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Nancy Grace
Missing Missouri Child`s Body Found
Aired October 23, 2009 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were able to obtain some physical evidence, and through some analysis of some of the evidence, in all honesty, some written evidence, we were able to develop a person of interest who -- once we reached that person and interviewed them, ultimately, they led us to where we`ve recovered Elizabeth`s body.
We`re not going to have a lot to add to it at this time. A profound (ph) number of resources both from volunteers that have been here, the VFW, the American Red Cross, but in addition, our brothers (ph), the firefighters, as well as the Highway Patrol, the FBI, (INAUDIBLE) City Police Department, certainly, the office of sheriff. We`re not going to be able to spend a great deal on it, other than to tell you that the person that led us to this is also a juvenile.
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JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: As you have just heard from Missouri investigators, a heartbreaking end in the search for 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten. Just like 7-year-old north Florida girl Somer Thompson, little Elizabeth vanishes, walking alone a short distance from her own home, and she never makes it. Moments ago, police find the 9-year-old`s body.
I`m Jean Casarez of the legal In Session, in for Nancy Grace tonight. Thank you so much for joining us. We are going to bring you the very latest developments in the search for Somer Thompson`s killer in just a moment.
But first let us go straight out to Ladd Eagan, news director and anchor with CNN affiliate KRCG for more on this breaking news. Ladd, what have you learned?
LADD EAGAN, KRCG (via telephone): Hi, Jean. Well, it is heartbreak here in the capital city of Missouri tonight. I just got off the phone with the sheriff you were listening to just a moment ago, and he tells me some interesting facts about how they actually came to find the body of 9- year-old Elizabeth Olten. He said that they received a handwritten note. And he wouldn`t elaborate on this, someone brought it to them, or if they found it. And he said that note led them to find this juvenile who`s a person of interest, and that it was that juvenile who led them to the body out in the woods.
CASAREZ: And where exactly -- where was the body found? I mean, out in the woods, where?
EAGAN: He said that it is near the home. But we`re talking about a square mile radius that they were searching. I mean, you had a search in this area because she had a cell phone on her, and AT&T was able to triangulate its location. So he said it was within the search are that they`ve been in for the past day. They even said they went over this area twice and didn`t come across the body until this juvenile led them to the body.
CASAREZ: And this is breaking news coming into the newsroom right now, a precious elementary school student, 9 years old, Elizabeth Olten -- she had visited a friend. She was walking home very close to where her friend was. It was about 6:15 in the evening Wednesday night. She never made it home, and her body has just been discovered.
Matt Zarrell, NANCY GRACE producer, you`ve been on this story from the beginning. What more can you tell us?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, what we know about the juvenile is that he is older -- he`s older than Elizabeth and he is also an acquaintance of Elizabeth. Apparently, Elizabeth knew this person. We also do not know if it`s a boy or a girl. And we do not know if they`re going to be charged, and if they will be charged, will they be charged as an adult.
CASAREZ: But Matt Zarrell, we also know that this person of interest -- he`s in custody. He or she is in custody tonight, correct?
ZARRELL: Yes, he -- yes, this person is. And they did lead them to the body of Elizabeth.
CASAREZ: All right. One other question. Was an Amber Alert ever called out in this case for this little elementary school student that went missing?
ZARRELL: No, an Amber Alert was never issued, Jean.
CASAREZ: All right, let us go out to Pat Brown, criminal profiler and author of "Killing for Sport." You know, Pat, we heard about this case when it happened. This little girl in Missouri, 9 years old, went missing, didn`t come home. Authorities said, No, we`re not going to call out an Amber Alert because we have no evidence of foul play. You know, kids go into the woods and they play and -- and we just aren`t sure about anything. Well, this was 6:15 at night. She was 9 years old, not 19 years old but 9. What do you make of all of this, Pat?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: You know, Jean, it always sounds bad. I mean, if you`re not a police officer, you say, Oh, how could they do that? Why didn`t they rush right out to do something? But the fact is, they get so many of these calls and the children do show up an hour or two later -- Oh, I was at my friend`s house, Oh, I didn`t call you, Mom, I went to the store, I was playing. They get this so often, they cannot call it an Amber Alert every single time.
And the other horrifying fact is when these children are, indeed, attacked or abducted, they usually are dead within 30 minutes to an hour. So by the time the Amber Alert goes out, almost always, except for those really, really rare cases, the child is already dead, which is really unfortunate. And so therefore, you have to really decide what you`re going to do about those Amber Alerts.
I would like to do this. I would like to (INAUDIBLE) we`ll put out an Amber Alert, but if your child shows up, you pay for it. I think that`s a great -- a great response to that.
CASAREZ: March to your legislator. That is a very good idea.
To David Posey, Dr. David Posey, medical examiner, forensic pathologist of Glen Oaks Pathology in Los Angeles, California. They just found this little girl`s body in the woods. Can you just describe for us, forensically, what will now happen as her body proceeds to the medical examiner`s office?
DR. DAVID M. POSEY, MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Yes, Jean. The first thing that`ll happen is the scene will be, obviously, cordoned off. And the police and medical investigators from the coroner`s office will glean as much data and as much evidence as they can. The body will then be sealed in a bag with a tag on it so they will be able to identify this body with that bag. It`ll be taken to the coroner`s office, where it will be put in refrigeration and kept refrigerated until the time of the autopsy, which is the standard procedure that`s done on all cases such as this.
CASAREZ: Once again, everybody, breaking news. A little body was just found of this precious, little, beautiful girl posing in that photo with the telephone. You can tell she had a personality.
Out to the lawyers, Susan Moss, family law attorney, child advocate out of New York, Ray Giudice, defense attorney out of Chicago (SIC), Tamara Holder, defense attorney out of children, Illinois.
First of all, to Susan Moss. There is a person of interest in custody tonight. He is a juvenile. They say he was an acquaintance of this little girl. What does that tell you?
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: What it tells me is that this wasn`t a game of hide and go seek gone wrong, that this was actually something ridiculously more serious than that. The fact that this juvenile didn`t immediately call in and say that there was an accident leads me to think that this was something way more nefarious than that. We`re going to be looking at some very, very serious charges, and depending upon how old this juvenile is, we`ll see if he`s charged or she`s charged as an adult.
CASAREZ: Exactly. And that`s my next question to Ray Giudice, defense attorney. They`re saying this person of interest in custody is a bit older than 9-year-old Elizabeth.
RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s a close...
CASAREZ: He could...
GIUDICE: That`s a close call, Jean.
CASAREZ: It is a close call.
GIUDICE: It`s very much of a sliding scale in juvenile law. The closer that young person is to 9 and farther away from the 16 as juvenile court restrictions are, then you`re going to have it treated as a juvenile court case. The closer that child is to 16, 17, then you`re highly likely to have that person treated as an adult, if -- and it`s a big "if" -- there are criminal charges.
CASAREZ: What does it say to you, Tamara Holder, defense attorney out of Chicago, they are calling this person a person of interest? They`re not labeling him or her as a suspect. It merely could be someone that is an accessory after the fact, that has knowledge, that may not be the real perpetrator in all of this.
TAMARA HOLDER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don`t think so. I think that they knew that this kid was the perpetrator right away. I don`t believe that there`s something called "a person of interest." It`s a fake term for "suspect." They knew this was the kid right away. They went in for him. They talked to him. They got a confession, I assume. They led him -- or he led them to the body, and they have the guy. Fortunately, it was just two days later, so the evidence and the confession are preserved.
CASAREZ: Back to Ladd Eagan, who`s director, anchor, CNN affiliate KRCG. This is a little girl. She`s 9 years old, Ladd! What do you know about her? Tell us about her. What grade was she in? What was she like?
EAGAN: She is a 4th-grader, and there`s an elementary school that was just built near her home. And we`ve talked with the school, as well. And there is heartache. This is the news that no one wanted. We`ve talked with relatives. They say that she was shy, but at the same time outgoing, especially around the family and with her nieces and nephews, that she was really just a joy. And it`s been tragic. And when they look at just those four houses that she had to walk by in order to get to her home, home from her friend`s home, twilight, Wednesday evening, just people can`t believe that this happened.
CASAREZ: Ladd Eagan, is it true that volunteers wanted to take their time to help search for this little girl and they were turned away?
EAGAN: Yes, and there`s been some outrage about that. And I got clarification from the sheriff today. Yesterday, Thursday -- this is, you know, still 12 hours after she went missing -- hundreds were showing up at the command post to volunteer. And they got around 200 that were there actively searching, and the sheriff decided they didn`t need any more because, remember, they had defined it to this -- this smaller area because of the cell phone. And so they weren`t broadening out the search at that time. And so yes, some people were sent away, and people were upset about that.
And -- but at the same time, the sheriff said everyone was wearing GPS locators on them, so they were seeing on a map what area they were covering. And they said they covered that area twice, which makes me wonder, was the body hidden somehow, or you know -- because this juvenile was able to lead the authorities right to the body.
CASAREZ: So the cell phone pings, Matt Zarrell, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, that they that found Wednesday evening, the pings from her cell phone, were behind the home that she lived in, in the wooden area?
ZARRELL: Yes. It was in the wooded area. And what they had done is they had triangulated the cell phone`s location using the pings. Now, unfortunately, on Thursday morning, the pings stopped and they believe the battery went dead. But they have recovered the cell phone since.
CASAREZ: And where was the body found in relation to the cell phone pings?
ZARRELL: Well, cops aren`t releasing that information, but we do know that it was in the heavily wooded area near where searchers were focusing their effort today.
CASAREZ: All right. Near where they were focusing their effort today. But they had been in the area of the pings before. It just appears as though, for some reason, they didn`t come upon the body?
ZARRELL: Yes. They had searched twice in that area. At first, they were looking for the cell phone and they did not find the cell phone. But now they have found it, and unfortunately, along with Elizabeth.
CASAREZ: To Pat Brown, criminal profiler out of Minneapolis. Should you turn away volunteers when they are offering to come forward?
BROWN: I think the problem is if you get too many volunteers, everything gets chaotic and then you can`t control what`s going on. You overlook areas, and then you can also damage evidence. So I think they probably made the correct choice at the time.
And the other thing about the body is -- there`s two things about that. One is the possibility that -- you know, when you have a small body, it`s amazing how hidden they can get. And the second thing is the body may have been brought back after that area was searched.
CASAREZ: We are in a second going to go to the Somer Thompson case in north Florida. Two young girls, both alive days ago, now both dead. How does -- how do communicate -- communities reconcile that?
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) go ahead and just reach inside you and pull your heart out! That`s what it`s like! She`s an angel!
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators in Clay County, Florida, say none of the registered sex offenders living in her neighborhood are suspects in the death of Somer Thompson. The Florida girl`s body was found Wednesday in a landfill in Georgia. No one saw the 7-year-old get abducted on Monday. At least, no witnesses have come forward.
DIENA THOMPSON, SOMER`S MOTHER: Please, you don`t have to tell them who you are. Just help us find who this is. I don`t want to see another parent feel empty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities have been collecting evidence from a vacant house in Somer`s neighborhood that`s been undergoing renovation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have spent hours meticulously picking through every piece of evidence they can find. Crews with the FDLE are looking for evidence in the area where Somer was last seen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The last person to see Somer appears to have been a little boy who lives nearby. He says he saw her near this vacant house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Juan (ph) was one of the last people to see Somer alive when he was riding his bike home from school near this house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was just running, so I thought she was excited, but she had, like, a frown on her face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The autopsy -- that is complete, but authorities will not say how she died.
DIENA THOMPSON: My son, when he found out, my oldest, he punched things. He just bawled. He just fell out. And for a child, a son, a boy -- I know men don`t show emotion a lot.
SAM THOMPSON, SOMER`S FATHER: I forgive them for what they`ve done because the Lord says I have to. But as far as -- as far as what I`m feeling, is pure anger. There`s some really sick people in this world.
DIENA THOMPSON: But we, all of us, our whole entire family, my friends, everyone, we`re devastated. I can`t believe that they would put my baby in the trash!
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CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session, in for Nancy Grace tonight. We take you from Missouri to north Florida, where a killer is on the loose. A murder investigation is continuing now into the murder of 7-year-old Somer Thompson, her body found in a landfill just days ago.
Let`s go straight out to Tiffany Griffith, a reporter, of WOKV radio. What is the latest on this investigation?
TIFFANY GRIFFITH, WOKV: Well, as you can see, right now, we are gathered at one of the major malls here in the Orange Park area, where folks are gathering for a rally in support of Somer and in support of Mothers Against Predators, who want to make sure that this doesn`t happen not only to another kid here in the Orange Park area but nowhere across the nation.
Here`s the new information we know as of 4:00 o`clock. All sex offenders, as we know now, have been interviewed and stories have been cleared. There are many in this area who are wondering who this could be connected to. There`s also a suspect out of Jacksonville who apparently was questioned, but no arrests have been made so far.
They have 900 leads that have come in to their offices. Two hundred of them still need to be checked out. We`re still waiting to hear if anything substantial has come out of there. They continue to analyze evidence from that Gano Avenue home. It`s being processed by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. No new details, anything substantial coming from there or that bag of trash that came from the bathroom from a nearby park.
Here is what is interesting out of that news conference that came out at 4:00 o`clock. Investigators say they`re also looking at the trash that was found near Somer`s body at that Georgia landfill. They said that it is producing some information that will help them narrow down where Somer`s body may have been dumped.
CASAREZ: All right, to Natisha Lance, NANCY GRACE producer standing by live there at the scene. Investigators are very focused on an abandoned home that witnesses say was one of the last places that little Somer Thompson was seen. What is that investigation including?
NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: That`s right, Jean. Multiple witnesses placed Somer here the last time that she was seen. And what that investigation entails -- workers worked late into the night. They had on full jumpsuits. They were looking through a construction dumpster that is on the site. Now, that dumpster, what investigators are telling us, has not been emptied since the time Somer went missing and it still has not been emptied. But they thoroughly searched through that dumpster.
They also thoroughly search through the home, which has a bit of a history. There was a fire at the home at some point and time. But the home has been going through a refurbishment and is being renovated at this point. But at that home, there was some ultraviolet light testing that was going on. If you looked in through the window, you could see bright blue lights, bright green lights that were taking place in there. They worked late into the night. They finished up about 1:00 AM, and they were also working back at that location today.
CASAREZ: Is that designated a crime scene? Is there tape around that home right now?
LANCE: There is tape around that home, but investigators are saying that there`s no physical evidence that led them back to this location. What led them there are the multiple witnesses who place Somer there the last time she was seen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the middle of hundreds of people holding hundreds of candles, Somer Thompson`s mom, Diena, huddled with others in front of the vigil set up for her daughter.
DIENA THOMPSON: I love her and I`ll miss her!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Diena thanked volunteers and even offered to pay them back for their efforts.
DIENA THOMPSON: I don`t know how I can ever repay any of you for helping me -- for looking for my baby!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As volunteers, neighbors and strangers stood in front of teddy bears and a poster of Somer, many sang "You Are My Sunshine," including Somer`s mom, who says it`s the child`s favorite song.
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CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network In Session, in for Nancy Grace tonight. I want to go out to a very, very special guest, a member of Somer Thompson`s family. Joining us tonight is Laura Holt. She is Somer Thompson`s aunt joining us out of Graham, North Carolina. Thank you so much for joining us tonight.
You know, we want to know about Somer. We want to know about the little girl that we see smiling in that picture. Talk to us about what was she like? What did she like to do with her family? What was her favorite subject in school?
LAURA HOLT, SOMER`S AUNT (via telephone): She was such a loving child and so energetic and spunky. Her favorite thing to do was run around the yard and play with her dogs and play with her brothers and sisters. And she was just so loving. She used to say all the time, I want a hug, huggy bear. She was just the most loving child. She was so precious! We`re just heartbroken!
CASAREZ: I don`t think any of us can imagine.
HOLT: I can`t imagine what evil monster could have done this to such a precious, sweet child!
CASAREZ: I don`t think any of us can imagine what you are going through, what you are living, what is so real for you. I want to ask you about Somer Thompson`s father. I know he`s in North Carolina, and I heard that he recently had pretty major surgery, but yet he`s going to make it to Florida, right?
HOLT: Well, he was -- he was in a car accident and it damaged his right knee, crushed the bone, and he had major reconstructive, where they put pins and rods and stuff. And so he`s not to put any weight on that for three months. So he`s in a wheelchair. And I`ve been trying to help take care of him, but it`s hard for him to get around, as you can imagine, if you can`t walk on your...
CASAREZ: So how is he going to make it to Florida?
HOLT: Well, he can get -- you know, we have been donated a handicap van, and so he can get from the wheelchair to the chair in the van, and then back into the wheelchair again.
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DIENA THOMPSON: I just want him found. I want someone to have to pay for what has been done to my family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there anything you need?
DIENA THOMPSON: My baby back. That`s all I can say!
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DIENA THOMPSON, MOTHER OF SOMER THOMPSON, 7-YR-OLD GIRL FOUND THROWN IN TRASH: Think that when she ran off, she was upset and she`s got to a point and decided to stop and wait and that this predator was waiting. He had been waiting. And that was a perfect opportunity. There was no one else around. That`s the only thing I can think. And probably told her, I`m going to take you to your mommy.
SAM THOMPSON, FATHER OF SOMER THOMPSON, 7-YR-OLD GIRL FOUND THROWN IN TRASH: The tears are dried up and I`m just -- I`m still angry. I can`t express in words.
D. THOMPSON: You don`t take from somebody. You don`t -- you didn`t take her from just me, you took her from my family, took her from all of these people. And you don`t do this to a little baby.
S. THOMPSON: They discarded my child like a piece of trash.
D. THOMPSON: And to put my baby in the trash like she`s nothing. It`s not OK.
S. THOMPSON: There`s no measure of punishment that she deserves except the same death my daughter went through.
D. THOMPSON: I will not sleep until this person is found. I hope they get you and I hope they make you pay.
S. THOMPSON: I hope they crucify him.
D. THOMPSON: Don`t be lackadaisical on this. I talked to them, I told them, if you talk to a stranger, don`t -- you know, don`t talk to a stranger. Just walk away. You don`t necessarily, you know, have to yell if they`re just asking you something. But if they are trying to coax you into getting into a car, yell. And obviously, we see that even that didn`t make a difference.
Please, you don`t have to tell them who you are. You don`t have to -- you`re not going to be in trouble if you give the answers. Just help us find who this is. Don`t let another -- I never thought, in all of my life that I would ever have to do this. Be -- even know anybody. I don`t want to see another parent feel empty.
I should have figured out another way for them to get home, a different job. I don`t know. I`m just -- I`m their mom and I`m supposed to protect them and I didn`t.
One of the things that upsets me the most, because what I feel, I can`t verbalize. I never thought -- I mean, I wish I hadn`t -- wouldn`t have to be here and experience this. But U don`t think if it wasn`t for my friends and my family and these people, that I wouldn`t even be able to get through this.
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JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network "In Session," in for Nancy Grace.
Tonight a community in fear for the safety of their children. A killer is at large in this north Florida community in the murder of 7-year- old Somer Thompson.
I want to go out to Ellie Jostad, NANCY GRACE producer. Ellie, there are multiple crime scene investigations going on tonight as we speak in multiple states. Explain all of that to us.
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Yes, that`s right. In addition to that house on Dano Avenue, that`s the vacant house in front of which Somer was last seen. You`ve got a major forensic investigation going on there right now. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement has set up a mobile forensics lab.
They`re combing through that house. Now while that`s going on, we also have 55 miles to the north at a landfill in Georgia. We have a similar investigation where they are going through painstakingly 225 tons of trash to try to find any sort of evidence at that location where Somer`s body was found.
CASAREZ: I want to go out to a very special guest tonight, Laura Holt. She is the aunt of Somer Thompson. Once again thank you for joining us under such a trying time, but a time that investigators are trying to find who murdered your beautiful, beautiful relative. When was the last time you spoke with Somer?
LAURA HOLT, SOMER THOMPSON`S AUNT (via phone): A few months ago. Over the phone.
CASAREZ: What did she say?
HOLT: What?
CASAREZ: What did she say to you?
HOLT: She told me that she loved me and we couldn`t wait to see each other again. And she asked about her kitty that was here, Rosy. She loves kitty cats and puppy dogs.
CASAREZ: Were there plans for the holidays?
HOLT: My husband had already taken two weeks off from work for Christmas. And we were going to go down and see them at Christmastime. We just hadn`t gotten to make -- you know, talked about it and discussed it. And now we`ll never get to see her again.
CASAREZ: You have such beautiful memories of such a lovely, precious, precious little girl whose life was cut so short. We are so sorry for your loss.
HOLT: Thank you.
CASAREZ: I want to go to Lisa Rukab, who is a neighbor and a friend of Somer Thompson and her whole family.
Lisa, you have helped so much in all of this with support and help with the community. Talk to us about the community where Somer Thompson and her mother, where they live. What is it like out there in north Florida?
LISA RUKAB, NEIGHBOR OF SOMER THOMPSON`S FAMILY, ON SCENE FROM SOMER THOMPSON`S HOME: Oh, we have a wonderful neighborhood. North Florida all together is wonderful. We have a wonderful close-knit community that we live in. Everybody usually would all watch out for each other`s children. We just help each other when they need help.
If a parent is not -- is going to make -- you know, picking up the child, it`s nothing for someone to pick up the phone and just ask, hey, can you pick her up today? Or pick him up today and there`s no problem. We all share that job.
CASAREZ: Have you ever seen that vacant house that investigators have now designated a crime scene that they are staying at to continue to collect evidence? Have you seen it?
RUKAB: I have not seen the actual house, but I know exactly where it is.
CASAREZ: How close is it to where Somer lived? How close?
RUKAB: Approximately -- half a mile?
CASAREZ: Half a mile. So just about half way home. Was this the regular route that Somer and her twin brother and her little sister -- the regular route they walk every day after school?
RUKAB: Yes, ma`am. All the children in our neighborhood walk the same -- it`s the only way to get there. You have to walk. You have to take that route.
CASAREZ: Let`s go out to.
RUKAB: It`s straight up one sidewalk.
CASAREZ: Yes, go ahead.
RUKAB: Excuse me?
CASAREZ: No, go ahead, please.
RUKAB: It`s straight up one sidewalk. You get to one cross guard, you take a left. And it`s right down. There`s usually a police officer there making sure the children are safe in between the next cross guard. And then they get past this -- that one and then there`s another cross guard and you`re at the school.
CASAREZ: Unbelievable. To Susan Moss, family law attorney, child advocate, the reason I asked the question if this was a regular route that little Somer Thompson walked, that could be very important evidence because this is going to be a first-degree murder case. This, I believe, is going to be a death penalty case. We are in Florida. There are special circumstances for death penalty cases. This fits it.
It`s a young little girl under the age of 12. It could be a felony murder situation, a killing during the commission of a felony. But, if it`s the regular route she walked, this also could be premeditated and preplanned.
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY & CHILD ADVOCATE: Absolutely and that also means the death penalty. The reason why they want to know if it`s the regular route, they want to know if this person had been watching her for several days. That might produce more evidence. Maybe more witnesses. But her body found in a dump will only intensify the hunt.
Look at this mother. Anyone who saw anything needs to come forward. We need to make sure that our children are safe. And by getting this scumbag off the street, that`s the only way we can do it.
CASAREZ: To Dr. David Posey, very short time we have, but DNA forensic critically important on this body. And I know about the touch DNA that now investigators can get when someone really touches the clothing of a child like this.
DR. DAVID M. POSEY, MEDICAL EXAMINER, GLEN OAKS PATHOLOGY MEDICAL GROUP: That`s correct. The touch DNA actually is very important because the last person to touch the object or individual, that DNA will be there. So they will glean that evidence and data. They`ll get the fingerprints and they will have that available.
CASAREZ: And that can possibly link them to the killer.
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D. THOMPSON: I just want them to know that everything they`re doing is not in vain. I mean I`ve had grown men over here cry on my shoulder and tell me they feel like they didn`t do nothing. I don`t want anybody to feel like that. Everybody did so much. It`s just -- it was what it was.
I want you to know that I will not sleep until this person is found. I hope they get you and I hope they make you pay for a long, long time.
I just love her and I`ll miss her. I want him found. I want someone to pay for what`s been done to my family. She had my same personality. I miss holding her and giving her a kiss and not knowing if I said I love her. I know that she knew that but you never know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m very confident we are going to have a positive outcome and find the people or people -- the person or people who are responsible for the death of this beautiful child.
D. THOMPSON: You don`t take from somebody. You didn`t take her from just me. You took her from my family, you took her from all of these people. And you don`t do this to a little baby and to put my baby in the trash like she`s nothing. It`s not OK.
This sick -- I don`t know what I`m allowed to say. But this sick man, person -- what, he`s not a man, he`s not a person, was waiting. He`d been waiting. And that was a perfect opportunity. There was no one else around. That`s the only thing I can think and probably told her I`m going to take you to your mommy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a child killer on the loose. And that`s why we`re going to catch this person and bring him to justice.
D. THOMPSON: Watch out, we`re coming. We`re going to get you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of the legal network "In Session," in for Nancy Grace tonight.
Out to Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist. Diena Thompson, who we have just seen, has shown exquisite grace, tremendous strength in hours after she found out her daughter was murdered. She has to be in shock. But where does she get that strength from? To go before a microphone or the country?
PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I don`t think she is in shock, Jean. Like most people would just shut down emotionally. They would be numb, they would feel nothing. They`d become passive and withdrawal, which is a normal response.
But what Miss Johnson is able to do is to show the very best kind of resilience. She`s talking about her feelings, her own doubts. She`s reaching out to other people and giving voice to what probably the whole country is feeling. Having a social network, having -- being a person of faith, having a strong family are those factors which help people live through this worst kind of trauma.
CASAREZ: And Diena Thompson was, this morning, on the "Today" show talking again to the country to help find her daughter`s killer. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. THOMPSON: We`re coming for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you confident that they`ll be able to.
D. THOMPSON: We`re going to get you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you confident they`ll be able to find your daughter`s killer?
D. THOMPSON: I want to be confident, but I was confident that she was going to come home, and she didn`t. But I know they are working. And doing it. I have faith in them.
Just how beautiful she was. How sweet and innocent and just wanted to always -- just wanted to be friends with everybody. Always, it takes a couple of seconds to tell them you love them. Tell them you love them. You don`t know what`s going to happen.
Just -- just make them aware of stranger danger. I tried with Somer. I feel like I failed, obviously.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nobody would say that.
D. THOMPSON: If it just helps one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: That is Somer Thompson`s mother on NBC`s "Today" show this morning.
I want to go to Lisa Rukab, neighbor and friend near of the family who`s standing there live in Orange Park, Florida near the family`s home. You have rallied people, you and your neighbors very quickly to form a group called Moms Against Predators. Tell us all about that group.
RUKAB: Well, right now over to the left, they are having a different kind of -- the rally is over to our left. There`s a lot of people. I`m very overwhelmed at who showed up. Basically, we are getting something together where the children are going to know that purple is safe. If they see any of us on the streets in between, they see trouble, any kind of trouble, if they`re hurt, they don`t feel good, anything in between the crossing guard and the next step they have to get that we will be someone safe for them to come to.
CASAREZ: So purple is good. Does that correlate at all with the purple ribbon that Miss Thompson had in her hair yesterday?
RUKAB: Yes, ma`am. Purple was Somer`s favorite color. So that is the color that we have chosen. And it`s just -- everything is purple now.
CASAREZ: That`s.
RUKAB: We`re going to let the children know that -- yes, it is. They`re just going to let them know that it`s a safe color for them to come to.
CASAREZ: To Pat Brown, criminal profiler. You know, whenever I see you on the air, Pat, I stop everything I`m doing and listen because what you have to say about cases is something from experience and everything you`ve gone through.
With everything we`ve seen now at this point in this case, what are your thoughts?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "KILLING FOR SPORT": Well, I`m really concerned about the police have said about clearing those hundred sex offender suspects because I don`t know how they could possibly do that. There`s only a few ways to clear a suspect.
One is you`re a pastor and you`re on a pulpit and you`ve got 200 people in church watching you. Another is that you`re seen on a video camera some time -- exactly around the time of the crime far away. Or you`re sitting over in another country and you couldn`t possibly get back on an airplane.
Other than that, there`s no way to clear these guys. So either they have an idea of someone else who did it or they`re just -- not really telling us the truth. But that concerns me because everybody out there should still be looking at these guys and saying, look, if I saw that guy acting suspiciously, I know that person. He said something weird, done something weird. You`ve got to get that information to the police. So don`t discount that unless there`s an absolute way you can prove they could not be involved.
CASAREZ: To Ray Giudice, defense attorney out of Atlanta, do you agree or disagree? You`ve got 90 registered sex offenders and a number of hours basically they`ve all been eliminated.
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, let me say one thing. A lot of sex offenders that are on probation or parole are on GPS, ankle bracelets and their exact position can be found and they can be cleared.
Let me also say that we just rounded up all the sex offenders in the previous case up in Missouri and it doesn`t look like any of them had anything to do with this either. I`m not discounting what Pat says, but I mean this roundup of sex offenders, every single time a child is missing and the intense focus on them to the, really, the use of lack of resources on a different type of profile I think may be a mistake.
CASAREZ: All right. And tonight, "CNN Heroes."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WYCLEF JEAN, MUSICIAN: How you all doing? My name is Wyclef Jean.
At the first annual "CNN Heroes" tribute show, I had the honor of performing and helping to recognize the great works of everyday citizens changing the world.
As a founder of Yele Haiti, an organization which seeks to improve lives in my native country, I am thrilled to help CNN introduce one of this year`s top 10 honorees.
Now more than ever, the world needs heroes.
DERRICK TABB, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: Life after Katrina is really hard for a kid. You have violence, the drug life. I`m just tired of it. My aim is to get kids off the streets.
My name is Derrick Tabb, and I started a free music education program for the kids of New Orleans.
Let`s go. Arms up.
We do more than just teach music. We offer transportation. We offer instruments. I`ll feed you so you`re not hungry, all right? I`ll give you tutoring.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which one, H on 3?
TABB: I call it the "no excuse policy." You don`t have no excuse why you`re not here. You don`t have to have any experience.
Press down on it just like that.
We meet five days a week year round. We`re constantly learning something new. And that`s what keeps the kids coming back every day.
I don`t want to say that I`m saving lives. I say I`m giving life, a whole different life of music.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CASAREZ: And now a look back at the stories making the headlines this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
D. THOMPSON: You don`t -- you didn`t take her from just me, you took her from my family, you took her from all of these people and you don`t do this to a little baby and to put my baby in the trash like she`s nothing. That`s not OK. It`s not OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can now say officially that the medical examiner there has positively identified the body that was located in the landfill yesterday as the missing child from Orange Park, Somer Thompson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Someone has Morgan. Please let her come home safely.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Virginia state police are asking for the public to help locate this missing Virginia Tech student. She is Morgan Harrington, she has not been heard from since she and her friends went to a Metallica concert Saturday night in Clarkesville, Virginia.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Right now, taking your calls live, her mother, Gil Harrington.
Miss Harrington, thank you for being with us.
GIL HARRINGTON, MISSING CO-ED, MORGAN HARRINGTON`S MOTHER: Thank you so much for letting us come on and put Morgan`s information out there.
MAYUMI HEENE, MOTHER OF BOY THOUGHT TO BE FLOATING BALLOON: Oh my god. Oh my god. My son!
GRACE: How many legitimate 911 calls came in that day? How many people needed police, needed sheriffs, needed help? But no, everybody was consumed trying to save this 6-year-old boy`s life, up in a balloon. He was never there.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Law enforcement urgently searching for 9-year- old Elizabeth Olten. Elizabeth vanishes on a quarter of a mile walk from her friend`s house to her own home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want my little sister at home safely. And I don`t know who would have done anything, but we all want her home safely.
D. THOMPSON: I want you to know that I will not sleep until this person is found. I hope they get you and I hope they make you pay. For a long, long time.
GRACE: Who would murder this beautiful brown-eyed little cherub and throw her away like trash? Before Somer`s murderer lands in hell, we want this child killer now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Tonight, let us stop to remember Army Sergeant James McDonald, 26 years old, from (INAUDIBLE), Wisconsin. He was killed in Iraq. On a second tour of duty, he was awarded the Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal and the Humanitarian Service Medal.
He loved football and dreamed of being a firefighter. He leaves behind his grieving parents Joan and Douglas.
James McDonald, he`s an American hero.
Thank you so much to all of our guests and to you for being at home, being with us tonight. Thank you so much, see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, everybody.
END
