Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Search for Missing California Newlywed
Aired February 16, 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: Breaking news tonight, Salinas, California. A gorgeous 23-year-old bride -- talented, creative, a florist -- vanishes, goes shopping that afternoon with a sister for their father`s birthday party and then never makes it to the party. Twenty-three-year-old Ryann Crow vanishes, never seen again, her Chevy Malibu abandoned 90 miles to the north.
Bombshell tonight. Investigators, as we go to air, combing every square inch of Ryann`s car for evidence. Reports her new groom lays out of the search for his wife and then completely avoids the bride`s family. But why? Tonight, where is 23-year-old Ryann Crow?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Salinas police get in a break they were looking for in the search for 23-year-old Ryann Bunnell Crow. They found her car. The hope is they find Ryann next. Police say they`ll comb her car for clues and evidence to her disappearance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ryann last seen on a Saturday afternoon after she`s dropped off her sister. Her family says Ryann Crow met her husband this past July, the beautiful 23-year-old getting swept off her feet, falling head over heels for Jesse Crow, marrying him just one month later. Now newlywed Ryann Crow is missing. Police say husband Jesse Crow is cooperating, but Crow now at the center of a potential new legal storm when the same day Ryann reported missing, a room rented by Crow raided by sheriffs who discover more than 300 marijuana plants.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot put it in words, the pain that I feel right now. It is almost unbearable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The search for a dependable sister, daughter and friend continues.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live, Orlando. After begging a Florida judge for help, a beautiful Florida woman, 23-year-old Hooters girl, gunned down in cold blood by an obsessed Hooters customer. After a judge denies her desperate bid for an emergency protective order, blaming the victim in his denial, 23-year-old Alissa Blanton shot to death. Judge Dean (ph) Moxley, you are in contempt! Tonight, the gut-wrenching 911 calls.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God! I was driving in to work, parking my vehicle, and this gentleman was -- I saw this gentleman shooting this woman several times. And then I ducked my head because I didn`t want him to see me and shoot me!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alissa Blanton married her husband, Brent (ph), just six months ago, bought a new house and had a successful job working for AT&T in Orlando. It was here where the Cocoa (ph) woman was gunned down by a stalker she`d met two years earlier while working here as a Hooters waitress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on! Please!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, baby!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We had a restraining order against this guy! Oh, my God!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to this request for a restraining order that Blanton filled out exactly one week before her murder, a 61-year-old named Roger Troy was a loyal customer of hers at the restaurant, always requesting to sit in her section. At first, Blanton says, Troy never bothered her, but then behavior became more obsessive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife, is she still alive?
(CROSSTALK)
911 OPERATOR: Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alissa, I love you! I love you!
911 OPERATOR: Sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you said you`re holding a wound?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there`s a hole right here! Where the hell is the ambulance!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blanton complained to her boss, who apparently confronted the customer. That`s when Blanton says that the harassment began. At first, she says, Troy started e-mailing her, saying what a terrible person she was and criticizing her upcoming marriage. Then he reportedly began showing up at her new job in Orlando, more than 20 miles away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! Come on, baby! Where`s the ambulance?
(CROSSTALK)
911 OPERATOR: Sir? Sir? Sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baby, I love you! I love you, baby!
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Breaking news tonight, Salinas, California. A gorgeous 23-year- old bride -- talented, creative, a florist -- vanishes, her Chevy Malibu abandoned 90 miles to the north. Bombshell tonight. As we go to air, investigators combing every square inch of Ryann Crow`s car for evidence. And reports emerge the new groom lays out of the search for his wife, and then completely avoids the bride`s family. But why? Tonight, where is 23- year-old Ryann Crow?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The search is on for beautiful young newlywed Ryann Crow. Law enforcement needs your help in tracking her down. Ryann vanishes into thin air after a shopping trip with her sister, Ryann reported missing after the reliable woman failed to show up for work at a local flower shop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have to move on for Ryann. I have to do this for Ryann because I want to find Ryan. I`m trying to hold onto hope that she`s still alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reports the cell phone pings sent by Ryann`s phone along Highway 1 (INAUDIBLE) Salinas, California. Searchers scour the area without success. The same day Ryann was officially reported missing, Ryann`s husband, Jesse Crow`s house raided by sheriffs, who say that he had over 300 marijuana plants growing in the home. Law enforcement tracks down Ryann`s 2002 white Chevy Malibu. Police do say they`re scouring the vehicle for clues.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s mixed feelings. I want them to find something. I want to know what happened to my daughter. So on one point, it`s a blessing because they can find leads from that car. And the other part -- point is that I`m aware that she`s not going to be driving her car up my driveway anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to our producer, Clark Goldband, on the story. Clark, what happened?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: The search is on, Nancy, for 23-year-old Ryann Crow. It`s a Saturday, and she`s working at her job at the flower shop. She doesn`t feel well and calls her sister to drive down to the flower shop. Sister gets Ryann at the flower shop and says, Hey, it`s our dad`s party tonight. We need to go shopping for some presents, drives sis to the CVS. They go shopping...
GRACE: Wa-wa-wait. Did you say CVS, as in the pharmacy?
GOLDBAND: Yes.
GRACE: OK. So they go to the CVS, and then what happened?
GOLDBAND: Then after the CVS, Ryann drops her sister off at her sister`s house, and then according to the sister...
GRACE: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Whoa. Back it up. I thought that even though it was early on in the marriage, very early on, that the bride and the groom had some sort of tiff and that Ryann Crow was actually staying at her sister`s home. Did I get that incorrectly, Clark?
GOLDBAND: You are correct, Nancy. We`ve heard from multiple sources that, in fact, the couple were separated. Now, Nancy, this was a quick, head-over-heels type romance, where apparently, Ryann met her husband, Jesse Crow, in July, married him a few weeks later in August. And Nancy, here`s the kicker. The family says they have not spoken to the husband since Ryann went missing.
GRACE: Natisha Lance, let me get this straight. Is this one of those whirlwind romances, where you know the guy for a couple weeks and you run off and get married?
NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: You`re absolutely right, Nancy. They went to Vegas. They eloped, got married, came back and said, Boom, I`m married. Now, according to the family, they`re also saying that they went to a wedding for the brother, and that`s when this romance kind of budded. But when they got back, things kind of turned and both of them were talking to each other and saying, Why did we do that? Why did we go to Vegas and get married so quickly?
GRACE: Out to the lines. Cindy, Ohio. Hi, Cindy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Love you!
GRACE: Oh, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love your twins, too.
GRACE: Thank you. They are on a new jag, where they get up at 5:00 o`clock every morning.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh!
GRACE: But so be it. What`s your question, my love?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to know why her husband is refusing to assist with the search, if he loves her, and why she left her sister.
GRACE: You know, that`s what I don`t understand. Out to a reporter from "The Salinas-Californian." Joining us is Sunita Vijayan. Sunita, thank you for being with us. Why is the husband, the new groom -- - they haven`t even been married six months, I think. Why is he laying out of the search?
SUNITA VIJAYAN, "SALINAS-CALIFORNIAN" (via telephone): He has refused to speak to the media about his wife`s disappearance other than to wish his family -- her family well. As far as the police are concerned, they said that Jesse Crow has been totally cooperative with the investigation and they`re in daily contact with him.
GRACE: So the police are saying he is being cooperative. Did you just tell me that, Sunita?
VIJAYAN: Yes.
GRACE: OK. Does that include the search of his home, Clark Goldband, where quite a few, to put it mildly, pot plants were found -- not just a vast harvest of pot but a highly technical pot-growing operation with use of hydroponic lighting, and so forth, to grow the marijuana out of sight?
GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy, a sophisticated hydroponics operation. And in fact, law enforcement searched his home the same day Ryann was reported actually missing, which was three days later. So on Tuesday, after she went missing Saturday, family reports her missing. And as law enforcement says there`s no connection to this raid. They find over 300 marijuana plants. Also, Nancy, he`s apparently, as law enforcement says, mooching power for this hydroponics lab and taking the electricity for free.
GRACE: So he had hijacked the electric meter.
Everybody, you`re seeing video that we have obtained. That`s the husband down there in the bottom. There he is. Apparently, your wife goes missing and that`s a great time to do a little house cleaning. Of course, he is not a suspect at this juncture. He has not been named a person of interest.
But why is it -- let me go to you, Michelle Golland, psychologist and expert on Momlogic.com, joining us from LA. Why is it that so often when women go missing, suddenly, husband becomes a neatnik? They start vacuuming and cleaning things with Chlorox and throwing things in the dumpster.
MICHELLE GOLLAND, PSYCHOLOGIST: They use bleach.
GRACE: Why is that?
(LAUGHTER)
GOLLAND: Right. They don`t want to clean prior to that, Nancy, but all of a sudden, they`re into bleach and cleaning things. Yes, it`s very disconcerting, I have to say, his behavior, the not wanting to be involved in the search. And let`s face it, also his illegal activities, you know, the marijuana growing issue. He also had a DUI -- I mean, a drunk and disorderly charge recently. I would be very concerned about...
GRACE: Look, if I tried to lock up everybody that took a drink in this country, there`d be nobody outside the can, all right? But what`s concerning me is his decision to lay out of the search for his new bride.
GOLLAND: Yes.
GRACE: Everybody, take a look at Ryann Crow, a gorgeous 23-year-old bride, a creative and talented florist. She meets this guy. They get married, come back. Suddenly, she goes missing, her car found 90 miles to the north. The tip line, everybody, 1-800-78-CRIME.
When we come back, your calls live, and Marc Klaas with us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Happy and sad at the same time. You know, I hope they get information about, you know, what happened. But you know, it`s still hard to hear that they found your sister`s car, and you know, they don`t really know where she is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dump day for Jesse John Crow, trashing belongings at the Prunedale home he rented. Crow lived here until sheriff`s deputies raided it just days after his wife went missing. They found more than 300 pot plants growing inside. Crow isn`t talking about his missing wife or taking part in any efforts to find her.
Hello? Jesse?
But Jesse refuses to answer the door, leaving everyone to wonder why.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said he was advised to stay away from the media, so I believe that`s what he`s doing. But the law enforcement says he`s cooperating with them, and I`m sure he -- he`s -- Jesse, if you know anything, you know, just let law enforcement know. But apparently, he`s been doing that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Despite not talking with us, Salinas police say Jesse John Crow is talking with them regarding his missing wife, and they say he is fully cooperating with their investigation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. But first to Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation, his expertise, missing. Marc, what do you make of this?
MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, certainly, the person -- the people that Jesse has to convince that he`s not involved in this are the police, and that he can be done in a variety of ways, certainly undergoing interrogations, doing polygraphs, providing any kind of DNA or other information that they want.
I find it difficult to believe that this guy would be involved in his wife`s disappearance and then not do anything about the illegal pot plants and the illegal electricity, knowing full well that the officials would -- that the cops would at some point be coming to his home. So that kind of...
GRACE: Marc Klaas, no offense, but how many potheads have you been around? You think that they are, like, sharp, sharp as a tack?
KLAAS: Well, listen...
GRACE: He`s probably laid up on the sofa eating potato chips right now.
KLAAS: That`s true. But you know, I mean, pot clubs in California are almost as commonplace as bars, at this point. It`s not that big a deal to either possess it or to grow it. So you know, I would think he would deal with that issue if he had...
GRACE: You know, Marc...
KLAAS: ... offed the wife.
GRACE: Marc, Marc, Marc, that`s crazy talk. I don`t know what you`re saying, that somebody that has a vast illegal marijuana growing operation is not that big of a deal. For once in my life, I disagree with you. I don`t see it. And listen, that`s how people get caught. They don`t count on the police showing up and doing a search.
KLAAS: Well, you know, as long as he continues to cooperate with the police and they say that he`s clear and free from this, at some point, if they do, then they are going to have to move on to other scenarios.
GRACE: You`re right about that.
KLAAS: Again, it`s very disconcerting that this guy`s not helping with the searches and not making public pleas because when the family gives up hope, when the family no longer is involved in the recovery of a missing person, then the volunteers turn away, the reporters turn away, and the police go back to the regular beats.
GRACE: And again, let me stress tonight, it`s not about the husband, all right? He`s peripheral. He`s not a suspect. He`s not a person of interest. I`m talking about this woman, Ryann Crow. She`s 23 years old. That very afternoon, she went shopping with her sister for the father`s birthday party that evening. She never showed up. Why? What happened?
And then let me get the timeline straight. Out to you, Clark Goldband. When was she actually reported missing? The party was on a Saturday?
GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy. She was last seen about 4:00 PM on Saturday, was not reported missing until Tuesday. Now, we talked...
GRACE: Why? Why? I mean, I don`t understand that because if the family found it at all unusual that she didn`t show up for the birthday party and I assume call the next day, why didn`t anybody call police?
GOLDBAND: Well, we talked to Ryann`s sister, Shelly (ph), and she said that Ryann had been feeling sick, so they weren`t too alarmed. Then as a day or two went by and friends and family started talking to each other, everyone said, Hey, I haven`t heard from Ryann at all.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Dionna, New Jersey. Hi, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy! I love you so much! You are one of my idols!
GRACE: Please, I don`t deserve that, but I`m going to tape that and play it back for the twins when they turn 16 because they probably won`t think that highly of Mommy about that time. What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. I just want to know, is the husband`s side of the family involved in the search, and are they cooperating with the police?
GRACE: You mean her family?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, or her husband`s family. She (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: You know, I know that her family is. What do we know about the husband`s family? Out to you, Sunita.
VIJAYAN: Not much about the family of her husband, just his background. That`s as much as we know. He`s had a criminal record since 1996.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot put it in words the pain that I feel right now. It is almost unbearable. But I have to move on for Ryann. I have to do this for Ryan because I want to find Ryann. I`m trying to hold out hope that she`s still alive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Law enforcement needs your help, desperately searching for beautiful 23-year-old Ryann Crow. Reports that cell phone pings sent by Ryann`s phone along Highway 1 near Salinas, California. Searchers scour the area without success. The same day Ryann was officially reported missing, Ryann`s husband, Jesse Crow`s house raided and sheriffs, who say he had over 300 marijuana plants growing in the home. Police say they`ve questioned Jesse Crow, and he`s fully cooperating in their search for Ryann.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said he was advised to stay away from the media, so I believe that`s what he`s doing. But the law enforcement says that he`s cooperating with them, and I`m sure he -- he`s -- Jesse, if you know anything, you know, just let law enforcement know. But apparently, he`s been doing that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Back to Clark Goldband. I can`t get the timeline down correctly. Everyone, we are talking about a 23-year-old young lady, a bride, who has gone missing, vanishing without a trace. Her car has been found 90 miles to the north of Salinas, California. Right now, as we go to air, investigators combing the car for any details about what happened to this woman, Ryann Crow.
Back to you, Clark. So that afternoon, she goes shopping. She leaves the florist shop where she works. She gets picked up by sister about 3:00.
GOLDBAND: Right.
GRACE: They go to CVS to pick up, I guess, party stuff to decorate and so forth for the dad`s birthday that evening.
GOLDBAND: Right.
GRACE: That`s a Saturday, right?
GOLDBAND: Yes.
GRACE: She doesn`t show up for the birthday party. That should have rang a bell of alarm in everybody`s head. And they wait for some reason until Tuesday to report her missing. What about the husband? Why didn`t he call police?
Let`s unleash the lawyers, Gloria Allred -- you all know Gloria from LA, attorney and victim`s rights advocate -- Penny Douglas Furr, veteran defense attorney out of the Atlanta jurisdiction, and Raymond Giudice, veteran trial lawyer also out of Atlanta. Weigh in, Gloria Allred.
GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIMS` RIGHTS ATTORNEY: Well, yes, why wasn`t someone contacting the police, apparently because she didn`t show up at work. But the problem is this. You know, usually, someone is going to contact the next day, and the question is, why not? What was going on with her husband? Even though he`s cooperating with the police, I think there`s still a lot of unanswered questions.
GRACE: Yes, like Ray Giudice, what`s he got in those big black bags he`s throwing into a dumpster? Why the sudden neat jag when he should be out looking for his wife.
RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, the three things that I`m looking at is, one, he`s cooperating. Two, he hasn`t hired a lawyer. And three, I think the fact he didn`t clean up the marijuana, if he`s responsible for it, indicates that he wasn`t worried about the house being searched.
GRACE: OK, what about it, Penny Douglas Furr?
PENNY DOUGLAS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, he might not have worried about it because he thinks he`s above all that. He doesn`t think they`ll come into the house.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Hi, what`s the address?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: It`s 12150 Research Parkway.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: 12150?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: 12150 Research Parkway.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK. And tell me what happened?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Oh my god. I was driving into work, parking my vehicle, and this gentleman was -- I saw this gentleman shooting this woman several times and then I ducked my head because I didn`t want him to see and shoot me.
And then it looks like he probably shot himself because he`s lying on the ground next to her.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Oh my god!
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Where are they? Are they in the parking lot?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: They`re in the parking lot.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: This in front of the AT&T, ma`am?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Yes, ma`am.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: This gentleman just shot this woman several time and then he shot himself.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK. Is there -- is he breathing or --
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Oh my god, I don`t know, ma`am. I can`t go closer.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK, calm down, OK? So you`re on your way, right?
Yes, ma`am, I need you to stay on the phone, OK?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I start work at 1:15, ma`am. I can give you guys my information but -- get in the car, sweetie. Get in the car. Get in the car. Hello?
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Yes, ma`am. What`s your name? Hello? Hello? Ma`am?
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: I think she hung up.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: All right, bye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Straight out to Drew Petrimoulx, WDBO Radio, joining us from Orlando. First of all, before I get on the judge in this case for not granting this woman`s begging for protection, and then she gets shot, gunned down, in the public parking lot by the guy she went and complained about to the judge, give me the timeline, Drew.
DREW PETRIMOULX, REPORTER, WDBO RADIO: Well, let me start first hit you with some breaking news, some new information that I just got out. Just found out that -- from someone close to this investigation that she was actually shot nine times by this man in her abdomen, in her chest, and even in her face. So that just shows you the vicious nature of this attack.
What happened is a little bit over a year ago, she was a -- she worked at a Hooters restaurant near the beach. Roger Troy, a 61-year-old man, was one of her regulars --
GRACE: Wait. How old? How old? Did you say 60 or 16?
PETRIMOULX: 61 years old.
GRACE: 61?
PETRIMOULX: 61. And she was only 23.
GRACE: And he is chasing this 23-year-old girl?
PETRIMOULX: Well, there`s no sign that there was --
GRACE: That`s attractive. Go ahead.
PETRIMOULX: There was no sign right now -- there was no sign that there was anything romantic between them, but it seems like that he became obsessed with her. He would write her harassing e-mails, follow her around, even stop by her house.
There was nothing sexually between them but really he just became obsessed with her. She filed for a restraining order with the judge. He set a hearing for two weeks from then, did not grant an emergency injunction.
GRACE: Boy, boy. You`re the reporter. I`m just a lawyer. You`re the reporter. Aren`t you leaving out an important fact, Drew Petrimoulx? The judge`s name is Dean Moxley, correct?
PETRIMOULX: That is the case. And like -- she filed a restraining order, the hearing was set for two weeks from that day that she filed it, but they did not get to there because a week after she filed it, he met her at her work and again shot her nine times killing her.
GRACE: Now here`s my question -- out to you, Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer, why, when you`ve got a woman in tears, desperate, begging for the court`s protection, did the judge turn away an emergency TPO, temporary protective order, and set down a hearing for two weeks later?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, Nancy, I`ve got his order right here. And what Judge Moxley said is that she failed to demonstrate that there was an immediate or imminent danger of being a victim of abuse.
Also said there was not a factual basis there to give her this emergency protective order she`d asked for.
GRACE: Well, what do you have to do to get a protective order? I`ve been in court since 1984. And what is put before the judge is the testimony of the victim. That`s what the judge hears. What did he want, Ellie? A video?
JOSTAD: Yes -- I don`t know, Nancy. This is what she presented to the judge. Over 62 pages of e-mails that she`d received from her killer Dennis -- I`m sorry, Roger Troy. She said that he showed up at her work, he showed up at her house. He left letters on her front lawn. He e-mailed her. He even went to work one time, boxed her into the parking lot so she couldn`t leave and then leaned into her car to talk to her.
He would show up at the beach. He`d show up at stores she went to. He`d sent e-mails suggesting he was watching her, talking about how she had gained weight, how she changed her haircut.
GRACE: Wait a minute, Ellie. Ellie. I`m reading, as I read earlier, some of the -- let me just say communications this nut job gave her. It says -- he`s trying to talk about does her husband, her new husband, know about all of the men she slept with.
JOSTAD: Yes.
GRACE: The count is 50 and climbing. What a waste of humanity are but once a Hill Billy -- what more can you tell me, Ellie? And the judge - - I`m looking. These are pages and pages and pages of documents of copies of threats that he gave her.
What did this judge, Judge Dean Moxley -- what did he want?
JOSTAD: Well, the judge said that he wasn`t sure that Roger Troy had met the legal definition of stalking. So he said he`s going to have a hearing in two weeks. He will allow both Blanton and her killer -- he would allow them to both present both sides.
Now, you`re right, Nancy. She did say that she`d gotten these e- mails. In these e-mails he`s saying things like, why won`t you give me the truth? Why are you lying to me? Why are you being evasive?
He certainly seems to think that they have much more of a relationship than she thought they had.
GRACE: So, Ellie, are you telling me the man would go up in her front yard and leave these letters out on the lawn?
JOSTAD: Yes. Just in January, January 24th, she said she and her husband were out working in the yard all day. Later on they were cleaning up and they found a letter, a letter that wasn`t postmarked to them.
A letter that had been left in the yard that was from this man, and it`s the letter that we`ve been describing where he`s talking about, you know, your husband doesn`t know the truth about you. He doesn`t know what kind of person you really are.
And then goes on to describe, you know, all of these allegations against her, which really are no more than she dated other men before she met and married her husband. Nothing too salacious there. But he seems to think that this was some sort of horrible truth that the husband need to know about her.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Our to Pam in Virginia, hi, Pam.
PAM, CALLER FROM VIRGINIA: Hi.
GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?
PAM: I want to know, can this judge, Dean Moxley -- can he be held liable for her death since he wouldn`t give her a protective order? And what`s it going to take to have these judges held accountable?
GRACE: You know, Pam, I really don`t know. I`ve wondered that question since I first started practicing law and would see this type of decision handed down over and over and over. But I guarantee you this judge is going -- judge is going to hide behind his robes.
Unleash the lawyers, Gloria Allred, Penny Douglass Furr, Raymond Giudice.
Out to you, Raymond, won`t it be an issue of the king can do no wrong? That you can`t fault the judge for his ruling that resulted in her death, in her murder?
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I agree without the word fault. He has sovereign immunity. He can even be at fault. But the king is protected.
However, I believe there`ll be administrative ramifications.
GRACE: Yes?
GIUDICE: I was told to wrap. But I believe he may have to have some kind of judicial qualifications hearing. Perhaps something with the BAR associations. He is a lawyer, after all. And somebody may challenge his ability to be a judge. But he is immune from civil suit.
GRACE: What about it, Gloria?
GLORIA ALLRED, VICTIM`S RIGHTS ATTORNEY, CHILD ADVOCATE: Well, yes, he may enjoy immunity. He may enjoy, in other words, protection under the law. But, Nancy, what about the protection for women who are being stalked? That`s what I`m concerned about.
Look. At the initial hearing, really, they don`t have a chance to say anything. They just have to fill out forms. If they --
GRACE: I`m sorry. I can`t hear you. Go ahead, Gloria. OK. Lost Gloria. Go ahead, Penny.
PENNY DOUGLASS FURR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, sadly, if the man was going to kill her, the restraining order would not have stopped him. But there should be something done. This man should be in jail for stalking. Forget the protective order. He should be in jail for stalking. This went on over and over. She should have called the police.
GRACE: Or should -- should have been in jail.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I want to go out to Andrew J. Scott, former chief of police, Boca Raton, now VP of Scott-Roberts and Associates.
Andrew, thank you for being with us. Nine shots? Did he have to reload?
ANDREW J. SCOTT, FORMER CHIEF OF POLICE, BOCA RATON, FL., VP OF SCOTT- ROBERTS & ASSOCIATES, LLC.: Probably not, to be honest with you, Nancy. And you know --
GRACE: And what kind of gun would that have been?
SCOTT: Well, it would have been a semi-automatic gun that usually carries a bullet load or a magazine load of anywhere between 13 and 14 bullets. So that`s probably what he used.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: There was shooting out front and I was on break, and we heard gunshots, and I saw someone fall on the ground and they were saying that they shot her in the head.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Somebody was shot in the head?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: I`m sorry, I didn`t hear you. You guys are or are not on the scene?
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: We are on scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, please.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, baby. I love you.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a restraining against that guy. Oh my god.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you said you`re holding a wound?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, there`s a hole right here. Where the hell is the ambulance?!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please, Lord!
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Sir?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there any other wounds besides this one?
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Sorry, I`m going to hang up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her pupils are dilated, god!
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, come on, somebody, help!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You are hearing the harsh realty of a judge`s decision not to grant a temporary protective order for this young woman. 23-year-old Alyssa Blanton. Murdered. She was a Hooters girl. A customer became obsessed and stalked her.
She begged a judge -- Judge Dean Moxley -- for help. He said no. He set up a hearing for two more weeks. She was gunned down in a public parking lot.
Joining me right now from Coco Beach, Florida, Margot Gould, a long- time neighbor of the suspect, Roger Troy.
Miss Gould, thank you for being with us.
MARGOT GOULD, LONG-TIME NEIGHBOR OF ROGER TROY: Thank you for having me on board.
GRACE: Miss Gould, did anybody in the neighborhood have any idea that he was obsessed with this young girl? I mean, when you would talk to him or see him, how did he come across?
GOULD: He came across as a good friend and a good neighbor and good sense of humor. We never saw any duplicity or duality in his nature. I imagine he was probably able to --
GRACE: Compartmentalize.
GOULD: Compartmentalize this obsession into a separate part of his life.
GRACE: Did you know he had weapons?
GOULD: Yes, I did. He`s an NRA member and to my knowledge he was very cautious about his weapons. He had a gun safe so he could keep them separate. He never left them in his car. He went to the gun range and periodically discharged them and cleaned them.
GRACE: So by all accounts he was a responsible gun owner?
GOULD: He was a very responsible gun owner and NRA member. And kept them clean, polished, and away from when he had his grandchildren visit and I think he always kept them locked up.
GRACE: So was he married?
GOULD: He was divorced for many years on good terms with his former wife.
GRACE: Did he date? Did he have any love interest other than his fixation on a 23-year-old girl?
GOULD: About five years ago he was going out with a girl love about five or six years younger than he was. And if she wanted to come forward, I assure she would by now. But she was a lovely person. I believe she used to go to the gun range with him. She was an NRA member as well.
GRACE: Other than the gun range, what were his interests?
GOULD: He was interested in politics. He was a director of the Condominium Association several years running, mostly dealing with ground facilities and apparently he did a very good job.
GRACE: So he was well-liked in his neighborhood?
GOULD: He was well-liked. He was opinionated and could be slightly abrasive. He was, as I said, quite right-wing, left of (INAUDIBLE) perhaps. But he was definitely opinionated and could be a little bit abrasive. But normally he was quite jolly, had a good sense of humor, very (INAUDIBLE) or quirky, almost like a British sense of humor.
GRACE: Everyone, joining us is Miss Margot Gould. She`s a long-time neighbor of the suspect, Roger Troy. This is a 61-year-old man who -- and I`ve got copies of them, unless somebody has faked his handwriting -- pages and pages of letters that he has written her, e-mails, typed documents, talking about her sexuality, her love life as he dreamed it up.
Some of this being left on her front lawn. He apparently became obsessed with her when she worked at Hooters as a Hooters girl.
Out to the lines, Sheila in Illinois, hi, Sheila.
SHEILA, CALLER FROM ILLINOIS: Good -- good afternoon. Good evening, Nancy. I`d like to say hello.
GRACE: Hello, dear. And thank you for calling. What`s your question?
SHEILA: I`d like to say -- just say that it`s too bad she didn`t approach the court in 6th Judicial Court here in Macon County, Illinois for the order of protection because you can get one here apparently for sending a text message. Because --
GRACE: You know, Sheila -- Sheila, you are so right. And in most jurisdictions, you don`t need a full 62 pages of evidence documenting threats and stalking before you can get a protective order.
And the reality is -- to you, Penny Douglass Furr, a protective order in no way really infringes on the suspect. It really just keeps the suspect away from the alleged victim until the hearing. Until you can have a hearing. It doesn`t hurt the suspect.
DOUGLASS FURR: Well, exactly, Nancy. It will keep him from harassing her but if he intends to kill her, he will still kill her even with the protective order.
GRACE: But I still believe -- especially someone that Mrs. Gould is describing, to you, Gloria Allred, I think a judge`s order would have meant something to this man.
ALLRED: Well, we don`t know if it would have or would not have. But I can`t describe him as a responsible gun owner if he took a gun and shot her to death nine times. And the point is, though, even if the restraining order would not have stopped him -- we don`t know whether it would have or not -- it should have been issued and we should not have to show two incidents of violence as apparently there is a requirement in that court that it be shown in order to get an emergency protective order.
GRACE: Raymond Giudice, let me be completely crystal clear. In no way was this man a responsible gun owner. But he gave that appearance. By all accounts. To everyone in his neighborhood. So -- I just wonder what kept the judge from issuing this order.
GIUDICE: Well, the judge had no evidence other than it was in the petition. Now I read the petition and I read those e-mails, and it would scare me if I was a judge.
I think Penny made an excellent point before. The facts in that petition make out a criminal stalking case. She should have been referred immediately to the district attorney`s office. He would have been arrested on a stalking warrant.
Forget the temporary protection order, he would have been behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: Do you know if the person that shot him was an employee there?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I have no idea. We`re just sitting out here on break and then we heard it and we all rushed inside. I saw someone fall on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK. And the person that shot him is who? Is where? Did they see where he went?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: No idea.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK. Do you know if the person that shot him was an employee there?
UNIDENTIFIED CALLER: I have no idea. We`re just sitting out here on break and then we heard it and we all rushed inside. And I saw someone fall on the ground.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 OPERATOR: OK. They`re on their way there now. And this is at the AT&T building on Research Parkway --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Dr. Marty Makary, physician and professor of public health, John Hopkins University.
Dr. Makary, thank you for being with us. Doctor --
DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: Thanks, Nancy.
GRACE: She was shot nine times. Would there be --
MAKARY: Yes, it`s really rare. You know, typically gunshot wounds to the abdomen cause internal bleeding. Gunshot wounds to the chest cause (sic) collapsed lungs and a sense of suffocation. And gunshot wounds to the head cause sudden loss of consciousness.
She had all three of these types of injuries, so most likely there was a short period of suffering but because there was an injury to the head she was out.
GRACE: I pray to God that she was out from the very beginning and that the first shot was the shot to the head.
Dr. Marty, her husband tried desperately to resuscitate her and I wonder tonight if he is blaming himself for not being able to do that.
MAKARY: Yes, oftentimes people do in this situation, but to be very plain and brutally honest, there is almost nothing you can do when somebody has been shot nine times with what was probably a semiautomatic weapon.
You know, if you`re shot once, you`ve got an 80 percent death rate. You`re shot twice, you`ve got a 95 percent death rate. After three, you`re at 99 percent and there`s really almost nothing else that can be done.
The public health community would say --
GRACE: Dr. Marty --
MAKARY: You know, the more access to guns that`s the problem.
GRACE: I`m very glad that you say that. I`ve always wondered about my fiance that was murdered many, many years ago if I had been there, if I could have done anything. He was shot five times. So in this particular case, do you think the young lady lie there in the parking lot realizing what was happening to her?
MAKARY: I think there was probably a minute or two where there was a realization. It`s hard to know because it`s hard to know when the gunshot injury to the head was but something like that, Nancy.
GRACE: Everyone, let`s stop and remember Army Sergeant Joel House, 22, Lee, Maine, killed Iraq. Awarded the Bronze Star, two Purple Hearts, Army Commendation Medal, lost his life on his mother`s birthday.
A smile that lit up a room, loved God, his family, outdoors, guitar, sports, time at the family cabin on Silver Lake. Favorite treats? His dad`s chocolate peanut butter fudge and his grandmother`s peanut butter squares. Leaves behind parents, Paul and Deanna, sister, Joy, brother, Luke.
Joel House, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but our biggest thank you to you, and tonight a special good night from Florida and Georgia friends, Ann, Darryl, Melanie, and Rick.
Now, aren`t they a fine looking bunch?
Everyone, see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
