.
Bill, apparently -- and correct me if I`m wrong because I`m just reading this information. It comes up that the hair in the trunk has to be either her or Caylee. And the person is dead. And we know this through DNA and through the death rings on the hair band. And she said, well, hey, I`m alive.
SHEAFFER: You know something, I`ve had very little doubt in my mind from the very beginning that the prosecutors are not going to -- are going to get a guilty verdict. I had doubt in my mind until now that they could get a jury to return a recommendation of a sentence of death.
I believe she is facing the real possibility that this jury is going to return a guilty verdict and recommend death.
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UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: What was she saying about herself?
MCLAUGHLIN: Oh, I think I should sign portrait or sign pictures and get some money for the defense or maybe we could take it on the radio and go to the "Howard Stern Show" but he`d want to know my bra size and if Jose was hitting it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCLAUGHLIN: George walks to his friend Jim`s because the door is right next to mine. He said, "I can`t do this. I`m not going to live this lie. I`m not going to do it."
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: Now who said that?
MCLAUGHLIN: George to Jim, to his friend. He`s standing in the doorway..
UNIDENTIFIED POLICE: He said I`m not going to live this lie?
MCLAUGHLIN: I`m not going to live this lie. And then at another time he said if she couldn`t trust her own family to raise her kid -- now, I don`t know, maybe that`s just his words. Maybe he`s believing -- I just seriously think that no one knows what happened and they want to take anything she says and believe it, but they`re -- what I think he was asking her, I don`t know for sure. Where`s the body? I think he was saying where`s her body?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And we also learn tonight after a slip in court by the defense what their defense strategy may be. They are planning to pin the murder on one of the volunteer searchers, apparently asking Texas EquuSearch for all 4,000 volunteers. The judge put the hammer down on that. And it was only giving them about 30 volunteers that were actually in the area where Caylee`s remains were found.
To Det. Lt. Stephen Rogers of the Nutley, New Jersey Police Department, former fed with the FBI.
Det. Lt. Rogers, won`t that hamper future volunteers from showing up, if they think the defense is going to try to blame a murder on them? They`re going to actually try to say the body was placed there by one of these volunteers after tot mom is in jail.
DET. LT. STEVE ROGERS, NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY, POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, Nancy, in this line of work I thought I`ve hear everything. But this is unbelievable. You`re absolutely right. Who`s going to want to come out and help in any case involving crimes like this? A tragedy upon tragedy.
GRACE: And to Dr. Marty Makary, physician and professor of public health at Johns Hopkins. How long would the body have had to have been in tot mom`s trunk for evidence of decomposition to show up, Doctor?
DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: Well, really, within a matter of even several hours decomposition will set in by cells sloughing off, setting out chemicals in the air. And the normal bacteria inside the body overgrowing.
Now it`s important to remember, chloroform is not something anyone would have. It used to be used as an anesthetic for surgery. It was used to make telfa, or teflon, and it was a refrigerant for refrigerators. So there`s no reason why anybody would have chloroform in their possession.
GRACE: And to Raymond Giudice. Ray, how will the defense be able to fight back on Sheaffer`s obvious point -- well, not so obvious until he brought it up -- about the duct tape? It accounts for less than 1 percent of duct tape sales in North America and it matches what was found in the Anthony home.
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I agree with Bill. It`s the physical evidence that will prove this case. But the flip side of the duct tape is that while it`s only less than half a percent there is still 140,000 rolls of this tape. That`s thousands of yards. That`s the best defense you`ve got.
GRACE: And not in just America, Gloria Allred.
GIUDICE: In North America.
GRACE: But entire North America. We`re not talking just about the U.S. We`re talking about all of North America. Gloria?
GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIM`S RIGHTS ATTORNEY, CHILD ADVOCATE: Yes. Exactly, Nancy. But on the other hand we`re not going to just look at the duct tape in isolation. There is so much more in this case than just the duct tape. There`s going to be a whole snowball, a bigger and bigger snowball.
GRACE: You`re right.
ALLRED: . all the time of evidence.
GRACE: And Alex, how would you fight Sheaffer`s point about the duct tape? It`s damning.
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know something. I think there`s an inaccuracy here. That tape that was found on her and the tape from the house, they did not match as if it came from the exact same roll. That simply said it was the same type of tape. So I think we need to be clear on that point.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa. We don`t know that yet, Alex. That hasn`t been confirmed or otherwise. So just hold your horses. Let`s not put the cart before the horse on that one. But if what you say is true, you`re right, it`s a valid point.
Before we go on about tot mom, I want to tell you about a missing nurse. Take a listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Friends and family holding out hope for any sign of nurse and young mother, 29-year-old Toni Sharpless. Especially her 12- year-old little girl, who is desperately waiting for her mom to come home.
Sharpless drops her daughter off at her parents`, then heads out for a night out with friends. At some point during the night her friend reports the two had a blowup in Sharpless`s car, so big the friend gets out and Sharpless speeds off into the night. But then she`s never heard from again.
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GRACE: Straight out to special guest joining us tonight, Peter Knebel. This is Toni Lee Sharpless`s father.
Sir, thank you for being with us. What are police telling you about her disappearance?
PETER KNEBEL, FATHER OF MISSING NURSE TONI LEE SHARPLESS: I`m not getting very much information at all. Basically, all the information I get is from the news media. And.
GRACE: That`s terrible. That`s awful. Mr. Knebel, did she have, for instance, a low jack on her car?
KNEBEL: No, she did not. No.
GRACE: What about her cell phone? Did she have that with her?
KNEBEL: Yes, she did. And the last transmission from her cell phone was at 2:57 a.m. on August 23rd. And it.
GRACE: And she was seen with her friend after, that though, right, Peter?
KNEBEL: Yes.
GRACE: OK. So the last phone transmission 2:57 a.m. What about ATMs or credit cards? Any use?
KNEBEL: No use, no.
GRACE: Everyone, the tip line, and we`re going to stay on this story, is 610-380-8201.
Alexis Weed, what can you tell me?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, the timeline of events goes like this. Now Toni was at her parents` home at about 9:30 in the evening. She left her 12-year-old daughter there with her grandparents. She then went out on the town. She and her friend went clubbing. They went to two clubs in the local Philadelphia area.
They then met some folks at the club. And these were people that they met for the first time as we understand it at the club. They went to a private house party nearby. That party was at the home of a Philadelphia 76ers` player.
GRACE: So long story short, they were out together, they left together, then later in the night, they separated. She has not been seen since.
We`ll be right back taking your calls.
The verdict is in. Tonight`s winner of the "Number One Fan" contest is Wyoming friend Linda. A district court clerk for 23 years, she put together a mock courtroom iReport where she is found guilty. Every morning, she and her deputy clerk Brenda rehash last night`s show. They even quote lines from the show to judges and lawyers.
Linda is so inspired by our nightly tribute to our American heroes, her dad, a Marine, who fought in the Korean War. Her number one joy, being a proud wife to husband Corky, and mom of sons Cory and Casey, grandmother of three.
Congratulations, Linda. Oh, how I`d love to meet you in the flesh. You win an autographed copy of "Eleventh Victim." And friend.
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GRACE: A missing nurse, the mother of a little 12-year-old girl, please help us. The tip line is 610-380-8201. The father is with us tonight. He says he`s learning all his information from the media. That is wrong.
To the father, Peter Knebel. Sir, I want to talk to you about her vehicle. What kind of car was she driving? That may be the easiest way to get tips.
Liz, let`s show what we know about the vehicle. Go ahead, sir.
KNEBEL: OK. It`s a black, 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix GT with Pennsylvania license plate DND, like David Nancy David-7772. Again, DND 7772.
GRACE: The tip line, 610-380-8201. This nurse is beloved. She is beautiful. She has the world in front of her. Her little girl is 12 years old. And she is waiting for mommy to come home. Won`t you help us?
Let`s stop and remember Army Specialist Christopher Talbert, 24, Galesburg, Illinois. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, an Army medic. Was a certified nurse aide at a local hospital back home. Dreamed of becoming a paramedic.
With a big heart, he loved family, children, country, restoring cars with friends. Leaves behind grieving parents, Terry and Amanda, brothers Larry and Jeff.
Christopher Talbert, American hero.
Thanks to our guest, but especially to you for being with us. And happy birthday to our show superstar director, there he is, in all his splendor and glory, Brett. Happy birthday. Hey, I can see you.
And to Christie Leonard, who founded her own kids` clothing line, Paper Lili, L-I-L-I, who designed these little t-shirts for the twins` upcoming 2-year birthday.
Thank you Christie Leonard, and to Paper Lili.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
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