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Nancy Grace
Misty`s Mother Arrested on Forgery Charges
Aired September 25, 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: Breaking news in the sudden disappearance of 5-year-old Florida girl Haleigh Cummings, Haleigh reportedly kidnapped from her own bed in the middle of the night. As we go to air tonight, police arrest Misty Croslin`s mother, Lisa Croslin taken into custody in Tennessee on a felony forgery charge, her bail set at $100,000. This as police release Croslin`s brother on a gun charge, the same brother who tells police Croslin not at home the night Haleigh goes missing. Are police pressuring Croslin`s family, trying to get the truth about Haleigh?
And in another major development, surveillance video and a mystery letter surfaces, a letter set to crack this case wide open. An unidentified blond woman dressed in blue scrubs and hiding behind dark glasses drops off a letter containing a tip connected to Haleigh`s disappearance. We have that surveillance video. It has just been released. In the last hours, police announce they have located the mystery woman on that videotape. Who is she? And what does she know about Haleigh`s disappearance?
This is all on the heels of another stunning letter claiming Haleigh ingested the painkiller oxycontin at a party and died, cops calling that letter, quote, "a farce." As new stepmother Misty Croslin flunks another polygraph, where is Haleigh?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: I want to let everyone know that I`m not hiding anything for anybody, and if somebody had something to do with it, let them fry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news in the case of missing Florida girl Haleigh Cummings. The mother of stepmom-slash baby-sitter Misty Croslin has been arrested. Lisa Croslin was taken into custody in Tennessee. She was wanted for allegedly stealing and forging checks.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: We save jail beds for child molesters, murderers, rapists, arsonists, drug lords. A forgery? Is this a police attempt to get the truth out of Misty Croslin`s mother?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pressure mounts as cops hope new details from Misty`s brother, Tommy Croslin, will lead to the truth about what happened to Haleigh.
MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER/STEPMOTHER: I didn`t do anything with -- to that little girl. I would never hurt her. I mean, they love me. They -- I mean, they look at me like their mom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meanwhile, police are investigating a mysterious tip that was left by a woman at a local newspaper around 3:00 PM Wednesday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It took just a few seconds for this blond woman in blue scrubs to drop off a letter with purported information about what happened to Haleigh Cummings, one paragraph long, typed, and has three letters at the bottom that resemble initials.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The woman has since come forward to help clarify the information, telling cops she was dropping the envelope off for someone else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If the information is accurate, it`s going to be pretty volatile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe Haleigh is alive. I have faith in God to take care of my baby girl and find her. And I don`t care who had something to do with it, those are the people who need to be put away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session, in for Nancy Grace tonight. As we go to air, police have arrested Misty Croslin`s mother.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. What`s your emergency?
CROSLIN: Hi. I just -- I just woke up and our back door was all open, and I can`t find our daughter.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More details emerge in the case of missing Florida girl Haleigh Cummings. Misty`s mom arrested. Lisa Croslin, the mother of stepmom-slash-baby-sitter Misty Croslin, has been detained in Tennessee for allegedly forging stolen checks. Police believe Lisa Croslin stole checks from a neighbor, then cashed one of those checks at a local bank.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This mother, remember, came out against Misty and said that she believed that her son was telling the truth and that Misty was not. Maybe they want to put her in jail so they can ask tough questions about why she came to such a conclusion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lisa Croslin told FOX affiliate WOFL...
LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: Deep down my heart, yes, I think my daughter`s holding something back. I think they both are holding something back. That`s just in my heart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Also today, police are looking into a tip left at a local newspaper Wednesday. Newly released surveillance video shows a woman in blue scrubs dropping off an envelope around 3:00 PM that day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The paper`s name and address was on the envelope, sealed. They`re looking at the letter and the envelope for fingerprints.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The woman has since voluntarily come forward to clarify the information, saying she was actually dropping off the envelope for someone else. Police are following up on the tip, but refuse to comment on the details inside the envelope.
CASAREZ: Ms. Neves, why are you so sure Haleigh is still with us?
TERESA NEVES, HALEIGH`S PATERNAL GRANDMOTHER: Because I stand on God`s promise that if you pray and believe, that he will give you what you pray for!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Let`s go straight out to Marlaina Schiavo, producer of NANCY GRACE, who has been on this case from the very beginning. Marlaina, what can you tell us about the arrest that just went down of Misty Croslin`s mother, Lisa?
MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Jean, Misty Croslin`s mother is being held in Tennessee. She was arrested for charges on forgery. She`s being held in Tennessee, Jean, on $100,000 bond. They want to keep her in Tennessee right now until Putnam County can bring her back to Florida.
CASAREZ: OK, what is she doing in Tennessee? Because she lives -- did live in Florida.
SCHIAVO: She left about two weeks ago. She and her husband just up and moved to Tennessee. This was right after her son, Tommy, was arrested for stealing that gun. Now, that same person that accused Tommy of stealing the gun is accusing Lisa Croslin of stealing 10 checks and writing one out to herself back on September 8th for $400 and cashing it.
CASAREZ: And plus, you have the felony forgery situation. Well, while she is being arrested in Tennessee, at the very same time, police are releasing a video down in Florida of a mystery woman that went to the St. Augustine newspaper -- there she is right there -- and handing them an envelope.
Let`s go straight out to T.J. Hart, program director WSKY 97.3 FM. What can you tell us about this? It just happened.
T.J. HART, WSKY 97.3 FM (via telephone): Well, this woman voluntarily walked into the Putnam County police station, made contact with them. They spoke with her. They`re not going to release her name, but they did say she has no, quote, "relationship," as she dropped this information off to the associate editor of "The St. Augustine Record" for a friend. That`s all she`s saying right now. They`ll probably want to talk to her again. And according to the associate editor, Richard Pryor (ph), the contents of the letter -- volatile. Volatile.
CASAREZ: All right, T.j. Hart, let`s start from the beginning. She drops a letter off anonymously. Thank goodness the St. Augustine newspaper had that surveillance video. It allowed police to talk to her, at least. It was an envelope. Do we know what the letter contained?
HART: It contained some information and three letters at the bottom of the page, I am told. But after that, not much more because they want to keep this under wraps. I do know that a search ensued out in the area earlier this week, about a day or two ago, probably -- I think it was yesterday now -- right out there where the trailer was where Ron, Misty, Haleigh and Junior lived in Hermit`s Cove, just outside of Satsuma.
CASAREZ: So police get this letter. They then have a search done near the trailer. Do we know if the trailer was typewritten or handwritten?
HART: Can`t tell you, ma`am. They`re not releasing the contents.
CASAREZ: We don`t know. Do we know if the envelope was addressed to someone on the outside?
HART: Yes, Richard Pryor, the associate editor for "The St. Augustine Record." It had his name and the paper`s name right there on the envelope, and the envelope was sealed.
CASAREZ: All right. Let`s go straight out to the lawyers tonight, Gloria Allred, family law attorney out of Los Angeles, Anne Bremner out of Seattle, defense attorney extraordinaire, Alan Ripka out of New York, defense attorney.
To Gloria Allred, you know, at first blush, you see that Misty`s mother was arrested in Tennessee, felony forgery charges. You say, Well, that`s separate and distinct from this. But is it really, Gloria Allred? Is this separate and distinct, or are they trying to find out information? Because the last thing the woman said before she left Florida was, I think my daughter knows more than what she`s saying.
GLORIA ALLRED, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Well, Jean, I think that the first thing is that, of course, police would always deny that they`re trying to pressure anyone in custody to give any other information about a crime for which they are not charged. But at the same time, of course, they`d be real happy if the person in custody would give them some other information or clarification about statements they made earlier. And in this case, the mom, who is under arrest now, has indicated some doubts about Misty`s story, and so perhaps they`d like to hear more about that.
CASAREZ: Questioning the veracity of her own daughter. To Anne Bremner, Misty`s mother is in Tennessee. Florida authorities are down in Satsuma. We`ve got to have a legal proceeding right now, right? It`s called extradition.
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s called extradition, and she may fight it, and that may take some more time. And the fact is, like Nancy has said -- and by the way, great to see you, Jean, but -- is that the jail cells are not filled with forgers. I mean, they`re with killers and murderers, et cetera. You don`t see extraditions on a forgery very often, unless they need to get her in there to talk to her as a witness.
CASAREZ: That`s right. And to just reiterate so everybody knows, what police are saying is that when, allegedly, Tommy Croslin, her son, went to the neighbor`s home and allegedly stole a gun -- that`s why he was brought up on grand theft charges -- that she allegedly stole some checks out of the neighbor`s home. And one of those checks she allegedly wrote for $400 and cashed it, and thus you have the forgery charge right there.
But the question remains, just as Anne Bremner said, you have a lot of people, violent criminals that are in this area and in this country. Alan Ripka, what do you think about an arrest in Tennessee on a forgery charge?
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think it`s going to really help them put a lot of pressure on her to talk further. But I also think the defense is going to love it because in the beginning, the prosecutors were hopeful that the mother`s testimony against her own daughter would be helpful. But now she`s arrested on forgery, which is a crime of credibility. And therefore, she loses credibility in her own statements about her own daughter.
CASAREZ: To Nancy in Virginia. We`re taking your calls live tonight. Hi, Nancy in Virginia. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I was wondering if anyone has heard or seen from Misty Croslin.
CASAREZ: That`s a very good question. Let`s go out to Art Harris. Art, Misty Croslin left town, too. A lot of people are leaving town. Where is she right now?
ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: I can tell you that she is not at home, and she is on the road, not expected back anytime soon, as a result of a fight with Ronald. She`s with a friend, I`m told. And right now, Ronald does not want to talk to her.
CASAREZ: So Misty is not back in town. She`s with a friend. Ronald is in town. What do you make of it, Art Harris?
HARRIS: Well, I think that there is not -- there is trouble in paradise, Ronald and Misty on the rocks, her family, a revolving door at the Putnam County jail, very distraught. I just talked to her father a little while ago, and this is a family in trouble that doesn`t know what to think, Jean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CUMMINGS: I pulled into the yard, and my girlfriend opened the front door. And I already knew something was wrong because she`s not up at this time. And I said, What are you doing up at this time? And she says, Your back door`s wide open, and your daughter`s gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CUMMINGS: I pulled into the yard. The front door was wide open. She was standing in it. I asked her what she was doing up. She told me that the back door was wide open and Haleigh was gone. I turned the house upside down, told her to call 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... show you the back door and show you how both doors close automatically. So -- and I`m also going to show you the lock because the lock is about three feet from the floor, and we know that that`s about as tall as Haleigh stands.
CROSLIN: I did take a polygraph.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you passed it?
CROSLIN: I mean, my understanding is that I passed it.
GRACE: What is her story about what happened that night?
CUMMINGS: The same thing that she`s telling police or whoever, that she went to -- she put Haleigh to bed, done some laundry, went to bed, and woke up to the door propped open.
911 OPERATOR: You said your back door was wide open?
CROSLIN: Yes, with a brick. Like, the brick`s on the floor. Like, when I went to sleep, it was not like that.
CASAREZ: Why are you so sure Haleigh is still with us?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I stand on God`s promise that if you pray and believe, that he will give you what you pray for!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session, in for Nancy Grace tonight. I want to go out to Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "Killing for Sport," out of Minneapolis tonight. Pat, I want to ask you, if you were part of the FDLE, Federal (SIC) Department of Law Enforcement, or the sheriff`s office, would you personally go to Tennessee right now to start talking with Misty Croslin`s mother, or would you wait for extradition?
PAT BROWN CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, I think it all depends on the little plan they`ve got going there. They want to make her sweat, obviously. They want to make her think, Oh, my God, I`ve got such a huge amount of money against me here. They`re really leaning on me heavy, and I`m going to get stuck forever in jail. I`m going to get a huge sentence - - depending on what they can get her to believe without her lawyer interfering.
So I think -- you know, I don`t know that they know she knows that much, but they`re going for everything they can right now, just any little bits and pieces that just might direct them to the right place or get them some other kinds of -- some kinds of evidence they can use to pressure Misty or Ron with, so they can get the information from them.
I think they`re leaning heaviest on Misty. I think they`re just trying to, you know, zoom in on her from all angles to get her to open up and finally tell the truth.
CASAREZ: But the thing is, Pat Brown, somebody knows something. Somebody does, and nobody`s talking. And there`s a $30,000 reward right now. Somebody can get $30,000. That`s a lot of money. Why isn`t anybody coming forward?
BROWN: Well, it depends. If only a couple people know what happened, then those couple people aren`t talking, and my guess is those couple are Misty and Ron. Then there`s nobody else to talk but the two of them.
And my question is this. If Ron is so concerned about getting his daughter back, why is he hanging around with the girlfriend who`s lying about everything and marrying the girl? There`s something wrong with that whole picture. He should be, you know, joining the police against her, if he thinks that she had something to do with his missing daughter.
So the police are saying, Wait a minute, that`s bizarre, behavior. Therefore -- I think Ron knows. I think Misty knows something. And the weakest link there is actually going to be Misty. So they`re going to be pushing her because they think she`s got the answer.
CASAREZ: And that`s a good question. To Dr. Lisa Weinstock, psychiatrist out of New York. Everyone, almost, is now saying they believe that Misty is holding something back. Her mother said that right before she moved out of town and now was arrested on felony forgery charges. Her father said that before he moved out of town with their mother. And also, others are saying that. Why is Ron sticking by her side?
DR. LISA WEINSTOCK, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, he may be sticking by her side because he truly believes she has nothing to do with it. Or it may be that deep down, he does have an inkling that maybe she had something to do with it, but to actually come to terms with that and to admit that to himself and others sort of implies that, you know, indirectly, he`s somewhat responsible for the fact that his daughter is gone because he`s the one who chose to leave his daughter with her. So that may be something that he`s not even really willing to admit to himself, much less to anybody else.
CASAREZ: To Lynn in Pennsylvania. Hi, Lynn. The great state of Pennsylvania. Where are you from in Pennsylvania?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, it`s in Reginald (ph), Pennsylvania.
CASAREZ: Great. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I have a couple. First of all, right now, there`s a letter that was just dropped off, and they`re not looking for Misty -- nobody. They`re after her mother, but not Misty. And my second question is, where was Junior when all this was supposed to have happened, that she was taken to a bar and -- or wherever, a party, and ingested the oxycontin? Where was Junior?
CASAREZ: OK. Good questions. First of all, let`s talk about that letter that you just mentioned. Once again to Marlaina Schiavo, NANCY GRACE producer. This is a letter that was just given to "The St. Augustine Record" newspaper. Do we know anything about the contents of this letter? There`s surveillance video of the woman dropping it off. Police have now spoken with her. She said she dropped it off from someone else asking her to. But it`s a tip that could burst this case wide open. What do we know?
SCHIAVO: Well, actually, Jean, we do know that it was a typed letter, so that`s one thing. And the other thing we do know is that this -- the contents of this letter had nothing to do with what happened that night, but it had more to do with a location for where, you know, the Putnam County police should search.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROSLIN: When I lay down, I guess, you know, I just -- I was out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did she -- there`s no way she could have wandered off?
CROSLIN: No. She is scared of the dark. She would not go anywhere by herself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: We need to get her date of birth.
CROSLIN: What`s her date of birth?
CUMMINGS: (DELETED) We need to find her!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CROSLIN: 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.
CUMMINGS: I`m not hiding anything for anybody. And if somebody has something to do with it, let them fry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe Haleigh is alive. I have faith in God to take care of my baby girl and find her. And I don`t care who had something to do with it, those are the people who need to be put away and bring my baby girl home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session, in for Nancy Grace. Once again, Misty Croslin`s mother, Lisa Croslin, has been arrested in Nashville, Tennessee. It`s on charges for check forgery, her bail tonight $100,000.
I want to go back to Lynn from Pennsylvania because one of her second questions was in regard to Junior, that where he was the night, allegedly, that there was a party.
Here`s what Lynn is talking about. There was a letter, a handwritten letter that an inmate from a local jail in Satsuma sent to her boyfriend. Now, police are saying that this is a forgery and a fake, but in this handwritten letter, she says the police came to her in jail with a sworn affidavit. That is something that somebody swears under penalty of perjury. They said that there was a party the night that Haleigh went missing and that Haleigh was there and that something terrible happened, that Haleigh took an oxycontin pill and ingested it, even accidentally took it, and that she died and someone put her in a black bag, put her in this woman`s car, and then took her to a lake.
The question is, Junior isn`t mentioned in this letter at all. Out to Art Harris. What about it? Where would Junior have been the night that little Haleigh went missing?
HARRIS: Well, Jean, I have got that letter on Artharris.com, and that is the big question. Junior could have been asleep. The theory that police were investigating -- and I`m told that letter is not considered totally bogus. It is something that declares this friend of Misty was confronted and interviewed by detectives about this theory. And the theory was that she took the kids to this so-called party, possibly Junior fell asleep, didn`t need to be kept quiet. Misty -- somebody -- something happened supposedly to Haleigh, and then her body had to be dumped. That is what the letter says.
CASAREZ: To Marlaina Schiavo. Isn`t it true that in this letter, it talks about an area where, allegedly, the body was put, and isn`t that the area that was searched last weekend by authorities?
SCHIAVO: That`s right. This letter talks about the Mondex, and the pond that was mentioned in this letter was the pond that they drained last Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CUMMINGS: ... her and Junior were sleeping in my queen-size bed, and that she was sleeping in the top bed beside her, three or four feet from her, whatever.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we need is for Misty to come down here and tell us the truth.
MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH CUMMINGS` BABYSITTER: I`m trying to do everything to find her. You know, answer any questions I have to. Because I know I didn`t do anything with that little girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Misty can relieve this pressure by telling her attorney that, you know, we need to go down to the sheriff`s office and really lay out in clear terms what I was doing from 8:00 p.m. until 3:00 a.m.
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Do you believe she left the home and left the children alone, Ronald?
RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH CUMMINGS` FATHER: Absolutely not.
GRACE: You stand very strongly behind Misty Croslin`s story. What do you make of police saying that she has the answers?
TERESA NEVES, RON CUMMINGS` MOTHER: I have to leave the investigative part of this to law enforcement because, you know, if I go with every whim and every accusation then I`m going to be flipping back and forth in my life. And you know, what we stand -- you know, we just stand for Haleigh here. We just want Haleigh to come home. And I want them to find whoever this is and I don`t care who it is. But we want Haleigh to come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST ANCHOR: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network "In Session," in for Nancy Grace tonight.
News out of Tennessee: Misty Croslin`s mother has been arrested in Tennessee. Let`s go out to Marlaina Schiavo. Where is she actually tonight, Marlaina?
MARLAINA SCHIAVO, HLN PRODUCER: She`s behind bars, Jean, and she will remain there until Putnam County authorities come and extradite her back to Florida.
CASAREZ: Now, Marlaina, she`s actually got three felony charges here. We`re looking at forgery. We`ve got uttering a forged instrument and petty theft. And we found out the maximum is five years on each charge so that`s a maximum of 15 years right there.
Do we know at all when extradition may begin?
SCHIAVO: She may not go back until next week. They`re waiting on the authorities now. She was just arrested -- I believe it was last night. So it should be any day now.
CASAREZ: All right, to T.J. Hart, program and news director WSKY 97.3 FM. Also could be extremely important information from the "St. Augustine Record" newspaper. It`s not the newspaper itself, but it`s somebody walking in the front door. Explain that.
T.J. HART, PROGRAM & NEWS DIRECTOR, WSKY97.3 FM (via telephone): Well, this woman came in and she had an envelope that was addressed to the associate editor, Richard Pryor (ph) and it was an envelope. It was sealed. It had his name on it, had the address on the envelope and the contents, according to Pryor, very volatile.
Now, he said he can`t reveal what the letter says, but he said it`s a paragraph long, it`s typed, it has three letters at the bottom that resemble initials. And he says if the information`s accurate it`s going to be quote, "pretty volatile." And that sparked off a search yesterday by law enforcement out there at Hermit`s Cove, where the trailer of Ronald and Misty, Haleigh, and Junior, where they lived at the time that Haleigh vanished.
CASAREZ: You know, one thing, when authorities say they are following every lead, they truly are in this case.
To Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "Killing for Sport."
You know Pat when I -- at first glance I say to myself why would you take the letter to the newspaper, why wouldn`t you take it to the police? But then I think of the BTK serial killer in Kansas. There were a lot of letters that were given to the news media, actually written by the killer himself in that case and helped solve the crime.
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER; AUTHOR OF "KILLING FOR SPORT": You`re right. There`s a number of reasons, Jean. Unfortunately, you have to weigh, is it this one or is it that one?
One possibility is the person is just seeking attention. They know if they go straight to the police department it will go in with a bunch of tips, might get ignored but if they take it to the press, man that might get out there and they`re going to feel like they got some attention. That`s one possibility.
Another possibility is they`re afraid of the police and don`t want to have any contact with the police but they actually have real information. But the police get this all the time. So the problem is, is this stuff -- is there any meaning behind it? In other words does it make any sense or do we have somebody who thinks they`re a psychic and they`ve just envisioned that Haleigh is over at a certain place and therefore they`ve written this thing down and they taken it in and now police are going in digging up half the land and there`s nobody -- no there`s no body there.
So -- but if they get so much of this -- they have to be careful. They have to cull it and have to make sure they don`t overlook something just by saying well, that`s probably just a nut case so, let me just throw it away.
CASAREZ: To Sheeba in Illinois. Hi, Sheeba. What`s your question?
SHEEBA IN ILLINOIS: Hi, Jean. My question is, what if Haleigh and Junior were at this party and they stayed in the car and they were having trouble keeping Haleigh in the car and somebody slipped them something to sleep and when they went back to check on her of course she had O.D., which meant she had had a seizure, which meant she had vomited and soiled herself and wet herself, and they all got scared and they did wrap her up with something and throw her in a local lake?
CASAREZ: Well...
SHEEBA: Or is there a close old cemetery that is still used that has any fresh graves in it?
CASAREZ: Well, you know what you`re saying, Sheeba, you`re talking about parties to a crime, people that no one would talk about what happened because all were involved. You bring up an interesting issue, though, to Gloria Allred out of Los Angeles, family law attorney.
Do you think that there should be a dual investigation right now, at least from Child Protective Services, because of this handwritten letter from an inmate at the jail right now, somebody held in custody, talking about a type of a party? Should they be investigating the household itself?
GLORIA ALLRED, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY, VICTIM RIGHTS ADVOCATE: Well, if the police think that there`s nothing to that letter, then that`s one thing. But on the other hand, of course, if there is an open door and then Junior, was in fact sleeping there at the time, then maybe there is a child -- a potential child endangerment to be looking at.
Definitely my sense of it is the Child Protective Services would be on the alert because of the little missing Haleigh.
CASAREZ: Gloria, it`s interesting. Police have said yes, we lend no credibility to this letter. But yet, Gloria, that lake area is where they searched last weekend, and number two, the car that belongs to the person in custody, they have recently searched that car forensically because that`s the car the sworn affidavit said the body was taken in and then dumped to the lake.
Let`s go out to Melissa in Tennessee. Hi, Melissa. Your question.
MELISSA IN TENNESSEE: Hi, Jean. First of all, I want to tell you thank you for covering for Nancy. I`m such an avid watcher, and I love the show.
CASAREZ: Well, good, thank you. Nancy thanks you.
MELISSA: Thank you. I have a couple questions. My first question is did Misty have access to emergency vehicle? If she`s keeping Ronald`s kids while he`s at work, did she have access to an emergency vehicle should something happen with the kids when he`s gone?
And two, why weren`t all the family members, friends, and acquaintances sequestered long before this, pushed into lie detector tests. And if there was a party going on at the house, why weren`t there fingerprints taken all over the house and the garbage?
I mean, just as a citizen we just think that when there`s something like this, a high-profile case and this child has been a missing for so long, we just assume that authorities are doing every possible thing that they can. And it just seems like now new information`s coming out that maybe could have come out sooner.
CASAREZ: Yes. As in seven months ago in February. You`re right Melissa.
Let`s go to the expert on this. Art Harris, from investigative journalist, ArtHarris.com. Art, first of all, Misty was the caregiver for those children, especially when Ron was at work. Did she have a vehicle in case there was an emergency?
ART HARRIS, ARTHARRIS.COM: Well, she actually did drive the kids sometime and her family had a blue van, Jean, that Misty did drive. And it was found in the driveway at her home, a scratch down the side.
And I know that authorities have processed that van. They brought it back the other day, I actually saw it. It was all dusty and white with fingerprint powder and they did not find anything, or at least they`re not revealing if they did.
CASAREZ: Well Art, let`s go back to the beginning, what Melissa just did from Tennessee. Was everybody questioned in the beginning? Was everybody taken in and asked what they know? And why didn`t they say these things then?
HARRIS: Well, you know, it`s funny. The law enforcement has done so much more than they have let on. And that has been the big frustration. How much to release? How much not to release? They have interviewed everybody in that family time and time again and everybody around that family.
So they have done hundreds and hundreds of interviews. They`ve got hours and hours of tape at the department. And they continue to go over old interviews they`ve done, Jean, then comparing them with the information, the new information they`re getting from these people again.
CASAREZ: And very quickly, what do you hear about Florida authorities going to Tennessee to question now Misty`s mother further?
HARRIS: Well, if I read the court documents correctly, Jean, she has a first appearance next Wednesday and anytime they can go and take her after that to Florida and she`ll be on a $10,000 bond there. I talked to her husband today, Hank Jr., he`s distraught. He`s trying to figure out how he can get the bond to get his wife out...
CASAREZ: All right, Art. Thank you very much. That would be an extradition hearing next week.
To tonight`s "Safety Tips:" each year 200,000 children end up in the E.R. from accidents on the playground. Some of them are fatal. Here are safety tips to protect your children.
The number one injury -- falls. Make sure protective surfacing is underneath all playground equipment. This will lower the risk of serious head injuries. And look out for sharp objects like glass or rocks or broken equipment.
Children should be supervised at all times. Teach your child to stay away from moving swings, remove their necklaces and strings on their clothing to avoid strangulation, report unsafe conditions to the playground operator.
For more information go to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission at CPSC.gov.
We`ll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: What do you make of Misty flunking a polygraph?
RON CUMMINGS, HALEIGH CUMMINGS` FATHER: I don`t know anything about her flunking a polygraph. I know what`s been said about it, but I`m not a polygrapher myself so I didn`t see any results. I didn`t get to -- you know. I was told by the polygrapher who did the polygraph that it`s not judged in percentages.
MISTY CROSLIN, RON CUMMINGS` WIFE: 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: I thought I was helping. I was trying to do everything I can to find Haleigh.
TERESA NEVES, RONALD CUMMINGS` MOTHER: He`s not as strong at home as he is on TV. But he has to be strong for Junior. You know. So he does the best that he can. He keeps his crying to his self at night. And just tries to make Junior happy until Haleigh comes home.
Junior thinks that Haleigh is lost and she`s finding her way home. He actually drew her a map so she could find her way home.
GRACE: What do you tell him?
NEVES: That angels are watching Haleigh and she`ll be home soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`ll Jean Casarez of the legal network "In Session" in for Nancy Grace tonight.
Misty Croslin`s mother, Lisa Croslin, arrested, now in a local jail now in Nashville, Tennessee. Arrested on check forgery charges, held tonight on $100,000 bail. At the very same time in Florida someone took the time to type out an entire letter about the missing of Haleigh Cummings. Where she might be, what might have happened to her. Authorities have it. That letter was hand-delivered to the "St. Augustine Record."
I want to go to Dr. Gwen O`Keefe, MD out of Boston, pediatrician, founder and CEO of pediatricsnow.com. You know, doctor, Haleigh went missing in February. It`s now seven months later. She was five when she went missing. How much would she have grown in these seven months?
DR. GWEN O`KEEFE, PEDIATRICIAN: Well, you know Jean, she probably wouldn`t have grown all that much. At this age kids` growth really slows down. Plus with Turner syndrome they have growth issues. So we would expect her growth to really not to alter too much.
CASAZER: To Anne Bremner, defense attorney out of Seattle, Washington. I want you to listen to something right now and observe it.
This is Misty Croslin`s mother right before she left town out of Florida she had a comment for the news media. It was about her daughter. Let`s listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: Deep down in my heart, yes I think my daughter`s holding back. I think they`re both holding something back. That`s just in my heart.
I`m going to tell her I love her and if you know anything at all please tell me. We can work it through. I`ll be right there by your side, we`ll get through it. Just please tell me whatever you`re holding back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And that`s Misty Croslin`s mother, Lisa Croslin, who said on WOFL Fox 35, that she believes that Misty may be hiding something. Shortly after that she left Florida. She moved out of Florida with her husband.
Anne Bremner, you saw that, you watched it. Is she credible?
ANNE BREMNER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You have to wonder why is she talking to the media? And she`s her mother. She should be supporting her. You have to wonder, why did she say that? Then why did she leave? Evidence of flight could be evidence of guilt, of course, Jean.
So it really makes you wonder about it. And then there she is on crimes of dishonesty right now with forgery and attendant charges. So it`s very interesting about her motives and what she has to say. Or the defense would say is she talking about someone else that Misty`s covering up for and she`s just being protective of her daughter in general?
CASAREZ: Or to Alan Ripka. And you mentioned a problem with her credibility now that she`s been charged with check forgery. But maybe she`s not -- maybe her daughter won`t talk to her. Maybe she`s not in communication with her daughter. Was she trying to send a message to her that she actually loved her and was there to help her in any way?
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, watching her, it would appear that she was trying to be true and she was trying to help the public and the police and sending a message to the public and her daughter indicating look, I know there`s something else there and I`d like you to come forward.
Despite the fact that she was arrested for forgery, I think most jurors would think that if you`re threatening or claiming something about your own daughter you`re probably legitimate.
CASAREZ: Let`s go to Dr. Lisa Weinstock, the true expert psychiatrist, in all of this. What do you make of that video -- talking against your own daughter?
DR. LISA WEINSTOCK, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, it strikes me a little odd the stance that she took. I mean, she didn`t say I know that she was involved. Nor did she say I`m sure she`s not involved. Nor did she say I would support her no matter what, although she sort of said that a little bit at the end.
She sort of made this vague comment that she suspects that her daughter might know something. And that strikes me as somewhat odd because one would think if she knew that her daughter knew something or if she knew something, she would be more straightforward or forthcoming with that either to the media or to the police.
So I`m not quite sure what to make of it. I do agree that she probably at some level was trying to communicate to her daughter that she`s there to support her. But again, the precise wording of it strikes me as a bit odd.
CASAREZ: And the fact is all the attorneys know if anything ever gets in court and her daughter is even a witness in this case that statement could come back to haunt her because it was used -- it would be used by prosecutors if she would be a defense witness on cross-examination.
We`ve got a caller standing by in Florida tonight waiting patiently. Rick, are you still there?
RICK, FLORIDA: Oh, yes, I`m still here, Jean. Thank you.
CASAREZ: Sure, what`s your question?
RICK: well, it`s kind of a question/statement. Ronald, you know, he`s been saying all along how forthcoming he`s been with all his information and he`ll do whatever it takes to get Haleigh home. And I kind of understand that.
But my question is what was just released is his cell phone, wasn`t it 20 calls to Misty that night and couldn`t get in touch with her and he wound up calling her brother?
CASAREZ: You`re right. The fact is it has been reported that 20 times he called Tommy Croslin because he couldn`t find Misty or reach her.
And now, everybody, tonight`s "CNN Heroes."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBINA NIAZ, FINALIST, CNN HEROES: Abuse cuts across race, religion, culture. I`m a Muslim, born and raised in Pakistan, migrated to New York in 1990. Within the Muslim community there`s a lot of denial about the issue. The Koran condemns abusive behavior of women. If we witness injustice, we`re required to speak up.
I`m Robina Niaz and I`m helping Muslim women end abuse in their lives.
We do a lot of community outreach. A lot of us are being abused.
This affects all of us. We need to talk about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was afraid for my life. I didn`t have a place to go. My family would disown me. My father even said to me that you`re lucky you live in America because if you lived back home you would have been dead by now. Robina understood the cultural nuances and all the religious issues.
NIAZ: Our first duty is to protect ourselves. We tell them how to get into a shelter and what their rights are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She really made me understand that I`m not alone.
NIAZ: We are here whenever you want to come to us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told my friend about you.
NIAZ: When it`s the right time.
There have been threats to my safety. But I know that God is protecting me because I`m doing the right thing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: Now a look back at the stories making headlines this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Misty Croslin`s brother behind bars on a gun charge. Now confessing he was at the home the night Haleigh goes missing, bangs on the door, nobody home.
This means that Misty Croslin`s story is false if the brother is to be believed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s no way she wouldn`t have heard that. Nancy, that front door is all but ten feet from the bedroom where Misty was sleeping with Haleigh and Junior that night.
GRACE: The plumber finds evidence in a murder case? What happened to the police?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it sounds like they had to have a plumber go to that lab room. That`s right, Nancy. The investigation continues in New Haven.
GRACE: I want to report to you a story about a dedicated mother who heads off in the early morning hours to catch her carpool and is not only stabbed in a public parking lot, but then the assailant gets back in his car and coming back to run her over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s still critical tonight. It`s unknown where her children are at this point. She did have custody of them and her ex-husband had visitation. It`s unclear whether they`re with them or not.
GRACE: Miss Neves, tell me how Ronald is holding up. I mean, he comes on our show frequently and he`s always so strong. How is he holding up?
NEVES: He`s not as strong at home as he is on TV, but he has to be strong for Junior, you know? So, he does the best that he can. He keeps his crying to his self at night and just tries to make Junior happy until Haleigh comes home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Tonight, let us stop to remember Army Private First Class Justin Casillas. He was just 19 years old from Dunnigan, California. He was from a long line of military veterans. He dreamed of enlisting since he was a young boy. Awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart; he loved football, playing drums and daring stunts. His favorite music -- hip hop.
He leaves behind his parents Chuck and Donna; sisters Victoria and Ashley. Justin Casillas -- an American hero.
Thank you so much to all of our guests. To you at home for being with us tonight.
See you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, everybody.
END
