Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Cops Search Smiths` Home in Missing 8-Month-Old Gabriel Case
Aired January 15, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: A gorgeous 23-year-old mom takes off from home, Tempe, Arizona, by car for a 978-mile road trip with her 8-month-old baby boy, Gabriel. She ends up holed up in a local motel on Christmas alone, San Antonio, Texas, calling the 25-year-old biological dad, threatening he`d never see the baby again, even telling him baby Gabriel is dead. Turns out Mommy`s trying to give the baby away the whole time to an Arizona couple.
Mommy alone, no baby Gabriel, hops a bus for Florida December 27, the day after the last known signing of baby Gabriel alive, her car abandoned. December 30, Mommy located in Miami Beach, minus the baby. Finally, car recovered San Antonio Motel 6, baby carseat still inside. When pressed, Mommy says she gives the baby away to a couple she bumps into at a Texas park. Tonight, the mystery of the little baby with the angel face, baby Gabriel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMMI PETERS SMITH, WANTED TO ADOPT GABRIEL: It`s not that I know where he is, but like I told your staff, we`ve all been talking for the past couple days trying to brainstorm where he is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking news in the search for missing baby Gabriel Johnson. In the last hours, police conduct a search at the home of the couple who had planned to adopt Gabriel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arizona police say the couple wanted to adopt Gabriel Johnson are now persons of interest in his disappearance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Armed with a search warrant, investigators spent several hours at the Smiths` home but won`t reveal what they were looking for or what was seized.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jack and Tammi Smith now named persons of interest. Now, they would not say why Jack and Tammi Smith are persons of interest, but it`s believed to be that they have information about where baby Gabriel is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Smiths, persons of interest in the case, were also questioned again by police, and Tammi Smith admits she lied about how her cousin`s name ended up on a court document as a possible biological father of Gabriel. Smith says despite that fib, she isn`t hiding anything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still, the Smiths say they`re glad to be called persons of interest by police.
JACK SMITH, WANTED TO ADOPT GABRIEL: I`m happy if that elevates us to a point where they`re going to come and talk to us because if we haven`t been a person of interests to this point, I think it`s time we be and come and examine everything.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to you, Michael Board. What`s the latest?
MICHAEL BOARD, WOAI NEWSRADIO: Well, what we`ve learned today is that we`re learning more information about the evidence that police are using to track down the location of little baby Gabriel. We already know that they have a GPS unit that was retrieved from Elizabeth Johnson`s car, and they`re using that to track some of her movements while she was here in San Antonio. Today, this evening, we`re learning that they also have a camera that was retrieved that was on Elizabeth Johnson`s body when she was arrested in Miami.
Now, they`re using that camera to go through the different pictures. Hopefully, something in those pictures will help them track down her movements around San Antonio, maybe find out where she`s been, where she`s gone, who`s she`s met at different locations. Hopefully, it`ll give them more clues in finding this child, who for now is still missing, and the mother is not talking to investigators.
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: And also, in a major development, last night police served a search warrant at the home of the persons of interest, Tammi and Jack Smith. Matt Zarrell, what else do we know about that search last night at the home?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, at this point, we know that the search took about four hours. Police questioned the Smiths for about two hours and then searched the home. Now, we don`t know exactly what was taken from the home. Tammi Smith tells us that hard drives were taken, that they were looking for a link to Gabriel`s disappearance. Now, cops are keeping things very close to the vest at this point. They`re not saying exactly why or if the questioning of Tammi Smith last night is what led to the search.
JOSTAD: And actually, Tammi Smith is with us right now. Tammi, how long were the police at your home last night?
SMITH (via telephone): I would say about six hours.
JOSTAD: And do you know what they were looking for or what they took from your home?
SMITH: Yes, they were just looking for everything that was inside of our computers and inside our phones. And we have volunteered that information since day one to prove our innocence, so we`re extremely happy that they came and got that. They didn`t have to do it the way they did, you know, because we had volunteered it since day one, and once again, when I was there yesterday, begged her to come to my house and take my computers.
JOSTAD: What kind of things were you hoping that police would look at on your computers? What information there would be relevant to the search?
SMITH: Well, OK, in -- from the beginning, in talking to the police, they asked us, you know, did we ever try to help her. And I said, Well, the only way we ever tried to help her was, you know, before we knew she could change her -- whether or not she could change jurisdictions. She was telling us that she was going to run. She was go into hiding, change her Social Security number.
And so we panicked at that point, and we did not want that baby to vanish into thin air for the rest of his life. And so we were grabbing at straws, like the police are right now, trying to figure out how to keep that baby still surfaced, you know? And so we had thought of scenarios, and we talked to a couple of friends and people about the scenarios of -- you know, we have a house in Tennessee, and you know, things like that, that maybe she can go stay there. We can let her stay there. We could help her and all this, and while she`s changing jurisdictions.
Well, by the next day, after doing research throughout the next day, we realized, Oh, she cannot change jurisdictions. It`s illegal. So immediately, we started, you know, telling her, You need to come back, you can`t change jurisdictions.
And that`s when I called Janet Morris (ph) from Tennessee and said, Hey, she`s not coming back. I don`t know what to do. Can you please tell her what her legal rights are and get her back here? And that`s exactly what Janet did. And so the cool thing about that is our computer will corroborate that entire story.
JOSTAD: Well, also, Tammi, were you exchanging any kind of messages, whether it was e-mails, IMs, FaceBook messages? Were you in contact with Elizabeth Johnson during that time after she left San Antonio?
SMITH: Yes. Like, I`ve got some MySpace here. You know, December 29th, I say, I believe in my heart that you would never hurt him, but detectives have recordings -- your reporting (ph) that you killed the baby. And it says, We are also distraught. We love Gabriel and you. And it goes on to talk about, The lead detective of this case really feels for you and he wants to help you. You can call Detective Aguilera (ph), and it gives his phone number. He truly wants to help you.
You know, it goes on and on. She sends a message back saying, Tammi, I will never come forward. Yes, what I said was wrong. I wanted him to hurt like he hurt me, so that`s why I said that. And she says, Me and Gabriel are fine. In fact, we`re great. And she goes on through the whole story.
And then at the end, that, I had to let you know that we are all right because I know you must be worried sick, and I am so sorry for that. I really am. You and Jack are really good people.
JOSTAD: Now, Tammi, did you know...
SMITH: You know, there`s just -- there`s a lot of that. There`s text messages back and forth, you know, asking her to come back, to come to court, we`ll get an attorney for her, things like that. So you know, now the police have all that evidence, and now, hopefully, they will see that and -- you know, because before, we told them, but they never did get it. They never looked at it. So hopefully, that will show them that this is -- that, you know, we should not even be persons of interest at this point because we obviously were looking out for her best interests and making sure that she did everything correct and legal.
JOSTAD: Now, Tammi, police also talked to you last night, right? You were questioned by police last night?
SMITH: Yes, questioned about the same things, about, you know, If you come forward now, you know, and come clean, you know -- and there`s nothing to come clean. I didn`t -- you know, they think that I set her up with a couple. I did not set her up with a couple. They can search through every ounce of my computers and see that I never -- you know, there was nothing. There is absolutely nothing. I would have had to take a flight somewhere and go sit in an airport, looking for a couple for her to adopt the kid out -- you know, the baby out to, you know? And it just doesn`t make sense. I mean, there is -- there is -- we have nothing. There is nothing. And they`re grabbing at straws, trying to find that...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come forward, please. Would you state your name and date of birth.
ELIZABETH JOHNSON, GABRIEL`S MOTHER: Elizabeth Johnson, 7/24/86.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, ma`am. You`ve been arrested on a direct complaint warrant alleging custodial interference, a class 4 felony. You`ve also been arrested on new charges alleging child abuse, a class 2 felony, and one count of kidnapping, a class two felony. I`m going to appoint the public defender to represent you.
And does the state wish to be heard?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, Your Honor. Good morning. Arabella Whitney (ph) for the state. Your Honor, in this case, the state is requesting that the defendant be held on a $1 million cash-only bond. The defendant in this case is currently facing charges of kidnapping, a class 2 dangerous crime against children, child abuse and custodial interference. Your Honor, while these are the only charges that the defendant is currently facing, there`s a real potential that she could face more serious charges in the future. This is because in her own words, she stated that she killed Gabriel.
Your Honor, I just want to briefly touch on the facts in this case which warrant a high bond. Your Honor, on December 11th of 2009, the defendant and Logan McQueary, the parents of Gabriel, met with Judge McVay (ph) in family court. At this time, they both agreed that they would share joint custody of their son, Gabriel.
On December 27th, 2009, the date that Logan was supposed to get Gabriel from the defendant, he receive a text message from her stating that Gabriel was dead. In a subsequent conversation with Logan, the defendant told -- the defendant told Logan that she had killed Gabriel, that she had put him in a diaper bag and thrown him in a dumpster.
Your Honor, I do want to point out that the defendant in this case has also admitted through a media interview that she did send that text message to Logan stating that Gabriel was dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am sorry, through a what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Through a text message. She admitted that sent the text message to Logan saying that Gabriel was dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And she admitted that to?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In a media interview.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Media interview. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Your Honor, after the conversation with Logan, where she told him that she put him in a diaper bag and threw him in a dumpster, she told him that she was not going to tell him Gabriel`s location until she was out of the country and was in a safe location.
From this point, the search for the defendant and Gabriel ensued. The defendant refused to tell investigators or Logan where she was located, and investigators began a nationwide search. If it weren`t for the hard work of the Tempe Police Department and the FBI in this case, the defendant would probably still be on the run. She did everything she could to conceal her identity. She paid in cash and she used a different name, a false name.
Your Honor, if the defendant in this case gets out of custody, there`s no question that she`s a flight risk. Not only are the facts of the case the fact that she has already fled raise a risk for her flight, but the fact that she knows she`s currently facing higher charges in this case because Gabriel can`t be found.
Your Honor, one of the most important reasons that she`s deserving of the million-dollar cash bond is the danger that she poses. To this date, Gabriel has not been found. The search for him is still on. The defendant is the only person who knows where Gabriel is and if he`s dead or alive, and she refuses to cooperate to tell anyone where Gabriel is.
Your Honor, there`s two victims in this case, Logan McQueary, Gabriel`s father, and 8-month-old Gabriel. And I want to point out the harm that is caused to both of those people in this case. The defendant took Gabriel from his father, concealed him, ran to Texas, and somewhere in Texas says she left Gabriel with strangers and/or killed him. We have no idea the harm that Gabriel has suffered or is continuing to suffer in this case because the defendant refuses to tell anyone where he is or if he is dead or alive.
And there`s a real possibility that Gabriel is not alive to this date. He may be dead. He may be alive. And if he is alive, there`s no telling what danger he is currently in. And this is all because of the defendant.
Your Honor, the charges that the defendant is facing in this case, the fact that she`s an extreme flight risk, the danger that she poses and the harm to the victims in this case all warrant a bond of a million dollars cash only. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you. And she was apprehended in Texas?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In Miami, Your Honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miami.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was actually -- she was located in Texas but was not found until she made it to Miami.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Ma`am, I have appointed the public defender to represent you. I noted you shaking your head in disagreement with the comments...
JOHNSON: Yes, everything she`s saying...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... the comments...
JOHNSON: ... was completely false.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... at various times -- please do not interrupt. I noted that you were disagreeing, by nodding -- or by shaking your head back and forth, with comments made by the county attorney at various times during her statement. While I recognize that you may have a different view of what was said, I`m going to urge or ask you not to make any statements here this morning, given that you have been appointed an attorney and that, obviously, that attorney is not present.
That said, if you elect to cooperate and talk to people, that is up to you. But understand that anything you say in here is -- may be used against you. This is all being recorded. All of this said, is there anything you want to ask me or tell me?
JOHNSON: Ask you -- I don`t really know what to say, but everything is so false, from the fleeing to everything that she said is so completely false.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
JOHNSON: I don`t know what else to say but that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Very well. Thank you. I have reviewed the form 4s. I`ve considered the statements of the state or -- and the recommendation made by the county attorney. And given the gravity of this case and the serious -- very serious allegations, as well as the concerns for the continued welfare of this child, it is ordered setting a cash-only bond of $1 million. That million -- there are actually two different cases at this point. Are they under the same case number?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Your Honor, I do not believe that they are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re not?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are not, Your Honor. The direct complaint does have a different case number. I believe she -- the charges that will go forward from this point are the new case number that she just has been page 2`d on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, well, I`m going to set a million cash- only bond, as you`ve -- as you`ve recommended. That said, I don`t want to set the million-dollar cash-only in both cases. All right, I`m going to set a million-dollar cash-only bond with respect to the number 27 on the calendar. The other matter being a class 4 and the court being advised that the state will likely be proceeding under number 27 alone, it`s ordered setting $100,000 cash-only bond just to that case. So at this point, there`s a $1,100,000 cash-only bond on these two cases.
And we`re going to set these matters in the regional court center in the southeast facility. And my clerk will give you the paperwork (INAUDIBLE) the date, time and location of those hearings. Should you post these bonds, you are not to leave this jurisdiction. You`re not to have any contact with the father and -- is there anything else?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not from the state. Thank you, Your Honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you. Thank you, ma`am.
JOHNSON: When do I get a lawyer?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m sorry?
JOHNSON: When do I get a lawyer? I don`t understand.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m appointing a lawyer now. We`re going to give you instructions on how to contact your lawyer.
JOHNSON: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elizabeth Johnson has been charged with kidnapping, child abuse and custodial interference. Police say the 23- year-old is being held on a cash-only $1.1 million bond.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We do know that Logan McQueary had brought those charges against Elizabeth before, bringing CPS, saying that there was a claim against her, that she had left the baby in the crib. She would come home from work, and the baby hadn`t been changed with a soiled diaper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The FBI`s search for the boy now spans four states. Authorities say they`re confident he`s alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to you, Ellie Jostad. What can you tell me about what baby Gabriel`s mother, Elizabeth Johnson, says in her jailhouse interviews?
JOSTAD: Well, this reporter asked her, "You sent a text message that said you killed your son. You`re telling us now that you don`t know where he is. Do you realize how serious this looks against you?" And Elizabeth Johnson said, "No, I really don`t. I did the same thing giving the baby to Tammi, and no one had a problem with it. Everyone thought it was such a good thing. Everyone was commending me. And I really don`t understand what the problem is now."
Jack Smith told Elizabeth Johnson, "Without the baby, because of what you said, there is no reason for anyone to believe that you haven`t taken the baby`s life. If these people were somehow able to keep him in seclusion, you understand that you will be charged with this because if they can`t find the baby" -- and Elizabeth Johnson interrupted and said, "Charged with what?" And Tammi Smith said, "For murder."
Then Jack Smith went on and said, "You know, Elizabeth, if you know -- have any way -- if you know any way you can identify even where these people" -- and Johnson said, "I have. I`ve talked to the FBI. I`ve cooperated. I`ve told them everything."
Johnson said, "I made a hasty decision, and I thought it would be OK - - I thought it would be OK. They approached me and they came up to me. I was alone in the park with the baby. I trusted them. I believe in my heart they`re good people."
Now, the reporter asked her, "So in other words, you really don`t know if your son is alive or not." Johnson said, "I know that he is." Reporter said, "How?" She said, "I believe that he is." Reporter said, "You believe that he is, but you don`t know for a fact that your son is alive." Elizabeth Johnson said, "I mean, I`m in jail. How could I know anything?"
Reporter asked her, "You really don`t understand the fact that there`s a problem with the fact that you don`t know who has your child right now and if he`s alive and well." Johnson said, "Well, I mean, when you give the child up for adoption, you really don`t know where the people live or anything."
Johnson said, "I met them, the Texas couple, in San Antonio. They approached me and they came up to me. And I was alone with the baby at the park. I was upset and crying. I have been approached before in the same situation with Tammi. And they just said, Is everything OK? And I was, like, I don`t know. I don`t know what I`m going to do. And I was just a wreck, and they were reaching out to me and offering me their help, listening, and I was just crying."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TAMMI PETERS SMITH, PLANNED TO ADOPT BABY GABRIEL: There would be nothing that they could charge us with because we have done nothing. We`ve done everything that the police have asked us.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A person of interest in the case of missing baby, Gabriel Johnson, admits she lied about how her cousin`s name ended up on a court paternity document, but swears she`s told police all she knows about baby Gabriel`s disappearance.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Arizona police say a couple who wanted to adopt Gabriel Johnson are now persons of interest in his disappearance. Jack and Tammi Smith admit they met Gabriel`s mother but say they don`t know where Gabriel is.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The home of persons of interest, Jack and Tammi Smith, searched by investigators last night. And Tammi Smith tells us police were looking for computer evidence and paperwork, but insists they don`t know where Gabriel is now, and they were only trying to get him back to Arizona.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everything that she said has been completely unreliable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is barely cooperating.
T. SMITH: She didn`t want Logan to have the baby and we could not adopt the baby because Logan would not sign the papers, so her idea was to just keep running forever.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you believe your son is still alive at this point?
LOGAN MCQUEARY, FATHER OF MISSING BABY GABRIEL: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Why?
MCQUEARY: It`s just a feeling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: There is a court document that was filed back in December, lists two potential fathers for little baby Gabriel. One of them, Logan McQueary, the man who has actually been determined to be his natural father, and another man named Craig Cherry.
Now I want to ask Tammi Smith about this.
Tammi, you said before that Craig is your cousin. You didn`t realize that Elizabeth had actually written the name on there, but now you actually remember that you wrote the name. Can you explain the discrepancy?
T. SMITH (via phone): I guess, you know, it was one of those things that we were rushing through there. They were about to lock the doors, and she asked me to fill out that one part.
And I just -- you know, it was one of those things. I had been waiting for a week to talk to the police about this. And I guess since I hadn`t talked to the police, I just kind of was brushing it off to the media because I wanted to talk to them and explain the whole situation to them first. And I finally got.
(CROSSTALK)
JOSTAD: Tammi, did you explain this to the police last night?
T. SMITH: Yesterday, during the day, yesterday.
JOSTAD: OK.
T. SMITH: And what that was, was she said for the potential father, and that that father went to high school with her and Logan, and she feared the violent things that Logan could do to her and this guy, and I`m not going to mention because I don`t believe it now that he would have done these things.
But I was thinking that I was saving, you know, two people from being gravely hurt as well as another family because she, at that time, wanted to make up a name and put it down. And I said you can`t do that. You know, and she was like, let`s just put Jack`s name.
JOSTAD: Yes.
T. SMITH: You know, and I`m like, no, no, no. And, you know, and they`re pushing us to hurry, hurry, get this paperwork. You know, they`re going to lock the doors, and basically that`s what was done.
JOSTAD: OK.
T. SMITH: At the moment I really did forget that I actually wrote it down.
JOSTAD: OK.
T. SMITH: But when I saw -- when I saw, when they showed me the paper, I could have denied that I didn`t write it, but I said, oh, my god, that is my writing. I didn`t -- I didn`t even realize that I had actually written that little part there. So.
JOSTAD: OK, well, let me ask Matt Zarrell. Let`s clear this up once and for all. Didn`t the court actually determine that Logan McQueary was baby Gabriel`s natural father?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE STAFFER, COVERING STORY: Yes, we do have the court document. It is a firm paternity judgment. They ruled McQueary is the natural father. His name is on the birth certificate.
JOSTAD: Well, and let`s go to Pat Brown about this. You`re a criminal profiler, author of "Killing for Sport." There`s a search warrant served last night. The persons of interest, the potential adoptive parents, questioned again last night. But, you know, it`s been over a week since they were even named persons of interest. Why wait until now to serve a search warrant?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "KILLING FOR SPORT": Well, I`m guessing they were really looking for something that would lead them to something else. And when they came up with this, I think this was kind of like -- they`ve got them a little suspicious.
Look, if you lie about one thing maybe you`re lying about a lot of things. And that gives them some probable to go in there and say we think that there might be something else then.
And is this true that it`s going to lead to something else? I don`t know. I see the Smiths are overly involved. They may indeed have done some swirly things. They tried to get this baby but whether they would actually hide the baby and continue to charade, I have a time believing that particular part.
JOSTAD: Well, and also, Michael Board, let me ask you, is there any indication at this point that police have any evidence either that the baby is alive or any evidence that he is dead or been harmed somehow?
I know that the police there in San Antonio are also doing an investigation. What do you know about it?
MICHAEL BOARD, REPORTER, WOAI NEWSRADIO: Well, what we know right now is only what Elizabeth Johnson is saying. And she says in some cases -- we know she told the birth father that she killed him, stuffed his little blue body in a diaper bag and tossed it in a dumpster.
The very fact that she said that, whether she said she was lying or not, is being taken seriously because San Antonio police have looked at all the hotels where she had stayed, all the locations she`s been in San Antonio, found out where the trash is in those locations, and tracked that trash to one landfill here in San Antonio.
That`s proof. Even though they have not searched that landfill, it`s proof that they are taking that threat seriously.
JOSTAD: Right.
BOARD: Now she`s also said that she has given the person over to -- at one time a couple at a park, another time a couple at a hotel room. She`s changed her stories so many times it`s hard to tell what is the truth.
BOARD: Well, and Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, don`t police have to take this seriously? We know that Elizabeth Johnson allegedly sent a text to the boy`s father, said I killed him. He called her, she apparently, according to him, later reiterated that she killed the baby. Now she says oh, I did it just to hurt the boy`s father.
What do you think is the real story here?
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": Well, I think when someone makes a serious threat to self or others, it is a legal and professional obligation to step in and take it very, very seriously.
I am hoping in this case that a past behavior is a predictor of future behavior. The fact that bio mom tried to give away the baby once to Tammi and Jack Smith, that it would suggests that perhaps hopefully she did try to give the baby away again.
And I am sure there is a huge online community of people who are desperate for babies and do not want to go through legal channels. So I`m hoping that`s what happened.
However, this mother, her life was deteriorating. Her attachment to the baby was deteriorating according to the babysitter, Analisa when she came to baby-sit the child at the motel. The baby was skinny, dirty, crying, had boogers around its nose, as if the mother no longer cared.
And that would suggest that perhaps the mother was preparing for the child to either deceased or no longer be alive.
T. SMITH: She was very confident and very comfortable with the conversation. I was very upset about what this has done to my family, you know? And I started to talk to her about that. And I started to cry a little bit. And as I did that, her eyes welled up with tears, and she got upset and very, very apologetic.
I went on to ask her numerous questions. You know, you`ve got to remember, this girl is a smart girl. She has a 4.0 GPA, she`s got a four-year scholarship to Southeastern. She knows what she is doing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH JOHNSON, MOTHER OF MISSING BABY GABRIEL: Elizabeth Johnson, 7- 24-86.
JACK SMITH, PLANNED TO ADOPT BABY GABRIEL: She appeared something totally different than she wound up being.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Child abuse, a class 2 felony, and one count of kidnapping.
J. SMITH: We feel quite duped.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Breaking news, an 18-year-old babysitter reportedly took care of 8-month-old Gabriel Johnson a few days before Christmas at a San Antonio hotel where he was staying with his mother.
Johnson allegedly told the babysitter she was going to an important appointment, but the sitter says she looked like she was going to a club.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Johnson gave police descriptions of a man and woman she says showed up at a San Antonio hotel with a brand-new carseat and left with her baby.
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY & CHILD ADVOCATE: She found a couple with a new carseat quietly (ph). But I say it`s deceit.
ZARRELL: The couple apparently came to one of the hotel rooms, signed a document that was not notarized, had a new carseat with them, put the baby in the carseat and left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: With me right now, a very special guests joining us in a primetime exclusive from San Antonio, Texas, the babysitter who came to that motel room, who saw baby Gabriel, who saw the mother, Elizabeth Johnson.
With me is Analisa.
Thank you for being with us. What was the first thing you saw when you got into that hotel room?
ANALISA, ALLEGEDLY BABYSAT BABY GABRIEL IN SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: The first thing I saw was she opened the door and she looked like she wanted to kill me. She looked very angry. And I walked in, she handed me the baby, told me his name and left.
GRACE: When you say she looked like she wanted to kill you, what do you mean by that?
ANALISA: When she opened the door, she looked like she wanted to kill me. She looked very angry and upset. She looked like she was basically crazy.
GRACE: When you say crazy, what do you mean? Describe her features. What did her face look like?
ANALISA: Her eyes were -- her eyes got very small. And her nose was like crumbled up, and her mouth was like -- it was like closed, like very tightly. And she looked mad. She looked angry.
GRACE: Was the baby crying?
ANALISA: He wasn`t crying when I got there. But the whole time I was there, he was crying.
GRACE: When you walked into the room, where was the baby?
ANALISA: She -- he had it -- she was holding him.
GRACE: OK. What was the first thing she said to you?
ANALISA: She said, you`re late, and then she said well, this is Gabriel, he`s 8 months old. She told me that he should be due for a feeding in about an hour. She told me where his Enfamil was, his bottle, and then she left.
GRACE: What about the Tylenol?
ANALISA: She told me that she had already drugged him up with medication, but that if he started to cry again, just to give him more medicine to shut him up.
GRACE: What condition, Analisa, was the baby in?
ANALISA: He looked very thin. He definitely wasn`t happy. He seemed to be scared for some reason.
GRACE: Why do you say he seemed to be scared?
ANALISA: Because if I was trying to hold him -- when I was holding him, if I tried to put him down, he would cry as soon as I put him down.
GRACE: Was he clean?
ANALISA: No, he wasn`t. He`s -- I would try to play with him, and he did not want to play. All he wanted to do was be held. And he did not smile at all or anything.
GRACE: When you say he was not clean, what do you mean by that?
ANALISA: I mean, he had like stains around his mouth. He had dry -- you know, like boogers around his clothes didn`t look clean. He just doesn`t look clean or happy.
GRACE: Were there toys there for baby Gabriel?
ANALISA: No, there wasn`t. There wasn`t anything -- the room didn`t look suitable for a baby. She didn`t have toys or, you know, books for him to read or anything like that.
GRACE: So everything was for her and nothing was there for baby Gabriel?
ANALISA: Correct.
GRACE: Did the baby seem lethargic at times? Listless, inactive, tired?
ANALISA: He didn`t seem tired. He just seemed like he was scared. I mean he didn`t want to do anything. Like I said, he didn`t want to play or anything like that.
GRACE: He just would lay there?
ANALISA: Well, he wasn`t laying there, I was holding him. But, yes, he was just sitting there. You know, he didn`t want to do anything.
GRACE: How much baby food did she have for him?
ANALISA: She had a tube of Oragel and a little bottle of Tylenol.
GRACE: What about food? How much baby food did she have for him?
ANALISA: She had a can of Enfamil and a few cans of baby food.
GRACE: So Analisa, how was Elizabeth Johnson dressed when she left?
ANALISA: She was dressed like she was going out to the club. She was wearing very tight, low-cut jeans, a tight blouse showing like half of her stomach, and she had big heels on.
GRACE: Where did she say she was going?
ANALISA: She told me that she was going to an important appointment.
GRACE: How long was she gone?
ANALISA: She was gone for about two hours at the most.
GRACE: And what time of the day or night was it that you went to the hotel?
ANALISA: I got at the hotel right around 11:45 in the morning.
GRACE: 11:45 in the morning. And you believe this was the 20th, the 19th or 20th?
ANALISA: Yes, I do.
GRACE: How did baby Gabriel act while you were with him? Did you feed him?
ANALISA: Yes, I fed him. I fed him a bottle and I fed him some baby food. He acted very scared, like I said.
GRACE: What did you observe in the hotel room, Analisa?
ANALISA: Well, one thing that I noticed that kind of scared me a little bit was that she had like kind of like a butcher knife next to her bed.
GRACE: What else did you observe? Was the room clean and tidy?
ANALISA: No, the room was very messy. She had clothes thrown everywhere. She had all of her things thrown.
GRACE: I want to go back to the baby. You said he was thin. Now I noticed in some of the earlier pictures, he looks normal. Little chubby cheeks. But I had already noticed in other pictures he was already starting to look thin.
How did he take the bottle? Did he take the whole thing?
ANALISA: Yes, he did. He -- when I gave it to him, he got like really excited. That was the only type that I actually -- he actually smiled was when he got the bottle.
GRACE: Did you hold him most of the time?
ANALISA: Yes, I held him the whole time I was there. Like, he didn`t want to be put down. When I would try to put him down to play with him, he would start crying.
GRACE: You stated that every time you tried to put him down, he would scream. You also stated.
ANALISA: Yes.
GRACE: . he would not play with you. Don`t you find that odd the little baby wouldn`t play with you?
ANALISA: I do, because I`ve never came across a baby that was so sad and scared.
GRACE: Now why do you say that? I mean you`ve had a lot of experience with young children. You practically raised all of your siblings. Why do you say you`ve never seen a baby so afraid and sad?
ANALISA: Every baby that I have either -- well, that I came in contact with is very happy, they like to play, for sure. They don`t seem scared the way Gabriel did.
GRACE: What did you do to try to play with him, Analisa? I mean there were no toys.
ANALISA: No. I tried to tickle him, I tried to -- you know, I tried bouncing him on my leg up and down. I tried smiling at him. I tried to play peek-a-boo with him, but nothing worked.
GRACE: So what did you do for those hours you were with baby Gabriel? Just hold him?
ANALISA: Yes, I was holding him, you know, like I said the whole time I was just trying to play him. I was trying to make him happy at least while I was there.
GRACE: Did anyone come to the door? And did Elizabeth Johnson give you instruction if anyone knocked at the door?
ANALISA: Yes. Elizabeth told me if anyone knocked at the door not to answer it. But then the housekeeper came and opened the door with a key.
GRACE: When she finally returned, did she say she would or would not need you back as a babysitter?
ANALISA: When I asked her if she would need me again, she said that she wasn`t sure because she didn`t know what she was going to do next with her life.
GRACE: When she came back, was she in a better mood?
ANALISA: Yes, she was in a much better mood.
GRACE: Did she look the same as when she left? I mean, did she still have on the same outfit? Was her hair the same?
ANALISA: Yes, she looked the same when she came back, just much happier.
GRACE: At any point, Analisa, did she ask you what you credentials or experience was?
ANALISA: No, she didn`t. She knew nothing about me but my name and phone number.
GRACE: Tonight, a very happy birthday to friend of the show, Sharon Palmell. A beautiful lady, inside and out, she`s a wonderful mother. She loves to cook with Jamaican spices and loves taking care of her girls.
Happy birthday, Sharon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you state your name and date of birth?
JOHNSON: Elizabeth Johnson, 7-24-86.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Arizona mother at the center of the baby Gabriel missing boy case is now in jail in Maricopa County, Arizona.
GRACE: Tonight, mommy goes back to Arizona just a few hours ago, in court before a judge when she interrupted repeatedly until he told her not to. Cops an attitude.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`ve been arrested on a direct complaint warrant alleging custodial interference, a class four felony. You`ve also been arrested on new charges alleging child abuse, a class two felony, and one count of kidnapping.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Johnson is being held on a cash-only, $1.1 million bond.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s currently facing charges of kidnapping, which is a class two felony. Child abuse, which is a class four felony. And custodial interference.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there anything you want to ask me or tell me?
JOHNSON: Um, ask you -- I don`t really know what to say, but everything is so false.
GRACE: It`s false, it`s false, it`s false. But when police ask her to help them find the baby, she says absolutely nothing. Nothing about the conversation she had with this couple. Did she see their car tag, their make and model? Nothing. Zero.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: At the bail hearing, prosecutors said at one point Johnson claimed she killed her son, put his body in a diaper bag and threw him in the trash. But Arizona police don`t believe that or her.
T. SMITH: We want to believe that somebody has that baby. We -- Jack was extremely choked up and we -- you guys are saying things about diaper bags and stuff and we just don`t want to hear that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s not helping them, she`s not telling them anything, she`s not helping them to make a sketch.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We`re told that Johnson stayed at this hotel near the airport sometime between December 20th and the 26th.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The clerk remembers Johnson checking in and she may have had the baby with her sitting in the car seat. But one thing is for sure. He said Elizabeth Johnson did not use her own name.
T. SMITH: Once we did start to talk with her, she said that her plan was to keep running.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Elizabeth knows exactly what took place. And as far as what the Smiths -- whether it`s the key or only a little more information, I can`t tell you that until I get the information itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army Private Keiffer Wilhelm, just 19, Plymouth, Ohio. From a military family, awarded the Army Commendation Medal, Army Service Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal.
Loved music, computers, games, bonfires with friends and family. Remembered for his big bear hugs. Leaves behind grieving parents, Shane and Katherine, stepmom, Shelly, five siblings, including brother Shannon serving in the Air Force.
Keiffer Wilhelm, American hero.
Thank you to our guests but our biggest thank you to you for being with us. See you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
