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Nancy Grace
Complete Heene 911 Calls Released
Aired October 21, 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. Live, Colorado, the whole country on pins and needles, a little 6-year-old boy`s life hanging in the balance and a beautiful silver space-like balloon soaring through the clouds. Tonight: It apparently all ends in felony charges. Police, sheriff, National Guards, volunteers, the FAA, even a whole airport and commercial carriers trying to save the life of a 6-year-old boy, Falcon Heene, who his brothers and parents say is trapped inside that homemade balloon racing through the sky.
Eyewitness reports something or someone falls thousands of feet to rough terrain near the Colorado Rocky Mountains. After 60 miles of terror, the balloon lands. No boy. Was he dead? Was he injured? Was he lying down some ravine with every bone in his body broken? No, he was hiding, hiding in the family attic the whole time, blurting out on national TV it was all, quote, "for the show." On not one but two morning shows, that same child so nervous, he vomits when asked the same question.
Bombshell tonight. Just released, distraught, seemingly heart- breaking 911 calls from the boy`s father and mother, both breaking down over their 6-year-old son`s life threatened. But was the stunt in the works for months? With us live, Heene`s former colleague, who may have the answers.
And tonight, more disturbing news about the three little boys` home environment. In addition to an alleged domestic abuse, 911 called to the home, the three little boys, ages 6, 8 and 10, appear on YouTube in a rap song allegedly their dad wrote and taught them, full of filthy language. The title is so shocking, we are disallowed from saying it on the air. But you can hear the children spewing it out, age 6, 8 and 10, on YouTube, under the direction of their father. Looks like bye-bye reality show, hello cellblock.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Tell me exactly what happened.
RICHARD HEENE, FAMILY: My family and I made an experimental flying saucer. It wasn`t supposed to fly.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
RICHARD HEENE: We thought we had this thing tethered down.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
RICHARD HEENE: And my -- I think my 6-year-old boy...
911 OPERATOR: What`s up?
RICHARD HEENE: He got inside and it took off!
911 OPERATOR: OK. Where is he at?
RICHARD HEENE: He`s in the air!
911 OPERATOR: He`s in the air?
RICHARD HEENE: Yes. He`s only -- he`s only 6! So I`m at the Harmony Indar (ph) College. That`s where -- that`s where we were going to test it. Anyway, it`s probably by Loveland Airport right now. Can anybody -- can anybody rescue him?
911 OPERATOR: OK. When`s the last time you saw him?
RICHARD HEENE: I seen him 15, 20 minutes ago, you know?
911 OPERATOR: So 15 or 20 minutes ago?
RICHARD HEENE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
RICHARD HEENE: I mean, what do you do in a case like this? I mean, how the heck are we going to get him down?
911 OPERATOR: OK.
RICHARD HEENE: First I called the FAA. They told me to call you guys. I would have thought that they could, you know, I don`t know, send something up. Is there a helicopter or something?
911 OPERATOR: Just hold on one second, OK?
RICHARD HEENE: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: We`ll get some help, but just stay on the phone.
RICHARD HEENE: OK.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first thing that came to my mind was, Who would possibly do something like this? It has to be Richard Heene. So when I actually saw this on TV, you know, I didn`t realize how serious this was until later on in the day. I was actually helping my friends move. And you know, as the news stories progressed and the buzz sort of built and then watching Falcon actually say on TV, Well, we did this for the show, you know, that`s when all of my questions were answered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, Satsuma, Florida, a 5-year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone, vanished. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see the 5-year-old alive that night, new stepmother Misty Croslin.
Just hours after Croslin handcuffed by cops on alleged road rage, she flies to New York, taking to the air to declare she`s innocent. But even in that one brief interview, she can`t keep the story straight, first claiming she knows nothing about Haleigh`s whereabouts, then blurting out, The other side of the family took Haleigh, then a 180 on the failed lie detector, claiming she passed, then admitting she failed. After her brother tells cops he was at the home that night, no sign of Croslin, completely debunking her story, her own mother saying Croslin`s not coming clean, Croslin`s TV response, They betrayed me. They`re the bad guys. Look at them, not me. Minutes after that debacle on national TV, her lawyer dumps her.
Breaking tonight, Croslin back at police headquarters. But this time, she claims she`s the victim, claiming she was robbed at gunpoint. But did the alleged robbery go down in the middle of a drug deal? Was Croslin scoring dope? If so, what does it mean in the search for Haleigh? This as we learn Croslin`s mom is interrogated by police about her daughter`s involvement in Haleigh`s disappearance. What does she reveal?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. The ex-wife of Ronald Cummings, the last known person to see Haleigh alive, Misty Croslin, has been robbed while she and friends were allegedly trying to buy illegal drugs. Police say Misty and two friends were robbed by two or three men outside an apartment complex. Cops say at first, they were told the women were there to visit friends, but learned they were actually there to score drugs. Police didn`t know what type of drugs they were allegedly trying to buy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What does that say about her and who`s she willing to betray? Is she betraying Ron? Is she betraying Haleigh?
GRACE: Mr. Cummings, I can say that tonight, for the first time, I don`t believe you. I think you do suspect your ex-wife, soon to be ex- wife`s story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His main concern is finding his daughter. He don`t care who it implicates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This as Misty`s father tells journalist Art Harris there`s no way Misty hurt Haleigh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So are you saying that you didn`t fail the polygraph, like people and law enforcement are kind of claiming that you did?
MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER/EX-STEPMOTHER: No, I did not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So bottom line, you don`t know where Haleigh is.
CROSLIN: Bottom line.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening, I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Live, Colorado, the whole country on pins and needles, a little 6-year-old boy`s life hanging in the balance and a beautiful silver space- like balloon soaring through the clouds. Tonight, more of the stunning 911 calls from Mommy and Daddy And tonight, surfacing on YouTube, a profanity- laced rap song these three little boys apparently learned at home. What does it say about their home environment? And what do these 911 calls prove?
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Is somebody there with you?
RICHARD HEENE: Yes, my wife.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Can I speak to your wife?
RICHARD HEENE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Thanks.
RICHARD HEENE: Mayumi? This person wants to talk to you. Did you find anybody, the (DELETED) helicopter or anything?
MAYUMI HEENE, MOTHER: No.
911 OPERATOR: Hello?
MAYUMI HEENE: Hi.
911 OPERATOR: Hi. What`s going on?
MAYUMI HEENE: We were doing experiment (INAUDIBLE) flying saucer made -- we made it here. And it`s supposed to be tied down so it`s just floating and it`s 20 feet up. But I don`t know what happened to the ties, but it got loose or something, so it`s flying!
911 OPERATOR: OK. Is he flying around in the air somewhere?
MAYUMI HEENE: Yes! (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: OK. Ma`am, this was about how long ago?
MAYUMI HEENE: Fifteen, twenty...
911 OPERATOR: How long ago did this happen? Like, 20 minutes...
MAYUMI HEENE: About 20 minutes ago.
911 OPERATOR: Twenty minutes ago?
MAYUMI HEENE: Yes. And we can`t find the 6-year-old, Falcon. And my other son said that Falcon was at the bottom of the flying saucer. He said he was in there. But anyway, I can`t find him anywhere!
911 OPERATOR: OK, we`re going to get you help, OK? Stay on the phone with me.
RICHARD HEENE: What the (DELETED) are you doing?? Everybody go off the line!
MAYUMI HEENE: He said he`s going to find out!
911 OPERATOR: Hold on one second for me, OK?
MAYUMI HEENE: OK.
911 OPERATOR: I`m going to send you to Larimer County. Stay on the phone.
RICHARD HEENE: (INAUDIBLE)
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Is the flying saucer gone, as well?
MAYUMI HEENE: Yes, about 20 minutes, I think.
911 OPERATOR: It`s been -- they`ve both been missing for about 20 minutes?
MAYUMI HEENE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
MAYUMI HEENE: Oh, my God! Oh, my God! (INAUDIBLE) my son!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s a very creative individual, very hyperactive. Unfortunately, I think he`s a little driven by fame and really interested in kind of promoting himself. I think he had the -- you know, the ego from "Wife Swap" and appearing several times on "Wife Swap."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate these pajamas! These pajamas (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pajamas are (DELETED) (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You are seeing -- we`re seeing the rap song that the Heenes thought was OK to put on YouTube, a song they wrote and produced their children to sing. We have bleeped out most of what we could understand of the profanities. I can`t even say the name of the song -- it is a sexual slur on women, is the name of the song that they have taught these children to sing, 6 years old, 8 years old, 10 years old, the "F" word, the "S" word, calling gay men "faggots up trees" is in this song.
OK, let`s get back to the whole balloon stunt. With me right now, a very special guest joining us from New York, Robert Thomas. This is Heene`s former researcher. Mr. Thomas, thank you for being with us.
ROBERT THOMAS, HEENE`S FORMER RESEARCHER: Thanks for having me.
GRACE: You know, Mr. Thomas, as a hardened felony prosecutor, I put people behind bars on rape, murder, child molestation, dope, trafficking, arson. And I was thinking, Well, this was a stunt. Do they really need to go to jail? But now that I`m hearing about a prior 911 alleged domestic abuse to the home and this rap song using the children has surfaced, I want to talk to you about how far you believe Mr. Heene would go. Was this all a stunt the balloon using his boys?
THOMAS: I personally believe that it was a stunt. And my perspective isn`t just based on the media, it`s based on my own personal experience with Mr. Heene.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
MAYUMI HEENE: We can`t find the -- the 6-year-old, Falcon. And my other son said that Falcon was at the bottom of the flying saucer. He said he was in there. But anyway, I can`t find him anywhere!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: It`s an experimental plane?
MAYUMI HEENE: Yes. It`s a flying saucer.
911 OPERATOR: It`s a flying saucer?
MAYUMI HEENE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: And that`s gone too, right?
MAYUMI HEENE: I`m sorry?
911 OPERATOR: How long -- is the flying saucer gone, as well?
MAYUMI HEENE: Yes, about 20 minutes, I think.
911 OPERATOR: It`s -- they`ve both been missing for a bout 20 minutes?
MAYUMI HEENE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
MAYUMI HEENE: Oh, my God! Oh, my God! (INAUDIBLE) my son!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: How many legitimate 911 calls came in that day? How many people needed police, need sheriffs, needed help? But no, everybody was consumed trying to save the 6-year-old`s life up in a balloon. He was never there.
Out to Sara Hansen, senior content editor with "The Coloradan." Thank you for being with us, Sara. What can you tell me? What is the latest?
SARA HANSEN, "THE COLORADAN" (via telephone): The latest is we are waiting until next week, when the sheriff`s office investigators and the Larimer County attorney`s office will meet to discuss possible charges.
GRACE: And to Mary Margaret, senior news editor, Radaronline.com. What more can you tell me? What do we know about the proof prosecutors may have to show this who thing was a stunt and that heart-breaking 911 call was nothing more than a performance, Mommy included?
MARY MARGARET, RADARONLINE.COM: Well, we do know that the Heenes have had a long history with playing up for the cameras. The parents themselves have -- they met at an acting studio in Los Angeles. And this is something that they reared their children to do. We do know that investigators were tipped off after they saw the family on CNN, when little Falcon slipped up and said, Oh, I thought this was for the cameras. And that really is what tipped them off and made them realize that this was all for show.
GRACE: Tonight, more stunning excerpts from that 911 call. It breaks your heart to hear Mommy and Daddy breaking down in tears, seemingly unable to breathe, the mom at one point.
Back to Robert Thomas, a special guest joining us out of New York, Richard Heene`s former researcher. Mr. Thomas, thank you for being with us. You state that, you know, at first your mind was open, then you came to believe pretty quickly that this was all just a stunt. Tell me why. What do you know? What have you told police?
THOMAS: Well, I first met Richard back in March. I have a few renewable energy projects that I`m working on and a Web site called Extrapedia.org (ph) that is designed to bring people together with technological ideas to benefit humanity.
So I saw Richard Heene`s science detective series and immediately thought, OK, this is a great opportunity to collaborate with somebody. I was kind of shocked, you know, to see how things would transition after that point. You know, as the months progressed and I worked for him doing various activities, things just got weirder and weirder. And obviously, I guess, they culminated to a point when this event took place.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: When`s the last time you saw him?
RICHARD HEENE: I seen him 15, 20 minutes ago, you know?
911 OPERATOR: So 15 or 20 minutes ago?
RICHARD HEENE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
RICHARD HEENE: I mean, what do you do in a case like this? I mean, how the heck are we going to get him down?
911 OPERATOR: OK.
RICHARD HEENE: First I called the FAA. They told me to call you guys. I would have thought that they could, you know, I don`t know, send something up. Is there a helicopter or something?
911 OPERATOR: Just hold on one second, OK?
RICHARD HEENE: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: We`ll get some help, but just stay on the phone.
RICHARD HEENE: OK.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, with us a special guest from New York, Robert Thomas, Heene`s former researcher. Mr. Thomas -- Norm, please put him up. Mr. Thomas, I like you. And therefore, I`m going to try to be diplomatic. Please get to the point. Why? Because I want to know. I want to know, was this a stunt? Was that whole 911, Oh, my son`s going to die -- was that all BS? A lot of people think it is. But you seem to have some answers. Why do you think it was a stunt?
THOMAS: Well, I started working with Richard back in March, and one of the things that I did for Richard was help put his ideas down on paper. In this case, his idea is his outlandish attempts to become famous in any way he possibly could.
So he needed help writing out a proposal for ABC. One of those sections in the proposal is so similar to this event that when this started actually happening on TV, I was completely taken aback and knew right away that there`s really no chance -- I mean, the odds of it not being a hoax are so slim, it`s like getting struck by lightning repeatedly.
GRACE: OK, let me get this straight. Robert, you`re telling me that he had a list of proposals, TV ideas, and one of them was so similar to this stunt. What did it say? Wait a minute, I`ve got one. Can we attract UFOs with a homemade flying saucer, a modified weather balloon that resembles a UFO? We`ll get the footage on film and utilize the media as the means with which to make our presence known to the masses, generate a tremendous amount of controversy. Does that sound familiar, Robert?
THOMAS: Yes, it sounded so familiar that, you know, my -- my friend actually of 15 years, and he remembered me discussing this with him months prior. And I just want to clarify, I had nothing to do with this event. I had nothing to do with the planning of it or anything that...
GRACE: Well, absolutely, you did not. In fact, you, after much consideration, actually spoke with authorities. With me, Robert Thomas. We hardly think you`d rat yourself out.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, John Burris, Alan Ripka. This is exactly his proposal, except he used his own children, according to authorities.
JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it`s a fraud. There`s no doubt about that. I mean, I think the man has to be prosecuted, flat out, for this kind of conduct involving the public and his children and law enforcement.
GRACE: Alan Ripka, what`s your best defense?
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: My best defense is that one thing has nothing to do with the other. And in this case, it would not be unlikely for a child to climb into that flying saucer, Nancy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: Ma`am, does it have any kind of a tracking device or anything on it?
MAYUMI HEENE, MOTHER OF BOY THOUGHT TO BE FLOATING BALLOON: No, no, nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK. Is it electronical?
M. HEENE: You know I needed to talk with my husband. I know it has.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: OK. I can`t understand what you`re saying ma`am. Does he know how to work the flying saucer?
M. HEENE: Yes.
(MUSIC)
GRAPHICS: When you want to learn the mysteries of how things work. Weather, the planets, the whole universe. Turn into the show, that`s really effective. Watch, Richard Heene, psycience detective!
See and explain everything on earth. Comets and tornadoes and the secrets of earth. He`ll give you information from a new perspective. Watch, Richard Heene, psycience detective!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Everyone, you are seeing the balloon that went through the air, allegedly with a 6-year-old boy inside. And you`re hearing the theme song to "The Psycience Detective."
Robert Thomas, have you ever heard that theme song before? Was that part of one of his reality show pitches?
ROBERT THOMAS, RICHARD HEENE`S FORMER RESEARCHER: That wasn`t one of his reality show pitches. That was actually -- I never personally heard that song, but I did catch a couple of clips of his "Psycience Detective" videos on the Internet. And that`s why I reached out to him because he seemed to be interested in studying nature and how it could apply to making new technologies to benefit mankind. And that was really my goal.
GRACE: OK, Robert, you said one of his treatments for a reality show is almost identical to this particular stunt that we`re showing right now. Did you have conversations with him about the stunt? Not the one where he claims his kid is up in the air, but prior to that, what was the plan?
THOMAS: Well, we were actually just sitting down and getting a bite to eat and we`re discussing a book I was reading at the time on Roswell. And when I say Roswell, I`m referring to the event that took place in 1947.
And my question for Richard was, "Richard, do you think this was real? Do you think something actually crashed or do you think this was an elaborate media hoax, and you know, was completely taken to a new level?"
And Richard, at that moment in time, stood up, his eyes, you know, got all wide. And he`s like, that`s it. That`s it. That`s exactly what I`m going to do. And, you know, goes running into his office and basically, you know, I follow him in there. We start talking about his idea which his idea was to exactly what you read.
It was to use a weather balloon and basically spin off of Roswell and try to do something on a much larger scale because we live in such a technological society now that, you know, the news spreads incredibly fast.
GRACE: A larger scale. I mean it`s put together with tinfoil and duct tape. What do you mean a larger scale? By including his 6-year-old boy?
THOMAS: Well, I wasn`t aware of that at the time.
GRACE: OK.
THOMAS: That was, I guess, his.
GRACE: OK. Let me back it all up. Take a listen to this, Robert. This was just a couple of hours ago. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s got talent, but he abuses it by going after these crazy things.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was always looking for this kind of a thing. You know he was always wanting a big moment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any stardom to him is good stardom. Whether it`s good or bad, it`s still good stardom.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Former co-worker and a friend of Heene`s on NBC`s "Today" show just a couple of hours ago. Would that describe him, Robert Thomas?
THOMAS: Absolutely. I mean Richard was all about the controversy. He was all about creating a buzz of any kind. And I think this all really started with "Wife Swap." He got a little taste of the stardom and wanted more and more and more.
GRACE: Take a look at Heene on "Wife Swap." He made several appearances on the show. There you see his children involved obviously in the show. It seems as if a lot of his endeavors to get fame for himself involve using, utilizing his children.
I want to go back to the rap song. Norm, if you could cue that up for me. Mike Brooks, former fed with the FBI, weigh in.
MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST; FMR. D.C. POLICE DET., FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Nancy, you know, I tell you what. I`m looking forward to next week to see exactly what charges this guy gets locked up for, conspiracy, delinquency of a child, attempting to -- basically con a public servant and I hope that the FBI goes after him for some federal charges.
Now the FAA, they`re taking a look, too. But they can only charge him with FAA violations, FARs, for civil penalties. But I can tell you what, they can get in his pocket.
GRACE: Look at this, Mike Brooks.
BROOKS: And I hope the FBI -- this is.
GRACE: Look.
BROOKS: This guy.
GRACE: Show me, Norm.
BROOKS: And he calls himself a detective, Nancy. You know I was a detective. That`s an insult to me. Look at this, with these kids.
(MUSIC)
GRACE: To Dr. Jeff Gardere. Dr. Gardere, we went round and round and round about whether I could even tell you the title to the song. And ultimately, we decided that we shouldn`t. Not that I don`t want to -- not give you the news, but it would be giving such a bad example to say that word on the air. It is a horrible slur on women. All right? That`s the title to the song.
JEFF GARDERE, PSYCHOLOGIST, AUTHOR OF "LOVE PRESCRIPTION": Sure.
GRACE: The "f" word. S-H-I-T is in there. And then to have your -- teach your child to say that to sing it? I mean all of this was put in singing lyrics. And then you saw the shot where the little boy is sitting on a commode and he is covered with fake excrement? I guess fake excrement. I mean, Dr. Gardere, you know, help me out.
GARDERE: Well, what cost the price of fame? And we have to at Richard Heene. This is a guy who`s not just obsessed with being famous.
GRACE: Hey, and listen. Listen. I wasn`t all down on him to start with. I thought it was just a very bad idea.
GARDERE: Yes.
GRACE: But the more I`m hearing about it, the more I realized he may have utilized his children?
GARDERE: Well, I.
GRACE: Uh-uh.
GARDERE: Well, I have to tell you this, Nancy. I was one of the first in the media, as a shrink, to talk about something that I thought there was something very wrong going on with a lot of the interviews that they gave. He seemed very disingenuous and we turned out -- it turns out that he was just a cheap actor with this.
But my concern here is exactly yours, Nancy. What is he doing to the character of these young kids? Even as a publicity stunt.
GRACE: Right.
GARDERE: . he`s teaching them all of these negative values about people.
GRACE: Right.
GARDERE: It`s wrong.
GRACE: And Clark Goldband, what more can you tell me?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Nancy, is there a fracture in the family? I can tell you this hour that Mayumi Heene, who is the wife of Mr. Heene, has her own attorney. Now this attorney telling ABC News that he doesn`t deal in divorce, he only deals in criminal matters. But he`s also inferring that if there are charges against Mr. Heene, then Mrs. Heene should not be charged. She`s been manipulated.
GRACE: Everyone, with us tonight, not only Robert Thomas, Richard Heene`s former researcher, his colleague, but also his attorney, well known in her region. Linda Lee is joining us.
Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: Everyone -- hi, Linda, I want to thank you for being with us. And I want to make it very clear that no one, Linda, suspects your client of any wrongdoing. And I`m very grateful to the two of you being with us.
We`ll all be right back. But to tonight`s safety tips. Nearly 800,000 children reported missing each year. Many kidnapped going to and from school. Your child should always travel with at least one other person. Have a safe route to walk. Avoid alleys, stairwells, shortcuts.
Children at school. Bus stops must be supervised. No where registered sex offenders are located. Your child must avoid walking near their home. They must. Children 10 and over should have a cell phone for emergencies. Teach them how to react to threats by telling them to run, to scream, or call for help. For more information, please go to Klaaskids.org.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD HEENE, FATHER OF BOY THOUGHT TO BE IN FLOATING BALLOON: Hi. This is Richard Heene. We`re not in right now. But go ahead and leave a name and number and a time you called and we`re get right back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That last call you were hearing is an alleged 911 domestic abuse call. When police get to the home, Clark Goldband, what do they find?
GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy. Law enforcement arrives at the home because of that 911 hang-up and they find red marks on wife Mayumi`s face. They also heard yelling. They ask Mr. Heene about the yelling and he said no, that was the kids you heard. Law enforcement says in their police report they didn`t believe it, but didn`t have enough probable cause to make an arrest.
GRACE: And isn`t it true that her eye appeared to have the blood vessels broken. And as they were there, police noted that swelling began on the wife`s face?
GOLDBAND: Yes, law enforcement says it became progressively worse.
GRACE: To Linda Lee, attorney for Robert Thomas. Linda, again, thank you for being with us. And you, too, Robert.
You know, your client, Robert Thomas, had a series of e-mails back and forth with Heene, which were, in my mind, probative not necessarily of the hoax itself but of his relationship. That he did have the relationship he claimed to have with Heene.
LINDA LEE, ATTORNEY FOR ROBERT THOMAS, HEENE`S FMR. RESEARCHER: That`s correct.
GRACE: Now. He sold those e-mails to Gawker.com and he has faced a lot of criticism for that. You know, I always wonder, you know, I would never be happy as a prosecutor that a witness sold a story, but why does everybody focus on that, that he sold e-mails as opposed to what could be the real crime here?
LEE: Well, Nancy, I have no idea why they are focusing on that. As a former prosecutor myself I agree. It`s not really about what he did in terms of selling this. And believe me, it was a minimal, minimal amount that he received. That was long before I joined the case.
However, as a prosecutor, what`s more important is justice here. And the reality is, is that we now have proof that this was a hoax. We have proof that Mr. Heene is not who he claims to be and, in fact, that he was trying to deceive everyone. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. He fooled the police in the beginning, but I hope he doesn`t get to fool this jury.
GRACE: Right now we`re switching gears. Believe it or not, Misty Croslin, the new stepmother of missing girl, Haleigh Cummings, claims to have been armed robbed. Now here`s the kicker. Was she in the middle of a dope deal when the robbery went down? What does she say to 911? "I want to report somebody just stole my dope"? Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN-CUMMINGS, STEPMOM OF MISSING HALEIGH CUMMINGS: It`s just a divorce. I mean, I don`t want a divorce, but heck, that`s what he wants so, whatever.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The last person to see Haleigh alive is also the last person to finally sign divorce papers. Will this boost the investigation into what happened to 5-year-old Haleigh?
BROOKS: The whole relationship right from the very beginning has been tumultuous. From the time that he was -- a police report was taken. So maybe now that the, you know, Ronald is not there to protect her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Art Harris and ArtHarris.com. Art, what can you tell me?
ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, ARTHARRIS.COM, INTERVIEWED MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S NEW STEPMOM: Nancy, I can tell you that Misty Cummings has made another controversial 911 call but not about a missing child like Haleigh, but about herself as a victim of a possible drug deal gone wrong.
She was out with two girlfriends. They were driving around Monday night. And she was in the backset when one got out to go meet a friend out in an apartment complex. Comes back two or three unidentified men grab Misty, grab her purse, gets in somewhat of a fight. And they take her purse. And Misty then calls 911 and makes this report.
GRACE: What evidence, if any, do we have that she was involved in a dope deal?
HARRIS: We only have the statement of the driver and a friend that they had gone to this place to buy dope. I talked to her father last night.
GRACE: OK, wait, wait. Wait. Art, so are those the two people that were with her at the time?
HARRIS: That`s correct.
GRACE: So they are basically incriminating themselves by saying that.
HARRIS: That`s right. That`s right, Nancy. Yes, it`s a very strange situation that police would be out investigating victims of possible dope deal gone wrong with Misty in the backseat. She told her father who I talked to that she was not there to buy dope. He said that he thought they were there to buy pot. Misty stopped smoking pot a long time ago.
GRACE: Pot. Pot. OK. Art, what did the other girls say they were buying?
HARRIS: They did not specify the drugs they were buying, but police did find a crushed bottle of pills outside the apartment where one girl lived. Later, when they went to speak with them, they took that in for evidence, Nancy.
GRACE: A bottle of pills where -- one of the girls lives.
HARRIS: Just lying.
GRACE: . is not the dope that was being sold at the scene of the crime.
To Marlaina Schiavo, what was it they were allegedly buying? I`m not buying into the theory that they go that far and get in that much danger for a joint. OK?
MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, yes, that`s what Hank Croslin is saying, Misty`s father. But the police are not telling us what the drug was at this point. We may find out down the line, though, Nancy.
GRACE: And Ellie Jostad, what more can you tell me?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, Nancy, as Marlaina explained, they did find a bottle of pills there at the scene. That was taken into evidence so we may find out from that what drugs they were allegedly trying to purchase.
Also, both Misty and her friend had their purses taken. Misty had her cell phone taken. And Misty is actually the one who called 911 tearfully saying that her arm hurts, her leg hurts, she`s been injured in this incident.
GRACE: OK, Art Harris, what`s to be done about it? And what, if anything, does it affect the investigation? Does it seem more possible that Misty Croslin was using drugs that night or was not in the home?
HARRIS: Well, Nancy, there`s a lot of speculation. This report was forwarded to detectives with the Putnam County Sheriff`s Department who are investigating the Haleigh Cummings case. The Palatka police are not involved in that. But this does show a Misty sort of cast adrift. She`s living with girlfriends who were also teenagers. And she hasn`t gone home yet, although I hear that may happen. She is out there and anything can happen with Misty.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. John Burris out of San Francisco, Alan Ripka out of New York.
Alan Ripka, if this is true, does the state have a case against her for dope?
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, you have to prove a case that she was in possession of dope or that she was buying dope. And right now the evidence only shows that she was in a car and that a friend of hers went into this area to buy drugs. So right now I don`t see the evidence.
GRACE: I mean, John Burris, Ripka`s right. Without the substance itself, you`re not going to have a case. They don`t have the -- for instance, the little glassing bag full of cocaine or crack or whatever it allegedly was. You`ve got to have the evidence. Eyewitness accounts aren`t enough. All she could say was hey, yes, I was buying a ballpoint pen. You know she doesn`t have the object.
JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I agree with that. It has to be (INAUDIBLE). You have to have some item that`s drugs that someone can ID that she had. But she doesn`t have possession of any drugs and she wasn`t seen buying any. And you don`t have the person who she bought it for. I think this is a waste of time in terms of trying to consider her for criminal activity.
GRACE: Well, I think you`re right about that, John Burris, and you too, Alan Ripka. But my bigger concern is not whether somebody gets busted over a dime bag.
Terry Shoemaker, attorney for Ronald Cummings, my big concern is what happened to that girl that night. And if this woman is doing dope, that cast a lot of concern on her story.
TERRY SHOEMAKER, ATTORNEY FOR HALEIGH`S FATHER, RONALD CUMMINGS: It certainly does.
GRACE: And did your client have any idea his new bride could be involved in narcotics?
SHOEMAKER: No. You know, Ronald has never talked to me about any drug use by Misty or anything going on in that house. It would have concerned him. So I was a little shocked that she was involved in this. However, with everything that`s gone on lately, not too shocked, I guess.
GRACE: I want to quickly go to Dr. Marty Makary, physician and professor of public health, Johns Hopkins.
Dr. Makary, thank you for being with us tonight.
DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: Thanks, Nancy.
GRACE: Dr. Makary, the reason I`m so interested in what particular drug it was is if a child ingested a couple of rocks of crack, like ate it, say you got a 25 rock -- a $25 rock and a child ate a couple of those, what would it do to a child?
MAKARY: Well, it would certainly have narcotic effects. You know it`s not absorbed quite as strongly as it is when it`s snorted or injected. But they can have life threatening effects of stopping your normal breathing because that`s what narcotics do. For these highly addictive substances, we`ve seen people commit crazy crimes against their own family members, even at times selling a child into prostitution because the drive of these drugs are so strong.
GRACE: Dr. Makary, if she did ingest several hits of crack, would it kill her?
MAKARY: It could very well kill her at high doses, yes, Nancy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Tonight, with me a very special guest and friend. My colleague and survivor, Jane Velez-Mitchell.
Jane, I`m so knocked out by your book, "I Want." At first I didn`t understand the title until I read it. Explain.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST, HLN`S "ISSUES"; AUTHOR, "I WANT": Well, we`re defined by what we want, Nancy. And before I got sober 14 and a half years ago, I wanted the wrong things, I wanted money, I wanted alcohol, I wanted status, I wanted prestige.
And then when I got sober, everything changed. And I tried to become of service. I fall off that perch quite often, but I try to get back on it. And so this is my journey beyond recovery. What happened after I got sober.
They say the only thing that has to change is everything. And that`s absolutely true. I ended up having to deal with other addictions, to sugar, to food. So anybody who has any kind of addiction, and I think everybody has something that they are grabbling with, can read this book and really get inside the mind of an addict and learn the way out. There is a solution. And it`s called the 12 steps and they are miraculous.
GRACE: Jane, tell me about your parents. A lot of people -- when they have a problem say well, I learned this at home. And I don`t know what I think about that. I think that maybe it`s true or that maybe people blame their parents. I don`t know. What about your home, when you grew up?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, my mother has been a wonderful influence, 93 years strong. My dad an incredible man in many ways but yes, an alcoholic. And he died before he got sober. And I dedicated the book to him for that reason. And I did learn alcoholism from him.
I believe I had a genetic predisposition. And I also saw it environmentally in the home and this is how bad behavior is passed down generation to generation. And Nancy, most of the crimes that you and I cover are related in some way, shape or form to addiction, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, some kind of compulsive, irrational, self-destructive behavior.
So we can all learn to break the cycle. And that`s what I hope to achieve with this book.
GRACE: You know, Jane, you were talking about your dad. But in your book, there`s a photo of your mom, it`s on page 20. And I looked at it more than once. This is her in the middle with her own dance troop and she`s how old?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, now she`s 93. But she was the last of the Vogel (ph) performers. And she played at the Palace Theater during the (INAUDIBLE) days where they danced between the movies.
GRACE: I know one thing. Her proudest accomplishment must be you and this wonderful book.
Jane Velez-Mitchell, thank you and I want to see you shoot straight to the top of the charts for this. Thank you, friend.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you, Nancy. Thank you, friend.
GRACE: Everyone, let`s stop and remember Army Staff Sergeant Michael Murphrey, 25, Snyder, Texas, on a third tour. Awarded Bronze Star, Purple Heart. With a heart of gold. Would give you the shirt off his book.
Loves sports, outdoors, acoustic guitar, motorcycles, leaves behind parents, Elvi and Evelyn, four sisters, widow, Ashley, and two children, Jade and Camden.
Michael Murphrey, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you. See you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern and until then, good night, friend.
END
