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Nancy Grace
Teen Girl Charged in Murder of Missouri 9-Year-old
Aired October 27, 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 to the heartland. A 9-year-old little Missouri girl plays with a little friend, walks home, still daylight, through her own neighborhood, no more than a quarter mile. That`s only about a thousand feet. She never makes it home. Tonight: The massive search for 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten comes to an end, her body found in a heavily wooded area just houses away from her own home. Police converge on one of those homes, the last known sighting of the 9-year-old alive.
Bombshell tonight. A murder suspect in custody. No, not one of the dozens of registered sex offenders in the area, not a vagrant, not an escapee, not a parolee. Suspect is a 15-year-old girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) go ahead and just reach in (INAUDIBLE) pull your heart out! That`s what it`s like!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news in the case of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, who was found murdered in a heavily wooded area behind her home. Multiple reports say the teen suspect arrested in the murder of Elizabeth is a 15-year-old girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) a 15-year-old, committed the offense of murder in the first degree.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say the teen suspect led them to Elizabeth`s body last week. The body was found very well concealed in an area where searchers were looking for her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had been through that area actually more than once. The body was very well concealed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Neighbors also tell us that the friend`s home where Elizabeth was last seen was searched shortly after the body was found Friday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When these children are indeed attacked or abducted, they usually are dead within 30 minutes to an hour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hearing will be held next month to determine if the suspect will be charged as an adult or a juvenile. Prosecutors say the sheriff`s office requests that the suspect be charged with first-degree murder, indicates they believe the crime was planned.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight: A beautiful young Virginia Tech co-ed keeps tickets to a Metallica concert for six months taped up on the fridge, goes to the concert with all her friends. Just before the band takes the stage. she goes missing from a packed arena holding 16,000 people. And nobody knows what happened? Found in the parking lot, her purse and cell phone, battery removed.
Breaking tonight. Grainy concert video emerges of a girl fitting Morgan`s description. Is it Morgan? Tonight with us live taking your calls, Morgan`s parents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s grainy video posted on YouTube, but some people think the girl in it fits the description of Morgan Harrington. Here`s what looks like this same girl from a different angle. We sat down with Harrington`s dad after he found out about the videos. He says the girl in the video does look similar to his daughter.
DAN HARRINGTON, MORGAN`S FATHER: Looks like it could be Morgan. It`s fairly far away and -- you know, and lots of moving images. But you know, it -- you know, the one thing that doesn`t go with it is that Morgan left with tights on. I just can`t remember the timelines of where things are as to when they took the stage and whether Morgan was still in the building or not or not in the building and could she have gotten back in the building. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the time Morgan was at the concert, she was wearing a black T-shirt that had the words "Panera" written across it. She was also wearing black knee-high boots, black tights and a black mini- skirt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dan and Jill Harrington say the only way to get their daughter back is information, whether it`s videos like this or a detail you may think is insignificant. They say it could be just the piece that connects this puzzle.
HARRINGTON: If Morgan`s out there and hears us, please come home. And if someone has Morgan, please (INAUDIBLE) come home safely!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Live to the heartland. A 9-year-old Missouri girl plays with a little friend, walks home, still daylight, through her own neighborhood. It`s only about a thousand feet. She never makes it home. Tonight: The search for 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten comes to an end, her body found in a heavily wooded area just houses from her own home. Bombshell tonight. A murder suspect in custody. It`s a 15-year-old girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stunning developments today in the case of 9-year- old Elizabeth Olten, found murdered in a heavily wooded area behind her home. Multiple reports as well as neighbors claim the teen suspect arrested in the murder of Elizabeth is a 15-year-old girl.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came into possession of some written documents. The results of those documents gave us a person of interest. After questioning that individual, we were taken to the site where the body was (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police will not give details on the teen but do say the suspect led them to Elizabeth`s body, which was found very well concealed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 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.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Meanwhile, moments after the body was found, neighbors say authorities converged on the friend`s home where Elizabeth was last seen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This wasn`t a game of hide-and-go-seek gone wrong, that this was actually something ridiculously more serious than that. We`re going to be looking at some very, very serious charges.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A hearing will be held to determine if the suspect will face charges as an adult or a minor. Police have asked the DA`s office to charge the teen with first-degree murder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`d be eligible for what we call dual jurisdiction. If she is eligible for dual jurisdiction, she would be transferred to the temporary custody of the Division of Youth Services, where they would provide her treatment and services.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Ladd Eagan, news director and anchor with KRCG. A 15-year-old girl is the murder suspect? Not just murder, premeditated malice murder one suspect. This was planned? Ladd, please tell me I`m wrong.
LADD EAGAN, KRCG (via telephone): You`re absolutely right. I mean, the sheriff wants first-degree murder charges, which he plainly says this was something that was planned. He says that they have written evidence and that they`ve also talked with this 15-year-old girl, and there was obviously some sort of an interview, and then she walked them into the woods and showed them where the body -- and he said the body was very well concealed.
GRACE: OK, Ladd, you know -- with me, Ladd Eagan with KRCG -- I don`t know how well a 15-year-old girl could conceal a body from detectives, searchers, K-9 dogs, cadaver dogs, bloodhounds. You know, I need to hear more about this well-concealed body because I find that very hard to believe.
But I want to get back to what you just said. You said written evidence. Now, it`s my understanding, Ladd Eagan, that an anonymous letter had been sent to police. But you`re saying writing. Are you talking about the letter, or are you talking about perhaps the 15-year-old girl`s diary?
EAGAN: I asked the sheriff that. I said, you know, Is there a letter, and is there also other written evidence? And he said now that this case is turned over to juvenile authorities, he cannot talk anymore and he would not say if there are two separate things. I listened closely to the press conference over the weekend, and they started out talking about a letter that they received. That led them to the juvenile. And then, you know, the juvenile led them to the body.
But then he also brought up later that they issued the charges, or you know, they want to file these charges of first-degree murder because of written evidence. So it`s unclear if there`s other charges.
GRACE: Something in that written evidence, be it -- I`m saying there may be a letter from someone that knew what happened. That I would guess, I would put money on, the 15-year-old blabbed, too. But when you say written evidence, that tells me that this girl was keeping a diary, and in that diary she said enough that told cops this was premeditated.
And remember, everybody, premeditation does not necessarily mean a long, drawn-out plan, such as a poisoning by arsenic over time. Malice, or premeditation, can be formed in the blink of an eye, in the snap of a finger, the time it takes you to raise a gun and pull the trigger. That`s time under the law for premeditation to be formed.
We are taking your calls live. Out to Patricia in Maryland. Hi, Patricia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I just want to tell you I love you and I love everything you do for everybody. And my question is, where are the parents?
GRACE: Of the -- where are the parents of the little girl, the 9- year-old or of the 15-year-old...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, the parents of the 15-year-old.
GRACE: Yes, where are the parents, Ladd Eagan? What can you tell me about that? Where were they when all this was going down?
EAGAN: Well, we don`t know the name of the girl. Court authorities today kept on referring to her as a girl. I have sources, very good sources that have talked to me. It`s just we don`t know how to get ahead of ourselves when they haven`t released her name. We have heard that...
GRACE: Wait a minute. You don`t know her name? I know her name. I`m not going to say her name because she`s a juvenile, but her name is out there.
EAGAN: I, as well, know her name, and I am told that she does not live with her parents, that she is cared for by other family members.
GRACE: Well, then, where are they? If they`re caring for her, as you said, how was she able, assuming the allegations are true, to do this crime? And let me back up a minute. With me, Ladd Eagan from KRCG joining us, Jefferson City, Missouri. This little girl, a 9-year-old little girl minding her own business, coming home from school -- Rupa Mikkilineni, bring us up to date with the facts. Take it from the beginning. What happened?
RUPA MIKKILINENI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Here`s what we know, Nancy. She disappeared Wednesday when she was playing at a neighbor -- a friend`s house. She was supposed to walk home. It was just a quarter of a mile walk back to her house. She didn`t show up. At 7:00 o`clock, when she didn`t show up, the parents called the police.
GRACE: Back it up. What time was she playing with the little friend? According to my sources, it was still daylight when she went to get -- walk home.
MIKKILINENI: That`s right. About 6:15, still daylight.
GRACE: OK.
MIKKILINENI: So afterwards the police were called. There was a neighborhood search, hundreds of people searching for her for two days...
GRACE: Hold on. Don`t mean to interrupt, but I just want to clarify. She goes missing around 6:15. The parents call cops around 7:00, right?
MIKKILINENI: That`s right.
GRACE: OK. Go ahead.
MIKKILINENI: Hundreds of people searching for the next two days, dogs searching. They found cell phone pings in the area. So they knew that the cell phone wasn`t very far from the area, the neighborhood where she was last seen. And then they got this anonymous tip. Either it was a letter - - we`re again unsure, this written evidence the sheriff was talking about. And then immediately afterwards, this led them to the 15-year-old suspect, who then led them to the body.
GRACE: Look at this little girl. This little girl, Elizabeth Olten, just 9 years old, playing in her own neighborhood. The parents -- her parents did everything right. They knew where she was. Walking home about a thousand feet, she goes missing. The search has ended. Elizabeth is dead, and in custody, a 15-year-old girl, booked on murder one.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s just a baby. I mean, her mom -- I mean, she`s a wreck. I mean, she`s like I am. And her dad`s a wreck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sheriff said that they received a handwritten note. And he wouldn`t elaborate on if someone brought it to them or if they found it. And he said that note led them to find this juvenile, and then it was that juvenile who led them to the body out in the woods. They even said they went over this area twice and didn`t come across the body until this juvenile led them to the body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had been through that area, actually more than once. The body was very well concealed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Apparently, Elizabeth knew this person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A heartbreaking end in the search for 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten. Little Elizabeth vanishes walking alone just a short distance from her own home, and she never makes it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s just a baby!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She does not deserve this. Her family does not deserve this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s right. The suspect behind bars tonight is not a parolee or an escapee or one of the dozens of registered sex offenders that live in the area. It`s a 15-year-old girl.
We are taking your calls live. But right now, I want to go to a very special guest joining us, Vicki Olten. This is little Elizabeth`s aunt. She is joining us from Russellville, Missouri. Ms. Olten, I thought I knew everything about being a crime victim when my fiance was murdered before our wedding, but I cannot imagine losing John David or Lucy. How are the parents? How are her parents tonight?
VICKI OLTEN, ELIZABETH`S AUNT: They`re a wreck. I haven`t heard from her dad today, so I can`t imagine how he`s doing right now. But I know her mom`s a wreck.
GRACE: You know, just hearing the facts, Ms. Olten, I can hardly take it in. She only had about a thousand feet to walk, 1,000 feet to get home from her friend`s house. And just the shock of a 15-year-old neighbor girl being the suspect -- I know the family is stunned.
OLTEN: It just -- it`s so unreal.
GRACE: When did you first discover that Elizabeth was missing?
OLTEN: Her oldest sister called me about 7:00 o`clock and told me they couldn`t find her and that they were out looking for her, that she was headed to her mother`s house. And then they went up to the other house where she was supposed to be playing and they said she wasn`t there.
GRACE: So she started walking home at 6:15. At 7:00 o`clock, the parents were already on the phone with police. The parents did everything right. They knew where she was. She was right there in the neighborhood, just a few houses down. That`s why I was so dumbfounded when I found out the little girl`s body was right there. I don`t understand how police didn`t find it.
Now, they keep telling me the child was -- the body was so well concealed. How could a 15-year-old girl trick searchers, police, K-9 dogs? How did she hide Elizabeth?
OLTEN: I`d like to know that myself.
GRACE: Tell me about Elizabeth. In these photos -- her personality just beams out of the photos.
OLTEN: Well, when you see that morning sun pop over the mountain, that`s what she was. She was sunshine. And you can`t help but love her. I mean, she was ornery. She was picking on her brother in this picture that`s showing now here at my house. And it was funny. You just had to be here.
GRACE: With me is Elizabeth`s aunt, Vicki Olten. We are taking your calls. Her parents have received the news, as you are, that a suspect is in custody. It`s a 15-year-old neighbor girl, a 15-year-old girl, charged with premeditated murder one. We are taking your calls live.
To tonight`s "Case Alert." Finally, an arrest and murder charge in the stabbing death of an all-American college football star, Jasper Howard, University of Connecticut, Howard`s life cut short at a college dance. After an extensive investigation, hundreds of interviews, three suspects who are not UConn students in custody, one facing murder charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) police have arrested the following - - John W. Lomax III, age 21, of Bloomfield, Connecticut, on the charge of murder and a second charge of conspiracy to commit assault in the first degree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news in the case of 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten, who was found murdered in a heavily wooded area behind her home. Multiple reports say the teen suspect arrested in the murder of Elizabeth is a 15-year-old girl. Police say the teen suspect led them to Elizabeth`s body.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`d be eligible for what we call dual jurisdiction. If she is eligible for dual jurisdiction, she would be transferred to the temporary custody of the Division of Youth Services, where they would provide her treatment and services.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Treatment? This is a 15-year-old girl. When that speaker was referring to dual jurisdiction, she`s talking about this child could be treated as a juvenile, which means even if she got the max, she could walk free in six years at age 21. Or will she be treated as an adult?
Rupa, when will that decision be made? Is she going to be bound over to be treated as an adult?
MIKKILINENI: This decision`s going to be made on November 18th. This is the certification hearing. Tomorrow, she`s going to be in court for a detention hearing, which will determine whether she will await her days until the 18th either at home or remain in the detention facility.
GRACE: What? They may let her out tomorrow? Did I -- did you just say that?
MIKKILINENI: There`s going to be a discussion about that tomorrow at the hearing.
GRACE: With who? Who`s going to be in on that discussion?
MIKKILINENI: We know she will be appearing with her attorney. We know that the juvenile court will be hearing arguments.
GRACE: So it`s going to be before a juvenile judge?
MIKKILINENI: Yes.
GRACE: OK. Let`s unleash the lawyers, Susan Moss, New York, Raymond Giudice, defense attorney, Atlanta, Joe Lawless, defense attorney, author of "Prosecutorial Misconduct" joining us out of the Philadelphia jurisdiction.
Sue Moss, I`m scared. Have you ever known a juvenile judge that was any more harsh than, say, a social worker? They want to sit around a little table and tell the juvenile to write an essay about why they did a bad thing, and then they can go home and have a cookie. I`m not kidding. I practiced in juvenile court before I got to big court, and that`s the mentality there!
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: If she is sent home to freely roam...
GRACE: I`ll bust a gasket!
MOSS: ... then Lady Justice must be taking a nap! It`s absolutely ridiculous because the reality is, if this crime is premeditated, she`s going to be doing some adult time! You look at the seriousness of the case, the fact that it resulted in death, this kid is not going to be prosecuted in a juvenile hall but in real adult jail! And I think she`s going to spend a lot of time there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: As the days grew longer and the search effort came up empty, everyone dreaded the news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came into the possession of some written documents. The results of those documents gave us a person of interest. After questioning that individual, we were taken to the site where the body was found.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: With 9-year-old Elizabeth Olten`s body came the formal charge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 15-year-old committed the offense of murder in the first degree.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Stringent Missouri juvenile laws protect most information in the case. Details, including the suspect`s gender and any known relationship, remains unknown. Nearly 1,000 volunteers and officials aid in the search. But the dense woodland and hilly terrain complicated efforts.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have been through that area, actually more than once. The body was very well concealed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: We are taking your calls live. Out to Mike Brooks, former fed with the FBI. What do you make of it, Mike?
MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST; FMR. D.C. POLICE DET., FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Well, Nancy, you know, they`re saying it was very well concealed. This is an extremely rural, very wooded area. Now, you know, they said they went through there with dogs.
Again, keep in mind, Nancy, dogs are only a tool. They said it was -- when the first time they went through it was raining. Usually, rain is pretty good because the air is more dense. But there again, if this girl, this 15-year-old planned this out, she could have concealed this body.
GRACE: To Marc Klaas, president and founder of KlaasKids Foundation, I just don`t know how cadaver dogs and bloodhounds could have missed this. Plus we also know now that the body was not far away from her cell phone. The little girl even had a cell phone.
Marc Klaas, she was doing -- the mommy made sure she did everything right. She had a cell phone. She`s only a few houses away, 1,000 feet, for Pete`s sake.
MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Yes, it`s -- this is a brutal, brutal situation. But before I get into that too much, I would like to offer my condolence to her family. This is just a terrible experience that they`re going through. Nancy, given.
GRACE: You know what, Marc? Just pause.
KLAAS: Sure.
GRACE: You`re right. Everybody else is hashing this through, talking about the facts and the evidence, and it`s easy to forget that right now there is a family that is devastated, their hearts are broken, they can`t even take in that their daughter is gone, their little girl is gone. It`s over.
KLAAS: Absolutely.
GRACE: All your hopes, all your dreams, all your love, it`s over. And behind bars is a 15-year-old girl.
KLAAS: Given time and circumstance, a killer will do everything possible to cover up their crime. And that includes disposing of the body. Remember, Caylee Anthony was only a few hundred yards from her home, and it took many months to find her.
Remember, just last week the little girl Somer Thompson, her killer tried to dispose of her by dumping her in a landfill. So I think we have to give a little bit of -- we have to give a little bit of credit to the authorities, not for the Amber Alert they didn`t issue when they should have, but for being diligent and ultimately finding the little girl`s body.
GRACE: You know what? That`s a good point. Because good police work, not forensic tools, solved this case.
We are taking your calls live. Back to the lawyers. Raymond Giudice, Joe Lawless. OK, Ray, you know how juvenile bindovers work. The child, as they`re called in the law, this is by no means a child, she`s a 15-year- old, will be at a hearing tomorrow to determine whether she stays behind bars, which I predict she will.
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. I agree.
GRACE: And you know, no judge in his or her right mind is going to let an alleged killer, a baby killer, out from behind bars. But then the big question is will she be treated as an adult? As an adult she can get life without parole.
GIUDICE: Let me tell you what I would be looking for if I was her counsel. I would gather every single medical record from this 15-year-old from the day she was born.
GRACE: There you go. There you go.
GIUDICE: Wait a second. Wait a second. Let me tell what you I`m going to do.
GRACE: Never ceases to amaze me.
GIUDICE: Get all of her school grades. Pre-testing. I want to give that judge every piece of information so I can do everything I can as her lawyer, not as the prosecutor, to keep her in the juvenile court. That`s my job.
GRACE: Hey. Hey.
GIUDICE: Get a prosecutor to do the other job.
GRACE: Giudice, just because you drag the word out does not make it any more significant. So my question is what do you hope her grades, her school grades are going to tell a judge?
GIUDICE: I want to look for a pattern of this child either having psychological or inability to comprehend the seriousness of the crime. We don`t know. A simple IQ test could make it so this child, this 15-year-old girl, does not have the sufficient competency, intellectual competency to stand trial as an adult. It could be that simple, Nancy.
GRACE: Lawless?
JOE LAWLESS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, AUTHOR OF "PROSECUTORIAL MISCONDUCT": Nancy, the only thing we know about this child is she`s not living with her parents, she is living with other family members, which suggests a living condition that could have impact on her background.
We don`t know the nature of the crime other than the fact it was a horrible, tragic killing. We don`t know. we.
GRACE: Put Lawless up.
LAWLESS: We know nothing about the child.
GRACE: Put him up. I know this much. It`s premeditated according to police and.
LAWLESS: That`s what.
GRACE: I`d like to finish. And according to our sources that it`s from a diary. So this child that you`re referring to that has all these mental problems keeps a diary, a well-written diary with enough detail to clue cops in about what`s happening.
LAWLESS: No, but.
GRACE: But let`s go to the authority, Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Dealbreakers," joining us out of the New York studio. Bethany, weigh in.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Nancy, the fact she wrote in a diary and possibly told another friend who then told police speaks volumes. And what it tells me is there was a fondness for aggression. Whether teens plan to commit violence and they want to do it and they fixate on it, they write about it.
We saw this with the Columbine killers. We saw this with Casey Anthony. We see this with school shooters. And usually the mindset of the killer is that there is a preoccupation with wreaking vengeance and seeking harm and rendering the victims into a very helpless state.
So in this case it`s violence for the sake of violence. It`s not to cover up another crime like child molestation. It`s not to kill a child because they took your possession like a pair of sneakers or something like that. It`s usually correlated with parental aggression, parental brutality, and then carrying that out on a helpless victim.
GRACE: And this is what else I can deduce. I don`t know this yet. But we know that the child was last seen alive at the home of a little playmate. OK? We know that police honed in on a home in that neighborhood and seized evidence. So one plus one equals two.
And that`s telling me, Mike Brooks, that that is the home where the alleged killer lived and that is somehow related to the little playmate where the girl was playing that day. I mean I`m just putting -- I`m cobbling together facts that -- you know, that are out there. To me it makes sense.
BROOKS: It makes perfect sense, Nancy. If you look at the map that we were showing just a little while ago, it shows where the body was found. It shows her house. And it shows the house that -- where she was there with the little girl.
GRACE: I want to go to Dr. Keri Peterson, internal medicine doctor at Lenox Hill Hospital. Dr. Peterson, she went missing on Wednesday. Her body was found two days later.
DR. KERI PETERSON, M.D., INTERNAL MEDICINE, LENOX HILL HOSPITAL: That`s right.
GRACE: She was in the elements. Will we be able to determine cause of death?
PETERSON: I think it will be extremely likely that you`ll be able to determine cause of death. And the fact that she was very well concealed may actually help coroners figure this out because being very well concealed to me means that you`re being protected from the elements. Rain, water, wind, even animals. So I think -- and also.
GRACE: It`s so hard for me to look at this little girl`s picture, Dr. Keri, and hear you say.
PETERSON: It`s devastating.
(CROSSTALK)
PETERSON: It`s horrific. And one other thing to mention is that in a 48-hour period there is decomposition going on but it`s only still internal. So the skin is still intact, so if there`s any physical injuries such as, God forbid.
GRACE: Right.
PETERSON: . a knife wound or strangulation, it will be very visible.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Barri in Illinois. Hi, Barri.
BARRI, CALLER FROM ILLINOIS: Hi, Nancy. I just want to tell you I appreciate so much for everything you do for victims who can`t speak for themselves.
GRACE: Thank you.
BARRI: And I also appreciate the way you love your two little kids, the way God intended for you to love them.
GRACE: I do.
BARRI: And this breaks my heart over and over again when I watch your show. But we need to know what`s going on out there and the question I was going to ask has already been answered, I guess, by the penalty. This little girl could be tried as an adult.
But Nancy, that`s not enough. We need to get together as a nation and say hey, we`re not going to take this anymore. We`re not going to kill our kids, we`re not going to mutilate their little bodies and destroy families. We`ve got to have some tougher penalties so people aren`t so apt to do this and then spend 20 years in jail and think, well, they`re paying my rent, they`re feeding me, we`re paying their medical care. It`s just not fair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you ever had somebody go in and just reach inside you and pull your heart out? That`s what it`s like. She`s an angel. I mean, I keep going back to my niece is scared of the dark.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIL HARRINGTON, MORGAN HARRINGTON`S MOTHER: We miss our little baby. She is our precious daughter. And we hope that this attention can help bring her back to our home.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Morgan Harrington was somehow separated from her friends at an arena in Charlottesville, Virginia. She`s a junior at Virginia Tech, very close to her family, calls home every day, and mom and dad say it is so out of character for her to just disappear with no contact.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The group of friends that she went with are friends from middle school. You know, from what I understand, she went to the restroom, and they then get a call from Morgan that she was outside the arena.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is suspicious to me that she ended up outside the arena, and it makes me wonder if she saw someone she knew and walked out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People do come up missing. However, it is very, very unusual that we have not heard anything, either from her friends or from her family regarding her whereabouts.
DR. DAN HARRINGTON, MORGAN HARRINGTON`S FATHER: If anyone has seen Morgan, either in a store or by the road after the concert, anyone that looks like the description of Morgan, please notify the police. It would be very helpful to all of us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining us tonight, Morgan`s parents, Dr. Dan Harrington and Jill Harrington. To both of you, thank you for being with us.
D. HARRINGTON: Thank you.
G. HARRINGTON: Thank you for having us.
GRACE: I understand that video emerged that appeared to be Morgan. What do you make of it?
G. HARRINGTON: Yes.
GRACE: To you, Dr. Harrington.
D. HARRINGTON: Well, I think initially looking at the picture I thought, gosh, this could be Morgan and Morgan`s brother came in from New York and said he thought it was Morgan. And the more I looked at it I thought no, no, I don`t think it is. So it was -- you know, it gave us hope for a period of time, and then of course today we learned that that video was not Morgan.
GRACE: Where did the video come from, Miss Harrington?
G. HARRINGTON: I believe in this world that`s happened it actually was forwarded to us from this station where we are right now.
D. HARRINGTON: That`s correct.
G. HARRINGTON: Right?
D. HARRINGTON: That`s correct. One of the reporters here forwarded that film to me.
GRACE: Now was the outfit in the video -- I remember, Miss Harrington, you told me that she showed you several outfits and you helped her pick out the one.
G. HARRINGTON: Right.
GRACE: Was this similar to that outfit?
G. HARRINGTON: You know, it could have -- it looked like Morgan. You know, maybe the hair was a little bit shorter. And it was a very similar outfit, but no black tights. But you know, we were saying, well, maybe if it got really hot she took her tights off.
GRACE: Right.
G. HARRINGTON: So we thought -- you know our hearts leapt when we saw it on the computer. But we were split even between the three of us that know her. Her brother said it`s her, her dad said no, and I said I`m not sure. I wanted it to be so badly.
GRACE: Plus it showed -- oh, man. You know, after my fiance`s murder, I wanted to believe so, so much that there had been a mistake. And I know right now you`re hanging on to every shred of hope.
D. HARRINGTON: That`s right.
G. HARRINGTON: We`re trying.
GRACE: Stacey Newman, tell me the latest in the investigation.
STACEY NEWMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, this investigation is now turning to social networking sites in light of this video that you`re seeing here on our air tonight. Now that this video has been on Facebook and YouTube, cops are monitoring those social networking sites very closely, Nancy, for photos, videos, any postings that can help them find Morgan Harrington.
GRACE: Joining me also Tim Martin, reporter with News/Talk 960 WFIR. Tim, what more can you tell me?
TIM MARTIN, REPORTER, NEWS/TALK 960 WFIR, COVERING STORY (via phone): Well, Nancy, exactly right. Facebook, YouTube playing a big role. And with this video police really hoping it would be the clue they needed but ultimately that just wasn`t the case.
They`re getting a lot of tips right now. Over the weekend police searched a hotel in the area after receiving a tip, but that turned up nothing. While doing a ground search they found clothing near the university but it wasn`t Morgan`s. Right now they`re getting a lot of tips. Unfortunately not a lot of answers.
The good news, the reward continues to grow, now up to $150,000.
GRACE: I understand Metallica has put in $50,000 into that.
Everyone, the tip line, 434-352-3467. Look at this girl. She looks like a fairy princess. Morgan Harrington is 20 years old. She`s a coed at Virginia. 5`6", 120 pounds, blond hair, blue eyes, last seen at this Metallica concert.
That arena, the John Paul arena, holds 16,000 people. Somebody knows where she is. Somebody knows what happened to this girl. There`s $100,000 riding on your tip. The tip line, 434-352-3467.
Back to special guests joining us, Dr. Dan Harrington, his wife, Jill Harrington. These are Morgan`s mother and father.
Dr. Harrington, you feel sure that foul play is involved. Why?
D. HARRINGTON: Well, Morgan is not the kind of person that would take off. She was really quite close to us. And in fact, the day that she went to the concert she had talked with -- she talked with me about meeting with me the next day to go over math in preparation for a test as well as to help her balance her checkbook.
You know, Morgan has an apartment that`s beautiful in Blacksburg at Virginia Tech. You know, Morgan -- you know, we`re not monitoring her behavior at Virginia Tech. You know she could have friends and.
G. HARRINGTON: Freedom.
D. HARRINGTON: Freedom -- you know, that she doesn`t have to run off to have freedom. And you know, this is not behavior that we`ve ever seen from Morgan. I think she was taken.
GRACE: And Miss Harrington, based on the little bit that I`ve learned from you, I mean, if a 20-year-old is going through her wardrobe with you and you guys together are selecting an outfit for her, I mean, most 20- year-olds don`t care what their mom thinks about what they wear.
I mean, their mom doesn`t even know they`re going to a concert, much less helping them pick out their clothes.
Miss Harrington, it`s my understanding that she may have told friends that she was outside -- that she`d gone outside the arena, they wouldn`t let her back in, and that she was OK, she might get a ride home with other people or they could meet up after the concert.
What do you know about her telling her friends inside that she might get a ride home?
G. HARRINGTON: I know that she did tell them that she could get a ride home, is what we believe. I don`t know what that means. I can`t think that Morgan would leave with someone she did not know.
GRACE: Exactly, exactly.
G. HARRINGTON: But kids think everyone is their friend.
GRACE: They do, Miss Harrington. They do. They think -- they`re so trusting. Let`s go out to the lines, Bonnie in Wisconsin.
Hi, Bonnie, what is your question?
BONNIE, CALLER FROM WISCONSIN: Thanks for taking my call.
GRACE: Yes, ma`am.
BONNIE: God bless you and everything you work for. What I`d like to know is did Morgan have a car? And have they found it?
GRACE: Good question. Dr. Harrington, did she have a car?
D. HARRINGTON: Morgan`s car was not at the arena. Morgan drove to Harrisonburg where she and her friends drove in the friend`s car to Charlottesville. So Morgan`s car is.
GRACE: So she`s got a car, you know where it is, it was not involved.
Lisa in Michigan, what`s your question, dear?
LISA, CALLER FROM MICHIGAN: Hi, Nancy. You are beautiful inside and out.
GRACE: Thank you.
LISA: However, Morgan`s friend`s story doesn`t add up to me. Is it possible they know much more than they`re telling? Have they thoroughly checked the door check guys at the arena?
GRACE: OK, everybody. We`re going to be back with the Harringtons, Morgan`s parents, in just a few moments. Tip line 434-352-3467.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
G. HARRINGTON: There is a very empty place, a Morgan shaped place in our hearts, as well as our home right now. One of our children is missing. We want her back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining us tonight, Morgan`s parents, desperately asking for your help.
Dr. Dan Harrington, Gil Harrington. Quickly, to Lisa in Michigan`s question. Do you believe her friends are holding out information? And do you know whether the security guards at the doors have been questioned? Doctor?
D. HARRINGTON: I don`t know if the security guards have been questioned or not. I don`t think the girls are hiding anything. I think they really don`t know. You know they -- Morgan went to the restroom by herself and for whatever reason she ended up outside the arena. I think they are as perplexed as we are as to how that occurred.
GRACE: Right.
D. HARRINGTON: And I think the more important question is why did Morgan feel that she could get a ride afterwards rather than stage around until.
GRACE: Exactly. That suggests to me something that you have alluded to, Dan Harrington, that you believe whoever she went with was a local. Why do you say that?
D. HARRINGTON: Well, I think, you know, Charlottesville and central Virginia is an area that is generally considered safe and, of course, you know, the Metallica concert drew people from all over the east coast. But, you know, this kind of thing occurs all over the country. And it`s usually someone who knows the area, someone who`s comfortable with, you know, the roads. And it`s not generally going to be someone who`s just out of the blue, you know, driving through town and decides to do this.
GRACE: That`s an excellent analysis.
With me, Dr. Dan Harrington and Gil Harrington, his wife. This is the mother and father of Morgan. Won`t you help us? Take a look at her photo, Morgan Harrington. 434-352-3467. You just heard her mother say please, please help us.
Let`s stop and remember Army Specialist Russell Hercules Jr., 22, (INAUDIBLE), Tennessee. Highly decorated with a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, two Army Commendation Medals, Afghanistan Campaign Medical, Iraq Campaign Medal.
A newlywed. Loved carnivals, fireworks, leaves behind parents Russell and Cheryl, two sisters, widow, Victoria, children Christopher and Cadence.
Russell Hercules, Jr., American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. And a special good night to Georgia friends of the show, Stacey and Lisa. Aren`t they beautiful?
Congratulations to Michael Mazzariello, launching his own show, "STREET COURT". Check your times and listings.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
