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Nancy Grace
Nanny Charged With Child Abuse After Secret Taping
Aired September 03, 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, Florida. Parents act on instinct after one child mysteriously gets a black eye, so secretly install a nanny-cam. Bombshell tonight. Secret video confirms a parent`s worst nightmare, the nanny beating the 11-month-old baby boy, the nanny angry, gone wild, dragging the little boy, throwing him to the floor, flinging him into a playpen, hitting him in the head repeatedly, slapping the baby! But now, in front of somebody her own size, she breaks down in court, blubbering, crying, making excuses! Breaking down? She should break down! And we have the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My heart is breaking every day!
LISA CROSLIN: Every parent`s worst nightmare. These are images captured by a home nanny-cam.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m putting it behind me, you know? You know, I still think about it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see the 11-month-old baby-sitting in front of the TV. Minutes later, the baby-sitter, who police say is Jeannine Campbell, appears to violently pick up the child, slinging him by his arms into a playpen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They kept asking me what happened the day -- you know, and I was, like -- that was part of my problem. You know, it wasn`t me. I don`t remember, kind of thing, so -- but I`m not going to say any more.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I saw the video, I could see that it was me. but that`s, like, that`s not my personality.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All I can do is pray that (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: If I could only get my hands on this lady!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... understand that that`s not you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Most people are just saying (INAUDIBLE) you know, and it wasn`t. It wasn`t me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: It was you, all right!
And 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. Last person to see her alive, new stepmother Misty Croslin, who flunks four polygraphs. Haleigh`s father, Ronald Cummings, and stepmother Croslin booked on drugs. Search teams, cadaver dogs, scuba divers all comb the St. Johns River as the search for Haleigh`s body goes on. Her attorney in the halls of the courthouse reveals explosive allegation the last night Haleigh is alive, she`s assaulted, screaming, kidnapped, carried away in a black bag. Lawyer for Croslin`s brother gives up the COD -- cause of death. He says Haleigh strangled!
Breaking tonight. A judge brings down the hammer on Croslin`s confidante turned co-defendant, 15 years hard jail time and $100,000 fine for drug trafficking. But will a deal go down to get the truth about what happened to 5-year-old Haleigh?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What had happened was when I had came through from Virginia, from my doctor`s appointment, I had all my meds and whatever. Misty was having (INAUDIBLE) to the meds. She (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) everything I had!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) only shows Misty had (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pills.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say you sold over 300 pills.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told them that I gave them to her, I gave them away, and she sold them to that undercover agent. I never would give her any drugs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m not hiding anything for anybody, and if somebody had something to do with it, let them fry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ve been knowing this all along. I knew it was him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I would do it. I would take it, three years in and four years out. I`ll take it. I`ll take it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just hope and pray that the child was already dead before she hit that water.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That weekend was a lie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) her and her co-defendants to open up about what happened to Haleigh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They try to say that this Haleigh stuff had nothing to do with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) nothing (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was all it had to do with. I just want to know where she`s at.
GRACE: Where is Haleigh?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Haleigh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My little girl!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I was in the car because it was cold outside. I got in the car with them both. Yes, I did. Yes, I did. I mean, I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight, live, Florida. Parents act on instinct after their child mysteriously gets a black eye. They secretly install a nanny- cam. Secret video confirms the parents` worth nightmare, the nanny beating the 11-month-old baby relentlessly. We have the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Watch as Campbell swats the baby`s butt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have never behaved so horribly!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then in the next clip, it appears the child is playing with the ball when she kicks her bouncy ball at the small child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cannot believe what has happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She picks the ball back up and hurls it at the baby`s head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t believe that someone could do this, and it was me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was so hard, you can see it knock the 11- month-old completely over.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were the kids really spoiled?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sort of.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Continue to throw what appears to be some type of towel at the child, then slaps him on the back of the head so hard, he falls over again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was always really good with the kids I watched, too. I mean, if there were dishes to wash or I had to do something, it was usually when they were both asleep.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: While the baby`s still laying on the floor, she throws another one until it hits him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She never (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A police report says she swats at the child 11 times, then kicked him again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was uncalled-for.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It appears Campbell was trying to put the baby`s socks on him, but she gets mad.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I remember certain parts of that day, but I do not remember hurting the child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I can hardly stand to look at this, but it is the truth, this monster nanny beating an 11-month-old baby boy relentlessly, never giving in, beating him, kicking him, slapping him, throwing things at his head until the baby falls over. Look at the little thing just sitting there.
Out to Hugh Nolan, investigative reporter joining us out of Florida, Miami, Florida. What happened?
HUGH NOLAN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (via telephone): Well, as you have reported, Nancy, she was caught on that nanny-cam striking, kicking, tossing about that 11-month-old like a ragdoll. She was charged with four counts of child abuse, held with bail set at $75,000.
GRACE: Out to special guest joining us, Alan Mizrahi, assistant state`s attorney who oversaw the prosecution of the monster nanny, Jeannine Campbell. Alan, apparently, everybody that knew her thought there was no problem. She was great on an interview. She looked great on paper. But look at this!
ALAN MIZRAHI, ASST. STATE ATTORNEY: The video is horrific. It`s one of the worst cases I`ve ever seen as a prosecutor, and she lived a pretty law-abiding life up until this point.
GRACE: How were you approached with the case, Alan Mizrahi?
MIZRAHI: Well, what happened is, is the father discovered the tape after seeing an injury to his child, and he reported the case to the police, called 911 and indicated he had a videotape of his child being assaulted. And then the Jacksonville sheriff`s office investigated the case and then brought it to our office for prosecution.
GRACE: With me is special guest Alan Mizrahi, assistant state attorney joining us out of Jacksonville, Florida. Do you have any idea how the baby got the first black eye, Alan?
MIZRAHI: We can only assume it`s in the exact same way. I mean, what this woman did to this child had no purpose, had no meaning. The child wasn`t crying. The child wasn`t acting up. He`s an innocent 11-month-old, and got tortured by his baby-sitter.
GRACE: With us also, joining us out of Jacksonville, Tiffany Griffith, reporter with WOKV. Tiffany, why was the baby-sitter -- the monster nanny so angry?
TIFFANY GRIFFITH, WOKV RADIO (via telephone): Well, you know, she did finally came out and say that she had a problem with the family. And the family -- they really trusted this woman. They knew her through other friends, and her main employer was actually a local church. And the mother went on to say in court that her trust has been completely betrayed and now she can`t trust having her children in the company of other people that aren`t family members.
GRACE: So Hugh Nolan, bottom line, the one -- the baby gets a black eye, so they install the nanny-cam, right?
NOLAN: That`s correct, Nancy. Actually, there was another child in the house, as I understand it, who had received the black eye, an older child. The nanny-cam was set up to watch the baby-sitter. She was recorded abusing the 11-month-old in a single instance -- or not a single instance, a single act, but this was four charges stemming from a single taping of a single baby-sitting session.
GRACE: I`m getting another report, Tiffany Griffith, that the black eye was actually on the 11-month-old. What do you know?
GRIFFITH: Well, we know that the youngest child was the one who did receive that black eye, and when the parents saw that, they did become suspicious and that`s when the nanny-cam was installed. And of course, a day or so later, Mr. and Mrs. Hammond (ph) put their kids to bed, watched the video of that just stomach-turning video, and it didn`t take long for them to fire Jeannine Campbell and then turn that video over to the cops.
GRACE: Back to special guest Alan Mizrahi, assistant state attorney joining us out of Jacksonville. Alan, where did they have the nanny-cam installed?
MIZRAHI: They had it installed in the top ceiling corner of room. It actually wasn`t concealed. It wasn`t, like, in a teddy bear, like we normally would see. It actually was relatively obvious. She apparently didn`t care or didn`t notice that camera.
GRACE: What did it look like, Alan?
MIZRAHI: What did the camera look like? It`s store bought, simple Home Depot. He bought four cameras and installed them throughout the house, nothing fancy, nothing expensive, just your standard home security system.
GRACE: Well, did it look like a camera, or did it look like maybe some type of utility, like heating or thermometer? What did it look like?
MIZRAHI: Well, it doesn`t -- it didn`t look like a teddy bear. Certainly, if you got up close to it...
GRACE: Oh, I see.
MIZRAHI: ... you would know it was a camera.
GRACE: We`re seeing it right now.
MIZRAHI: So it`s not hidden in something.
GRACE: We`re seeing it right now. Yes, we`re seeing very popular nanny-cams. And one of these similar I think was the first one that`s similar to the one they used.
Out to Dr. Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Dealbreakers." Bethany, this child was 1 months old. What lasting damage either physically or psychologically will it have?
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Well, this baby is going to have damage at a pre-verbal, pre-conscious level. In other words, as an adult, he may be vulnerable to psychiatric issues, substance abuse, feelings of depression and mistrust, but not really remember why he feels that way of what really happened. But can I make a comment about why this woman is this way?
GRACE: Yes.
MARSHALL: Well, I think that there are a small segment of our population who hates children. They`re envious of children. They feel that children have special privileges. And they are envious of the children for feeling loved, so they abuse the children on that basis and they target the children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not one minute goes by, 24 hours a day (INAUDIBLE) that I don`t think about what I`ve done!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You see the 11-month-old baby-sitting in front of the TV. Minutes later, the baby-sitter, who police say is Jeannine Campbell, appears to violently pick up the child, slinging him by his arms into a playpen. But if you thought that was hard to stomach, it gets worse. Watch as Campbell swats the baby`s butt. Then in the next clip, it appears the child is playing with a ball when she kicks a bouncy-ball at the small child. When that`s not enough, she picks the ball back up and hurls it at the baby`s head. It was so hard, you can see it knocks the 11- month-old completely over.
But it doesn`t end there. You see her in the video continue to throw what appears to be some type of towel at the child, then slaps him on the back of the head so hard, he falls over again. While the baby`s still laying on the floor, she throws another one until it hits him. In this clip, minutes later, it appears Campbell is trying to put the baby`s socks on him when she gets mad. A police report says she swats at the child 11 times, then kicks him again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I can hardly stand to look at it. We are bringing you this story out of Florida, a monster nanny caught on video.
Out to the lines. Mickey in Texas. Hi, Mickey.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: Well, I got to tell you, I`m actually flinching. Liz, take me down. I want to see this video. What`s your question, love?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I wanted to know how long this lady had been sitting with these children, how many times. This couldn`t have been the first incident.
GRACE: You`re so right, Mickey. She didn`t just suddenly do this one day. Alan Mizrahi, assistant state attorney joining us out of Jacksonville, how long had she been working for this family?
MIZRAHI: She`d been with the family for several months. This was not a one-time incident. In fact, the family installed the nanny-cam specifically to watch her because they were suspicious of abuse. So there was -- the nanny was watching for several months.
GRACE: Let`s unleash the lawyers. Eleanor Odom, felony prosecutor, death-penalty-qualified, John Burris, defense attorney out of San Francisco, and Peter Odom, defense attorney out of Atlanta.
You know, Eleanor, so many times, parents notice a bruise or a cut, and they -- Gosh, how`d they get that? And they assume it was innocent. Not so.
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Not so, Nancy. And there`s a saying, if you don`t cruise, you don`t bruise. So in other words, when the child`s young and not walking around -- you know how they walk and fall -- they`re going to get bruises. But when there are unexplained bruises and they`re not cruising around, there`s a problem.
GRACE: Peter Odom, the maximum on this is 15 years. On a 15-year sentence, what would they parole out at?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, she could parole out with as little as doing 65 percent of that sentence. However, with a case of crime of violence like this, she could do up to 90 percent of that eight years. People that abuse children, people that use violence don`t get the kind of consideration on parole that people like status offenders or drug offenders get. So she`ll do a good portion of it.
GRACE: Back to Alan Mizrahi, who oversaw the prosecution in this case. Does it really matter what the year sentence is from the judge, whether she gets 8, whether she gets 10, whether she gets 15? Won`t she parole out at the same year?
MIZRAHI: No. In the state of Florida, there is no parole system. It`s actually been abolished. In Florida, a person who goes to prison has to serve a minimum of 85 percent of the their sentence, no matter what the charge is. There is no minimum mandatory associated with this child abuse, so she will have to serve 85 percent of her sentence before she`s eligible to be released early.
GRACE: Whoa! I did not realize that about the state of Florida. So they have to do 85 percent, and then they can parole out?
MIZRAHI: And then they`re eligible for early release, if they`ve been a good prisoner.
GRACE: Eligible for early release.
MIZRAHI: It`s really not a parole board. They don`t go -- they don`t go before a parole board or anything like that. If they`ve been good and they haven`t lost any game (ph) time, they`ll get out after 85 percent of their sentence.
GRACE: OK...
MIZRAHI: If they`ve lost game time, they got in trouble, stuff like that, they`ll have to do their whole sentence.
GRACE: You know, John Burris, how many times have you seen a case where witnesses, or say parents in this case, they`ve got a feeling. They just have a feeling that something`s not right. But not everybody has a nanny-cam, and so often, defense attorneys argue, You know what? You got to have a video to prove this. Well, you`ve got a video in this case. What`s the best defense you could possibly mount for this woman?
JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, with the videocam, you got to talk about this person`s mental condition. There`s something going on with her that`s causing her to be out of touch with reality. There`s something going on with her that I think the defense had an obligation to try to develop, if they could. Children -- people do not abuse children unless something else is going on with them that causes them to act in such an outrageous way.
GRACE: You are seeing video that confirms a parent`s worst nightmare. Parents come home after a long day at work, turn on their newly installed nanny-cam video, and this is what they see, the victim 11 months old, the perpetrator 53 years old, beating the baby relentlessly!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say this is Campbell in the video that made national headlines. She`s supposed to be taking care of this 11- month-old baby boy, but a hidden nanny-cam captured this. Prosecutors say it`s her seen hitting the baby, pushing him down, throwing a ball at his head and forcefully tossing him into a playpen. Campbell tells her mom she doesn`t remember much about the day. It seems like she`s referring to the day the video was recorded.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They kept asking me what happened the day, you know, and I was, like, that`s part of my problem, you know? It wasn`t me. I don`t remember, kind of thing, so -- but I`m not going to say any more.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We`re taking your calls live. Out to Rose in Illinois. Hi, Rose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I wanted to know...
GRACE: Wait a minute! Rose, wait.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, ma`am?
GRACE: I got to tell you something. This video is getting me extremely agitated and upset, extremely upset because, you know, I think about leaving my own twins at home with baby-sitters. Of course, I never leave them alone with one baby-sitter, all right, ever. But seeing this just is -- I`m extremely disturbed and agitated right now. It`s making me very upset and angry. I don`t know if it`s having that effect on you, Rose. Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, what I want to know is, does the sitter have any children of her own? And if so, is there any documented history of child abuse or neglect in her own family?
GRACE: Good question. To Alan Mizrahi, assistant state attorney there in Jacksonville. What do you know about this woman? Her name, Jeannine Marie Campbell.
MIZRAHI: There is absolutely no documented evidence of this woman being a child abuser. I`m not aware of any children that she has. She has no Department of Children and Family Services history of beating children or hurting children. So this kind of came out of the blue for everyone.
GRACE: Alan, where did she come from?
MIZRAHI: I don`t know where she was born or where she lived. I have no idea.
GRACE: I just wonder where she was before she landed in Florida and this video was taken. I wonder if she had a history of this anywhere else.
To Dr. Gwenn O`Keefe, founder and CEO of Pediatricsnow.com. She is a pediatrician. This is her expertise. Dr. O`Keefe, what do you think? What injuries do you believe this child sustained? And what`s your opinion on this?
DR. GWENN O`KEEFE, PEDIATRICIAN: Well, I think, Nancy, this child is extremely lucky. I`ve seen, unfortunately, a lot of cases of child abuse over my career, and given that horrific video, this child could have had some serious internal injuries.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) with medication. I can`t stop crying or feel horrible! Words cannot express my hurt or how sorry I am to you!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANINE CAMPBELL, BABYSITTER CAUGHT ON NANNY CAM ABUSING 11-MONTH-OLD BOY: If they do a lie detector, I`m going to fail that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?
CAMPBELL: Because I`m already going to be really nervous and because they`re going to ask me yes and no questions, and some of the questions cannot be answered yes or no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I think if they were going to do it, the attorney would have called us and let us know.
CAMPBELL: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I --
(CROSSTALK)
CAMPBELL: Well, tell them that I don`t do well at tests and if they`re going to put that much stress on me, you know, I`m more likely to screw it up just because --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, yes.
CAMPBELL: If they give me multiple choice, I will choose the wrong one. You know? And if -- if there is a maybe, I`ll panic and it will look like I`m lying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think so. I think they can take that into consideration. I don`t know. But anyway, I think the attorney would have called us if they were going to do that.
CAMPBELL: OK.
They kept asking me what happened the day, you know, and I was like, that`s part of my problem, you know? It wasn`t me. I don`t remember kind of thing. So -- but I`m not going to say anymore.
I have been working on this letter for quite a while. I really and sincerely want to say I`m sorry. It`s not enough. Just saying I`m sorry. I`m very sincere. It just sounds like a cover-up. It is so horrible. My heart is screaming every day. It`s horrible. I`m so sorry, so very, very much.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: You know what? You can cry all you want to, Jeanine Marie Campbell. I wonder how badly that 11-month-old baby was crying while you were beating him relentlessly, and we know it wasn`t the first time.
To me -- out to you, Dr. Gwenn, O`Keefe -- the worst part was when she picks the baby up and throws it into a playpen. Throws it. What kind of damage could that cause, Doctor?
DR. GWENN O`KEEFE, M.D., PEDIATRICIAN, FOUNDER & CEO, PEDIATRICSNOW.COM: Nancy, that can cause so much damage you can have injuries to the head, injuries to the eyes. You could break bones, injuries to organs. I think the good news with babies is they tend to be resilient, but it`s the repetition you worry about.
We don`t know how much this baby has been through over time. So that`s the concern. Plus you have the emotional damage of just being treated that way by a trusted caregiver.
GRACE: Back to you, Bethany Marshall, how much will the baby remember?
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": I don`t think the baby will remember anything consciously, but the baby may be left with a feeling that the world is unsafe.
That is going to be the problem is that the baby can feel traumatized but not remember it. And so as a child he may have listlessness, learning problems, difficulty forming attachments, depression. And so the parents are really going to have to keep an eye on him, attend to him, and the best form of therapy is love and keeping him safe.
GRACE: To Andrew J. Scott, former chief of police, Boca Raton, now president of AJS Consulting there in Miami.
Andrew, look. After all the years I prosecuted, our most helpless victims are children. This child couldn`t even tell his parents what was happening.
ANDREW J. SCOTT, FMR. CHIEF OF POLICE, BOCA RATON, FL.; PRESIDENT, AJS CONSULTING: You know, Nancy, this is something that I have experienced over the course of my career. I have four children -- four daughters.
This is one of the most repulsive things that police officers have a tendency to come across and it really hits home. And I have to give kudos to the assistant state attorney, the prosecutor, in this case.
We are -- we`re just thrilled that it happened and these are the types of things that we as parents always must be alert when we leave our children in the care of some stranger.
GRACE: We are taking your calls.
Back to Rose in Illinois. Rose, I got so sidetracked watching this video, I lost track of your question. What was your question, dear?
ROSE, CALLER FROM ILLINOIS: Did this family hire the sitter through an agency? And if so, which one? I think the public needs to be warned.
GRACE: I think you`re right. Did they find her through an agent, Alan Mizrahi? Didn`t she come from the church?
ALAN MIZRAHI, ASSISTANT STATE ATTORNEY: They met her through church. That`s the sad thing. It was common friends that knew each other, and they met through church. It wasn`t an agency.
GRACE: Was this her life career? Had she always been a nanny?
MIZRAHI: Always.
GRACE: Oh man.
MIZRAHI: Basically from the time she turned 16 she`s been watching children her entire life.
GRACE: Man.
MIZRAHI: In fact during the sentencing hearing she called many of the children that she helped raise to testify in her defense for a lesser sentence in the case.
GRACE: You know, what really killed me -- I want the lawyers again. In addition to Alan Mizrahi, our special guest who oversaw the prosecution of monster nanny Jeanine Marie Campbell, also with us is Eleanor Odom, felony prosecutor, death penalty qualified, John Burris, famed defense attorney out of San Francisco, and Peter Odom, defense attorney practicing in the Atlanta jurisdiction.
What about that B.S. on the stand, Burris? I don`t recall. I don`t recall what happened. It wasn`t me.
It was her. I could see her.
JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Obviously, it was her, and you know -- and I wouldn`t consider that to be a great defense although psychologically it might be representative of something. This woman is totally out of character. I mean you`ve got all these people that suggested --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Please put Burris up. Put him up.
BURRIS: So I --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Did you say psychologically it might represent something?
BURRIS: She may have had a psychological break at this period of time in her life. I mean she`s been a good person all of her life --
GRACE: A psychological break.
BURRIS: And then all of a sudden she goes to this. I mean I`ve seen this happen before. People become disassociated with events.
GRACE: You know what?
BURRIS: Absolutely.
GRACE: I think you`re getting disassociated with reality because you said you`ve seen it happen before. I think what you meant to say I`ve argued it before.
BURRIS: No, not happened -- OK. I have argued it before. You`re right.
GRACE: OK. Odom.
BURRIS: That`s because -- because there`s truth to it. That things do happen to people.
GRACE: BS.
BURRIS: You have to give consideration to them.
GRACE: Do not make me curse, all right? I gave it up when the twins were growing. Don`t make me do it.
Peter Odom, Burris is giving me a psychotic break. What do you have for me? Go ahead. Bring it on.
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Evidence like this nanny cam video is the legal equivalent for a defendant of being checkmated. She did what I think was probably the smartest thing.
GRACE: Right.
P. ODOM: She recognized how strong the evidence was and put herself up there at the --
GRACE: And said it wasn`t her.
P. ODOM: At the mercy of the court. Now I think she did herself a disservice and probably cost herself several years by claiming that she didn`t remember it.
Now that tells you one of two things. Either she`s lying because you don`t do something like this to a kid and not remember it, or maybe this was just a typical day when she was watching the kid and that really kind of disturbs -- disturbs me. That this might have happened before they taped it.
GRACE: So, Hugh Nolan, she actually tells the court that she didn`t recall it and it wasn`t me. Did anybody believe that load of BS? Did anybody buy that?
If I had been the judge, I would have literally taken the book and thrown it at her.
P. ODOM: And that`s effectively what happened.
GRACE: I`m asking Hugh Nolan. You`re not Hugh Nolan, but thank you.
Hugh Nolan, did anyone believe it?
HUGH NOLAN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Anyone who might have been inclined to believe it, Nancy, or have an open mind to the possibility, they might have had their mind changed by the jailhouse recordings of her conversations with her husband.
It was very clear in those conversations that she knew exactly what she had done, and she said straight out in the conversation with her husband that she was guilty of having done it.
There was no indication until she was in the courtroom that she was speaking of not having recalled what she did.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Hugh Nolan, investigative reporter joining us out of Miami. She told her husband in jailhouse video that she did it and she knew she did it, she was guilty?
NOLAN: In audio recorded conversations, yes. She said that she knew she was -- that she knew the tape existed, that she knew what she had done and that she was guilty.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HANK CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S FATHER: Well, as soon as I get this Haleigh case wrapped up they`ll let us alone.
MISTY CROSLIN, FORMER STEPMOM/BABYSITTER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: I`ll answer any questions I have to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If there was possible some physical evidence in the Haleigh Cummings investigation.
H. CROSLIN: Just want to screw us up, the rest of our lives up.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Hank and Lisa Croslin were arrested.
LISA CROSLIN, MISTY CROSLIN`S MOTHER: You better be honest with him.
M. CROSLIN: Mama, I`m being honest. OK?
H. CROSLIN: They want to put me in jail, let them put me in jail. I don`t give a (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I didn`t do nothing wrong. She found three chicken McNuggets in her car, you nasty. She found three chicken McNuggets in her car, you old lying lady. She`s supposed to be a Christian lady. She ain`t no Christian lady.
M. CROSLIN: Nancy Grace is silly. She don`t eat better than us. We don`t eat better than her.
H. CROSLIN: She say you sold -- sold over 300 pills to the undercover. I told you stay away from that stupid (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
M. CROSLIN: I don`t know where she is. I`m not hiding anything. They just need to move on. Dad, there`s nothing.
H. CROSLIN: They just wanted to just mess with us and mess with us and mess with us. Regardless of what the outcome is. I want to know where Haleigh is at.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re out there to rule her in or out.
RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF HALEIGH CUMMINGS: Well, of course. I want to know if she knows anything.
H. CROSLIN: They`re probably going to have us all in jail before it`s all over with.
M. CROSLIN: Dad, stop saying that. No, they`re not.
H. CROSLIN: Well, that`s what they want.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls. Confidant turned co-defendant of stepmother of Misty Croslin, who goes on to flunk four polygraphs, gets 15 years hard jail time. Is a deal in the works now that she realizes she`s going down the river to the big doll house? Will she finally say what she knows?
Out to Art Harris. Art Harris at ArtHarris.com. Art, what do you know?
ART HARRIS, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, ARTHARRIS.COM, INTERVIEWED MISTY CROSLIN, HALEIGH`S NEW STEPMOM: Nancy, I can tell you that I have talked to Donna Brock for a couple of months before she got arrested and told me all about her relationship with Misty. And she believed that Misty knew a lot more than she was telling and I believe police think she`s harboring more knowledge of what Misty may have told her.
GRACE: You mean Donna Brock knows more?
HARRIS: Donna Brock got so close to her. This was someone who she told me, Misty said you`re the mother I never had. I mean her family had a lot of problems, and Donna was the one who took her out of that Ronald relationship when it got bad, took her on the road to Universal and got her nails done.
She was then working for Tim Miller of Texas EquuSearch supposedly trying to get information for law enforcement by getting close to Misty. Then things got different. He fired her because he told me that she once said -- remember that road rage incident, Nancy, when they got pulled over --
GRACE: Yes.
HARRIS: -- for carrying or waving a gun supposedly at somebody on the road. And she said that, you know what? I`m glad they searched -- they didn`t find any guns, we didn`t have guns, but I had pot and we had pills in our purses.
GRACE: So that ended the whole thing. With me, Art Harris at ArtHarris.com.
Marlaina Schiavo, the deal is 15 years behind bars. Don`t you think if she knows something this would be the time to tell it? I mean up until now, Marlaina, she might have been thinking, well, I can ask for leniency in the court, and if I get three years and I`ll never have to spill the beans because I`ll be out in, you know, half that time.
Not true. Fifteen years hard jail time. Now will be the time for prosecutors to try and get the truth out of Brock.
MARLAINA SCHIAVO, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: That`s true. And we also know that Misty`s attorney never spoke. All this time never did an interview. Wouldn`t talk to the media.
And now that he`s getting closer and closer to the time where Misty Croslin is going to be sentenced, he started talking to the media, started telling us more information about what she told him allegedly about Joe Overstreet strangling Haleigh allegedly that night and Misty Croslin telling investigators this.
So we might see more information coming from Brock in the coming days.
GRACE: Because the way it worked, Eleanor Odom, is there would be an order modification. She`s been sentenced to 15 years on drugs, and if she would cooperate with cops now, say what she knows about Croslin`s recounting what happened the night Haleigh went missing was murdered. She could get that order, that sentence reduced, order modification?
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: That`s right. And her attorney would have to ask the judge for that, and the judge would actually has to do the modification.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Lydia in California. Hi, Lydia.
LYDIA, CALLER FROM CALIFORNIA: Hi, Nancy. Thank you for taking my call.
GRACE: Thank you for calling in, dear. What`s your question?
LYDIA: Well, I`ve been trying to get through since the get-go on this case. My first question is, when Ronald came home, was Misty in street clothes or bed clothes?
And my second question is, Junior said he heard the cats going up and down. So if he heard it, she`s probably heard it and maybe walked in on something she shouldn`t have seen and threatened to tell her dad.
GRACE: OK, I lost Lydia, but I got the question.
Art Harris, what do we know? Was Misty Croslin in street clothes or pajamas when Ron Cummings gets home that night?
HARRIS: I believe she was in street clothes, Nancy, and as far as Junior hearing someone bouncing on the couch, he`s been interviewed by expert psychologists who are known to be able to debrief kids after an incident like this. They believe that he was telling the truth, but he`s not old enough to testify in court.
GRACE: Well, actually he is old enough under the law to testify. It`s just that I don`t know how successful it would be to bring on somebody that young.
Out to the lines, Angela in Kentucky. Hi, Angela.
ANGELA, CALLER FROM KENTUCKY: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
ANGELA: Good. I love your show and your children and I wish there were more people like you.
GRACE: Thank you.
ANGELA: I have a question. Is there any new developments in the Croslin case? I mean, are they getting close to finding out who all was involved in Haleigh Cummings` disappearance?
GRACE: What do you think, Art Harris?
HARRIS: Nancy, I know that they are putting the squeeze on. I understand they called Ronald in for another meeting, and there may be a meeting coming up with Misty and law enforcement.
GRACE: Out to Leonard Padilla, bounty hunter who offered to bail Misty Croslin out from behind bars. Her attorney said no if it involved Croslin talking to Padilla.
What do you make of this development? Donna Brock, her confidant turned co-defendant, her wing man, so to speak, rode shotgun on a lot of the nights that they were out and about.
Do you think she`ll break down and tell what she knows? Now would be the time, Leonard.
LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER, OFFERED TO BAIL MISTY CROSLIN OUT OF JAIL: I don`t believe that Donna knows any more than what she`s already said or has communicated to law enforcement.
Donna is -- is an exact example of an amateur getting involved in a situation of this nature. I think sometimes people see somebody else create a situation like we did with Casey and Tracy and Rob in order to get information and they figure well that must be that simple, but it`s not.
It`s a very professional situation that has to be approached with a lot of intelligence and sober instinct. And I don`t think Donna and Tim Miller and Bill Staub had that ability, and therefore they get themselves all wrapped up.
Staub got arrested, Donna is going to prison. And still Misty hasn`t said anything to anybody.
The situation with Donna, believe me, if she knew something right now, she`d be spilling her guts. She hasn`t got any more knowledge about the situation that she can give up.
GRACE: And back to you, Art Harris, you said that Ronald Cummings is going to have another interview with cops. Why?
HARRIS: Well, I am told that information he`s provided has been helpful, and that makes them want to ask Misty a few more questions.
GRACE: Now, everybody, "CNN Heroes".
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PONHEARY LY, CNN HERO: In the countryside in Cambodia, some children, they come to school, but not very regular. The school is free, but they don`t have any money. How can they have the money for uniforms and supplies?
My name is Ponheary Ly. I help the children to go to school. The education is important for me because my father was a teacher.
During the Khmer Rouge time my father was killed. If we tried to study we could be killed. My soul, always go to school.
At the beginning, I got only one girl. After that, 40 children. And now 2,000. After several years, I see the change, because they know how to read and write and they borrow the books from our library to read for their parents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking in foreign language)
LY: I need them to have a good education to build their own family, as well as to build their own country.
My father, he has to be proud of me here in heaven and in my heart.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: What a week in America`s courtrooms. Take a look at the stories and more important, the people who touched our lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A motorcycle cop pulls up to an intersection to waves of marijuana.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Paparazzi princess Paris Hilton.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She was arrested.
GRACE: In her bag, cocaine. Defense? She thought the drugs were gum.
A 14-year-old Kansas cheerleaders leaves home for a party never seen again.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Adam Longoria.
GRACE: What does he have to do with a 14-year-old cheerleader?
ADAM LONGORIA, SUSPECT: She called my phone a few times. My wife intercepted it.
GRACE: This guy goes his home searched. He goes and steals a car and takes cops on a wild goose chase. That says guilt to me.
A mom goes out to hear her friend play in a band. She`s never seen again.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Finally a break in the case.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They say Grace checked into a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Emily`s ATM card, credit card, checks and keys are found at a golf course but no sign of Emily.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Detectives can`t figure out why Emily Grace would be in celebration or anywhere in Florida.
GRACE: California man pulls out of his church parking lot, he`s attacked from behind. Weapon, an ice pick.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: As he approached his Mercedes convertible, Villanueva was, according to police, hiding inside and ready to attack.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have no idea she was in the car.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: As the victim drove away, Villanueva, police say, stabbed him over and over again with the ice pick in the head and shoulder. It caused the driver to then crash.
GRACE: Her stories to police is that --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She went to a closet to retrieve something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just wanted to get a towel. A towel.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She heard some noises.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She heard a thug.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She heard several thumps.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And when she returned she found the child unresponsive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her breathing starting to act weird.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police say she struck or shook the little girl.
GRACE: She is a liar.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If this kid dies in my arms, I cannot live with that.
GRACE: Pregnant babysitter breaks down in court. I say you should break down.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight let`s stop and remember Army Specialist Nicolas Messmer, 20, Franklin, Ohio, killed in Iraq. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal.
Loves working out, weight lifting, movies, time with family and friends. Dreamed to being a firefighter. Personal trainer and starting his own family. Leaves behind parents Rick and Shirley, brothers Ricky, Joey, Dustin, Zachary. Fiancee, Mary.
Nicolas Messmer, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially you for being with us. And tonight a special good night from the New York control room.
Good night, dear. Hi, Liz. Welcome back, Liz. How was Hawaii? And there`s Norm hiding. There`s Chris and there she is, Squeaky. That`s right. Break down and wave, Squeaky.
And tonight, good night from Tennessee, friends. Renee and Debbie. Aren`t they gorgeous?
Everybody, I`ll see you tomorrow night. 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
