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Nancy Grace
Chelsea King`s Body Found
Aired March 02, 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. Live, San Diego, California, suburbs. A beautiful 17-year-old high school co-ed, cross- country star, honors student, heads to run at a local park, then vanishes into thin air, her car abandoned, found locked at the jogging path, cell phone inside. Search teams, K-9s, FBI scour rocky terrain, heavily wooded areas, bodies of water and 14 miles of shoreline, discovering pieces of the missing girl`s clothing.
Bombshell tonight. As we go to air, a body just found near a local lake. Is it 17-year-old Chelsea King?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s with great sadness this afternoon that we discovered shortly after 1:00 o`clock human remains near the water`s edge in a shallow grave within the area in which our search efforts had been concentrated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Chelsea King went for a jog on Thursday, has not been seen since.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a strong likelihood that we have found Chelsea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Driving down, and I`m thinking, OK, she`s just at the park with a friend and she forgot track of time and her phone`s not next to her. And once I got there and started driving around, it just (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The body was found in an area shortly -- or not far from where we had previously discovered a piece of evidence, a shoe. It was about 15 -- 10 to 15 feet away from a tributary that leads down to the lake. And it was covered in a shallow grave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just knew it was something bad. Something bad happened to my daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An arrest has been made. John Albert Gardner III arrested. He`s a convicted sex offender.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) this monster has been removed from hurting Chelsea anymore and anyone else that`s out there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Breaking news tonight. Live, San Diego, California, suburbs. A gorgeous 17-year-old high school girl, a cross-country star, honors student, heads out to run at a local park, then vanishes into thin air. Bombshell tonight. As we go to air, a body has just been found there near local lake. Is it 17-year-old Chelsea King?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was made by one of the searchers, looking from the water up on the shoreline, spotted something that looked suspicious and investigated, and found -- by moving some small debris, found Chelsea`s body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My first reaction was one of just pure horror for my daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s an area that we had been searching extensively, and unfortunately, just now found it, due to fact that she was in a shallow grave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My second reaction was one of hope that my daughter`s still here and we`re going to go find her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was law enforcement personnel dive teams that were working their way from the lake up that tributary, and actually spotted her from the water. She was on the shoreline there, about 10 feet from the water line.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s the most horrific thing a parent could ever go through.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators with the fugitive task force arrested 30-year-old John Albert Gardner III. Gardner is a registered sex offender in the state of California.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have this gentleman in custody, this predator, every other word you can think of. He`s going to lead us to our daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s with great sadness this afternoon that we discovered shortly after 1:00 o`clock, human remains near the water`s edge in a shallow grave, within the area in which our search efforts had been concentrated. Although positive identification has not been made, there is strong likelihood we have found Chelsea. I have just left the home of Brent and Kelly King, where I shared this information. Obviously, they are devastated, and I ask that you respect their privacy during this extremely difficult time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Phil Farar, news anchor/reporter at KOGO. He was there at the press conference today. Phil, what is the latest?
PHIL FARAR, KOGO RADIO: The latest is, of course, what the sheriff said, Bill Gore, the body has been found. Now what they are doing is they are putting together their search efforts because there have also been other reported assaults here. On December 27th, a woman was reported assaulted here. In November, there was an assault reported just north of here. So now they are gathering all of this information after discovery of this body in a shallow grave, the body of Chelsea King.
GRACE: Back to you. Phil Farar is joining us there at Rancho Bernando (SIC) Park.
FARAR: Bernardo.
GRACE: Phil, again, thank you -- thank you. Thank you for being with us. Phil, I`ve got a question about how this body was found. If it is, in fact, Chelsea King, the 17-year-old girl who went missing, how did they locate the body?
FARAR: Nancy, this was one of the most extensive searches, from what we understand, in San Diego County history. She went missing last Thursday. Her father came to this area, saw her car. Then he notified police, San Diego police. It was turned over to the sheriff`s department.
On Friday, hundreds of people were out here, and they were searching about a three, four-mile area. Then on Saturday, a rain-soaked day, more than 1,500 people came out here searching. Then the searches were divided between the professionals, the authorities and civilians who were searching inland. The professionals started to search Lake Hodges, which is just north of where we are standing. Behind us is the park. Some of the civilians were searching back there.
Then today, the searches continued with underwater and also scuba divers and cadaver dogs, unfortunately. What they did not find was a body in the lake. But at 1:00 o`clock Pacific Standard time, what they did find, indeed, in a shallow grave off a trail, about a half a mile from where Chelsea parked her car, was, indeed, a body, and they do believe the body of Chelsea King.
GRACE: So the body that has been discovered, we are waiting for a positive identification whether this body is, in fact, the 17-year-old honors student Chelsea King.
This case was first brought to my attention by Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. Weigh in, Marc. He`s joining us from California also.
MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, the first thing I`d like to do is offer my deepest condolence to Chelsea`s family. This is just the worst possible news they could have heard. I`ve been involved in one way or another in three very high-profile cases down in the San Diego area. First it was Danielle Van Dam, then it was Amber Dubois only last year, and now in the Chelsea case, although only peripherally because I`ve spoken with the family.
And I can tell you that the response in San Diego was absolutely extraordinary. It may not only be one of the largest manhunts in San Diego history, it may very well be the quickest response and the quickest, largest manhunt in American history. To be able to get over a thousand people there in the rain on a continual basis to search for this little girl, and to do it in a coordinated way, as has been done by the civilians, who were led by the Laurer (ph) Recovery Center, my very good friends from Texas, and the authorities, who were multi-jurisdictional, is just extraordinary. And I`m so terribly sorry it had to end this way.
GRACE: Back to Phil Farar, news anchor from KOGO joining us there at Rancho Bernardo Park. Phil, I`m stunned about the person of interest, the suspect that has been taken into custody. Now, it`s my understanding that he has not only attacked somebody else at this very same park, that he pled guilty for molesting a little 13-year-old girl. Why is he out wandering around?
FARAR: That`s a good question. You know, prosecutors asked for more time. The psychiatrist who examined this individual, Gardner -- we can`t call him mister -- he said that he should have...
GRACE: Wait, wait, wait, wait!
FARAR: I just want to...
GRACE: Phil Farar -- Phil Farar, hold on. Elizabeth, put that back up right now, that first screen on John Albert Gardner III. He pled to lewd and lascivious behavior. Now, take a look at this. What he actually did, if you read the police report -- and correct me if I`m wrong, Phil Farar -- also with me, Joseph Pena -- what he did was go up to a little 13- year-old girl who`s waiting to catch a school bus, offer her a ride. Instead, he takes her to his home, takes off her clothes after they`re watching movies, and then molests her. She runs out holding her pants, with one shoe in her hand.
Now, tell me, explain to me, if you can, Phil Farar, what he was doing out walking around with innocent people like 17-year-old Chelsea King?
FARAR: You know, he lives in a town called Lake Elsinore. And I have to say something about Marc Klaas. Marc knows this area. He`s been down here so many times. And Marc, we thank you for everything that you`ve done down here.
He lives in a town called Lake Elsinore, which is about 50, 60 miles north of here. But here`s the catch. His parents live about a mile from this park. He took that little girl to -- this was six, seven years ago -- to his parents` home. And now here he is, last week, at this park which is a mile away from his parents` town home, once again scouring the area. In December, scouring this area. We`ve had reports last November, scouring the area just north of here, in Escondido. Marc knows that area. That`s where Amber Dubois has gone missing. So the police and authorities and detectives and the sheriff`s department, they want to talk to this guy. This guy has got some `splaining to do.
GRACE: OK, Liz, when you can, pull me up a picture of Amber Dubois. This is a case that we have covered here on our show, trying to get answers to her case.
Everybody, just found a body at Lake Hodges, California. They believe it is the body of 17-year-old Chelsea King. There`s Amber Dubois, her case still unsolved. Is the same guy connected?
Out to Joseph Pena, reporter, San Diego News Network. What can you tell me, Joseph?
JOSEPH PENA, SAN DIEGO NEWS NETWORK: Well, Nancy, the suspect is scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow afternoon 2:30 PM. A spokesperson for the district attorney`s office here in San Diego County told me that he -- that there would not be much evidence presented tomorrow afternoon at his arraignment. So we may not know why the police are looking at him as a suspect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, they`re devastated. They were holding out hope, as we all were, that we would find Chelsea alive. And this was our worst fears, that we would find her as we did today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m thinking, OK, she`s just at the park with a friend and she forgot track of time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chelsea King`s parents are dealing with incredible pain, fear and uncertainty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no idea how overwhelming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their cherished Chelsea, gone now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We discovered shortly after 1:00 o`clock human remains.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My heart is overflowing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is strong likelihood that we have found Chelsea.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 17-year-old Poway High student disappeared Thursday.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When she didn`t return from a routine run, her dad traced her cell phone location using the wireless provider`s reverse auto phone Web site.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just knew that something bad -- something bad happened to my daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brent and Kelly King also find a measure of comfort knowing a suspect is in custody in connection with Chelsea`s disappearance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John Gardner, this man, was arrested Sunday, and is still in custody without bail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re finding out more about this suspect -- a dark, violent past.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sheriff says the convicted sex offender will likely be charged with rape and murder in Chelsea`s disappearance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was relief that this thing is not able to do this to my daughter, to anybody else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The body was found in an area shortly -- or not far from where we had previously discovered a piece of evidence, a shoe. It was about 15 -- 10 to 15 feet away from a tributary that leads down to the lake, and it was covered in a shallow grave. It`s an area we had been searching extensively, and unfortunately, just now found it due to the fact she was in a shallow grave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How was the discovery made?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was made by one of the searchers, looking from the water up on the shoreline, spotted something that looked suspicious and investigated and found -- by moving some small debris, found Chelsea`s body, what we believe to be Chelsea`s body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. This discovery has led cops to announce they believe they have found the body of a 17-year-old little girl, an honors student, a running star. Chelsea King went missing days ago, seemingly vanishing into thin air. Literally thousands of people have been searching for this girl.
Out to the lines. Heather in New York. Hi, Heather.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. This is an incredible tragedy. I`m so in shock. I`ve been following this very closely. And I have to ask, what laws need to be created and enforced in order to keep sexual offenders from our kids? This offender involved here was feet, literally feet away from a school, I mean, and he was a repeat offender.
And secondly, Jaycee Dugard is -- I don`t know if it`s been reported that much, but Jaycee Dugard is suing the state for letting her kidnapper and rapist go. Can Chelsea and her family do the same, since they let this one go? And did he plead out? Is that why it was such a lesser offense, just by how many -- how horrible this crime really was?
GRACE: And Heather, Heather, here`s the inside story on that. Whenever you are putting a plea up to a judge, very often, you get a P, as in Peter, SI, a pre-sentence investigation report. And that is somebody from the probation or parole or other department evaluates the defendant, all right? They told the judge -- after evaluating this guy, they said he shows -- this is after him molesting a 13-year-old little girl, a 7th grader. He shows no remorse. He`s a complete -- they put it more nicely, but jackass. He will not do well on parole or probation. He needs the full maximum sentence.
What did the judge do? Gave him almost half of what he should have gotten. Look at that, a continued danger to underage girls in the community.
And listen, Heather in New York, now we think he may be connected to three, possibly four women, young girls. How many do we not know about? How many people are missing that we don`t even know about yet?
But very quickly, I want to answer the question. To Sue Moss. What about it, Sue? In all my years putting felons behind bars, there are about three categories of crimes I do not think can be rehabilitated, and one is sex crimes. I don`t care what kind of treatment you give them. Doesn`t matter. They`re going to do it again.
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Absolutely. He was let out of the prison cage after he raped a girl underage. Where is the outrage! I mean, look at this! It was a 13-year-old girl that he raped! How can we as society sit back and say five years is sufficient? We made a huge mistake, and unfortunately, these other little girls now have to suffer for it!
GRACE: To the other lawyers joining us tonight, Alex Sanchez, Alan Ripka. Alan Ripka, he was already arrested on rape and murder before this body, which we`re awaiting on a positive ID, was found. How? How could that charge have come in?
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: What charge? The last one?
GRACE: Rape and murder in this case, before a body was found.
RIPKA: Well, obviously, they know he was a sexual predator. They must have other physical evidence to show that he was in that park and that`s how they narrowed it down to him. And they probably spoke to him by now, Nancy.
GRACE: Phil Farar, isn`t it true they found this girl`s underwear along the water?
FARAR: That`s exactly right, Nancy. They found her underwear, DNA evidence, and they found a shoe earlier before they found the body.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was law enforcement personnel, the dive teams that were working their way from the lake up that tributary and actually spotted her from the water. She was on the shoreline there, about 10 feet from the water line. It is south of the lake, in a little tributary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any idea of how long she had been there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. We will be doing a thorough now crime scene investigation that will take quite some time, and a lot of these issues will be developed in that investigation. The medical examiner`s office has been called and will also respond.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Right now, they are trying desperately to make a positive identification on a body that has just been found as we`re going to air. Is it the body of 17-year-old Chelsea King? This little girl went for a run. She was a cross-country running star, honors student, you name it. Right now, we know that an arrest has been made. An arrest has been made of John Albert Gardner III. He is 30 years old. He`s charged with rape and murder in this case. Now, these charges went down before the body was found. How?
We also know, and this has just been corroborated by Phil Farar, that the girl`s underwear were found there near the shoreline there at the park. This is after police had scoured 14 miles of shoreline. What more can you tell us about what was found, Joseph Pena?
PENA: Well, Nancy, as Phil mentioned, the victim`s mother did tell news stations that they had found a pair of underwear. And a shoe was also found here. A shoe was found close to where they found the body today. And that was the area that they were really focusing on after that discovery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Chelsea`s parents recall the moment they realized something awful had happened to their daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Their 17-year-old daughter, Chelsea, failed to return to their (INAUDIBLE) home from an after school run.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They say the 17-year-old always checks in with them.
SHERIFF WILLIAM GORE, SAN DIEGO SHERIFF`S DEPT., ON THE CASE: As far as I know Chelsea was last seen when she left school at approximately 2:00 on Thursday. After that, you know, we don`t have an accurate timeline. We know that her father discovered the car in the parking lot about 5:45.
BRENT KING, CHELSEA KING`S FATHER: Driving down there I`m thinking, OK, she`s just at the park with a friend and she forgot track of time and her phone`s not next to her. And once I got there and started driving around it just overwhelmed me. I just knew that something bad, something bad happened with my daughter.
Thank you so much for coming out and trying to find our daughter. She wants to be found.
GORE: One of the searchers looking from the water up on the shoreline spotted something that looked suspicious and investigated and found -- by moving some small debris found Chelsea`s body. What we believe to be Chelsea`s body.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Investigators are building their case against 30-year-old John Gardner III. The sheriff says the convicted sex offender will likely be charged with rape and murder in Chelsea`s disappearance.
GORE: Investigators with the Fugitive Task Force arrested 30-year-old John Albert Gardner III. He was arrested in connection with the disappearance of 17-year-old Chelsea King.
Gardner is a registered sex offender in the state of California. During the course of this extensive investigation evidence was discovered that linked Gardner to Miss King in such a manner as to warrant his arrest.
This is the area that we had been searching over the last five days, but unfortunately we missed it because it was in a shallow grave. We`ve been concentrating in this area back and forth.
It`s a heavily-wooded area and not observable from the homes up on the hillside or if you were standing in the park. So it did give some amount of cover to whoever did this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Missing from the same area, 14-year-old Amber Dubois. And joining us tonight, her mother, Carrie McGonigle.
Miss McGonigle, thank you for being with us. What do you make of the developments surrounding Chelsea King?
CARRIE MCGONIGLE, MOTHER OF AMBER DUBOIS, 14-YEAR-OLD GIRL MISSING IN THE SAME AREA: Pretty much puts me speechless. My condolences go out to her parents. They`re asking, you know, the question arises, did this guy do something with my daughter? And I don`t want to admit it but I feel he probably did.
GRACE: Have you taken a look at a picture of Chelsea King and noticed the similarity, the physical similarity between her and Amber?
MCGONIGLE: Yes. I noticed that, and I noticed the similarity between Chelsea`s mother and me, too. It -- you know, I reached out to the family right away and I just -- my heart bleeds for them right now.
GRACE: Have police contacted you about Chelsea`s case as it relates to your daughter, Amber`s case?
MCGONIGLE: After they made the arrest on Sunday I did hear from the lieutenant from Escondido Police Department and they said they`ll let me know as soon as they know anything. That they are working with the sheriff`s department.
MCGONIGLE: Carrie McGonigle is with us, this is the mother of 14- year-old Amber Dubois.
Miss McGonigle, what were the circumstances surrounding your daughter`s disappearance?
MCGONIGLE: She left for school February 13th, 2009, and seen by two eyewitnesses right by the school and just vanished. No sign of her.
GRACE: Right there at the school.
MCGONIGLE: Yes.
GRACE: Vanishes.
MCGONIGLE: Yes.
GRACE: Vanishes. Now, to you, Bill Golodner, former NYPD, president of Kindershield Agency. The similarities in my mind are overwhelming.
BILL GOLODNER, FMR. NYPD DETECTIVE, PRESIDENT OF KINDERSHIELD AGENCY: Yes, Nancy. That`s true. And all of us at Kindershield Agency offer our deepest condolences to the King family.
Look at this, Nancy. Look also at his face. The smirk, you`ll see that`s on that mugshot. It was said there was no remorse. Well, apparently there isn`t. This monster has done this not once, not twice, but probably many times.
And you will see a striking similarity between the victims because frequently these monsters target a particular type of person. And we can only hope California having the death penalty that they will use it in this instance, Nancy.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight, Susan Moss, family law attorney, New York. Alex Sanchez, defense attorney, New York. Alan Ripka, also defense attorney, New York.
What about it, Alex Sanchez? He`s said to be in court tomorrow morning. Why?
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, he`s going to be in court tomorrow morning either for the arraignment or for some other type of court proceedings.
You know, Nancy, they had arrested him before this young lady was found. And I`m wondering how the police -- why did they charge him with murder even before the young person was found?
That seems kind of unusual. It almost seems like they may have jumped the gun. They`re very lucky, from a law enforcement point of view, that they actually recovered the young person`s body because had they not they may have been forced to withdraw certain charges by tomorrow.
GRACE: Alex, you know what? Would have, could have, should have. They found the body.
SANCHEZ: They did.
GRACE: And not only that -- just to give you a little primer and evidence -- we know from Phil Farrar and Joseph Pena that they also found the girl`s underwear, obviously with DNA on it.
Now if it`s his DNA, there you have the rape charge right there. From spermatozoa. And if you`ve got the girl`s underwear with his DNA on it and she`s still missing, and they found him and he`s arrested and put away, then where is she?
SANCHEZ: You know, Nancy --
GRACE: I mean, you know, two and two is still four. Unless you`ve got another idea.
SANCHEZ: This is the type of case, Nancy, where it will test the skills and talents of the finest lawyer in this country. He has a bad record. He has a history and he has a bad attitude. And he`s going to be very difficult to defend in this case.
GRACE: And take a look at that, Alex Sanchez. Listen, Alex, you and Ripka both have defended cases all over the country. Look at this guy.
Liz, please put it up again.
You`re right. He -- look at this. He`s smiling in the mugshot. Now, this is -- if police are right -- just hours after he has murdered a 17- year-old girl. He`s smiling in the mugshot.
Alex, how would you explain that to a jury? You know this shot is going to come in as evidence.
SANCHEZ: Well, you`re going to try to keep it out. It really doesn`t have any particular value. That particular mugshot. But you know, this guy, he`ll probably sit in the courtroom and he`s probably going to end up with the same smirk right before the jury.
GRACE: I can only pray.
SANCHEZ: This guy`s inviting the death penalty.
GRACE: What about it, Alan Ripka?
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The bottom line is semen found in the underwear at the scene says nothing more than that they had sex. There has to be evidence that he murdered, how he murdered her, or that he intended on murdering her.
GRACE: Put him up. Put him up, Elizabeth.
Alan Ripka.
RIPKA: Yes?
GRACE: It`s a 17-year-old girl. Her car is found locked. Shut tight at the trail head where she runs. Her cell phone is in the car. She`s missing for days. Her underwear is found. Not on her body. There by the water with his DNA on it. And you`re telling me that says nothing?
Now I want you to look in the camera and look at the viewers, say it again, that that says nothing to you but consensual sex.
RIPKA: It says this. It says that a prosecutor in that state, in that county has to show that someone intended to murder someone and did so. It is not inconceivable. It is not inconceivable for someone to have sex with one person --
GRACE: But she`s just a 17-year-old girl. This happens to be a 30- year-old parolee for sex crimes and has consensual sex and then goes missing. OK. I hope they argue that in court, Alan Ripka. I hope they do.
Weigh in, Sue Moss.
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY & CHILD ADVOCATE: The DNA sealed his fate. This wasn`t a prom date. To even suggest the possibility that this was consensual sex, are you kidding me? He`s a 30-year-old scumbag.
GRACE: To Dr. Caryn Stark, psychologist, New York, why the smirk? Why the smile in the mugshot? You know, this is within hours, if police are correct, of murdering a 17-year-old girl.
CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: We`re talking about somebody, Nancy, who is like daring everyone to say, you know, come get me and come find out that I did this. He is actually enjoying this experience.
When you have somebody who`s a sociopath -- and I believe he`s not just a sex offender but a sociopath -- he has no remorse and is feeling, you know, like, OK, I could care less. It`s your problem.
GRACE: You know, after doing six years behind bars I would be surprised that he is enjoying the process of going back to the can.
Everybody, quick break. We are taking your calls live. I`m going to take them as soon as we get back.
But we ask for your thoughts and prayers for a high schooler, Trey Rude, battling stage-four melanoma. He`s a high school senior, a football star and says he will beat cancer. For info or to donate, go to prayfortrey.org.
Also the Annual Jog for a Cause, fighting g for cause, benefiting the Trey Rude Fund, Saturday, March 13th, Alpharetta, Georgia.
Trey, please stay strong.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING (via phone): Our daughter is that wonderful child that always calls, lets us know what`s going on and where she`s at. And we hadn`t heard from her so both my wife and I became alarmed.
GORE: Although positive identification has not been made there is strong likelihood that we have found Chelsea.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: John Gardner was arrested on Sunday and remains in custody without bail.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We`re finding out more about this suspect. A dark, violent past. His name, again, John Gardner. Convicted sex offender.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He will be formally charged tomorrow in a San Diego courtroom with murder and rape. DNA from the victim, from the girl`s underwear, has been connected with the suspect, John Gardner III, and they`re using that right now to bring the charges against him.
They may also have some DNA from a previous victim who says she encountered the same man, John Gardner, in that same park last December the 27th, and bloodied his nose with her elbow as he tried to attack her. She got away and says police took DNA samples from the blood on her elbow and hopes to connect that with his man as well.
MIKE BROOKS, HLN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST; FMR. D.C. POLICE DET., FBI TERRORISM TASK FORCE: This guy should be locked up. They did a plea bargain. He did five years. A doctor, a psychiatrist who did the forensic examination of him when he was arrested in 2000.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A psychiatrist saying he should have spent the full 30 years behind bars.
BROOKS: Quote, "An extremely poor candidate for any sexual offender treatment." And he recommended the 30-year maximum for this guy which would mean he`d be in jail right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. As we go to air we have just learned that a body has been found in that park area. Right now there is a preliminary identification of the 17-year-old little girl, Chelsea King. We are waiting for a positive identification.
Out to Dr. Kent Holtorf, out of L.A., internal medicine, founder of Holtorf Medical Group.
Sir, thank you for being with us.
DR. KENT HOLTORF, M.D., INTERNAL MEDICINE, FOUNDER OF HOLTORF MEDICAL GROUP: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: I`m not getting a clear bead on where exactly the body was, but I understand that someone was in the water looking toward the shore which leads me to think that it may have been partially under water.
If so, what condition would the body be in and how can they make a positive physical ID, Doctor?
HOLTORF: Well, basically, with the body -- they should be able to determine the time of death based on a number of different factors including deterioration rate of the body. Now if it was under water you`ll get more swelling and some different deterioration.
But they`ll be able to tell by what microorganisms are there. For instance, some organisms will colonize in 24 hours, other ones in 48 hours, so you can see what`s there.
GRACE: Doctor, Doctor, Doctor, Doctor.
HOLTORF: And determine the time.
GRACE: Doctor, Doctor, Doctor. I`m a JD. I`m not an MD. What are you talking about microorganisms? Break it down for us.
HOLTORF: So they`ll basically be able to tell the time of death based on a number of different factors including deterioration of the body and what organisms, insects, bacteria are on the skin and growing in the body.
GRACE: You know, when I think about the King family hearing this -- we are taking your calls.
Out to Sheeba in Illinois, hi, Sheeba.
SHEEBA, CALLER FROM ILLINOIS: Hey, dear, it seems like forever. My question is, how and why was he out of jail? And who got him out or how did he get out?
GRACE: Excellent question, Sheeba. What about it, Matt Zarrell? I think I`ve got Matt Zarrell with me. Are you there with me, Matt?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE STAFFER, COVERING STORY: Yes, I`m with you. He was sentenced to six years in jail. He did five of those years. Now the prosecutor recommended only six years when he filed the report with the judge. They wanted to avoid the 13-year-old victim from having to testify. So he served five years, got out, and then did another three years of probation.
GRACE: I`m just looking over the mugshots and all the evidence I have right here on the table with me.
Liz, please show me that shot in full of John Albert Gardner III. This is 20 minutes after he sexually attacked the 13-year-old. He was apprehended almost immediately. The little girl runs out of his apartment, holding her pants with one shoe on. Her face totally swollen.
He had beaten her and tried to suffocate a 13-year-old girl. Police catch him almost immediately and this is the smirk. This is the look, about 20 minutes after attacking a 13-year-old girl. And he pled guilty to that.
Out to the lines, Shannon, Nevada, hi, Shannon.
SHANNON, CALLER FROM NEVADA: Hi, Nancy. First, I just want to say to Chelsea`s parents my heart just goes out to both of them and I hope that God gives them the strength they need to get through this and to bring them comfort.
What I do not understand is why it seems daily we hear the same story over and over. What do we have to do to change this? They should never offer a plea bargain to someone who harms a child or rapes or kills someone.
I can understand not wanting the young victim to have to testify but there has to be a way around that. This can`t keep going on. And it`s just insane.
I have a daughter who`s almost 16. I don`t even want to let her out of the house anymore. It`s just -- it`s ridiculous. And what do we have to do, what can we do as outraged citizens to change this?
GRACE: Marc Klaas, what can we do?
MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Certainly one response would be to allow these young victims to be able to provide videotape testimony, so that they don`t have to go into the courtroom and eyeball these characters as they smirk at them and continue to victimize and intimidate them.
There`s no question about that.
Here`s what we know. And this has been alluded to several times. We know that never in the history of the world has a sociopath/psychopath/sexual predator ever been cured. We know that these characters are hard wired to do what they do.
Therefore, it`s incumbent upon government whose main duty to protect its citizenry to take these people, put them behind bars and keep them there so they can never get their hands on yet another innocent victim.
GRACE: Everyone, we`re taking your calls live. And as we go to break, the IvanaHelsinki & Love Contemporary Pop-Up Store Art Factory Show in Manhattan featuring up and coming artists, including New York friend of our show, talented Shannon Vavrinchik.
Her display will be Saturday, March 6th, 7:00 p.m., New York. For more information, go to shannonvavrinchik.com.
And Shannon, break a leg.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. To Jeanine in California, hi, Jeanine.
JEANINE, CALLER FROM CALIFORNIA: Hi, Nancy, thanks for taking my call. I`m a mother of a 15-year-old daughter in California. And like the other caller, I`m scared to death to let her out. What can we do as parents? Because I am constantly called paranoid that oh, this is such an isolated incident. Well, no --
GRACE: It`s not isolated. You`re right, Jeanine, it`s not isolated. If what we are suspecting is true, this one guy is responsible for attacks on at least four people.
You know, I want to go to Carrie McGonigle. This is Amber Dubois` mother. Fourteen-year-old Amber has gone missing.
I know that you have racked your brain, what could I have done any differently? The way I read the facts in your case, you did everything right. What advice do you give to parents?
MCGONIGLE: You should be concerned for your kids. You know, keep -- you know, have a cell phone with them, you know, keep in constant touch with them. But I mean all the parents should be concerned.
The parents need to be more aware of, you know, all the dangers out there and take them to school, pick them up from school, know where they`re at all the time. Because they`re not safe.
GRACE: Out to you, Bill Golodner. Weigh in.
GOLODNER: Yes, Nancy. This is a very important point. What should be done is a couple of things. Try to stay away from secluded areas. This area was secluded. It was wooded, it was along a waterway. This has shades of the Central Park jogger that we all remember.
So also run in a couple of girls, run together, don`t go out alone, don`t go out late at night or too early in the morning when an area is going to be secluded and there are not a lot of people around.
We have to use our heads around this thing, Nancy. Until we can do away with all these monsters, we have to know what we`re doing.
GRACE: Everyone, we have just learned police currently working overtime, 24/7, trying to identify a body that has just been discovered as we go to air. It`s that of 17-year-old Chelsea King.
But right now, let`s stop and remember Marine Master Sergeant Kenneth Mack, 42, Fort Worth, Texas, killed Iraq. On a second tour, awarded the Purple Heart, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, National Defense Service medal. Was not afraid to risk his life for country. Devoted to family, never met a stranger.
Loved mentoring younger Marines. He loved music, scuba, sky diving with his best friend 27 years Greg. Leaves behind grieving mother, Mahalaya, brothers Timothy and Robert, widow Peggy, two children, Shack and Nate.
Kenneth Mack, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but most of all to you for being with us tonight. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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