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Nancy Grace
Body Identified as Missing Nursing Student Phuong Le
Aired May 10, 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, California. A beautiful girl described by everyone as timid, shy, a homebody, just graduates nursing school, then goes missing from the local Barnes & Noble`s book store. In the last hours, we learned the very last phone call Le made before she vanishes into thin air was to her former boss, who we now know to be married, her married boyfriend. How long was the affair? Don`t know. What did they talk about? Don`t know. He claims video surveillance gives him an alibi the night she goes missing. Police execute multiple search warrants on married boyfriend`s house and business.
Bombshell tonight. In the moments as we go to air, 15 miles north of that Barnes & Noble`s book store where Le last seen alive 8:30 PM Sunday night -- 15 miles north of there, Napa County, have police just discovered the body of 24-year-old Le?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you hear that a body was found?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A woman walking her dog...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... the worst-case scenario.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... found a body.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The victim was identified through fingerprints.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) hopes (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Results of the autopsy confirm that it was our missing person, Phuong Le.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Ms. Le...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... Phuong Le...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This case is now being investigated as a homicide.
GRACE: Red flags are waving.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... a personal relationship...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Phuong`s former boss...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... still married right now...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... affair...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... cell phone records...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... search warrants...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nguyen`s number was the last one...
GRACE: He is not a person of interest.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... on her cell phone.
GRACE: ... not a suspect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If somebody was doing something...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... she would have said something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was upset.
GRACE: ... a quick yes/no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nothing at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s so many things...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... suspicious...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... suspicious...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... suspicious...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... that don`t make sense.
GRACE: Why did she leave everything behind?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... credit cards, a digital camera, her passport, her purse, cell phone and wallet...
GRACE: Why wouldn`t she take her cell phone or her wallet with her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have a 20-year-old daughter, and I can tell you that she doesn`t leave the house without that cell phone at any given time.
GRACE: How often is it that someone Le`s age is abducted by a complete stranger?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... very mysterious...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is just really odd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and very different from her...
GRACE: ... timid, shy, a homebody...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re continuing talking to family, friends and anyone that might have information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. In the moments before we go to air, 15 miles north of that Barnes & Noble`s book store, the one where Le last seen alive 8:30 PM on a Sunday night -- 15 miles north of the Barnes & Noble`s, Napa County, have police just discovered the body of the 24-year-old nursing student Le?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At approximately 9:15, a woman walking her dog in a remote area of Napa County found a body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Solano County coroner`s office conducted an autopsy of the body found Friday morning in rural Napa County. The results of the autopsy confirm that it was our missing person, Phuong Le. The victim was identified through fingerprints.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities investigating the disappearance of 25- year-old Phuong Le have executed search warrants...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... a box of (INAUDIBLE) a box of suits, a box of suit and ties...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... on the home and office of a man police reportedly say was romantically linked to the missing woman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The woman who found the body called the Napa County Sheriff`s Department, and they immediately responded to the scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sources say investigators began looking at Thuc Nguyen, Phuong`s, former boss, after his phone number...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... cell phone records...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... cell phone records...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who did she call...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nguyen`s number was the last one showing on her cell phone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she say anything about leaving the area, running away?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, nothing at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They verified that there was a body of a young woman similar in description to our previously reported missing person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We stopped by to ask Thuc Nguyen if he`d heard about the discovery of a body.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nguyen asked us to turn off our camera. He told us he would leave up a missing persons flyer until he gets official information from police.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Henry K. Lee, reporter with "The San Francisco Chronicle." Henry, what happened? I know you`re just leaving the police presser.
HENRY K. LEE, "SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE" (via telephone): That`s right. And what we have here is a homicide with no suspects in custody or in mind. But definitely, the body is that of Phuong Le. Unknown who did this her and why.
GRACE: I understand that part of the way they identified her body was by a jade bracelet and necklace she was wearing that she always wore?
LEE: That`s correct. Not only that, but through her fingerprints, as well as, reportedly, a watch that she also had on her wrist at all times.
GRACE: OK, what did they say at the presser? What can you tell me that we learned? Do we know cause of death? Back it up. Back it up. Where was the body discovered, Henry K. Lee?
LEE: The body was discovered off highway -- a highway in between Fairfield and a big lake in Napa County, a neighboring county, about 9:00 in the morning Friday by a woman walking her dog. It was about 30 to 40 feet down -- off the highway, Nancy.
GRACE: So about 40 feet off the highway. Henry K. Lee, what type of terrain was it? Was it farmland? Was it businesses, strip malls? What was it, forest?
LEE: This is a very rural area, Nancy. There`s mostly just cars use it to go from point A to point B, very remote, very rural, a good place to hide a body, that`s for sure, Nancy.
GRACE: Henry, who does the land belong to?
LEE: I don`t know what -- anything about the ownership, but it looks like it`s just public land. It very well might be county land at this point.
GRACE: Henry K. Lee, can you tell me cause of death?
LEE: The police know the preliminary cause of death, but they certainly did not tell me or the other reporters. They want to hold that close to them so that -- the investigation`s continuing. They don`t want to reveal that at this point.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Just in, a body that was discovered but not identified has just been officially identified as the body of 24-year-old nursing grad Phuong Le. Remember, this is the young woman who had gone on a Sunday evening around 8:30 PM to go read, have coffee at the local Barnes & Noble`s book store. Let`s see a shot of he book store where she disappeared, Dana (ph). There`s been an all-out search for Phuong Le -- very shy, timid, homebody. Her vehicle, windows rolled down, found out in the parking lot. But unusually, in the trunk, we find her backpack with her cell phone, her money, her driver`s license. Everything was in that backpack locked in the trunk.
What more do we know, Henry K. Lee? Henry has just left the presser, the police presser.
LEE: Well, we have confirmed that all the doors to her Honda Accord were unlocked -- not wide open but unlocked. The two rear windows were halfway down. But how she got from the parking lot at the Barnes & Noble to this remote Napa County location unknown, Nancy.
GRACE: Everybody -- let`s see the video where the body was found, Dana. Put that up for the viewers right now. We are showing you the video. It`s densely forested right there. It`s only about 40 feet off the highway.
Now, to Pat Brown, criminal profiler and author of "The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths," this sounds to me that this was the dumping ground. This was not where she was killed. She was killed somewhere else, hastily taken there because there`s only 15 miles between the Barnes & Noble`s book store where she goes missing, and that`s certainly not usually deemed a dangerous crowd at the Barnes & Noble`s book store. Don`t know if she bought anything, but an eyewitness places her there 8:30 PM. Only 15 miles away, her body`s dumped. What do you think, Pat Brown? Was that the location of the murder?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: I don`t believe so. I agree with you, Nancy. I think that is a dumping ground. Somebody wanted a very isolated place and hoped she would not be found, hopefully, ever, probably, for them. So that leads us back to the suspicion that she might know the person that killed her.
GRACE: Look at that vegetation, Pat Brown. Look at that. They probably thought nobody was ever going to come -- look, it`s a very rural route -- that nobody was ever going to come out here and stumble upon her body.
BROWN: Right.
GRACE: Well, nobody did, actually. A dog did. He was getting a walk -- got a break and found the body, the body of 24-year-old nursing student Phuong Le, an absolutely gorgeous young girl, her whole life in front of her. Then we find out her last cell phone transmission was to her former boss. Then we find out the former boss is actually, allegedly, her married boyfriend.
Now, earlier, Stacey Newman, we spoke to him just before we went to air, and I was told talking to him was like pulling teeth. I`m a J.D., not a dentist. It`s very difficult to get information out of somebody who doesn`t want to talk. Now, Stacey, we learned a lot from him. We learned that he says that he is stunned like everybody else, that he was saddened, shocked, angry. Comment on the relationship -- no comment. Message of the family, My heart goes out to the family. Was very, very tight-lipped. What more do we know, Stacey Newman?
STACEY NEWMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, we do know Beth Carey (ph), our producer, just got off the phone with him, Nancy. And what he did say to her is he`s angry, he`s shocked, and he does want to find out who did this to Phuong Le. Now, over the weekend, a local affiliate sort of ambushed him at his place of business, and he told them to please turn the cameras off and said he will not make any comments at this time.
GRACE: Straight out to the lines. We are taking your calls live. In the last hour, police have positively identified the remains of an adult female as that of 24-year-old Phuong Le, the nursing student we first reported missing here.
Peggy in Ohio. Hi, Peggy. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I love you! I love your babies! I`ve been trying so long to get on. God bless your family! I have prayed for them, and I said a prayer tonight when I heard that she was found dead. But everybody keeps saying how she was shy, homely, a homebody. But I don`t think a shy person dates a married man.
GRACE: Well, you know, I was thinking about that very thing, Peggy in Ohio. And I want to go to Lillian Glass on this. Lillian, this married -- allegedly married boyfriend was actually a friend of the family. It`s not like she was cruising the bars and dancing up on the sofas like Paris Hilton. This is a friend of the family that created a relationship with her.
LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Right. And maybe he preyed on that shyness. Maybe he saw that she was very shy and he took advantage of her. So that may be something to consider, as well. And the fact that he`s so closed-mouthed, especially after everything, certainly speaks volumes.
GRACE: Everyone, if you are just joining us, the body of this young girl, 24-year-old nursing student last seen at a local Barnes & Noble`s in an upscale area, has just been positively identified just 15 miles north of the book store where she was last seen alive 8:30 PM on Sunday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cause of death is being withheld at this time because of the potential value it has in our ongoing criminal investigation. This case is now being investigated as a homicide.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news in the case of missing woman Phuong Le.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help us find her!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A body of similar physical description of Ms. Le was found.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The family says investigators told them the woman matching their sister`s description also had a jade bracelet and a watch similar to the one Le was last seen wearing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have an ongoing criminal investigation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phuong Le went missing after studying at a Barnes & Noble.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The car`s there...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... with the windows down...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... unlocked...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... and her purse, cell phone and wallet in the trunk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No signs of Phuong Le.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last phone call Phuong made before she disappeared was to her former boss and friend.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We just talked for a few minutes, and that`s it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If foul play is determined to be the cause of death, our agencies will continue to investigate this in an effort to apprehend the guilty party or parties.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators haven`t named any suspects, but the owner of this Postal Express business has been questioned after reports of a personal relationship with the missing woman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did she say anything about leaving the area, running away?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, nothing at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. Straight back to Henry K. Lee, reporter with "The San Francisco Chronicle," author of "Presumed Dead: A True Life Murder Mystery," there at the police pressure today. Henry K. Lee, describe again the area for me where Phuong Le`s body was found.
LEE: It is a highway in rural Napa County, which is the neighboring county to Solano County, Nancy. The...
GRACE: Now, Napa -- is that where all the wine is created, that county?
LEE: That`s one and the same, Nancy.
GRACE: Go ahead.
LEE: And this is a very good place to dump a body, assuming that`s what occurred. We do know that Phuong Le did not have ability to go to places herself, so I can only assume that she was brought there...
GRACE: What do you mean, she didn`t have the ability to go to places herself?
LEE: She...
GRACE: What are you talking about?
LEE: According to her brother, she did not know how to get to San Francisco, San Jose, so I would be -- it would be doubtful, Nancy, that she could find her way to this location herself. Clearly, she was the victim of homicide. At the hands of who is still the big question.
GRACE: Henry K. Lee, was she clothed?
LEE: The police would not tell us that today.
GRACE: Did they say that the cause of death was apparent, was immediately identifiable by eyesight?
LEE: I don`t think that was the case because they said it had been very clear to them that she had been there at the location for some time. How long, they would not say.
GRACE: That just means that the body was decomposed. Dr. Robert Kaufman, say a body has been gone two weeks, last seen April 25, 8:30 PM, left out in the open. To what degree of decomposition would you expect to see there in Napa Valley?
DR. ROBERT F. KAUFMAN, INTERNAL MEDICINE: I would expect a lot of decomposition of the body because especially outside, you have weather elements that especially if it`s hot, can speed it up. And that makes it more difficult to tell, you know, what was originally done to the body.
GRACE: Now, Doctor, let me repeat I am a J.D. I`m a lawyer. I`m just a trial lawyer. You`re the doctor. And when you say things like "because of the decomposition, we can`t tell cause of death," what do you mean by that, "because of the decomposition, we can`t tell the cause of death"?
KAUFMAN: It just makes things less obvious. The body -- like, if somebody was strangled, the demarcation of the neck might not be as obvious to a person that`s been sitting outside for two weeks, as she probably has. If she had been beaten or wounds like that, the skin makes changes and the body changes from the blood sitting inside the body. So that`s why it makes it more difficult.
GRACE: You know, Dr. Kauffman, I think -- you know, I get what police are doing. But how can they say they don`t know cause of death yet, but they do know she`s not pregnant? How could they know -- she`s not pregnant would require a pelvic exam and more, I assume. But they can`t tell me the cause of death? That doesn`t make sense.
KAUFMAN: They know the cause of death. They`re just not telling you. It`s probably -- sounds like it`s pretty obvious. There`s no way they could not know she`s not pregnant without doing a thorough exam on her.
GRACE: Now, you can tell whether somebody is pregnant by just a pelvic?
KAUFMAN: You can, or an ultrasound. You know, I`m sure they had the capability to do an ultrasound...
GRACE: Got it.
KAUFMAN: ... and see if they see a fetus in the body.
GRACE: Right. Right. Exactly correct, Dr. Robert Kaufman. We are taking your calls live. And I want to go to Pat Brown, criminal profiler. What do they mean that cause of death -- and I`m quoting the police, everybody. This has just gone down the last couple hours. The body of 24- year-old nursing student Phuong Le has been found. She is dead. She`s been found in exclusive Napa Valley just 15 miles north of the Barnes & Noble`s book store there in Fairfax (SIC) she was last seen at, 8:30 PM on a Sunday night.
What do they mean the cause of death is, quote, "potential value to the investigation"? So they`re not releasing it, Pat Brown.
BROWN: Right. I think they`re wanting to be able to talk with somebody when they`re interrogating them to see if they can get them to say what happened to her. And if it matches...
GRACE: Oh, you mean like when tot mom Casey Anthony blurts out, They found her in a black trash bag, and nobody would know that but the killer?
BROWN: Exactly. Exactly.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At approximately 9:15, a woman walking her dog in a remote area of Napa County found a body. The woman who found the body called the Napa County Sheriff`s Department, and they immediately responded to the scene. They verified that there was a body of a young woman similar in description to our previously reported missing person.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have interviewed the brother several times, and a lot of that is to gather background information, who, what, why, when, where, people she has contacted. As we develop information, we have had hundreds of phone calls come in to the tip line, hundreds of phone calls come in to the police department. As we follow up on these, sometimes it`s necessary to go back and contact the family and see where these are in relation to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: For those of you just joining us, the Solano County coroner`s office -- I`m reading from a wire I`ve just been handed -- has confirmed the body found in Napa County, there in Napa Valley, the vineyards, is that of missing Phuong Le. The case has been classified as a homicide. Preliminary cause of death we believe has been determined, but police are not releasing it. The body matched Le`s description, but it was also wearing a jade bracelet and necklace similar to the one Le always wore. She was identified through fingerprints.
We are taking your calls live. Let`s unleash the lawyers. Susan Moss, family law attorney, child advocate, New York, Richard Herman, defense attorney, Pam Hayes, defense attorney, both out of New York.
What about it, Sue Moss? Weigh in.
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: She was last seen at Barnes & Noble, but she wasn`t killed by hitting the books. Somebody did this to her and we`re going to find to who! That boss is going to be looked at first. He was the last one, we believe, to have spoken to this woman. He may have some information. He also may lead to more clues that will solve this case.
GRACE: Pam Hayes, what`s so unusual is he says that he can be alibied by surveillance video in his neighborhood -- not in his home. He doesn`t have nannycams up the ying-yang like I do, but he says surveillance video in his neighborhood. What`s that?
PAM HAYES, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s august (ph) tapes. They`re police surveillance units. Usually, what they have are these tapes. They`re big. They`re large. And they just show photos from time to time in the whole neighborhood. So I suspect that`s what he`s referring to.
GRACE: What about it Richard Herman? I guess you`re going to put up a defense for him.
RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, no, Nancy, I`m concerned -- the police have clues as to how she was killed. Maybe you, Pat Brown can weigh in. Was it a weapon, maybe a knife? Maybe it was a gun? Maybe there`s ballistics. I think that`s why they`re playing it tight to the vest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At approximately 9:15, a woman walking her dog in a remote area of Napa County found a body.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Over at Phuong Le`s Suisun City home, her brother Huong told KCRA 3 he has a feeling it is in fact his sister`s body that was found in Napa County.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A body of similar physical description of Miss Le was found.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The family says investigators told them the woman matching their sister`s description also had a jade bracelet and a watch similar to the one Le was last seen wearing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The results confirm that it was our missing person, Phuong Le.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Le`s family told police she left their Suisun City home at around 5:00 p.m. on April 25th. She headed over to this Fairfield Barnes & Noble cafe to read some books. 8:30 p.m. is the last time anyone reported seeing her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This case is now being investigated as a homicide. We interviewed Miss Le`s two brothers with the assistance of the FBI. They have both been extremely cooperative and are not considered suspects or persons of interest in this investigation.
Additional interviews are being conducted with other individuals who have had past contact with Miss Le. And we`ll continue to follow up on other leads as they develop.
At this time this is no definitive suspects in this case.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you believe that this is Phuong Le?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re not going to comment on that tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But you`re holding a press conference to make us aware of what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To make you aware of the fact that a body of similar physical description of Miss Le was found today and that we have an ongoing criminal investigation.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: We have taking your calls live. Straight out to the lines, Terri in California. Hi, Terri.
TERRI, CALLER FROM CALIFORNIA: Hi.
GRACE: Hi, dear. What`s your question?
TERRI: I have a question. They stated that the boyfriend was a -- excuse me, was a family friend?
GRACE: Right.
TERRI: Do you -- do you think that the wife might have knew something about an affair and that she might have had something to do with it?
GRACE: Good question. Straight out to Pat Brown. I don`t see it. But what do you think? Typically, Pat -- let me see Pat Brown, please, criminal profiler.
You look closely and you look to boyfriend, ex, husband, live-in. Then you go out to their families and her own family. Then neighbors, delivery people, the circle gets bigger and bigger.
What do you think about Terri in California`s theory?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "KILLING FOR SPORT": Well, I have seen it happen. I have heard of cases where the girlfriend or wife goes and actually kills off the other woman.
GRACE: What? What case?
BROWN: But I`m not -- I`m not going for it here.
GRACE: What case? What case? Because I can`t remember one.
BROWN: There`s one out in Virginia. Exactly what happened.
GRACE: What?
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Between the two of us, we can think of one. Go ahead.
BROWN: Yes, not too many. What`s really interesting me is the time that she went missing. If she was in Barnes & Noble at 8:30. We`re taking a look at this boyfriend, he`s got a UPS store. That thing closes usually in the evening 7:30, 8:00-ish and you got to take care of business.
I wonder if she was waiting for that person to get off of work so she could meet with him to discuss the problem she had. She had made that phone call to him. And that really -- that relates -- you know, hones in on him.
So they`re going to have to check exactly where was this man when that phone call came in and when does his business close and what --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So, Stacey Newman, where is the alleged married boyfriend`s business in relation to the Barnes & Noble?
STACEY NEWMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, that Barnes & Noble is located in Fairfield. It`s not too far, Nancy. Just a couple of miles away. And as you know, Phuong Le worked there for several years before she entered nursing school. So it`s within that vicinity.
GRACE: What about it, Henry K. Lee? What do you think?
HENRY K. LEE, REPORTER, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, AUTHOR OF "PRESUMED DEAD": Well, as the police chief of Fairfield told us at the news conference I attended, anyone is a potential suspect. Anything it possible. So, again, they do want to keep everything open. They don`t want to fine tune it and focus too keenly on any one person less they figure out that they have the wrong person.
GRACE: Joining us right now out of Washington, D.C., Marc Harrold, former cop.
Marc, weigh in. Why aren`t police releasing the cause of death?
MARC HARROLD, FORMER POLICE OFFICER, CITY OF ATLANTA: Well, most likely -- and what they`ve said is the preliminary cause of death, they may just have an idea, they think they know and they want to just confirm it first. But more likely I think what`s --
GRACE: Harrold. Harrold. Harrold. Harrold.
HARROLD: Go ahead.
GRACE: You`re seeing video of the location where the 24-year-old nursing student`s body has just been identified where it was found.
Marc Harrold, if they know she`s pregnant -- I know you heard Dr. Robert Kaufmann. If they know she`s pregnant, if they`ve gone so -- not pregnant. If they`ve gone so far as to have an ultrasound or a pelvic exam, they know cause of death, all right? So --
HARROLD: Yes. They think they know --
GRACE: Why aren`t they releasing it?
HARROLD: Well, they think they know cause of death. Like I was going to say, I think it has to do with what you`re talking about earlier. I think they want to lull this person in. It`s already like pulling teeth and they want to lull whoever it is.
Most likely they`re going to talk to this person a lot more and the boyfriend. And they want to lull him in. And maybe if they release some information it`ll key him into the fact that it`s going to prove something about him.
Who knows what? And he won`t be as forthcoming. So he`s already come forward with the information about the alibi which may or may not clear him to whatever degree they know.
But I think that`s the reason. I think it`s an ongoing investigation and they worry if they release that maybe it would compromise some of their interviews.
GRACE: Back to Richard Herman, what were you saying about releasing cause of death as we were going to break?
RICHARD HERMAN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, Nancy. I think and possibly you or Pat might know better, maybe there was a weapon involved. Maybe there`s a knife. Maybe there`s some fingerprints. Maybe there`s some ballistics. Maybe they saw a pistol that was used or a rifle, and they could be looking for those particular items and try to tie them into people.
GRACE: I`m thinking strangulation.
Dr. Lillian Glass, psychologist, body language expert, author off "Toxic People."
Lilia, what do you make of it?
LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST, BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT, AUTHOR OF "TOXIC PEOPLE": Well, Nancy, I agree with you. I`m looking at strangulation as well. And I think something -- you know, really bothers me about this boyfriend and the way he speaks and the way he communicates, or doesn`t communicate and doesn`t come clean.
And then he doesn`t want to speak to the press. He doesn`t want to say too much because he knows what`s going on, I think.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. To Stacy in California, hi, Stacy.
STACY, CALLER FROM CALIFORNIA: Hi, Nancy, how are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
STACY: Of course I just have to say praise the Lord, I finally got through after years and years of trying. I`m not --
GRACE: Thank you.
STACY: You`re welcome.
GRACE: Thank you for calling and continuing to try and calling. We`re happy to here from you. Is this anywhere near you? Where do you live?
STACY: I`m in Concord, California. Probably about a 40-minute drive?
GRACE: Right.
STACY: But my concern is this. I believe the boyfriend has stated their phone conversation that she was upset because she had to pass out flyers to help the family business?
GRACE: Right.
STACY: Was she passing out flyers? Is there a parking garage near? Were there any flyers found?
GRACE: Good question. I think that was earlier in the day. What about those flyers, Stacey Newman?
NEWMAN: Well, I believe she passed those flyers for about 20 minutes as Henry Lee told us previously when we covered this story. But again, that phone call that they had was 6:00 p.m., the day that she vanished. And the last sighting of her was 8:30 that night. So filling in the gaps of that timeline.
GRACE: What about it Henry K. Lee? What do you know about Le`s family? Apparently they had quite the altercation before she left to go to Barnes & Noble bookstore that evening. In fact, they actually said -- her brother said she left to cool off.
LEE: That`s right. Huong Le, her brother, has told me that she did go to Barnes & Noble to cool off whenever there was a disagreement and/or to study. Now the brother is saying this is not like -- like a door- slamming type of argument. And he characterized it as just a minor disagreement.
So both he and another brother have been cleared. The police chief publicly said both brothers are not persons of interest or suspects and that they are cooperating with the investigation.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. To Jane in Michigan, hi Jane. Sorry, lost Jane.
Heather in Maryland, hi, Heather.
HEATHER, CALLER FROM MARYLAND: Hi, Nancy, how are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
HEATHER: I really have more of a comment actually.
GRACE: OK.
HEATHER: As for the boyfriend and the phone call that -- the last phone call that she made and, you know, it was between she and him, I want to know why there were no surveillance cameras and why there`s no proof why he so close-lipped if -- you know, because silence says a lot.
If you have something to say, then say it. If -- you know, if you have a good alibi, prove it. But he`s really quiet. You know, my mom -- I`m 23. You know she was 24. My mom, you know, I`m going on a trip, she won`t let me go alone because of things like this that happen.
And I don`t really buy into this story. You know, even though he was a family friend and being defended I really think that they need to look more into him.
GRACE: What is his alibi, Stacey Newman?
NEWMAN: He told us earlier, Nancy, there is surveillance video in the neighborhood he lives in that will show he was still home the night that Le vanished. He says he did not leave the house, he didn`t go anywhere that day, and says surveillance video will prove that.
GRACE: We are taking your calls live for those of you that are just joining us. As we go to air tonight, we have discovered that a body of an adult female has been positively identified as that of 24-year-old nursing grad Phuong Le.
Absolutely beautiful. Described as a home body. Timid. Shy. Last seen at the local Barnes & Noble`s bookstore, upscale Fairfax, Napa Valley.
As we go to break, happy 21st anniversary to Philadelphia veteran defense lawyer Joe Lawless and wife Lisa.
Now I would say he married up. What do you think? She`s a partner in corporate finance at National Law Firm. Sweethearts just meeting at Villanova Law Library.
Happy anniversary, Joe and Lisa.
And happy 11th birthday to Michigan friend Mackenzie. She loves ice skating and riding her bike.
Happy birthday, beautiful Mackenzie.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On 5/7/2010 the deceased body of a female was discovered in Napa County along Highway 121. The body was discovered by a woman that had stopped from the side of the road to give her dog a break during a drive to Napa.
On that date Napa County investigators were contacted by the Fairfield Police Department regarding the description of the female and it was believed that the body could be that of our previously-reported missing person, Phuong Le.
Police then began working with the FBI to gather evidence at the scene and confirm the identity of the deceased. The body was transported to Solano County Coroners Office that evening.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Now the body has been found and identified. But who killed 24-year-old nursing student Phuong Le, last seen at the local Barnes & Noble upscale Fairfax Napa Valley, California.
Her body positively identified not only by the jade bracelet and necklace she was wearing as she always wore, but by fingerprints and dental.
Back out to Henry K. Lee, reporter, "San Francisco Chronicle," where is the investigation going now? When will we get the cause of death? That`s going to tell me a lot about who killed her.
LEE: That`s right, Nancy. And that`s exactly why they are holding this information close to the vest. They are going to be interviewing more people and following more leads as they come up.
The FBI, evidence response team, is involved and they`ve got some of the equipment that Fairfield Police don`t have so, together, they`re going to try to find out who killed Phuong Le.
GRACE: Well, I can tell you this much. Pat Brown, this is not a random killing. Like as if someone had just killed her. She would be laying out in the back of the Barnes & Noble parking lot or dead in her car. All right?
BROWN: Right. I tend to agree she would have been --
GRACE: You rarely get --
BROWN: -- probably close by.
GRACE: -- a random killer that goes to so much trouble to go hide her body 40 feet off a roadway in a rural area.
BROWN: Right. Well, the most interesting thing is that the purse in the trunk. And I forgot it was a Sunday. I just blanked on that one so there`s no business that`s going to be open at UPS. So either this boyfriend was actually home all day long and never showed up at that parking lot, but somebody did.
Because her purse would not have been in the trunk. She either had to get in somebody`s car, just drop it there temporary while she was waiting, or she had to leave with somebody and they had to bring a bag and drop that purse off in the trunk so that she looked like she never left the Barnes & Noble parking lot.
GRACE: And I want to reiterate the boyfriend is not a formal suspect. He has not been named a suspect tonight.
What about the family? Stacey Newman, what are all their alibis?
NEWMAN: Well, Nancy, remember, when she went to the Barnes & Noble, her family was still at the house. They were actually planning to celebrate her birthday. Planning to celebrate that she had passed this nursing exam.
GRACE: Where was that supposed to happen? The celebration?
NEWMAN: Well, her birthday was coming up the following Friday. She vanished Sunday. The birthday was supposed to be that Friday when they ended up having that candlelight vigil after she disappeared.
GRACE: So where were they? Are they saying they were all at home?
NEWMAN: They were -- pretty much from what we know right now they are all saying that they were at home and at this point cops are saying they don`t believe especially these two brothers who they`ve been questioning intensively are not persons of interest or suspects in this case.
GRACE: OK. Back to Dr. Robert Kaufmann, doctor of internal medicine joining us out of our Atlanta studios.
Dr. Kaufmann, we know that temperatures went up into the 70s since the date of her disappearance which was April 25th, Sunday evening, 8:30 p.m. What condition will the body be in? Describe it for me.
DR. ROBERT KAUFMANN, M.D., INTERNAL MEDICINE: The body will probably be badly decomposed. I mean besides the temperature of the heat that makes things -- speeds up the process of decomposition, there`s also insects, could be animals, could be anything that causes that.
But if she was stabbed or shot, it wouldn`t matter how decomposed from that point. That would be still be obvious to tell what was going on.
GRACE: Why?
KAUFMANN: Because you have a wound, you a stab wound, you have a gunshot wound. You also have a bullet inside somebody if they got shot.
GRACE: We are taking your --
KAUFMANN: A simple x-ray would show that.
GRACE: An x-ray would show that. Or a nick on the bone. I pray to God that they carefully process the same because if she was shot, the bullet could be there. But again, I agree with Pat Brown, I do not think that this is the location of the killing.
Out to the lines, Becky in Kentucky. Hi, Becky.
BECKY, CALLER FROM KENTUCKY: Hi, Nancy, me and my daughter Cory absolutely love you.
GRACE: Thank you, Becky and Cory. Thank you very much and thank you for calling. What is your question, dear?
BECKY: Well, from the beginning they have announced that she was not pregnant. And I have been wondering was there blood in her car or somewhere in the area and is that -- is blood that you leave behind like that enough to tell if you`re pregnant from a blood test?
GRACE: Dr. Kaufmann, you can obviously tell pregnancy from a blood test. But we never heard anything about blood in the car.
KAUFMANN: No, I mean, I hadn`t heard anything of that. And it would be very difficult to get enough blood from the car to do a blood test to do a quantitative pregnancy test.
GRACE: How much do you need?
KAUFMANN: You need about half a test tube which is about --
GRACE: Of blood? You need half a tube?
KAUFMANN: Yes. About two to three cc`s.
GRACE: And you can urinate on a stick with a drop of urine and get a result but you`re telling me you need a half a tube of blood?
KAUFMANN: Yes, because when you do the blood test that gives the amount of levels.
GRACE: You`re the doctor.
Everybody, we`re going to be back live with the discovery police have announced today, the body of 24-year-old Phuong Le has been positively identified. The young nursing student last seen at the Barnes & Noble bookstore.
Now we found the body, but who killed the 24-year-old girl?
Everyone, tonight, as we go to break, I want to tell you about a CNN Espanol special, May 16th. A special program on autism and handicapped children including will be the story of (INAUDIBLE), a huge indoor play station for children with special needs in Atlanta for children and families to grow and learn.
(INAUDIBLE) Fund created by a dad of a child with special needs.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The victim was identified through fingerprints.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your hopes strong.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Results of the autopsy confirm that it was our missing person, Phuong Le.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Le --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Phuong Le --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This case is now being investigated as a homicide.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You`re darn right it is. The 24-year-old nursing student`s body has now been identified, but who killed this young girl, known as timid, a home body, shy, had just completed her nursing degree, getting ready for tests?
Out to the lines, Bonnie in Connecticut. Hi, Bonnie.
BONNIE, CALLER FROM CONNECTICUT: Yes, hi, Nancy. I want to thank you. Your work is so important to so many. My question tonight is, earlier broadcasts, you have stated that Barnes & Noble did not pick her up on surveillance, however there was a young male witness. Is he a regular and has he been investigated?
GRACE: Henry K. Lee, what about it?
LEE: You can be absolutely sure, Nancy, that he has been thoroughly interviewed. Police have not termed him a suspect nor have they identified him publicly.
GRACE: Sheeba, Illinois, hi, dear, what is your question?
SHEEBA, CALLER FROM ILLINOIS: Hi, Nancy. How is this -- how long have they known this best friend of the family?
GRACE: Good question.
SHEEBA: Could he have molested this young woman and she be --
GRACE: Well, I know that he --
SHEEBA: -- in fear?
GRACE: -- was her boyfriend.
Stacey, how long had he been a family friend?
NEWMAN: Well, they say he`s like a brother and we know that Phuong Le at least had to have known him for about five, six years.
GRACE: OK. Richard Herman, what`s your analysis?
HERMAN: Interviewed extensively that night including all the employees. And by the way, this boyfriend, he says he was never the boyfriend.
GRACE: Mm-hmm. OK, Pam Hayes?
PAM HAYES, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think it`s a lot of people that could be involved in this. I`m just not convinced it`s the boyfriend because it`s the boyfriend. I want to know why --
GRACE: I`m not either, Pam.
HAYES: -- she was upset.
GRACE: I actually agree with you.
HAYES: I want to know what she was upset about and why she had to go to Barnes & Nobles to cool off.
GRACE: To cool off.
HAYES: Something made her --
GRACE: Sue Moss -- yes.
HAYES: -- upset so what was it?
GRACE: Yes, you`re right. And it`s so contradictory to her being timid and a home body and actually having to leave the house to cool off. But we`ve got a witness placing her there at about 8:30 that evening.
Sue Moss?
SUSAN MOSS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY & CHILD ADVOCATE: It is perverse what happened to this nurse, but I will bet a dent it was done by someone who knew her.
GRACE: Well, yes, Sue Moss, hello? We established that about 50 minutes ago. Yes, it was somebody that knew her because random killers don`t go through the effort of hiding the body.
Let`s stop and remember Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Jason Lewis, 30, Brookfield, Connecticut. Killed, Iraq. A Navy SEAL, awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Navy Marine Corps Commendation medal.
Loved fishing, reading, time with family. Leaves behind mother Jean, sister Jenny, widow Donna, children Jack, Max and Gray. Grandparents, Joseph and Frances.
Jason Lewis, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.
END
