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Nancy Grace

Croslin`s Drug Co-Defendant Sentenced to 15 Years

Aired April 27, 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, Satsuma, Florida. A 5- year-old girl tucked into bed, five hours later, she`s gone. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh. The last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four polygraphs. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and stepmother Croslin both booked on drug trafficking.

Suddenly, search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers, helicopters all combing the St. John`s River, Croslin rousted out of jail, taken down to the dock, motioning out in handcuffs to a specific spot for police. Cops announce 5-year-old Haleigh likely dead. Evidence, including two cinderblocks, pulled from the muddy waters of the St. John`s.

As the search for little Haleigh`s entire body and the murder weapon goes on, bombshell tonight. Message to Misty Croslin! You`re not getting youthful offender, probation or a light sentence at drug court. You will do hard time! In the last hours, the trial judge brings down the hammer on Croslin`s co-defendant in the drug case. Nineteen-year-old Hope Sykes, basically along for the ride, gets a whopping 15 years hard jail time plus a $100,000 fine, the family breaking down in court, then turning angry, going after the camera in open court. That`s 15 years hard jail time for just one -- repeat, one -- hand-to-hand drug sale. Croslin charged with eight sales. Eight times 15, people, 120 years behind bars, Croslin!

With Sykes facing years in the female penitentiary, is she now set to be the state`s secret weapon against Misty Croslin? What does she know? This as Tommy Croslin`s own lawyer says Tommy Croslin can ID Haleigh`s killer. Listen, under Florida law, party to a crime, they`re all set to stew in the same pot together for the little girl`s murder!

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S BABY-SITTER: Ronald`s family`s not as good as everybody thinks they are.

HOPE SYKES, RONALD`S COUSIN: I want to be a physical therapist. I want to go to college. I wanted to graduate school.

MISTY CROSLIN: They all take pills. They all do (EXPLETIVE DELETED), every last one of them.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, man!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cousin of Ronald Cummings was in court today...

SYKES: Guess what, Mom? Guess what?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... where she was sentenced to serve 15 years behind bars on drug charges.

SYKES: I`m not going to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pimp 15 years on no (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pills I ain`t touched!

MISTY CROSLIN: Nineteen-year-old Hope Sykes elected to plead no contest...

KATRINA BELCHER, HOPE`S MOTHER: (INAUDIBLE) no contest...

SYKES: Did you want me to say not guilty, no contest, what?

Me and my mom get into arguments. I say things I don`t mean.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and was still given over a decade behind bars.

SYKES: I`m telling you right now, they think I`m bad now, wait until I get out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So what does this mean for Misty Croslin, who faces over 100 years in prison if she`s convicted?

MISTY CROSLIN: I didn`t even like pills barely, you know?

-- just jumped in and took everything I had!

SYKES: That back view only shows Misty having the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pills!

MISTY CROSLIN: ... fifty, sixty...

HANK CROSLIN, MISTY`S FATHER: They say you sold -- sold over 300 pills to the undercover.

MISTY CROSLIN: ... seventy, eighty...

That weekend was a lie.

-- ninety...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will this get her and her co-defendants to open up about what happened to Haleigh?

TOMMY CROSLIN, MISTY`S BROTHER: They try to say that this Haleigh stuff had nothing to do with it.

MISTY CROSLIN: Me being in jail has nothing to do with Haleigh.

TOMMY CROSLIN: That was all it had to do with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And breaking news tonight, live, Idaho. Human remains found, the skeletal remains of a female, an adult female, now discovered. Is it missing 28-year-old mom of two Susan Cox Powell? Cox Powell last seen by her husband and two little boys when Daddy suddenly announces around midnight he`s taking the boys, ages 4 and 2, camping in the snow at midnight, freezing temperatures, at an undisclosed location. He says when they all get home, Mommy`s gone.

But now we learn the remains could be those of two other young women who vanish into thin air. Who are they? The remains right now in autopsy. At this hour, we are on standby for a positive ID.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Questions swirling. Just who do the remains found in Idaho belong to? Which one of these three missing women could it be?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Could it be that of missing Utah mom Susan Powell?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just miss her and we want her back.

GRACE: It`s about three hours from the Utah home where 28-year-old Susan Powell was last seen alive.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just dirt, and a perfect place to dump a body. They`ll have to do some tests -- dental and DNA -- to find out if this really is Susan.

GRACE: Josh Powell says he`s taking his two boys camping, age 2 and 4, at midnight?

JOSH POWELL, HUSBAND: A lot of times, I just go camping with my boys. You know, not -- nothing big. I just go overnight.

GRACE: In the snow?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have any idea what happened to her?

JOSH POWELL: No. Thank you. And any help to try to find her would - - would be appreciated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Appreciated? This guy is so suspicious!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops also focusing on two other missing women, 21- year-old mother of three Stephanie Eldredge, who went missing suddenly, leaving her 4-month-old daughter, car and shoes behind, also looking at missing 20-year-old Amber Hoopes, who said good night to her family at 10:30. Just three hours later, she was gone, the TV and lights still on in her room.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If they`re indicating it`s badly decomposed...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If this person went missing December 7th and has now been discovered in a snow field in April, there`s a significant chance that that person would be quite well preserved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are holding things close to their vest.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you`ve got soft tissue, you would be able to see evidence of a knife wound or a gunshot wound.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody killed the woman there and dumped her. The only question is who she is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Message to Misty Croslin. You`re not getting youthful offender. You`re not getting probation. You`re not getting a light sentence at drug court. You will do hard jail time. In the last hours, the trial judge brings down the hammer on Croslin`s co-defendant in the drug case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: If they`re going to try to lock me up over being in the car, then it`s whatever. I`m over it. I`m ready to go off and do my time and whatever.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ronald Cummings`s cousin, Hope Sykes, who was arrested as part of a drug sting involving Misty Croslin, pled no contest to drug charges and received 15 years in prison today.

SYKES: I`d rather go to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) prison. You got a lot (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up. I`m not going to boot camp.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sykes is only charged with one count of trafficking prescription pills, while her co-defendant, Misty Croslin, has eight counts of trafficking.

SYKES: Well, I ain`t doing no damn six years mandatory nothing. They can kiss my ass. You might as well stick me with 15.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Which causes many to wonder if this new development will force Croslin to finally reveal what happened to Haleigh.

SYKES: The back view only shows Misty having the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pills because Misty cupped two pills, decided to say the dope boy (EXPLETIVE DELETED) her, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) them over.

MISTY CROSLIN: I`m scared. I don`t want to get set up for nothing. I`m, like, I cannot get in trouble for nothing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what does this mean for the other co- defendants? Are they going to be more willing to talk now?

TOMMY CROSLIN: I know in the paper, it says I`m facing 15 years in prison, but that`s a (EXPLETIVE DELETED) lie. The damn police said, You`re facing three years in prison unless you help us find Haleigh. I said, I can`t help you find her body. I don`t know where she is.

SYKES: We`re already ten steps in front of the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) game if everybody knows how to pick up their damn steps!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I guess she told him. She said, Don`t stick me with any F-ing six years, you might as well give me 15. Well, honey bun, you got the 15. Keep talking, you might get some more. I`m talking about co-defendant Sykes, the judge just bringing down the hammer and slamming her with 15 years behind bars. Apparently, this was not a plea deal because her family completely nutted up in court, crying, screaming, even one going for one of the cameras in the courtroom. Hope Sykes, big talker behind bars, talked herself right out of a sweet plea deal.

Out to Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, in session. What happened?

JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Well, this was sentencing day, you`re right, for the cousin of Ronald Cummings, and she was charged with one felony count of prescription drug trafficking. And what that includes, Nancy...

GRACE: Wa-wait, wa-wait, wa-wait, wa-wait! Jean -- Rosie, New York control room, I want to see Sykes. I want to see the undercover video of her propped up -- no, no, no, not her in court. I want to see her propped up there in the back seat.

Let me tell you something, Jean Casarez. If I saw somebody smoking a joint, I would leave and call police. There is Ms. Sykes, propped up in the back seat, going right along with an undercover drug sale to -- with a drug sale to an undercover cop. And she says she didn`t have anything to do with it. Go ahead, Jean.

CASAREZ: Well, Nancy, let`s look at the law, because that`s on January 13th, by the way, that that undercover surveillance tape was rolling. And under the law, true, you can sell, you can purchase, you can manufacture. But guess what? You can also possess the prescription drugs, but you don`t have to actually hold them. You can actually just be in the car and have knowledge of what`s happening. And that led to today`s sentencing. She pleaded no contest, but the judge didn`t really have discretion because it`s 15 years mandatory minimum.

GRACE: And another thing that Jean Casarez is alluding to -- and I`ve got it right here on the felony warrant for Hope Sykes, who could be now the state`s secret weapon against Misty Croslin. She and Croslin, like this. They`re even selling dope together. You don`t think Misty Croslin has blabbed to her, her drug-dealing buddy? If she knows anything, looking at 15 years in the ladies` pen, don`t you think she`s going to sing?

Here, Jean Casarez, it says, as you`ve described, sell, manufacture, deliver, bring into Florida or an actual or constructive possession of 14 grams or more -- "actual or constructive possession."

Unleash the lawyers, Raymond Giudice, Hugo Rodriguez. Also with us, Jim Werter, attorney for Tommy Croslin. And of course, Jean Casarez, also an attorney and a reporter.

Ray Giudice, "active/constructive" -- what that means is, this is my writing pen, it`s mine, I have actual possession, it`s in my hand. If I left it in the makeup room or in the courtroom, it`s still mine. It`s constructive possession, correct?

RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Correct. And she`s -- they`ve got her on this trafficking charge. And I agree with you, when she hits prison and starts looking at real prison time -- keep in mind, she`s been in the county jail. That`s light duty. If she ever knows anything or wants to spit it out, now`s the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: I really didn`t want to speak about the case. And you know, my mom asked me what`s going on because I was waiting to call her the next day. I didn`t want to call her that day because I saw her in court.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BELCHER: You`re lucky. You got April. A lot of other people got June. So you got April, Ronald got May, and Misty`s got June.

SYKES: I don`t know.

BELCHER: Do you know Misty qualifies for the same thing you do, that Misty can get the same thing you do? I don`t see how, but her attorney, Kim, asked the judge if she can have it.

SYKES: Well...

BELCHER: But she ain`t going to give it to her because Judge Larue (ph) looks like he don`t like her. He acts like he ain`t got no use for her.

SYKES: Well, did you see how he acted towards me? I mean, God, he asked me if I had a job. I`m not going to stand up and say, Hey, yes, I was a stripper. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) no! Ain`t going to do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, do you want to -- you want to hop in?

MISTY CROSLIN: Baby, get in. Get in. Who is that?

RONALD CUMMINGS, HALEIGH`S FATHER: Unlock the door.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, (EXPLETIVE DELETED).

MISTY CROSLIN: I know that`s somebody. I know her. I just don`t know who she is.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`ve got them -- I`ve got them 10 in little -- little (INAUDIBLE) baggies, if you want to count them up real quick and make sure that (EXPLETIVE DELETED) there.

CUMMINGS: I`m positive they are, man.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There should be a hundred there.

CUMMINGS: (INAUDIBLE)

MISTY CROSLIN: ... 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100 -- 100 in there.

CUMMINGS: 100 in here. They`re all in 10-packs. There`s 100.

MISTY CROSLIN: There should be 10 in each one.

MISTY CROSLIN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So just whenever. I mean...

CUMMINGS: It`s going to take a couple days for me to get rid of 200 of them, now.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I mean -- I mean -- I mean, I got -- I`ve got two weeks to play with, dude. So I mean, you know, (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks, whatever.

CUMMINGS: OK. I`ll get it for you no, problem. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) two weeks I can make the money to pay for them and eat it myself.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

MISTY CROSLIN: Uh-oh!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This mother (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Hang on. Hey, do me a favor...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground! Get on the ground! Go, go, go, go!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: In the last hours, the trial judge brings down the hammer on Hope Sykes, one of Misty Croslin`s co-defendants in the drug case. Behind bars, she actually said -- and it`s caught on tape. Please cue it up for me, Rosie -- You think I`m bad now, wait until I get out of here. She was saying, I`m not going to do six years behind bars, I`m not doing boot camp, they might as well stick me with F-ing 15 years behind bars.

Well, they did, in the last hours, bedlam breaking out in the courtroom upon sentencing. Obviously, this was not a plea deal. They did not realize that this 19-year-old girl was getting 15 years behind bars. What does it mean?

Let`s go straight out to Ellie Jostad, our producer on the story. What does it mean, Ellie? What does it mean for Misty Croslin?

ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, it sounds like Hope Sykes is actually the low man on this alleged drug dealing totem pole. She was only facing one charge. It was a lesser amount than some of her co- defendants. Now, Misty Croslin is facing the most charges. She`s got eight felony drug possession charges against her and a mandatory minimum of 25 years behind bars. So she`s looking at a lot more jail time than Hope Sykes was.

GRACE: You`re not kidding. And today in court, isn`t it true, Marlaina Schiavo, that when they were doing the sentencing in front of the judge -- this is what we call a blind plea, it seems to me. There`s not a deal in place. The defendant goes up and takes a plea with the judge, and the judge sentences as he or she sees fit. There`s not a deal in the works. Didn`t they play back what she said behind bars?

MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: They did. They played back that angry conversation that she had with her mother, saying that, They think -- you know, They think I`m bad now, just see if they try to put me through boot camp, you know, I`ll be even worse when I get out. And it didn`t really play well in her favor.

And now, as you know, Nancy, as Ellie was saying, Misty Croslin is facing way many more charges than Hope was, and Hope really wasn`t implicated in anything with Haleigh Cummings. So now Misty was thinking she was going to get out, and I think the reality`s setting in.

GRACE: I think it is, too, Marlaina Schiavo. Let`s take a peek at what happened in court in the last few hours.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SYKES: I`d rather go to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) prison. You got a lot (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up. I`m not going to boot camp because I`ll be -- I`m telling you right now, they think I`m bad now, wait until I get out of that.

BELCHER: Let me explain something to you, Hope. You screw up on anything at this point in the game, you will get 15 years.

SYKES: Well, I ain`t doing no damn 6 years mandatory nothing. They can kiss my ass. You might as well stick me with 15.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That`s a lady.

Now, listen, what you saw was her standing in court as this was getting played back to the judge. This is as her lawyer is asking for a lenient sentence.

Back to the lawyers -- everybody, we`re taking your calls live -- Raymond Giudice, Hugo Rodriguez. Also with us, Jim Werter, attorney for Tommy Croslin. Also with us, of course, Jean Casarez, not only legal correspondent but attorney, as well.

Weigh in, Rodriguez.

HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: The only way Ms. Sykes has any hope of ever getting out of jail is to cooperate with the state. It was a min- man. It wasn`t so blind. She had to know -- she had to know she was going to get 15. It`s a min-man.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN: I wish they would give me, like, house arrest, probation or something.

LISA CROSLIN, MISTY`S MOTHER: I know. I got...

MISTY CROSLIN: Because you know, when I go to court, they might let me out if they -- they might let me out, and then I have to come back and - - when -- when -- you know?

LISA CROSLIN: I know. That`s what I`m saying. They might. You never know.

MISTY CROSLIN: I mean, I -- they could give me probation for 10 years. I don`t care.

LISA CROSLIN: I know. You got to get a place to live, too, sis.

MISTY CROSLIN: I know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BELCHER: I just wanted to make sure you understood what was going on, and that ain`t good because you pled no contest, and you don`t know what you`re pleading to. Now, from what I understood, I thought the one charge got dismissed if you took the trafficking charge.

SYKES: No, Mom. I have two charges still.

BELCHER: That`s not the way she explained it to me, but I`ll ask her again.

SYKES: What are you talking about? Like, I sat there and said no contest? I didn`t plead no contest. She pled no contest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Out to Nancy in Illinois. Hi, Nancy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: What`s your question, dear?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, they said that they took Misty to the river and she pointed out that she knew where the body was thrown? Well, actually -- and then she told her grandmother that she took Junior and hid under the covers. I mean, she`s a pathetic liar.

GRACE: Well, under that scenario, I think what she was trying to say is that, according to Ms. Flora Hollars, the grandmother, that she heard an attack. Misty Croslin heard a physical sexual assault on little Misty -- excuse me, on little Haleigh, 5-year-old Haleigh, in the next room. Instead of interceding, she put the covers over her own head, and then, apparently, if she didn`t go along with them, knows where the body was dumped.

Is that your understanding, Jean Casarez?

CASAREZ: I think you`ve got it right. I think you do, Nancy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like I told her earlier, I`ll just give you a call when I`m done out there and start heading this way, and we`ll see what`s up at that point.

CUMMINGS: Yes. I can`t -- I mean, I don`t know if you do Roxies or whatever. I can get them. But they`re...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: I understand that you believe there`s a scenario in which little Haleigh was molested before she was murdered.

FLORA HOLLARS, MISTY CROSLIN AND JOE OVERSTREET`S GRANDMOTHER: I feel like that.

GRACE: Why?

HOLLARS: I just don`t know. But that`s what I think.

GRACE: Isn`t it true that there has been a scenario put out there and it had to come from behind bars that Misty Croslin heard the child in the next room screaming?

HOLLARS: Yes.

GRACE: Where did that come from?

HOLLARS: So did little Junior hear the couch bouncing.

GRACE: And my question is, where did that story come from?

HOLLARS: It came from Misty.

GRACE: What did she say?

HOLLARS: That she heard Haleigh in there crying.

GRACE: And who was in the room with Haleigh?

HOLLARS: I`m going to say Joe or Tommy, one.

GRACE: Or both?

HOLLARS: Or both.

GRACE: And what, if anything, did Misty Croslin do to take care of Haleigh?

HOLLARS: According to what she told me, when all this was going on, she had already been threatened by Joe and she grabbed Junior and got in the bed and they covered up their heads completely, and when she took the covers off of her head Haleigh was gone.

HOPE SYKES, RONALD CUMMINGS` COUSIN: I`d rather go to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) prison. You know? You got a lot (EXPLETIVE DELETED) up. I`m not going to boot camp because I`ll be -- I`m telling you right now, they think I`m bad now, wait until I get out of that.

KATRINA BELCHER: Let me explain something to you, Hope. You screw up on anything at this point in the game, you will get 15 years.

SYKES: Well, I ain`t doing no damn six years mandatory nothing. They can kiss my ass. You might as well stick me with 15.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: That`s Hope Sykes in court just a couple of hours ago. Oop, did I say that? Yes, you said it, and now you`ve got 15 years behind bars. Bottom line, what does it mean in the search for Haleigh? What does it mean to Misty Croslin, who actually thought she was going to get probation?

Straight out to a special guest joining us, Jim Werter. This is the attorney for Tommy Croslin. This is Misty Croslin`s brother.

Mr. Werter, thank you for being with us. What, if anything, or any way do you believe that today`s sentence will affect Tommy Croslin, your client, and Misty Croslin behind bars?

JIM WERTER, ATTORNEY FOR TOMMY CROSLIN: Well, as far as Tommy goes, it really is kind of irrelevant. First of all, as far as the cousin goes, I don`t know, I haven`t seen her score sheet, I don`t know her background. I can say that sometimes your client is their own worst enemy.

That tape recording of what she was saying in jail, I`m sure Judge Larue sitting on the bench just kind of rolled his eyes back on that one.

But as far as Tommy goes, it`s a whole different case and it`s -- you know, he has probably a different background.

I believe my minimum mandatory that I`m looking at is three years. I have not gotten full disclosure yet from the state as far as the evidence. There`s still another count out there that I`m waiting for disclosure on.

GRACE: Mr. Werter -- with us, everyone, Jim Werter, a well-respected attorney out of the Jacksonville, Florida area.

Mr. Werter, is it true that you have stated that your client can ID the killer, the person that took Haleigh?

WERTER: OK. That`s incorrect. What I stated was that he`s, first of all, not culpable but he does know what happened that night. I had been repeatedly saying that I cannot discuss the facts of the case because it`s an ongoing investigation and I`d like to see it come to a successful conclusion.

You being former in a way law enforcement by being a prosecutor, me being former law enforcement and a prosecutor, I`d like to see a successful end to this. And I think Tommy will come out very well with this.

GRACE: OK. Wait. Now you`re saying that your client knows what happened that night?

WERTER: Yes.

GRACE: What happened?

WERTER: I told you. I just told you. I cannot discuss the facts of the case because of the ongoing investigation. When I am dying for an arrest to be made in this case and I could be more forthcoming. But right now I have a good working relationship with law enforcement. I`m going to keep it that way.

GRACE: Out to the lines, Debbie, Wisconsin. Hi, Debbie.

DEBBIE, CALLER FROM WISCONSIN: Hi, Nancy. How are you?

GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?

DEBBIE: Well, I just am curious, is it just going to be continual nutcases coming out on this thing?

GRACE: I`m sorry. I couldn`t hear you. Repeat.

DEBBIE: I said is it just going to be a continual line of nutcases coming on this thing? I mean, I`d never even heard of this Sykes girl until today.

GRACE: Straight out to Jean Casarez. What about it, Jean?

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": She`s the cousin of Ronald Cummings, and she hasn`t probably been discussed a lot because she`s not central to Haleigh. But she is central to this case in that she was in the car, especially on January 13th, and charged with one count.

And the significance of that is she got 15 years and the others now will see the terms that they can get, especially Misty Croslin-Cummings, who law enforcement have honed in on, and that may be the answer in the end to what had happened to Haleigh.

GRACE: Joining us tonight out of San Francisco, Marc Klaas, the president and founder of KlaasKids Foundation.

Marc, where does this -- where does this all leave us? What happened in court in the last few hours in the search for Haleigh? What happened to Haleigh?

MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, that`s the big -- that`s the money question, isn`t it? And everything that`s happening is about that question.

And I think, Nancy, that unless somebody turns rather quickly on this, this case may never be solved. And these people will spend years if not decades behind bars.

But based upon past histories and their failure to have any kind of family loyalty, I suspect that both Tommy and Misty are right now trying to figure what they can do to turn this to their advantage so that they can disclose what happened to Haleigh and get out of having to spend all of those years behind bars, if that`s possible.

GRACE: To Dr. Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist, joining us out of New York, you saw Sykes`s demeanor in court. All right? And juxtapose that against what she was saying behind bars.

PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, she presents as a defiant, aggressive sociopathic 12-year-old, and then is the innocent sobbing little girl. And this is somebody who is really a sociopath and who has a defiant bravado that we see in much older, hardened criminals.

GRACE: Well, what do you make of the fact that these two were running buddies? Sykes is a running buddy of Misty Croslin`s. Don`t you think at some point Croslin discussed Haleigh`s disappearance with her?

SAUNDERS: I would expect that she might have bragged to Sykes. I don`t know that she would have discussed anything as a confidant because she`s pretty closed-lipped.

GRACE: Back to the lines, Lisa in Tennessee. Hi, Lisa.

LISA, CALLER FROM TENNESSEE: Hello.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

LISA: Yes. Misty. Do you think it`s possible that she was so jealous of Haleigh that she wanted to be with Ronald Cummings and wanted Misty out of the picture?

GRACE: Excellent question. What about it, Dr. Saunders?

SAUNDERS: That makes an awful lot of sense. This is a person who`s impulsive when they`re not on drugs and you can only imagine how she behaves when she`s on drugs. She might have hated this little girl and just wanted her out of the way, so did something.

GRACE: To Ron Shindel, former NYPD deputy inspector.

Ron, do you believe that this harsh sentence handed down today -- and I`m not saying it was not deserved, I think the judge did the right thing. Do you think it`s part of strategy in order to get the others to break down?

Now that they see this woman, who`s basically a wing man. She`s riding along for the heck of it. She`s just there in the backseat during the drug sale. She got 15 years behind bars on one drug sale.

Misty Croslin`s looking at eight. This should make them come to their senses.

RON SHINDEL, FORMER NYPD DEPUTY INSPECTOR: I think it`s part of the strategy. But I also think it`s part of punishment for the contempt that she`s showing for the entire system.

She thinks this is a joke. They all think this is a joke. They`re all not thinking this thing through to where they should be and taking this serious. And I think that the court down there is finally getting serious with these folks and letting them know the full force that will come their way.

GRACE: To Dr. Joshua Perper, chief medical examiner, Broward County, author of "When to Call the Doctor."

Dr. Perper, as always, it`s a privilege to have you on the airwaves with us.

DR. JOSHUA PERPER, MEDICAL EXAMINER, AUTHOR OF "WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR": Thank you.

GRACE: Dr. Perper, if this scenario is true, the one that the grandmother swears she was told by Misty Croslin that the child was raped and that the body was thrown into this water, what if anything could we tell now?

Could we tell if a sex assault occurred on the 5-year-old?

PERPER: I don`t think that considering the period of time which elapsed since the attack and the fact that the body was not found and if it`s found probably it`s decomposed, it would be extremely unlikely that rape can be proven. It`s not impossible, but it`s extremely unlikely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Just going to ride right here by the school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You scared the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of me.

CROSLIN: Sorry. $190?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $190?

RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Yes. $7 apiece. It`s actually $189.

CROSLIN: Well, yes, $189.

CUMMINGS: For 27 of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For 27 of them?

CROSLIN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. OK. All right.

CROSLIN: You`re going to have to probably give me your money right here.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Left?

CROSLIN: Yes. Just go straight.

CUMMINGS: What you got? I hear you sniffling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Huh?

CUMMINGS: What you got? I hear you sniffling.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

CUMMINGS: Roxies or something?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. My (EXPLETIVE DELETED) stays (EXPLETIVE DELETED), dude.

CUMMINGS: You got some good dope or something?

CROSLIN: (Laughs).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

CUMMINGS: I like to get high. That`s why I was asking. If you had any powder to let me know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I got to go talk to some people this afternoon. I`ve got to be straight.

CUMMINGS: Well, do whatever you got to do man because like I said them 50 percs, I told you it wasn`t a guarantee and the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) ain`t called me yet. It`s a guarantee he`s getting them. There`s no ifs, ands and buts. He gets them every month. He gets 100 of them, but he won`t sell me but 50.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.

CUMMINGS: So I guarantee you there`s 50 Percocets right around the corner. I just don`t know.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: There you see Sykes propped up there in the backseat as drugs are being sold to an undercover cop. In the last hours in court the judge brings down the hammer on he her. Hope Sykes. Giving her 15 years in the female penitentiary. Not probation, not youthful offender. Fifteen years hard jail time.

To Jean Casarez, he had the power to sentence under the youthful offender. But he didn`t. What difference would that have made if he had?

CASAREZ: Could have been a big difference. OK. She`s 19 years old. He could have sentenced her under youthful offender, as a juvenile, basically. She would have spent two years in a juvenile facility until she`s 21. If there`s more sentence to go, she could go to an adult prison or even probation, could have been out.

GRACE: Well, she talked herself right out of that.

To Kathy in Alabama. Hi, Kathy.

KATHY, CALLER FROM ALABAMA: Hi, Nancy.

GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?

KATHY: Well, the first thing I`d like to say to you is I`ve watched your show several years and I want to thank you for all you do for these children. Because of you my son got sole custody of our grandbaby, and I really believe with all my heart you helped save her life, that she did not turn into poor little Haleigh.

But my question, and I do believe you answered it, do you believe they are sentencing these others first in hopes of getting Misty to come across with something? Even though I don`t think we`ll ever -- if we depend on her for the truth, I don`t think we`ll ever know what happened to Haleigh.

GRACE: Kathy in Alabama, thank you for the compliment. I in no way can take credit for the miracle in your life. What God has unfolded for you. Your wonderful blessings. And I`ve got a soft spot for Alabama. My father is from Heycody, Alabama.

But in answer to your question, I think that they are trying to squeeze them to talk. But I don`t think they can talk, Kathy in Alabama, because anything they say will incriminate themselves.

They`re already pointing the finger. All right? We see that. And ratting each other out. But what more can they do? They`re going to stew in the same pot under Florida law, under accomplice to a crime or party to a crime.

Everybody, we are switching gears. I want to tell you about a body that has just been found. Is it the body of Susan Cox Powell?

An adult female`s body has just been discovered in a densely wooded area --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s an area where deer hunters, rabbit hunters, people like that go.

CASAREZ: Someone that was working in the area with those wind turbine units, and they were trying to get cell phone reception so they actually were just walking through this very rural area and came upon this body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The road where she was found near is a dirt track.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The body`s badly decomposed but police say skeletal remains are likely female.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The skeletal remains undergoing autopsy. Police say the remains appear to be female. But the age and cause of death couldn`t immediately be determined because of the poor quality of the bones.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A perfect place to dump a body. Somebody killed the woman there and dumped her.

GRACE: Is it the remains of 28-year-old mom of two, Susan Powell?

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Law enforcement now looking at three possibilities -- 21-year-old mother of three Stephanie Eldredge --

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Missing Utah mom Susan Powell.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Missing 20-year-old Amber Hoopes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only question is who she is.

(END OF VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Straight out to Jim Kirkwood joining us from Salt Lake City, Utah and KTKK News Radio.

Jim, right now the adult female`s remains are at autopsy, and we are waiting to determine whether they are Susan Cox Powell`s or possibly the remains of two other young women that went missing.

Who are they?

JIM KIRKWOOD, REPORTER, KTKK NEWS RADIO (via phone): Yes. Nancy, the -- probably the most likely is Stephanie Eldredge. And she went missing in 2007. The -- August the 20th. She was 21 at the time. And she is the most likely.

The other one is Amber Hoopes. She went missing in -- let`s see. That is September 14th in 2001. She was 20 years old at the time.

GRACE: Rosie, I had asked that we have the tip line numbers up under these ladies. Stephanie Eldredge, age 21 at the time of her disappearance. Tip line, 208-529-1200. Reward, $5,000.

Also, Amber Hoopes, age 20 at the time of her disappearance. Tip line, 208-529-1200.

And of course the possibility that this is the body of Susan Cox Powell.

Joining us tonight, Chuck Cox. This is the father of Susan Cox Powell.

Mr. Cox, thank you for being with us.

CHUCK COX, SUSAN COX POWELL`S FATHER: Thank you for having me on.

GRACE: Mr. Cox, first of all, so many of us have been praying for and thinking of your daughter and her two little boys and all of you.

Have police indicated that they believe this could be or probably is not Susan`s body?

COX: The police haven`t made any comment on that to me.

GRACE: Has her husband shown up at the scene, Josh Powell? Has he come to see if these are the remains of his wife?

COX: I have no idea.

GRACE: Mr. Cox, do you believe that Susan is, in fact, dead?

COX: I try to balance hope that she`s still alive while preparing myself for the possibility that as time goes on that she may no longer be with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

RUPA MIKKILINENI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, whose body this is. It could be Susan Powell`s and one of the two young women we talked about, Nancy. Two weeks` time.

GRACE: You know what? It only takes an hour to make a positive I.D. by dental records. We know that.

To the lawyers, Hugo Rodriguez, Ray Giudice. Why isn`t Josh Powell there on the scene, Ray Giudice?

RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I would advise him to say nothing, do nothing, stay at home, let his lawyer do the talking.

GRACE: Rodriguez.

HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FMR. FBI AGENT: I`d have to agree with that. He needs to lawyer up and say nothing until --

GRACE: Aren`t the two of you married? I know you are, Giudice. What about it, Rodriguez, are you married?

RODRIGUEZ: No, I`m not, Nancy.

GRACE: Have you ever been?

RODRIGUEZ: Too often.

GRACE: Well-put. Well, for a happily married man I find it very difficult to believe that if he thought these were his wife`s remains he would not go to the scene to try to find out what`s happening. I want to - -

GIUDICE: The TMZ helicopter videotape of him standing out there is far negatively outweighed by him staying in the house and doing nothing. It`s no good.

GRACE: Thank you, Ray.

GIUDICE: He is not charged.

GRACE: I want to go to Mr. Cox. This is Susan`s father.

Mr. Cox, your final thoughts tonight?

COX: I don`t believe this is Susan. I hope it`s not her. I still wish that there could be some closure, some movement on this case, and I hold out hope that she`ll return. And I`d like to thank everybody for their prayers and support and remind them that there are a lot of people missing out there and a lot of people need your help.

Please don`t forget those who are out -- who are missing, and help to bring all the people home. And we`re thankful that you`re putting this segment on and helping us to keep Susan`s face out there.

There are many people out missing and we know she will be found. So thank you very much.

GRACE: Mr. Cox, I don`t feel right about you thanking me, but thank you for being on with us.

Everyone, again, the tip line in Susan`s case, 801-840-4000.

Let`s stop and remember Army Captain Erick Foster, 29, Wexford, Pennsylvania, killed Iraq. Second tour. Two Bronze Stars, Purple Heart, Ranger Tab, Armed Forces Service medal, a Duquesne University grad. Loved time with family, Pittsburgh Steelers and penguins, movies, playing cards.

Remember for bringing joy and laughter to his family. Leaves behind parents Barbara and Robert, sisters Abby and Elizabeth.

Erick Foster, American hero.

Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. And thank you to New Jersey friend Susan, mother of one of our star cameramen Brett, for the sippy cups and the toys for the twins. I am so blessed.

Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.

END