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Nancy Grace
Tiger Woods Investigation; Shaniya`s Dad Breaks Silence
Aired November 30, 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, Windermere, Florida. Superstar golf phenomenon Tiger Woods leaving his home 2:00 AM -- repeat, 2:00 AM -- after Thanksgiving Day celebrations, drives out of his multi- million-dollar compound and has a head-on collision, a major smash-up with a tree and a fire hydrant?
His young wife, mother of his two children, reportedly hears the crash from inside the house, runs out and beats out both back windows of Woods`s Cadillac. But now Woods refusing to talk to police not once, not twice, but three times. And why -- why -- did a neighbor have to call 911? We have the 911 call.
In the last hours, Woods pulling out of his own golf tournament as rumors of an affair, an alleged affair between Tiger Woods and a nightclub hostess hit the newsstand just a few hours before the so-called crash. All that money, all those trophies. He`s the first athlete to surpass $1 billion in earnings. What really happened to Tiger Woods?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. What`s your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have -- this is -- Isleworth subdivision. I need an ambulance immediately. I have someone down in front of my house. They hit a pole. I came out to see...
911 OPERATOR: It`s a car accident, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did?
911 OPERATOR: OK, sir...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: Sir, is it a car accident? Hello? Sir? Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello? Yes.
911 OPERATOR: Is it a car accident, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a car accident, yes. I need you -- yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The world`s greatest golfer again choosing to say nothing about his Friday SUV crash. Police now being told that he is not talking to them.
911 OPERATOR: What happened? What`s wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a neighbor. He hit the tree. And we came out here just to see what was going on. I see him and he`s laying down.
911 OPERATOR: You mean it was an auto accident?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it was an auto accident. Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My two officers arrived at the scene and noticed Tiger Woods laying on the ground in front of his vehicle, with his wife over him, rendering first aid. My officers immediately exited their vehicles, went to Mr. Woods and began rendering first aid to him at that time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "This situation is my fault," Woods says, "and it`s obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I`m human, and I`m not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn`t happen again."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live, North Carolina. A little 5-year-old girl vanishes without a trace. Mommy tells police she left the girl on the sofa 5:30 AM. One hour later, the baby`s gone. How does a 5-year-old girl go missing from her own sofa? The child wearing nothing but a T-shirt and underwear, Shaniya`s favorite blanket found discarded, covered in feces, in the neighbor`s trash. After grainy surveillance video surfaces of a 29- year-old man carrying the child in a local hotel, the search for baby Shaniya comes to an end. Police find her little body hidden in dense woods.
The man, the man in the video, Mario McNeill, confesses to taking Shaniya to the hotel, but then clams up. In a heart-wrenching and disgusting twist, Shaniya`s own mother behind bars for selling the little girl for sex. Was 5-year-old Shaniya`s life nothing more than a payment on a drug debt?
Tonight, we learn the mother has been moved, moved from her jail cell to another facility for her own safety. Are the other inmates threatening to tear her apart? And tonight, in a primetime exclusive, Shaniya`s father with us live, taking your calls.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTOINETTE DAVIS, SHANIYA`S MOTHER: I woke up this morning and my daughter was not in the house! I don`t know if she walked out or -- I don`t know what`s going on, but she`s not in here!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shaniya Davis was raped and murdered the day she went missing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at the surveillance tapes. Look how sweet she is. And this guy raped her and allegedly killed her, asphyxiating her and then dumping her body with deer carcasses?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, you`re Mario McNeill? You`re charged with first-degree murder. In the state of North Carolina, that`s punishable by the death penalty or life imprisonment (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My guess is that he accidentally killed her while he was raping her. You know, little children are just annoying that way. When you rape them, they tend to object, so you have to do something like smother them or strangle them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot think of a more gruesome way to accomplish murder. And this is just outrageous.
GRACE: You guys knew Antoinette. How could she just hand the baby over, Byron?
BYRON COLEMAN, SHANIYA`S HALF-BROTHER: And that`s something -- I mean, it`s hard to believe a mother would just hand a child over to a complete -- I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There may have been the possibility that he she owed him money. And there have been thoughts that this -- the child being handed off to him may have been some kind of payment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More charges will follow, so we can only assume that those charges will also add up on the two people that they have in custody.
BRADLEY LOCKHART, SHANIYA`S FATHER: ... me and everybody that loved poor Shaniya, my little baby, my angel, the strength to continue on!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Tonight, live, Windermere, Florida, golf phenomenon Tiger Woods in a 2:00 AM smash-up after reports hit the newsstand of an alleged affair with a nightclub hostess. Woods`s wife reportedly beats out both back windows of Woods`s Cadillac to, quote, "save him." But now Woods refusing to talk to police not once, not twice, but three times. And why did a neighbor have to call 911? We have the 911 call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Is he unconscious?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Are you able to tell if he`s breathing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I can`t tell right now.
911 OPERATOR: OK. All right. We do have help on the way. What color is his car, too?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a black Escalade.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?
911 OPERATOR: Is anyone able to open...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... trying to figure out right now.
911 OPERATOR: OK, is he trapped inside of the vehicle or is he on the ground?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we`re just trying to get the police here right now. We don`t know what happened. We`re just trying to (INAUDIBLE) right now. He`s just (INAUDIBLE) police right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s in and out of consciousness with lacerations to his upper and lower lip, with a little bit of blood in his mouth. But he was conscious enough to be able to speak a little bit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiger Woods stirring up a lot of attention with his silence this morning, for a third straight time failed to meet with police about that SUV crash outside his home, his lawyer now telling the Florida Highway Patrol Woods will not be chatting with them anytime soon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His wife, Bob (ph), came out of the house when she heard the accident, him hitting the fire hydrant, used a golf club, is what we were told, to break out the rear window to gain entrance into the vehicle, removed him from the vehicle and laid him down in the street.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: "My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble," Woods said. "She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Right now, I want to go straight out to our guests on the Tiger Woods story. First to Drew Petrimoulx with WDBO radio. He`s joining us there near Woods`s home. Drew, what`s the latest?
DREW PETRIMOULX, WDBO: The latest is again today, Tiger Woods refused to speak with police about what happened that night. It was the morning hours before Thanksgiving...
GRACE: Why? Why? Why? Why?
PETRIMOULX: It`s really his right to do that. Because it was on private property and because no one was hurt and there`s no charges alleged (INAUDIBLE) wrongdoing, he really doesn`t have to speak with investigators...
GRACE: No, no, no. No, no. Mr. Petrimoulx, pause. I didn`t ask you where it happened. I`m just asking why doesn`t he want to talk to police.
PETRIMOULX: You know, he`s really citing his privacy on this. He hasn`t said much. The only thing he`s issued are statements that he`s made through his lawyer and on his Web site, and what he said is that he wants to keep his privacy on that. His lawyer has said that it`s his right to not speak. And right now, that`s what he`s exercising.
GRACE: OK, give me the timeline, Drew Petrimoulx. What happened?
PETRIMOULX: Early morning hours after Thanksgiving, Tiger Woods was involved in this crash. About 2:30, he left his house. Police aren`t sure why he...
GRACE: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Nobody knows where he was going at 2:30 AM? Drew Petrimoulx, I have told many a jury, nothing good happens after midnight, all right? So we don`t have any idea where he`s going at 2:30 AM.
PETRIMOULX: No. Like I said, everybody that`s close to Tiger Woods is being tight-lipped about what happened. But what did -- we know that did happen is that he hit a fire hydrant, hit a tree. The neighbor called 911, said that he was unconscious. His wife told police that she smashed out the back window with a golf club to help Tiger Woods out and she actually pulled him out and saved him. Police showed up. And that`s basically what we know now.
GRACE: OK. To Maxine Page, senior news editor, Radaronline.com. Let`s go back over that scenario, Maxine Page. First of all, how far away from his home was Woods when he had a head-on collision with a tree and a fire hydrant?
MAXINE PAGE, RADARONLINE.COM: It was very close. It was just outside his house. And he actually...
GRACE: I understand it was about two houses away.
PAGE: Correct. It was a neighbor`s house, yes.
GRACE: So he was two houses away, but his wife says she heard him hit a tree two houses away, from inside Tiger Woods`s home?
PAGE: That`s what she says, yes.
GRACE: OK. Now, she hears the crash, according to her, and she races out with a golf club?
PAGE: There`s been two conflicting stories. One story, she said she ran out. In the other story, she says she actually drove a golf cart. But yes, she appeared on the scene with a golf club and smashed in the back window of the SUV.
GRACE: Whoa! Whoa! Wait, wait, wait, wait wait! Maxine Page with us, senior news editor, Radaronline.com. Maxine...
PAGE: Yes?
GRACE: You said two conflicting stories. From where are they coming? Who`s giving conflicting statements?
PAGE: She has. Elin has, two different statements. She said, first of all, that she ran there. In the second statement, she said she was in a golf cart.
GRACE: And with her she happened to bring a golf club?
PAGE: Very handy. She brought a golf club with her, yes.
GRACE: And Maxine Page, she beat out the back windows of the vehicle in order to pull him out of the driver`s front -- the driver`s seat?
PAGE: Correct. Apparently, she smashed out the back window, got into the car and pulled him out.
GRACE: OK. Maxine, one more clarification. It`s my understanding she smashed out both back windows, right and left. Yes, no.
PAGE: Yes. Correct.
GRACE: Why? Why smash out both windows?
PAGE: That`s the question. I mean, it seems like excessive force. Also, to smash the back windows in seems strange when he was in the front. But yes, she smashed out both back windows.
GRACE: OK. Maxine Page with us from Radaronline.com. We are taking your calls live. Stay with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His wife came out of the house when she heard the accident, him hitting the fire hydrant, used a golf club, is what we were told, to break out the rear window to gain entrance into the vehicle, removed him from the vehicle and laid him down in the street.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. What`s your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have -- this is -- Isleworth subdivision. I need an ambulance immediately. I have someone down in front of my house. They hit a pole. I came out to see...
911 OPERATOR: It`s a car accident, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He did?
911 OPERATOR: OK, sir...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: Sir, is it a car accident? Hello? Sir? Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello? Yes.
911 OPERATOR: Is it a car accident, sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a car accident, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Woods may not be talking to police, but they say they aren`t through investigating that one-car accident over the Thanksgiving weekend as for the third straight day, Tiger and his wife, Elin, turned away police who wanted to interview him about it. Under Florida law he, doesn`t have to talk to them. The accident occurred as Woods ran his SUV over a fire hydrant and then crashed into a tree.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tiger Woods`s minor traffic accident has really stirred things up and has morphed into a kind of a strange match play between the golfing phenom and the Florida Highway Patrol. And it`s not over yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were the first responding agency under mutual aid, which we have with Orange County. When we arrived -- we had a call of an accident, which is a signal 4, with injuries. My two officers arrived at the scene and noticed Tiger Woods laying on the ground in front of his vehicle, with his wife over him, rendering first aid. My officers immediately exited their vehicles, went to Mr. Woods and began rendering first aid to him at that time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. I want to go to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. Ellie, exactly what were his injuries? Where about the neck, the face, the head, the shoulders were the injuries?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right. Well, the Florida Highway Patrol is saying on the record only that he was bleeding from his mouth. Tiger Woods in his own statement said that he had cuts, bruises, and he was very sore. And that`s all we know about his injuries.
GRACE: Bleeding from the mouth. Ellie, did he have to go to the hospital?
JOSTAD: He did go to the hospital. He was treated and released from the hospital. He spent a little bit of time there. They said he was released in under 12 hours. And although in the initial police press release his injuries were described as serious, later they said they weren`t as serious as anticipated.
GRACE: Did his wife go with him to the hospital?
JOSTAD: That is a good question, Nancy. I haven`t seen any reporting either way on that.
GRACE: To Drew Petrimoulx, WDBO radio, joining us there near Woods`s home, Windermere, Florida. Did his wife go with him to the hospital?
PETRIMOULX: You know, I haven`t heard any reporting on this. But as many reporters that were staked out at the hospital and at his house, I would imagine that somebody would have seen her go inside of the hospital. But I haven`t heard anything direct on that.
GRACE: OK. Unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, felony prosecutor Eleanor Odom. Also with us, Lauren Lake, defense attorney joining us out of Cincinnati, Ohio, and veteran defense attorney, trial lawyer Peter Odom, Atlanta jurisdiction.
Eleanor, I, as you know, although I can`t play golf, am a huge Tiger Woods fan. So this is not about Tiger Woods. What I`m wondering is was there a police report such as striking a fixed object? I know if I ran into a fire hydrant and a tree, the police would be talking to me, all right?
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Right. Of course they would, Nancy. And you may very well be charged and it may be (INAUDIBLE) traffic court...
GRACE: Oh, charged? I`d have a breathalyzer. I`d be, you know, given my rights. I can`t even cash a check at the grocery store, all right, without all this ID. So where is the charge of striking a fixed object?
ELEANOR ODOM: It`s not there. But what`s good about this is maybe the Florida Highway Patrol can do some accident reconstruction and really find out some answers to these questions. Was he speeding, for instance? What happened? They can do that with some reconstruction.
GRACE: To Sergeant Scott Haines, sheriff`s officer, Santa Rosa County, Florida. Striking a fixed object -- why would you run over not just a fire hydrant -- run over it, to my understanding -- and then crash into a tree? Explain.
SGT. SCOTT HAINES, SHERIFF`S OFFICER, SANTA ROSA CTY, FLORIDA: Well, that`s a good question. There had to be something that caused him to lose control of his vehicle and to strike those objects. And why he isn`t trying to explain that, I don`t know. But his injuries could definitely tell, as well as what`s present inside the car, or whether there`s blood in the car and the damage that was sustained. They can definitely reconstruct that to see if his injuries are consistent with that crash.
GRACE: Joining me right now is a special guest out of Columbus, Georgia, Dr. Robert C. Cartwright. Dr. Cartwright, thank you for joining us. Dr. Cartwright, if -- why can`t we see the hospital report? There are reasons.
DR. ROBERT C. CARTWRIGHT, PEDIATRICIAN AND ALLERGIST: Well, certainly, there is the patient and doctor confidentiality issues, so not just anyone can see a medical record. And it`d have to be released by Tiger Woods or it would have to be released through a court order.
GRACE: Now, Dr. Cartwright, if we saw the hospital report, would we be able to tell whether the injuries came from, for instance, hitting the steering wheel, hitting the front window, hitting the side of the car, or from some other -- for some other reason?
CARTWRIGHT: Well, certainly, if you knew exactly where the injuries were occurring -- the forehead, the front of the face -- that might be more consistent with the steering wheel or the front windshield. Obviously, if he was...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... (INAUDIBLE) with lacerations to his upper and lower lip, a little bit of blood in his mouth. But he was conscious enough to be able to speak a little bit. According to my officers, it was not life-threatening injuries, according to them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did he say?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing. He was mumbling. That was it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Is he unconscious?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
911 OPERATOR: OK. Are you able to tell if he`s breathing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I can`t tell right now.
911 OPERATOR: OK. All right. We do have help on the way. What color is his car, too?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a black Escalade.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened?
911 OPERATOR: Is anyone able to open...
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... trying to figure out right now.
911 OPERATOR: OK, is he trapped inside of the vehicle or is he on the ground?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, we`re just trying to get the police here right now. We don`t know what happened. We`re just trying to (INAUDIBLE) right now. He`s just (INAUDIBLE) police right now.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. But first back to the lawyers, Eleanor Odom, Peter Odom and Lauren Lake. Peter Odom, where`s the striking a fixed object charge?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, bring it on. Charge him with it and let`s be done with it.
GRACE: No, I`m asking you.
PETER ODOM: This is a minor traffic accident.
GRACE: Yes.
PETER ODOM: It`s right there. They should charge him with it and be done with it, Nancy. This is a minor traffic accident.
GRACE: Not my question. I said, Where`s the charge?
PETER ODOM: They haven`t decided to bring it yet. Who knows why? You know why?
GRACE: No. Why?
PETER ODOM: Because they`re so fixated on the fact that this is Tiger Woods and his celebrity. Why don`t they do what they would do with any other minor accident, just issue a citation and let`s be done with it? Why do they need to...
GRACE: What about it, Lauren Lake?
PETER ODOM: ... drag this guy through the mud?
LAUREN LAKE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I absolutely agree. This is a whole bunch of ado about nothing. Right now, this is a traffic accident. The man did what he was supposed to do...
GRACE: Put her back up. Put her back up.
LAKE: Put me back up because he gave what he was supposed to, Nancy, his driver`s license, registration and proof of insurance. And from then on out, he doesn`t have to say anything until they charge him with a crime.
GRACE: You know what, Lauren Lake? You are absolutely correct. He, as a victim, is under no duty to speak to police.
LAKE: Not right now.
GRACE: And -- and if he is a suspect in striking a fixed object, he certainly doesn`t have to talk to police because then he is a target. Of course, it`s just a traffic citation. But still, he is a target under the law.
But I want to go back to you, Peter Odom. Peter Odom, a rose by any other name still smells like a rose. And I`ll tell you why people are pouncing on this. Because the story doesn`t add up. That`s why. And everybody -- I think everybody on this panel, probably everybody in America except his competitors, loves Tiger Woods, except maybe they love him, too, because when he plays in a tourney, they make more money because more people come to see him.
But Eleanor, the reason people are latching on to this is because the stories don`t make sense.
ELEANOR ODOM: No, it doesn`t make sense. He was out late at night. There`s an accident. It was apparently minor, but yet he`s unconscious. It doesn`t add up, Nancy.
GRACE: And you left out the wife coming out of the hotel -- out of the home with a golf club.
ELEANOR ODOM: A golf club. Yes.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: What happened? What`s wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a neighbor. He hit the tree. And we came out here just to see what was going on. I see him and he`s laying down.
911 OPERATOR: You mean it was an auto accident?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it was...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Tiger Woods is in the news. Hours after celebrating thanksgiving, Tiger Woods is involved in an accident. So now there are so many questions because Tiger Woods and his wife, Elin, will not talk to police officers and police officers are pursuing this matter. So what gives?
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: With questions swirling around him and the Florida Highway Patrol turned away three times, that has a lot of people even more curious. Woods`s efforts to maintain his privacy are legendary.
MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST; FMR. D.C. POLICE DET., FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: Tiger Woods doesn`t have to talk. There`s one thing that Florida Highway Patrol does extremely well. It`s called accident reconstruction.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Under Florida law, under our constitution Tiger Woods doesn`t have to tell us anything.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Everybody wants to know. All right. What happened? What does Tiger Woods have to tell us?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was backing out of his driveway and hit a fire hydrant and subsequently hit a tree. And this was in his Escalade. And as such, you know, suffered some injuries.
911 OPERATOR: What happened? What`s wrong?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a neighbor, he hit the tree. And we came out here just to see what was going on. I see him and he`s laying down.
911 OPERATOR: You mean he was in an auto accident?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there was an auto accident, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every time you stonewall the cops three days in a row you look like you`re hiding something. Or looking like you`re guilty of something terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tiger Woods is probably the ultimate control freak. You don`t have the game, you don`t sort of base your entire life -- the guy`s going to turn 34 on December 30th. His entire life basically -- you remember he was on, you know, the "The Ed Sullivan" -- on television, 3 years old, hitting golf balls. He`s won 71 professional tournaments, won 14 major championships.
Everything about his life is selfishly -- as he would always sort of say -- controlled so that he could do and dominate, you know, his sport to the best of his ability. This is now beyond his control. So what does it do? It just adds one more layer of complexity to the situation that he really does not want.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Back to Maxine Page, senior news editor, Radaronline.com. Maxine.
MAXINE PAGE, SR. NEWS EDITOR, RADARONLINE.COM: Yes.
GRACE: The likelihood of this incident occurring the same day as the "Enquirer" hits the stands. Now, in New York the "Enquirer" can hit the stands on Wednesday which is thanksgiving.
PAGE: Yes. Correct.
GRACE: Then it gets to the rest of the country Friday, Saturday, Sunday Monday -- you know, sometimes later. But I believe it`s on the front page of the "Enquirer" about an alleged affair between Tiger Woods and a hostess -- what is a hostess for a nightclub? Whatever.
That alleged affair which the lady denies and Woods denies hits the stands that day. In a couple of hours smashup and wife runs out of the house or comes out in a golf cart armed with a golf club. Thoughts?
PAGE: It`s a big coincidence. And we`ve got reporting saying that they had a heated argument over this woman and over the affair and that he told her that she totally spoiled their thanksgiving before running out of the house.
GRACE: Well, of course, nobody can know what went on inside the house. It can`t possibly be confirmed unless either he or she told people. But you know, it hits that day, and this happens that night.
Maxine Page, isn`t the woman denying the affair, the hostess at the nightclub?
PAGE: She has denied it. She`s come out and denied it. But there`s a lot of inconsistencies in her story.
GRACE: OK. We`re taking your calls. Beverly, Ohio. Hi, Beverly.
BEVERLY, CALLER FROM OHIO: Hello, friend. How are you?
GRACE: Hi, dear. And I want to put it on the record again.
BEVERLY: Yes.
GRACE: I`m a Woods fan. You know, I can`t play golf. I don`t have the time to spend it on the golf course and take care of the twins. But the reality is this guy is a genius and he`s chosen to keep this private. You know that`s his decision. What`s your question, Beverly?
BEVERLY: Well, I want to say this first. You are a saint.
GRACE: I am so not a saint.
BEVERLY: Yes, you are.
GRACE: But bless you for saying that. Thank you.
BEVERLY: But what I wanted to say was people aren`t stupid. We know what Tiger Woods did. But if he wants to say that, that`s his business. He`s the one with the busted lip. And ask me, did his wife go to the hospital? No.
(LAUGHTER)
GRACE: Beverly, let me ask you this, Beverly in Ohio. You think if you ran over -- what`s he doing in the Cadillac anyway? Isn`t he supposed to be in a Buick?
BEVERLY: Well, number one, I`d be in jail.
GRACE: If you ran over.
(CROSSTALK)
BEVERLY: Because if I had my shorts and my t-shirt on and my shoes off in a Cadillac running up against a tree of a neighbor`s, a fire hydrant.
GRACE: And a fire hydrant.
BEVERLY: And a fire hydrant, I`d probably be in jail.
GRACE: Listen, they would read you your rights. They`d put handcuffs on you for striking a fixed object, and they`d want to know what the hay were you doing out at 2:30 in the morning up in somebody`s yard or wherever it was.
All right. Beverly in Ohio, point well taken. Out to Tamika in Ohio. Hi, Tamika.
TAMIKA, CALLER FROM OHIO: Hi. How are you, Miss Nancy?
GRACE: I`m good, Tamika. What`s your question, dear?
TAMIKA: I wanted to know is it against the law that he`s not making a statement to the police that he hit a hydrant and he hit a tree?
GRACE: Well, if he is accused of wrongdoing, even in a traffic offense, you don`t have to speak to police. You know, it goes from traffic offense all the way to first-degree murder. When cops are suspicious you did something wrong, the constitution protects you.
You don`t have to talk to police. And if he is a victim of some wrongdoing, victims also don`t have to make a police report.
Let`s go back to the lawyers. Eleanor Odom, Peter Odom, Lauren Lake. What about it, Lauren Lake?
LAUREN LAKE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, he doesn`t have to talk. And that`s what people don`t understand. Legally he is within his rights to just remain silent. And his lawyers are probably advising him to do that as well. There`s nothing to say. I had an accident two doors down from my house. That`s it.
GRACE: Yes. Out to a specialist in her field, Marvet Britto. She is a PR and brand strategist, the president of the Britto Agency. She is joining us from New York.
Marvet, I need a little help. If he just flipped the curb and hit a fire hydrant and a tree, why is he saying in his press release, which I`ve got in my hand, that he`s so embarrassed? Embarrassed of what? What`s embarrassing?
MARVET BRITTO, PR/BRAND STRATEGIST, PRESIDENT, THE BRITTO AGENCY: You know, Nancy, Tiger is being brilliant Tiger, and Tiger is protecting his brand. Tiger`s going to speak once. We know him to be a fiercely private man. He has a very public career, but he leads a very private life. So he is giving you one statement, and Tiger, chances are, he`s not going to speak any more about it at all.
GRACE: Marvet.
BRITTO: That`s all he`s saying, Nancy.
GRACE: Marvet. Marvet.
BRITTO: Mm-hmm.
GRACE: Do you read the "Enquirer"?
BRITTO: I don`t read the "Enquirer," Nancy.
GRACE: OK. Well, let me just give you a little news flash. It ain`t private anymore.
BRITTO: It is.
GRACE: Allegations of an affair, true or false, both of them deny it, are on the front page.
BRITTO: Right. But that doesn`t mean.
GRACE: All right? Of the leading tabloid in the country.
BRITTO: Right.
GRACE: So, you know.
BRITTO: But it doesn`t mean.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: . long story short, why.
BRITTO: . that Tiger has to play into.
GRACE: No.
BRITTO: He doesn`t have to play into the world`s wanting to know what is going on in his house. He`s choosing to handle this in a private way.
GRACE: Hey, hey, hey.
BRITTO: You have to respect him for that.
GRACE: Hold on. I don`t care what happened in his house. What I care about is why he`s not charged with striking a fixed object and why, according to Maxine Page with Radaronline, the wife gave a very conflicting statement about how she ended up beating out the windows of the back of his SUV when it hits the newsstands that day about an affair.
OK? I want to know why I would get charged and a guy that I have followed for years isn`t getting charged. I don`t care if I like him or don`t like him. I don`t care if he`s the greatest golf phenomenon that ever existed.
I care about why he apparently is getting treated differently than everybody else driving the streets of this country. You`ve got a thought on that, Marvet?
BRITTO: Yes, I have a thought on that, Nancy.
GRACE: OK.
BRITTO: I think if I hit a pole or if you hit it we wouldn`t be talking about it today. We`re only talking about it because.
GRACE: Because we`d be charged.
BRITTO: Well, we`re only talking about this because it`s Tiger Woods and he has a right to handle this in the way that he has.
GRACE: OK.
BRITTO: . chosen to handle it and that is privately.
GRACE: Marvet. Marvet.
BRITTO: Yes?
GRACE: May I please see Miss Britto`s face? Marvet, I know your specialty is PR. My specialty is the U.S. constitution. And under the U.S. constitution, Miss Britto, everyone is treated equally.
I want to go to Dr. Janet Taylor, psychiatrist and medical doctor. Dr. Taylor, what do you make of his alleged injuries?
DR. JANET TAYLOR, PSYCHIATRIST: Well, I mean, clearly it seemed like there wasn`t enough force to sustain the injuries that he had. With that being said, he was going in and out of consciousness, reportedly lost consciousness for a few minutes. So he had some head trauma from something.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They made the cardinal sin of letting the press infatuation with the scandalous aspect of this predominate the coverage, and they didn`t even try to cut their losses until yesterday, when they put out a statement, and the statement added more confusion to an already confusing situation.
I think they`re listening to lawyers and agents and not listening to people that have ever dealt with the media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOM BERGAMINE, FAYETTEVILLE POLICE CHIEF: Members of the Shaniya Davis task force received confirmation from the state medical examiner`s office on the ruling on the manner of the death of Shaniya Davis as a homicide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re charged with first-degree murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You did engage in human trafficking with a child as the victim.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`ve already alleged that they`ve got sufficient evidence that she did the unimaginable, something that`s arguably evil to take your own child and prostitute your child out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s clearly a sociopath. We don`t really know. There`s been questions of drug use and so forth. But I mean this crime is horrific.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Antoinette Davis and Mario McNeill have been together. They`ve hung out together. There may have been a debt that needed to be paid. We are understanding that she may have owed him money.
CAREY LOCKHART-DAVIS, SHANIYA DAVIS` AUNT: I feel robbed. And I feel Shaniya was robbed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you regret the decision? Have you sat there and gone, gee, if I`d only realized this or that in terms of a red flag?
BRADLEY LOCKHART, SHANIYA DAVIS` FATHER: I do. But you know, we obviously make decisions in life that sometimes have repercussions or adverse situations that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Everyone, joining me live here on our set is our very special guest, Shaniya`s father is with us. Brad Lockhart joining us tonight in a primetime exclusive. He is also taking your calls. Also with him, his attorney, Mike Freed, renowned attorney in the Jacksonville, Florida area.
Mr. Lockhart, thank you for being with us.
LOCKHART: You`re welcome.
GRACE: You know, I`ve watched you so many times, over and over and over. I`ve seen you upset. I`ve seen you crying. I`ve seen you angry. What stage are you at now?
LOCKHART: I`m still filtering through it. I don`t exactly know where I`m at mentally or physically. At moments I`m feeling strong. Moments I`m feeling weak. There`s times I feel vulnerable. But I know there`s a lot of people depending on me. Not only the people that`s attended Shaniya`s funeral or that`s reached out to me, but children out there are needing a voice, and I think I need to be that voice.
GRACE: Mr. Lockhart, they really do. They need your voice. And that is something that you can latch onto, something to make you strong.
I remember when my fiance was murdered, I was -- I could hardly even remember the scenario around it. But I knew that I had to represent crime victims. And it changed my whole life.
What is your most vivid memory of Shaniya?
LOCKHART: I used to sit in my recliner all the time and flip through the channel, and Shaniya would always come to the left side of it and just put her hands on the top of the recliner and look over my shoulder and would always give me a kiss and jump on my lap, and just tell me she loved me and just lay there for a little while before it was time for her to go play with her Barbies or something else of interest came across.
GRACE: What were her favorites things to do?
LOCKHART: She liked to color. She was a typical little girl. She had a little tomboy in her. So she was learning how to ride her scooter. Running into the cars, of course, scratching them up. Just real energetic. She loved to play dress up and Barbie and have girl time. Like my son said, you know, she`s really welcome into women, not as welcome into men, of course.
GRACE: You know, my daughter`s the same way. The same exact way. Of course, Lucy`s only 2.
When you look back on what`s happened the last few weeks in your life, does it even seem real?
LOCKHART: It hasn`t set in. It seems so unreal.
GRACE: Have you even been able to bring yourself, Mr. Lockhart, to think about punishment for the man that killed your daughter and your former girlfriend, who police say are responsible for handing her over for sex? 5 years old?
LOCKHART: I`ve -- it`s crossed my mind. However, just my faith in the Lord and -- I`ve always had limited faith in the justice system.
GRACE: Well, I can understand that.
LOCKHART: However, you know, the police at Marvin have been working very diligently. I`ve met with most of the team.
GRACE: They really have.
LOCKHART: And they`ve put a lot of man-hours into this.
GRACE: I think they cared so much about this case, and it struck me, Mr. Lockhart, that they all had to have grief counseling when Shaniya`s little body was found. I mean, they were so involved in trying to find your girl.
LOCKHART: They worked very hard, and they`re still working hard.
GRACE: This is what I don`t understand. And maybe they`ve told you. They certainly haven`t told me, although I`ve asked. Why isn`t the mother charged with felony murder? I mean, according to police, she handed your baby girl, beautiful, 5 years old, Shaniya, for sex to prostitute her out. A 5-year-old girl for sex. She handed her over.
That`s a felony. And a death occurred. A death occurred. That is textbook felony murder. Have police or prosecutors said anything about charging the mother?
LOCKHART: They haven`t told me anything at this time. The only thing they have told me is that they`re continuing the investigation. You know, they`re kind of tight-lipped on some areas, which I understand that they have to. And nothing needs to leak out because then there`s the possibility they`re walking out on some loophole or something. We don`t want that to happen. So I`m just.
GRACE: Well, here`s the reality, Mr. Lockhart. If it were to leak about which direction their case were going -- I`m not asking you to blurt it out on the air. The worst thing that could happen is a change of venue, which the defense is going to ask for anyway. You know, of course there`s a chance of some kind of prosecutorial misconduct charge. But I don`t think that would happen.
Everyone, with me is a very special guest, Mr. Brad Lockhart. This is Shaniya`s father. Her biological father that loved her so very dearly.
To your lawyer, a well-known lawyer in the Jacksonville area, Mike Freed.
Mike, have they told you anything about whether they`re going to seek the death penalty on this guy?
MIKE FREED, ATTORNEY FOR SHANIYA`S DAD, BRAD LOCKHART: Well, the indications are that they are going to seek the death penalty on McNeill. They have a long way to go and we have every reason to believe they`re doing things in the proper way.
GRACE: A long way to go to make the decision about whether they`re going to seek the death penalty? Why?
FREED: Well, I think the indications are that they are. You asked a good question about Shaniya`s mother.
GRACE: And you`re a very good lawyer because you`re changing subjects. But I`m going to go with it. Go ahead.
FREED: Well, what I think is great is that they`re using the words human trafficking. That`s something that you don`t hear enough of. There have been very few prosecutions in the United States and it is a crime that is rampant. Obviously, this is an example that has shocked the consciousness, as well it should. But sadly it`s not unique
GRACE: But the whole thing has just broken my heart about Shaniya.
Very quickly, Matt Zarrell, what`s happening with the mother?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE STAFFER, COVERING STORY: Well, Antoinette Davis has been moved to a different facility, a women`s correctional facility in Raleigh. They have a lot more amenities but she is being held there to keep her safe from herself and from others. Now we don`t know if she`s been directly threatened but they are concerned because of her pregnancy.
GRACE: Back to Mr. Lockhart. Do you dream about Shaniya? Do you think about her all during the day?
LOCKHART: All the time. All the tame. And she`s part of the reason why I think I`m staying so strong and reaching out to the Lord and reaching out to Shaniya, to be a voice for her, to stop this. I`ve reached out and spoken with some groups, SCT Now, Stop Child Trafficking Now. And we`re going to continue to push hard.
GRACE: We are going to publicize his mission.
As we go to break, happy 86th to Alabama friend, Doris. Here she is surrounded by eight grandchildren. Happy birthday, beautiful Doris.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: With me tonight, a very special guest. Brad Lockhart. This is little Shaniya`s father.
Mr. Lockhart, I understand that an unlikely hero emerged in all of this. Basketball superstar Shaquille O`Neal was watching our show and learned about you and Shaniya and actually came forward to help you pay for her funeral. Is that true?
LOCKHART: He has offered and extended and gracious and honorable man. He actually called and left a message for me on thanksgiving.
GRACE: So do you see how many lives you`ve already affected? People you would never imagine by your experience and what you`re going through right now.
LOCKHART: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: Tell me about SCT.
LOCKHART: SCT is an organization which stands for Stop Child Trafficking Now. Basically, it`s a nonprofit and it`s a group of people that came together throughout the world, and particularly throughout the United States, to identify trafficking of children, and working on preventing it.
They`ve got special ops people, they`ve got people in place to actually go undercover and try to track these things down. It is a very in-depth organization and it`s (INAUDIBLE).
GRACE: Were you stunned to learn how many children are put out for prostitution in America? I`m not talking about Thailand. I`m not talking about Vietnam or somewhere far away from us. I`m talking about right here.
LOCKHART: It`s unbelievable. And I think that`s why it is so important. And that`s why I`ve jumped on board with Stop Child Trafficking Now, to get the knowledge out there, get the training out there, to get these parents and these children informed on what to look for.
GRACE: Everyone, the information about Mr. Lockhart`s mission, Stop Child Trafficking Now, is on our Web site. On the NANCY GRACE Web site.
In the few seconds I have left, Mr. Lockhart, I want to thank you so much for sharing with us. I thought I knew about grief when Keith was murdered but I can`t imagine losing a child. And I want you to know that we have prayed for you so very much. And we`ll continue to do so.
LOCKHART: Myself and my family appreciate that. Thank you very much.
GRACE: Everyone, let`s stop and remember Army Private Sergeant First Class Derek Gibson, 20, Eustis, Florida. Killed Iraq. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, loved fishing, outdoors, making people laugh. Leaves behind parents Jerry, Janet, brother, Dustin and sister, Shannon.
Derek Gibson, American hero.
Thank you to our guest but especially to you for being with us tonight. Let`s all pray for little Shaniya. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
END
