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Nancy Grace
Pregnant Phoenix Mother Shot in Head by Intruder
Aired September 08, 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, Arizona, 5:00 AM, Mommy, six months pregnant, asleep in her own bed, her 7-year-old little boy asleep with her, 3-year-old daughter asleep down the hall. She allegedly awakes to the sound of breaking glass, races to get the little girl, gets the 3-year-old and barricades herself and the children in the family bath. But Mommy doesn`t escape. Mommy -- pregnant Mommy, six months pregnant -- shot in the head. Tonight, the lives of Mommy and her unborn baby hang in the balance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 5:00 o`clock in the morning, with the family in this Maryvale home sound asleep, Phoenix police say a man threw a cinderblock through their front window, then climbed over the broken glass and made his way inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s scary, you know, because we have kids here, too.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say the man who lives at the home came out to confront the intruder, who proceeded to fire a single gunshot. The victim retreated to a back bedroom to wait with his wife and two young kids for the shooter to, hopefully, leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was kind of like the wild, wild West.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thinking the man had left, investigators say the family emerged, only to confront the intruder yet again. This time, he fired several shots, hitting the woman, six months pregnant, in the head. As for the intruder, he ran off, and despite a search of the neighborhood, remains on the run.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope he does get caught, yes, yes, because I heard he`s still out here. That`s scary. That`s really scary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live to the heartland and the mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of a beautiful Iowa mother of two, her cell phone found left behind in her bed, her doors unlocked. Tonight, does grainy surveillance video at an Iowa gas station capture shots of Stacy (ph)? Where is beautiful blond Stacy Wilson (ph)?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-eight-year-old mother of two Stacy Wilson has vanished. Stacy was seen at her mother`s house shortly before 1:00 PM last Friday. Minutes later, police say, Stacy texts her boyfriend and told him they`d talk later when he got home from work. When the boyfriend returned home, Stacy wasn`t there. And her family found her cell phone inside her own bed.
Stacy reportedly didn`t take extra clothes and has shown no activity on any debit cards. In the last hours, police say they received a tip that Stacy was spotted in the area hours after she was last seen. According to authorities, Stacy was seen at a gas station in Carol (ph), Iowa, around 2:40 PM Friday afternoon. Police are hopeful this new development could bring about more leads.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Also tonight, a wild lion goes on the attack, as newlyweds manage to catch it all on tape. Somebody`s going to court! And tonight, we have the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stunning video out of the MGM Las Vegas, a 400- pound lion lunges at a trainer, chomps down hard on one of his legs in front of a horrified crowd. Listen to the gasps, the terror-filled moments caught on camera by newlyweds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... supposed experts that are saying it wasn`t attack just don`t know lions very well. The footage is real, real clear. What happened was that lion -- you see him shift his weight, look at the young trainer. The young trainer stared at the lion, shifted his weight. I could tell by his posture that he was nervous, and the lion saw it right away and went over to dominate him. He wasn`t going over to kill him or rip his head off or make him food. He was just going over to say, Lookit, I`m the boss of you. And that`s what he did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Easy for him to say. Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Live, Arizona, 5:00 AM, Mommy, six months pregnant, asleep in her own bed, her 7-year-old little boy asleep with her, the 3-year-old daughter asleep down the hall. Mommy allegedly wakes to the sound of crashing glass. Mommy doesn`t escape. Mommy`s shot in the head. And tonight, the lives of Mommy and her unborn baby hang in the balance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A man with brick in hand broke the front window of this home near 45th Avenue and Osborn.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This individual breaks this window, enters the home, is confronted by the husband.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sound of shattering glass awoke the couple and their two children sleeping inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we know that at least one shot is fired. The family thought he was gone, began to come back outside of the rooms that they were in, at which time he fired more shots.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The husband was not wounded, but his wife was hit once in the head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s really sad, especially because she`s pregnant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... that the individual that broke through the window, that he seemed as though he may have been high on something, may have been impaired.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounds, like, fishy the way it happened. Why are you going to go and break a big, old window and wake up everybody? You know, if you`re going to rob somebody (INAUDIBLE) break something small or something (INAUDIBLE) nobody can hear him come in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: She makes a very good point. We are taking your calls live.
Out to Christina Estes, reporter, Newstalk 550 KFYI. Why, at about 5:15 in the morning -- that`s getting awfully close to time people are starting to wake up to go to work -- why would an intruder, a burglar, break into a front window, visible from the street, into a family home where they know the family is asleep or getting ready for work? Why would you come in that way? And once you`re detected, why wouldn`t you take off? Why would you stay to shoot a pregnant mom, Christina?
CHRISTINA, ESTES, NEWSTALK 550 KFYI: Well, you heard that police officer say that that suspect may have been high on drugs. That`s what they`ve gathered from what took place inside the home and also from what they heard from witnesses. Clearly, this person wasn`t thinking. He grabs a cinderblock right outside the front window, throws it through there, goes in there, and is even unable to get out of the house through the front door. He apparently struggled to open the front door, once he realized there was family inside, to try to get out, and he couldn`t even do that. He ended up having to go back out that window he smashed to get in, in the first place.
GRACE: That is the story we`re getting tonight, that an intruder breaks into a front window by throwing a brick or cinderblock. And this is around the time that people would start waking up. Very typically, nighttime burglaries happen between the hours of 11:30 and 3:00 AM. This is getting awfully -- very close to the morning rush hour, 5:15 AM.
We are taking your calls. Out to Jessica in Maryland. Hi, Jessica.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy! I love you and I love your show, and your kids are adorable!
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just wanted to know, do they know if it`s a family member or anybody who they know?
GRACE: Good question. I want to go to Marc Harrold, former officer of the Atlanta PD, an attorney, author of "Observations of White Noise." Marc, very, very unusual. And we know the number one cause of death amongst pregnant women, according to a medical study, is homicide. Now, why would a burglar break in so close to the morning rush hour -- people are getting ready for work -- through the front window, visible to everybody, by throwing a brick through it? And then the mom is the only one critically injured.
MARC HARROLD, FORMER OFFICER, ATLANTA PD: Yes, it seems unusual. This is very late for a nighttime burglary to take place. Like you said, it`s almost getting to be rush hour. People are waking up. I`d be shocked if drugs weren`t involved here to some degree, somebody to come in in such a brazen manner.
But to answer the question, from everything I`ve heard, this is not somebody they recognized. It`s somebody that was a stranger to them. So I don`t believe it`s a family member. But it is unusual that only one shot was fired and it did hit the pregnant mother. So you just have to wonder. But I would be shocked if this wasn`t...
GRACE: And that`s some shot...
HARROLD: ... mental illness.
GRACE: ... Marc Harrold, some shot -- one shot manages to get the mom in the head. The father not shot. The husband there in the home not shot.
Taking your calls. Anita in Maryland. Hi, Anita.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I love you and I love your show. My question is, is there any history of domestic violence between the two -- the husband and the wife?
GRACE: Good question. Out to Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer. From what I know, there is no domestic history whatsoever.
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes. That`s right, Nancy. And the father, the way he described it to one of our producers is that this is mayhem early in the morning when the glass breaks. The kids are crying. The parents` first concern was try to get the 3-year-old little girl, who is sleeping in a bedroom across the hall by herself. Father tries to go get her. He`s shot at. He hides in the bathroom. The mom tries to get her, and that`s when she`s shot.
GRACE: Back out to the calls. Diane in Florida. Hi, Diane. Uh-oh, I`ve lost Diane. Are you there, Diane? Let me know when you get her back.
To Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "The Profiler." Weigh in, Pat Brown.
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, Nancy, it all depends on the statements as to actually what really happened. Originally, we heard they were both in the bedroom and then they came out thinking the guy was gone. If that were true, you`d wonder why they didn`t make a call to the police on the cell phone or the bedroom home phone. And how long did they wait before they came out and this guy`s in their house?
But the second story we`re hearing, that the man ran out to get the daughter, ran into the bathroom, his wife was in the other place, she ran out -- that makes more sense. So it really comes down to the interview process with the police to find out exactly what story is the true story.
GRACE: Well, I`m always concerned when stories begin to change.
BROWN: That is true.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Julie in Arizona. Hi, Julie. I think I`ve got Julie on the line. Julie, are you there? OK, can`t hear Julie. Liz, straighten it out for me.
To Dr. Evelyn Minaya, a women`s health expert joining us out of New York. Dr. Minaya, why is it -- this was a "New England Journal School (SIC) of Medicine" study that shows the number one cause of death amongst pregnant women, shockingly, is homicide. Why?
DR. EVELYN MINAYA, WOMEN`S HEALTH EXPERT: Why? We don`t understand, but it`s homicide by -- and the perpetrator is usually the spouse or the boyfriend or the father of the baby. And domestic violence, I`m telling you, is the number one cause for all of these poor women being attacked. And that`s why, as your listener did say -- she asked about the domestic violence. Is there a history of it? And who is the father of that baby that she`s pregnant with, also? That`s important for us to ask, as well.
GRACE: It`s my understanding -- back to Ellie Jostad -- the man at home, the father, is the father, the bio father, of all three children. Yes, no?
JOSTAD: Yes. Yes, Nancy.
GRACE: OK. To Lillian Glass, Dr. Lillian Glass, psychologist, body language expert, author of "Toxic People." Weigh in, Lillian.
LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Nancy, this is so devastating, and it`s going to be even more devastating for the children. This was just -- this may be a random act of violence, but when it`s in your own home and there`s nothing you can do about it, that is what is scary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thinking the man had left, investigators say, the family emerged, only to confront the intruder yet again. This time, he fired several shots, hitting the woman, six months pregnant, in the head. As for the intruder, he ran off, and despite a search of the neighborhood, remains on the run.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To have somebody break in your home at 5:00 o`clock in the morning, you know, has to be scary enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Phoenix police say a man threw a cinderblock through their front window.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sound of shattering glass awoke the couple and their two children sleeping inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then with the shots being fired.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He fired several shots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s kind of like the wild, wild West, I guess.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And the mom being hit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hitting the woman, six months pregnant, in the head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I hope he does get caught, yes, yes, because I heard he`s still out here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Really sad, especially because she`s pregnant, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators continue to process the crime scene for evidence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As for the intruder, he ran off, and despite a search of the neighborhood, remains on the run.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s scary. That`s really scary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Those are the facts that we have tonight as this drama, as this tragedy unfolds. The life of the six-month pregnant mom and the unborn baby hang in the balance, this after Mommy allegedly wakes up around 5:15 AM from a deep sleep there in the bed her 7-year-old baby boy -- down the hall, her 3-year-old little girl -- allegedly wakes to crashing glass, as police report, apparently, someone throws a brick or cinderblock through the front window there in the front of the home, where anybody could see what was happening. He manages to shoot Mommy one time in the head.
We are taking your calls. Julie, Arizona. Hi, Julie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. It`s so nice to speak with you.
GRACE: Likewise. What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. My -- I had a suspicion right away, and it seems that a lot of the other callers do, too. It seems strange to me that he would supposedly, from what we hear, shoot at the husband, miss him, wait until the family comes out, and hit the wife in the head. Something doesn`t ring straight with this.
GRACE: Yes, the facts are not settling in as they should right now. To you, Pat Brown, criminal profiler, author of "The Profiler. You`re the profiler. You`re the expert. What do you think?
BROWN: Well, Nancy, if this guy were totally hyped up on drugs and didn`t have a clue as to what he was doing, OK, maybe. But here`s the thing that could happen. We have to look at a scenario. It`s going to make -- the crime scene reconstruction, blood spatter patterns, all this is going to make the difference, the ballistics. If this man shot his wife earlier in the evening, he could take care of everything and then go back out and toss the cinderblock through his window and say somebody broke in. That would be a very simple way to change the story.
So it`s going to come down to, did the woman actually give a statement before, you know, she went totally unconscious? Is there anything they got from her, or is this all the husband`s story coming in?
GRACE: You are seeing shots of other moms who lost their lives in the late stages of pregnancy.
What about it? To you, Christina Estes joining us from Newstalk 550 KFYI out of Phoenix, Arizona. What about it, Christina?
ESTES: Well, we do know that the mom was talking with paramedics when she was taken, rushed to the hospital. We don`t know exactly what she said or what sort of scenario, what sort of description of this intruder she was able to give. But we do know that she was able to at least communicate when she was taken away.
And we also know that the story has changed somewhat. And this often does happen when there`s, you know, a very traumatic situation. And when you talk with people who`ve been victimized, especially when it`s just happened. They spill out something that they just lived through, and then they go back and police talk with them again when they settle down a little bit to get some more detail, and then they learn a little bit more as far as exactly what shots rang out when and who was where during that time.
GRACE: So Christina, how many shots does the husband say were fired in total, or does he know?
ESTES: Well, the husband told one of your producers that police told him four shots were fired. He initially was in the hallway. He said he woke up to the sound of glass shattering, jumps out of bed, he says so quickly, he got tangled up in his sheets, fell down, broke his arm. He runs out to the hallway, says, Who`s there, who`s there, sees a guy who opens fire. So dad said he ducked into the bathroom. What he says he didn`t know was that mom was right behind him because she wanted to get to her 3-year-old daughter. He said she was hit but didn`t even realize she had been hit until after she got her daughter.
GRACE: Right. Right. Everybody, we are taking your calls. This whole scene is just unfolding. We don`t really know what happened inside the home, but this is what we do know. A six-month pregnant mom now in critical condition, shot once in the head. The husband at the home not shot. The children not shot.
Out to the lines. To Marilyn in Illinois. Hi, Marilyn.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. It`s so great to speak with you. I just love you!
GRACE: Likewise. Thank you. And thank you for calling in. What is your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I`m having a hard time -- do I understand that the dad ran to the bathroom and the mother went to protect the children?
GRACE: That`s what I`m hearing.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Ellie -- hold on. Answer Marilyn`s question, Ellie. Did the father manage, by his account, to duck into the bathroom to safety while the mom goes on to the little girl`s room to save her, and that`s where she takes the bullet?
JOSTAD: Right, right. He says that when he went into the hallway, he was shot at. That`s why he jumped into the bathroom for safety.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It sounds, like, fishy, the way it happened. Why are you going to go and break a big, old window and wake up everybody? You know, if you`re going to rob somebody, you`re going to break something small or something (INAUDIBLE) nobody can hear him coming in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s not a good thing that it`s so close to my house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The family in this Maryvale home sound asleep.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A man with brick in hand...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This individual breaks this window.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And climbed over the broken glass and made his way inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have some information that the individual that broke through the window seemed to be startled by the family.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Proceeded to fire a single gunshot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He fired more shots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hitting the woman, six months pregnant, in the head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s still out here, so I don`t know. That`s scary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 5:00 o`clock in the morning, with the family in this Maryvale (ph) home sound asleep, Phoenix police say a man threw a cinderblock through their front window, then climbed over the broken glass and made his way inside. Police say the man who lives at the home came out to confront the intruder, who proceeded to fire a single gunshot. The victim retreated to a back bedroom to wait with his wife and two young kids for the shooter to, hopefully, leave.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls, as this young mom lies in the critical unit in the hospital, her life and the life of her unborn baby hanging in the balance.
Out to the lines. Angela, Ohio. Hi, Angela.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. It`s a pleasure talking with you again.
GRACE: Likewise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a question and a comment. For one, I hope your foot`s doing better.
GRACE: It is getting better. In fact, it`s hardly slowed me down at all. And you know, I...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: As I say to everybody that asks, better my foot than my neck. For those of you who don`t know, I`m working with a broken foot tonight. Go ahead, dear.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: May question was, were there drugs involved? Because around here, people will break in your house, and I mean, usually, they know where these drugs are. It`s like drug dealers. You know, they`ll come in and they know that that person`s doing drugs and they`ll try to just break in and just steal -- steal the drugs.
GRACE: Good question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s how they do around here.
GRACE: To Ellie Jostad. Angela is calling from Ohio. This, of course, takes place in Arizona. But Ellie, do we have any suggestion that this young mom or her children or husband, anybody, had any link to the drug trade?
JOSTAD: No, nothing like that that we know of, although we have heard reports that the suspect may have been under the influence of some drugs.
GRACE: Yes. Yes. Well, we`ve been talking about that. I mean, who would be so brazen as to crash through your front window at 5:15 in the morning, when you know that cars are going to start coming by within 30 minutes, the morning rush hour to get to work, and a home that is inhabited, that you know people are inside?
Unleash the lawyers, Jennifer Smetters, Chicago, Daniel Horowitz, famed defense attorney, San Francisco, Alex Sanchez, renowned attorney, defense attorney out of New York. Weigh in, Horowitz.
DANIEL HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s time to lay off the father, Nancy. First of all, if he was a drug dealer, he`d have a weapon, and it`s too bad he didn`t have one. He could have taken care of that guy. Bottom line is, he was heroic. He made the right choice ducking for cover so he could tactically decide what to do to protect his family.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: For those of you just joining us, we are bringing you a breaking story out of Arizona. A young pregnant mom, six months pregnant, shot in the head in her own home.
Tonight the lives of her and her baby hanging in the balance. Escaped, the father who was there in the home with her and her two children, not harmed in the least. A 3-year-old little girl, a 7-year-old little boy.
And I want to make it clear that the father at this juncture in no way is considered a suspect or a person of interest.
Back to the lawyers, Jennifer Smetters, Daniel Horowitz, Alex Sanchez.
Jennifer Smetters, what do you think?
JENNIFER SMETTERS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: You know, I think we need to see what happens through the investigation. Thank God that she`s still alive and her child -- and her unborn baby is still alive. What we need to look at is what she said to the paramedics after they -- after they started to rescue her. That`s going to be the telltale sign as to what happened in that home.
GRACE: Alex Sanchez?
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, the suggestion by the police that this was some guy that was crazed on angel dust and broke into the house is ridiculous and the police know it.
The only reason why they`re making that suggestion is to make sure that father keeps talking and keeps cooperating so that they can build a case against him. Now if there was some drug crazed guy there would be tons of evidence. There would be blood from breaking the glass, footprints, fingerprints.
There would be people seen and coming to the scene and leaving the scene. There would be tons of tips pouring in. That person doesn`t exist. The police know it. They`re trying to crack this guy.
GRACE: Again, the husband, father, is not a suspect in this case according to police. His story is that when he heard the glass breaking, he got tangled up in sheets trying to get out of the bed, broke his own arm.
That is the story of the husband tonight. The wife or the mom of that unborn baby, hanging in the balance.
Tip line, 602-262-6151, we are taking your calls. And right now to a missing mom of two. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE STAFFER, COVERING STORY: Law enforcement needs your helping in finding mother of two, Stacy Wilson. The 38-year-old Iowa woman was seen leaving her mother`s house around 12:40 p.m. Friday.
Minutes later police say she sent a text message to her boyfriend. Police say the text asked how her boyfriend`s day was going and said they`d talk later when he got home from work.
Hours later Stacy`s boyfriend Matt Collison arrived home at 4:00 p.m. and no sign of Stacy. Collison became suspicious around 8:00 p.m. that night when Stacy still hadn`t shown up.
Her family became increasingly concerned when Stacy`s cell phone is found in her own bed. Cops say it`s unusual for Stacy to just take off and leave her two teenaged girls behind.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Liz, let me see that gas station video surveillance again. I`m not sure that I can connect that woman to being Stacy Wilson, a missing mom of two.
Out to Butch Heman, reporter with "The Daily Times Herald" joining us out of Iowa.
Butch, what do you know?
BUTCH HEMAN, REPORTER, DAILY TIMES HERALD (via phone): The latest tip that we have, Nancy, is this video that you`re probably showing right now.
The tip came in last night apparently from a family member who had been contacted by a gentleman who had seen Stacy at this convenience store and the police have verified that it is Stacy.
That was the latest tip and that`s really nothing has changed in the case in the last couple of days except for that tip.
GRACE: So, Butch, you are telling me this absolutely is her?
HEMAN: That`s what we have been told. That`s the only hard tip that police have gotten.
GRACE: OK. Matt Zarrell, what more can you tell me? Let`s go back to the disappearance. You don`t know which way to go, you go back to the beginning. How did it happen? What do we know?
ZARRELL: OK, Friday, 12:40 p.m. She`s at her mother`s house. She leaves her mother`s house. At 12:53 p.m., now we don`t know if she`s in her car or she`s at home already. She sends a text message to her boyfriend explaining how she found out her father passed away the night before and she`d be home later to discuss it.
The boyfriend, he comes home about 4:00, there`s no sign of her. Her cell phone is left at home. Clothes are also left behind. She is believed to be in a Chrysler Sebring, her vehicle. It has damage to -- under the right headline which has been duct taped.
GRACE: OK. We`re taking your calls. Back to Jennifer in South Carolina.
Everybody, take a look at that grainy surveillance video that comes from a local Iowa gas station. I can`t really clearly see that is, in fact, the mom of two, Stacy Wilson.
Jennifer, hi, what`s your question, dear?
JENNIFER, CALLER FROM SOUTH CAROLINA: I was wondering if she used her cards or anything like that. And I can`t really tell if that`s her in the video myself.
GRACE: Me either. To Butch Heman, do we know if she used credit cards, ATMs, anything?
HEMAN: Police have been keeping track and she has apparently not used any credit card or debit card during the disappearance here.
GRACE: Now joining us, a special guest out of Carroll, Iowa, the chief of the Carroll Police Department, Chief Jeff Cayler.
Chief Cayler, thank you for being with us. Chief, what do we know about this disappearance? This woman has never really just disappeared and stayed overnight like this before.
CHIEF JEFF CAYLER, CHIEF OF POLICE, CARROLL POLICE DEPARTMENT: That`s true and we found it very unusual after speaking with her family members. Apparently her and her three sisters live here locally are best friends and are in communication constantly.
Additionally Mrs. Wilson also has two daughters, a 16 and 17, who they`re very close with and it just is extremely unusual that she would leave the house for this length of time and then not make contact with her family members.
GRACE: Absolutely not. With us criminal profiler and author of "The Profiler," Pat Brown.
What do you think, Pat?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "THE PROFILER": Well, one of the questions I have to ask this question because I missed it somewhere here. Exactly what time frame was the -- this gas station part saying from the time she went disappearing?
GRACE: That`s a good question. To you, Butch Heman, when did we get that video? When did that gas station video emerge?
HEMAN: The sighting at the BP convenience store was 2:40 p.m. on Friday. This is about three hours after she was last seen at her mother`s home by her mother in Carroll and she had sent the text to her boyfriend several minutes later.
GRACE: We are just getting this video in. We have been told this is her. I`m not really -- I`m not sure.
Chief Jeff Cayler is with us. Are we absolutely sure that`s her in the video, Chief?
CAYLER: Yes, we are. The gentleman who was standing with her at the counter there was familiar with her and basically he`s the one that alerted us to the fact that she had been there at that time and then we had the sisters, and the mother and one of the daughters come in and view the videotape with us last evening. And they also confirmed that that in fact is Stacy Wilson.
GRACE: Right. I was hoping a family member could see it because they could probably identify her clothing if you can`t quite make out her face. That could be her favorite hoodie or sweatshirt she`s wearing.
And I was suspicious, Chief Cayler, because it looks as if she knew the guy. But now you`re telling me they did know each other, and they were not together, but it looked like they were communicating in some way and then he leaves. So I was wondering who`s this guy she`s with.
She`s not really with him. According to him, he was there, he saw her, he exchanged words with her. That`s the last this young mother of two has ever been seen.
We are just getting the video in tonight.
Back to Chief Cayler. Chief, what did this young man say about her? Was she in -- seem to be normal? How long did he speak to her? What did they speak about, anything like that?
CAYLER: Well, the discussion that they had only lasted a few seconds as you can see by the video. But essentially at one point in the video you see him say something and she kind of holds her hand up by her face and what he has indicated to us is that when he was talking to her, she said something to him to not get too close because she was not feeling well.
And beyond that, that was the conclusion of their discussion. But he knew her and had seen her car outside and so he was just talking to her while he was waiting to pay for his items and then basically left.
GRACE: OK.
CAYLER: Then he notified us I think yesterday some time that he had seen her on Friday and so that helped us get a few more hours --
GRACE: Accounted for. Liz, let`s see a map.
Chief Cayler, where is this gas station? Where is this convenience store?
CAYLER: It`s right on Highway 30 here in Carroll. You know just a few blocks basically west of where our police station is. It`s about three or four blocks west right on the main east/west U.S. highway.
GRACE: Police there in Carroll, Iowa, now confirming for us this is, in fact, her and that`s very significant because it changes the time line.
As Chief Jeff Cayler has just pointed out, this gives us a few known hours of her being well and alive. Take a look at Stacy Wilson. She is leaving behind two young girls. She has never disappeared overnight like this in her life.
Take a look. The tip line is 712-792-3536. Last seen Carroll, Iowa.
Out to the lines, Lynn, Virginia. Hi, Lynn.
LYNN, CALLER FROM VIRGINIA: Hi, Nancy. I loved your first book. Can`t wait to start the second one.
GRACE: Well, thank you very much.
LYNN: You`re welcome. My understanding is there is an ex-husband or boyfriend, or something that`s incarcerated or in prison?
GRACE: Good question. Matt, what do we know about the ex?
ZARRELL: The ex-husband who is the biological father of both teenage daughters is currently in prison in South Dakota.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELL: Police say they received a tip that Stacy was spotted in the area hours after she was last seen. According to authorities, Stacy was seen at a gas station in Carroll, Iowa, around 2:40 p.m. Police are hopeful this new development could bring about more leads.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZARRELL: Thirty-eight-year-old mother of two Stacy Wilson has vanished. Stacy was seen at her mother`s house shortly before 1:00 p.m. last Friday. Minutes later police say Stacy texts her boyfriend and told him they`d talk later when he got home from work.
When the boyfriend returned home Stacy wasn`t there and her family found her cell phone inside her own bed. Stacy reportedly didn`t take extra clothes and has shown no activity on any debit cards.
In the last hours police say they received a tip that Stacy was spotted in the area hours after she was last seen. According to authorities Stacy was seen at a gas station in Carroll, Iowa, around 2:40 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Police are hopeful this new development could bring about more leads.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Missing mom of two, this beautiful blond has never been away from home overnight before, has never left her two girls alone like this.
Where is Stacy? We have just obtained this released video. It`s grainy surveillance video at a local Carroll, Iowa, gas station and the chief of police -- Chief Jeff Cayler -- confirms for us publicly tonight that is Stacy you`re observing there on the left in the red sweatshirt. Looks to be a hoodie.
The gentleman standing next to her, an acquaintance, actually exchanges words. After this she is never seen again.
Out to the lines, Mickey in Texas, hi, Mickey.
MICKEY, CALLER FROM TEXAS: Hi, Nancy. It`s great to talk to you.
GRACE: Likewise.
MICKEY: I`m sorry about your foot. I have a comment. First of all, I agree that a mother of two teenage daughters would not leave them alone for a long period of time. And my question is, did she have the medication? She was ill, they said. Was she on any type of mind altering chemicals or any alcohol?
GRACE: I don`t know about mind altering chemicals. I don`t think alcohol is involved and she looks to have her wits about her. According to that gentleman at the gas station.
What do we know about that, Matt?
ZARRELL: We know the cops have told us that she appeared to be distraught but it`s very possible that was because of the loss of her father who had died the night before from multiple sclerosis and it`s possible that she was upset from that.
But from our reports and our research there`s no history of any alcohol abuse or drugs or anything that we know of as of now.
GRACE: OK. I want to go to Pat Brown, criminal profiler. Weigh in, Pat.
BROWN: What`s interesting to me about when she was seen. That was only three hours after that phone call. She was not missing at that point. My question is, did she actually go home at that point?
Is there any proof that she didn`t return to the house and that`s where her cell phone was found there? Has the boyfriend been cleared?
GRACE: Good question, because if she left the cell phone -- why would she leave the cell phone at home if she`s out and about in her vehicle going to the gas station? Everybody takes their cell phone with them.
Unleash the lawyers, Jennifer Smetters, Daniel Horowitz, Alex Sanchez.
What about it, Jennifer?
SMETTERS: Yes, something about this doesn`t add up. Now, yes, of course she`s going to be distraught because she lost her father the night before. But we have to look at the situation as a whole.
What role in her life did her ex-husband play in prison? Who is this boyfriend? Who are these family members that are close to her? And I need more information before anything can really be -- really be set in stone here.
GRACE: Horowitz?
DANIEL HOROWITZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: We have very little evidence, Nancy. I would focus on that cell phone, see who called her in the hours before. What text messages were sent. You have to get some sense --
GRACE: You`re right. The cell phone.
HOROWITZ: -- of what was going on and look at that boyfriend, too. But the cell phone --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Alex Sanchez, he`s right. The cell phone found abandoned or left behind there in her bed and, Alex, don`t you think she would have taken it with her to the gas station which means, as Pat Brown points out, she must have gone back home after the gas station?
SANCHEZ: You know I`m sorry to disagree with everybody, but I think this is much ado about nothing. I think the police know that she was depressed because she learned her father had died the night before.
She had previously used to go to a lake to write about her feelings, indicating she was an emotional type of person. And I think the police are frustrated because they`re expending an inordinate amount of resources looking for someone that voluntarily left the scene.
GRACE: You know, Alex Sanchez, I don`t know about you, but when a mother of two goes missing, and just because she`s written in a journal before, I hardly think that means she`s emotional which is a tag that is often applied to women which many of us on the show tonight do not appreciate.
But right now we`re switching gears. Somebody`s going to court after a lion, seemingly, goes on the attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We`re talking about an animal attack, and the video is incredible to watch. Two animal trainers, animal handlers. This is the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. You can see a lion there going after one trainer`s leg.
The exhibit you`re seeing right here. This is in the hotel. This enclosure, it`s soundproof so the lion only hears the voice of the trainers. Also water falls supposed to keep them peaceful.
And that`s one of the questions, why did this lion turn on the trainer there? An animal handler getting attacked by a lion.
Here it is, two animal handlers. This is the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and the lion goes for one of those trainers, going for his leg. They`re scrambling to try to get away from the lion.
This caught on tape.
Las Vegas is known for its attractions. But this -- this time the attraction goes wrong and it`s caught on tape. These are incredible pictures for you. Two animal handlers, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Get attacked by a lion, actually one here.
The lion goes for the leg of one of the trainers while the other trainer tries to hold the lion off. The exhibit you`re seeing is right in the middle of the hotel.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This on the heels of the attack in the famous act, Siegfried and Roy.
Out to Alexis Weed, our producer on the story. What happened, Alexis? How did we get this video anyway?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, Nancy, this video just surfaced. It was posted on YouTube. It`s believed that the attack happened on -- or before September 5th. The video actually posted to YouTube on September 5th.
And we`re just now seeing it emerge, seeing this attack on this trainer. It took a second trainer to pull this male lion off of the trainer who was champing down on the trainer`s leg right in front of hotel patrons.
This atrium is inside of the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas. So this is all in front of everyone for people to watch.
GRACE: How crazy to have wild animals like lions that close to humans in a hotel. This isn`t even a zoo.
Out to the lines, Janice, Michigan. Hi, dear.
JANICE, CALLER FROM MICHIGAN: Hi. I`ve got a question regarding the lions.
GRACE: Yes.
JANICE: It seems as if the one trainer took both of the lions. How come the lion isn`t attacking him? Was that a new trainer?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Las Vegas is known for its attractions. But this time, the attraction goes wrong and it`s caught on tape. These are incredible pictures for you. Two animal handlers at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Get attacked by a lion. Actually one here.
The lion goes for the leg of one of the trainers while the other trainer tries to hold the lion off. The exhibit you`re seeing is right in the middle of the hotel.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Alexis Weed, to Janice in Michigan`s question. Was it a new trainer and why was only one trainer attacked? And this is just a few feet from guests and patrons. This is in a hotel. They have wild animals in the lobby of a hotel?
WEED: That`s right, Nancy. And there`s only about an inch and a half of glass that separates the hotel patrons from the trainers and the lions inside. We don`t believe this was a new trainer. We don`t know why and the hotel has not said why. A spokesperson has not told us why this attack was provoked.
GRACE: Mary in Michigan, hi, dear. What`s your are question?
MARY, CALLER FROM MICHIGAN: Hi, Nancy. Actually I have a question and a comment.
GRACE: OK.
MARY: Number one, I think that probably if that lion -- to get that trainer, he would have done that. And number two, I don`t believe in captive wildlife anyway. I mean this is a disaster waiting to happen. But I really do firmly believe that if that lion wanted to get him and was not just playing, he would have torn that leg off.
GRACE: Everyone, you are seeing video of a lion on attack inside a hotel. What were they thinking?
But let`s stop and remember Army Specialist Joshua Brazee, 25, Sand Creek, Michigan, killed, Iraq. Also served Navy. Awarded two Army Commendation Medals, loved books, computer games, time with military friends. Leaves behind parents Theresa and Kevin, brother and best friend Roy.
Joshua Brazee, American hero.
Thanks to all of our guests but especially to you. And to all of our friends around the world tonight that are recognizing Rosh Hashanah, to you, shana tova.
And a special goodnight for our Georgia friend of the show, Kay. Isn`t she beautiful?
And happy birthday to Texas friend, Bessie, career coordinator, devoted to helping high school students find jobs and scholarships. She watches our show and misses her husband of 22 years.
Here she is with daughter, Danetta. Happy birthday, Bessie.
And thanks to California friend, Kim, who sent these two stuffed animals for the twins. They`ll be in their cribs tonight.
Everybody, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, goodnight, friend.
END
