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Nancy Grace
Beauty Queen Dethroned After Assault; Beautiful Teen Mom Vanishes
Aired October 06, 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. A gorgeous 22-year-old reigning Kentucky beauty queen -- the zenith, the epitome, the pinnacle, beauty, brains, poise, grace, talent -- not! That`s right, after making it to the top of the beauty pyramid, a Kentucky beauty queen dethroned after the boozed-up beauty goes on a rampage, first stabbing a gas station attendant in the neck, then makes her way across the street to a local pharmacy, where she goes ballistic on a female pharmacist, beating the woman to a pulp. Tonight, beauty queen gone berserk. No longer queen of Kentucky, try on queen of the cell block! See how that fits!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A first in state history, Miss Kentucky Latina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. A beauty queen is now facing felony assault charges after allegedly stabbing a gas station attendant and punching and kicking a female pharmacist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) fought like crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Richmond police say Daniela Gaskie first stabbed Swifty employee Jonathan Carpenter (ph) in the neck with a pen after he wouldn`t let her in the gas station.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only words that I ever said to her were, What seems to be the problem? And that`s when she kicked me and ripped my glasses off and started pushing and hitting and punching and scratching. And she attempted to bite me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Kentucky Latina officials now say Gaskie no longer represents the organization. Gaskie has bailed herself out of jail on a $10,000 bond. But can the beauty queen stay out of the slammer?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought she has a responsibility to be a role model, and that certainly wasn`t evident that night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now the beauty queen is stripped of her crown as new reports surface she was once married, making her ineligible to compete for the title.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live, Cincinnati suburbs. A beautiful 17-year- old girl, popular, outgoing, vanishes without a trace. She heads to her sister`s home about 10 miles away and is never seen again. Tonight, where is 17-year-old Paige?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She wouldn`t want to just leave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not like her to...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just leave.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re doing everything we can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just leave.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seventeen-year-old.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seventeen-year-old mom Paige Johnson is missing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Missing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Missing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very unusual.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Covington (ph) police call Paige`s case a critical missing one (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For no one to hear from here, that`s why we`re so worried.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The 17-year-old...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Allegedly last seen...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When last seen, she was dropped off (INAUDIBLE) Covington by a man.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s just not like Johnson to disappear like this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cops refuse to identify the man, but say he`s refusing to talk with police.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don`t understand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Understand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Understand.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What happened to Paige.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re doing everything we can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Putting up as many fliers as they can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pound the pavement.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Scouring the streets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`ll probably be doing this until forever.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hoping someone will call with a lead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Until she comes home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Beauty queen gone berserk. After making it to the top of the beauty pyramid, a Kentucky beauty queen dethroned after the boozed-up beauty goes on a rampage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The reigning Miss Kentucky Latina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But police say she`s a violent felon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Arrested and charged with two counts of assault.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A beauty queen allegedly stabbing a gas station attendant in the neck with a pen, then running across the street to a pharmacy, where she allegedly began violently attacking the pharmacist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She kicked me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Kentucky Latina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pushing and hitting and punching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beautiful, charming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She attempted to bite me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Charged with two counts of assault, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This mug shot was taken that night.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The beauty queen is stripped of her crown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The only words that I ever said to her were, What seems to be the problem? And that`s when she kicked me and ripped my glasses off and started pushing and hitting and punching and scratching. And she attempted to bite me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls. Straight out to Vicki Delys Hyde, news director, Hometown Radio Network, and to Jean Casarez, legal correspondent "In Session." First to you, Jean. What happened?
JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Well, Nancy, prosecutors are saying that this beautiful, elegant, Kentucky beauty queen, who won the President`s Award in the national competition, actually began to attack the gas station attendant in Richmond, Kentucky. The weapon, they say, a pen that she began stabbing him in his neck with. Then prosecutors say she ran across the street to a pharmacy. The pharmacist ran outside. The female was then attacked, the pharmacist kicked in the stomach. Her glasses were ripped off, hit in the face, her arm, ripped and scratched her neck also, and finally, a busted lip. That is what prosecutors say, the reason she`s facing 15 years now in prison.
GRACE: Holy moly! The 22-year-old beauty had everything going for her -- brains, beauty, poise, looks -- until this. She goes berserk, stabbing a gas station attendant in the neck and then crossing the street to attack a female pharmacist, literally beating her to a pulp.
Out to Vicki Delys Hyde, news director Hometown Radio Network, central Kentucky. Vicki, thank you for being with us. What triggered the episode?
VICKI DELYS HYDE, HOMETOWN RADIO NETWORK (via telephone): She was drunk.
GRACE: Well, you certainly put it into a nutshell. You know, I don`t know about the rules of pageantry, but I`m pretty sure she broke them. To Jessica...
HYDE: She did. She...
GRACE: To Jessica in Maryland. Hi, Jessica. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I know -- OK, yes, she was drunk. But was she on any medication for any dyslexia or anything like that? Being drunk does not do that to a person.
GRACE: OK. Hold on just a moment. To Dr. Joshua Perper, chief medical examiner, Broward County, author of a new book, "When Doctors Kill." Dr. Perper, medication for dyslexia? There`s a medication for dyslexia?
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BROWARD COUNTY: Well, there are all kinds of methods to treat dyslexia, and there are some medications which may help. But in this particular case, what happened -- it`s clear to me that the most likely possibility is that she was on some kind of stimulant drug, not just on alcohol, although alcohol can do that also. But this is totally illogical, violent behavior...
GRACE: You know what, Dr. Perper?
PERPER: ... that stimulant drugs...
GRACE: I think you`re right.
PERPER: ... could cause.
GRACE: I think you`re right. And while I disagree with Jessica, I also agree with her. She`s got to be on something. But typically, I would think that alcohol would slow you down a little bit.
Back to Vicki Delys Hyde at Hometown Radio Network, central Kentucky. Vicki, what about her -- did she take a Breathalyzer or a blood test or some kind of...
HYDE: Yes.
GRACE: What did you learn?
HYDE: She failed her Breathalyzer. I don`t know what her blood alcohol content was, but the police who broke up the fight in the parking lot said that she was so drunk that she didn`t even know where she was and then ended up saying, well, she was being profiled because she was Mexican. And one of the things that surprises me about this girl is that she`s only 5-feet-3 and 110 pounds.
GRACE: Well, you`re saying that she said she was Mexican. Isn`t she a U.S. citizen? Isn`t she American?
HYDE: Yes, she is, and had lived in New York, and then moved to Lexington, where she was married and divorced and remarried, and has just moved to Richmond, which is just south of Lexington.
GRACE: Well, I`m sure -- I`m sure all of this is a big surprise to Kentucky pageant officials. A Kentucky beauty queen, a reigning Kentucky beauty queen, is now behind bars on felony charges.
Back to you, Jean Casarez. Jean, back it up. What happened that day?
CASAREZ: Well, she had gotten to the gas station. And why the gas station attendant wouldn`t let her in the store, that remains a mystery. But if she was so intoxicated, there could have been a disorderly conduct issue from the beginning. But before she was arrested, police said, We believe she could be armed and dangerous. Her husband owns a gun shop. And the pharmacist who was so battered sat down after the attack. She said she saw a holster and she saw a magazine. And her husband came the next day to try to find a gun.
GRACE: OK. Did you say her husband owns a gun shop?
CASAREZ: Her husband owns a gun shop. And you`re right, under pageant rules, you can`t be married. You can never have been married.
GRACE: Whoa! Whoa! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Wait a minute! Liz, I don`t think these are official Kentucky pageant photos! There you see her with a gun pointed at a football. These are photos of Daniela Gaskie posing with a gun for her employer`s swimsuit calendar from Slinkpoint.com (ph).
OK, what were you saying, Jean? I think we`ve established the gun ownership now.
CASAREZ: We -- the gun ownership, but the fact is, she may have had a gun that day. There could be enhancements to these charges because a holster was found, a magazine was found near her car. Her husband went the next day to the pharmacy, said, I`m trying to find her diamond ring and I`m trying to find the gun.
GRACE: To Pat Brown, criminal profiler and author of "The Profiler." Pat, how do you go from being the reigning beauty queen in Kentucky to inmate 6751?
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER: Well, I guess, Nancy, that the queen part of it was just a little blip in her history. My guess is before all this occurred, these two marriages, this woman has been around a lot of violence because just to do this kind of thing, you have to have it in your head. It has to be something that you`re kind of familiar with. I mean, I wouldn`t think of scratching and biting and punching people. It just wouldn`t be in my head to do that.
SO my guess is there`s a violent history that she`s experienced. And when she got drunk and she didn`t get what she wanted, maybe she had that entitlement thing rolling through her, she got furious that, hey, people were stopping her from getting, you know, what her needs -- getting (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Out to the lines. To Jamie in Louisiana. Hi, Jamie.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just have a couple comments, first of all.
GRACE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I appreciate everything you do for victims. I think you`re wonderful.
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I constantly watch your show. I`m actually a victim of violence myself, so my heart goes out to the people who were injured, you know, during this incident. My question is, does she have any priors?
GRACE: Good question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does she have any record?
GRACE: Good question. What do we know, Jean Casarez? Any history?
CASAREZ: No, we know of no priors whatsoever. She won the President`s Achievement Award at the national pageant for her scholarship abilities.
GRACE: You know, this is not the first time that a beauty queen has, let me just say misbehaved, euphemistically. You`ve got Vanessa Williams, Miss America, stripped for life over nude photos. Carrie Prejean, Miss California. Tara Connor, Miss USA, busted for drugs. Kumari Fulbright, Miss Pima County, kidnap and assault. Sharron Nicole Redmond (ph) shot her boyfriend. Katie Reese, Miss Nevada, lost title for nude photos and assaulting the police. Laura Zuniga arrested with gang members in a gun- filled truck.
Tonight, a Kentucky beauty queen lands behind bars after she stabs a gas station attendant in the neck, then crosses the street to beat the female pharmacist to a pulp.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-two-year-old Daniela Gaskie, the reigning Miss Kentucky Latina, arrested and charged with two counts of assault. This mug shot was taken that night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The pharmacist says when police finally broke up the fight, she collapsed right here on the ground. She says at that point, she looked over to the right and noticed a gun holster, a clip and several loose rounds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know where the gun was.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police are not exactly sure of a motive, but say Miss Kentucky Latina had been drinking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news. A beauty is now facing felony assault charges after allegedly stabbing a gas station attendant and punching and kicking a female pharmacist. Daniela Gaskie, the reigning Miss Kentucky Latina, allegedly went on a violent rampage, first stabbing a gas station attendant in the neck with a pen before running across the street, where she allegedly beat on a pharmacist`s car and then beat up the pharmacist, kicking her, tearing off her glasses, hitting her multiple times in the face and even trying to bite her. Police say they believe alcohol was a factor. Now the beauty queen is stripped of her crown, as new reports surface she was once married, making her ineligible to compete for the title.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Back to Jean Casarez, legal correspondent, "In Session." Let`s see the mug shot, Liz. You think you can pull that up? You just keep wanting to show me one swimming suit, bathing suit after the next. There you go. There`s the Kentucky beauty queen. Oh, boo-hoo!
Jean Casarez, where is she tonight?
CASAREZ: Well, I think she made bail. I think it was $10,000 bail and she made bail, so she would be out at this point. But she`s facing 16- and-a-half years in prison and numerous felony charges. And if there was a gun -- I mean, if you`re being stabbed in the neck, you don`t know if a gun is being pointed at you, you`re trying to save your life -- there could possibly be enhancements here.
GRACE: I`m stunned that she`s out, you know? But if you take a look, Jean, whenever somebody physically beautiful comes into the court, it seems like judges, especially male judges, just melt. They melt. And the person somehow always walks out on bond.
Out to the lines. Linda in Louisiana. Hi, Linda.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you`ve answered my question. But I have tried to get through to you for years, and I just want to tell you I think you`re fantastic. I think your children are beautiful, and I think you do a wonderful job. And keep up the good work because...
GRACE: Linda, from what part of Louisiana do you hail?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tallulah, Louisiana.
GRACE: Well, hello to all my Cajun friends. Linda in Louisiana, what do you think about this Kentucky beauty queen?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I don`t know. I just don`t know about her.
GRACE: Well, I tell you, as Vicki Delys Hyde pointed out, the excuse was she was drunk.
Unleash the lawyers, Jennifer Smetters, family law attorney, Chicago, Doug Burns, defense attorney, New York, Alex Sanchez, defense attorney, New York.
As we all know, Alex Sanchez, intoxication, voluntary intoxication is not a defense under the law.
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, but it will be considered by the prosecution and by the court if there`s ever some type of plea negotiations here. You know, Nancy, this is...
GRACE: Well, yes, it`ll be considered. She shouldn`t have gotten a snootful.
SANCHEZ: But it`s a sad case. I mean, she`s never been in trouble before...
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Put him up. Put him up. What`s sad about it?
SANCHEZ: It is sad. She`s never...
GRACE: You know, this is a woman who had everything!
SANCHEZ: She did, and that`s...
GRACE: She had ability to get (ph) money...
SANCHEZ: That`s what makes it sad.
GRACE: ... looks, talent, brains.
SANCHEZ: Right. But she didn`t have...
GRACE: Everything handed to her on a silver platter.
SANCHEZ: She didn`t have emotional stability. And something happened, whether it was drugs or alcohol or combination thereto, something snapped. And I find that sad. And I hope you find that sad, too, also, Nancy.
GRACE: No. I think what`s sad is the person that got stabbed in the neck and the female pharmacist who was beaten to a pulp in the parking lot!
Ellyn Gamberg, psychotherapist, New York, there is no suggestion whatsoever -- there she is, Liz! Do you have anything other than a swimsuit shot you can show me? Just surprise me!
Ellyn Gamberg, why do we think that she had some type of an emotional problem? There`s no suggestion at all she had any history of mental instability.
ELLYN GAMBERG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: When someone goes this berserk for no apparent reason, immediately, drugs, alcohol. But the snapping is just a culmination of some problems that were there already. It was...
GRACE: OK, let me -- let me just clear something up. Under the law, Jennifer Smetters, snapping, the snap defense -- there`s no such thing as the snap defense. So when everybody keeps saying she snapped -- there`s no such thing as a snap defense.
JENNIFER SMETTERS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That is correct. This woman is going to see her day in court. Snapping is not going to work as a defense in her case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A beauty queen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-two-year-old Daniela Gaskie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now facing felony assault charges.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miss Kentucky Latina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allegedly stabbing a gas station attendant and punching and kicking a female pharmacist.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say Miss Kentucky Latina had been drinking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Kentucky Latina, a beauty queen -- beautiful, charming -- but police say she`s a violent felon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miss Kentucky Latina, a beauty queen -- beautiful, charming -- but police say she`s a violent felon. Twenty-two-year-old Daniela Gaskie has been charged with two counts of assault, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct after police say she went on a violent rampage, first stabbing a gas station employee in the neck with a pen, then...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: So far, all of our callers and e-mails, the women want to know why she got out of jail on bond. All the men want to know is, I didn`t think she could be married and be a beauty queen. OK, I see a big, big problem with the diversity of those questions.
Out to Paul Penzone, former sergeant, Phoenix PD. What about it, Paul?
PAUL PENZONE, FMR. SERGEANT, PHOENIX PD: Well, first of all, you know, I have to disagree with some of the previous statements. I have seen plenty of people -- although alcohol by chemical is more of a depressant, people go into a rage with alcohol. And she would have known long before this if she could handle her alcohol or not. So I`m not going to dismiss the possibility of some other substance, but it`s completely possible that she just lost her cool because of the alcohol and nothing else.
But let me tell you something about this area. It`s extremely vulnerable. For her to stab a person in that area with the jugular, the windpipe and the vocal cords there, she could have done some very serious damage. So for her to be released in one day, even with that bond, I think is reflective of the fact that she is an attractive female because she should still be in custody.
GRACE: Yes. You know what, Liz? Get Ellie on it. I want to find out the name of the judge that gave this woman bond.
To Doug Burns, defense attorney joining us out of New York. What`s the best defense you`ve got for me, Doug? Hit me.
DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I mean, the snapped thing, you dismissed it quickly, but the reality is by analogy to, like, heat of passion in a mass murder (ph) context, you know, I would argue that on some level, she just lost it. But I mean, it`s a tough case to defend. I mean, I will agree with...
GRACE: Put Burns up! Put Burns up!
BURNS: As far as -- as far as the bond...
GRACE: I can`t see him. Hey, there he is. Doug, did you just say, Oh, you know, maybe we could just say she just lost it? You really think it`s going to work with a jury? Hey, guys, she just lost it.
BURNS: It`s a difficult case to defend, but you might be able to engender some sympathy. The other point is that it could definitely mitigate the sentence, in my opinion, particularly if nobody`s seriously injured, Nancy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She allegedly beat on a pharmacist`s car and then beat up the pharmacist, kicking her, tearing off her glasses, hitting her multiple times in the face, and even trying to bite her. Police say they believe alcohol was a factor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She`s a teen mom of a 2-year-old child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s never been gone like this before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re doing everything we can.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you see her on anywhere --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The 17-year-old Paige Johnson.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paige. Paige.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Paige mysteriously disappears and is never heard from again.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Hoping for the best.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re doing everything we can to let her know that we love her.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But suspecting the worst.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A man claims he dropped off Paige at a friend`s house in Covington, Kentucky.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is very unusual.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Law enforcement says that man has lawyered up and refuses to talk with investigators.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just -- I want her to come home.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Posting fliers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just need to -- want to get a lot of these up.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Begging for answers.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Investigators reveal Paige didn`t have a cell phone or any credit cards. Another hurdle to tracking Paige.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We all love her.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Judy Roderick pledges to pound the pavement until her 17-year-old granddaughter, Paige Johnson, is back home. She`s hoping for the best. But suspecting the worst.
Johnson is 5`1", 110 pounds, from Florence, but was last seen in Covington. She has a 2-year-old daughter. Another reason why Roderick says it`s just not like Johnson to disappear like this.
Roderick and Johnson`s baby brother Garrett are taking matters into their own hands, posting fliers, begging for answers.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Cops now saying the case is critical. Take a look at the 17-year-old teen girl, now missing, vanishing into thin air.
To Ellie Jostad. What happened, Ellie?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE CHIEF EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, Paige Johnson was allegedly last seen in the early-morning hours of a Tuesday. Now the friend that dropped her off claims that he dropped her off at a friend`s house and he hasn`t seen her since.
The problem, though, Nancy, is that police are telling us that this man has a lawyer now. He won`t cooperate with the police. And he won`t give them any more information about what happened.
GRACE: Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Back it up. Back it up.
Jean Casarez, so a friend -- she tells her mom she`s going to her sister`s. It`s about 10 miles away. She gets a ride to her sister`s.
JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": That`s right. And that`s the last anybody heard of her. She doesn`t have a cell phone. She didn`t have a credit card or money on her.
She did use Facebook, MySpace. There`s been no activity on there. But police believe there`s something very, very concerning here.
GRACE: What I don`t understand is why somebody that just gave her a ride went out and got a defense lawyer.
CASAREZ: Well, not only that, she has a boyfriend in addition to the guy that dropped her off at the house where she was going to go with her sister. And he`s lawyered up, too. So there are two young men involved. Both have lawyered up. Both aren`t talking.
GRACE: She has a 2-year-old baby. The baby has been living with its grandmother for sometime now. She got pregnant when she was 15 years old. She chose not to abort the baby, to have the baby. It`s being raised by its grandmother.
This little girl now missing. Disappearing seemingly into thin air.
We are taking your calls. Out to Captain Teal Nally, spokesperson, Covington Police Department. That`s extremely odd to me, Captain. First of all, thank you for being with us, Captain.
CAPT. TEAL NALLY, SPOKESPERSON, COVINGTON POLICE DEPT.: Thanks.
GRACE: That the guy who says he just dropped her off goes and gets a defense lawyer? That doesn`t make sense. Why does he need a defense lawyer?
NALLY: Well, certainly it`s within his rights. He is allowed to get a lawyer. But from our standpoint, we`d certainly like an open line of communication.
GRACE: Hey, Captain, Captain.
NALLY: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: You`re being so kind. I mean I could get a lawyer in this case, too, but guess what, I don`t need one. So why did he feel it incumbent that he has to go hire a defense lawyer if all he did is drop the girl off?
NALLY: Well, certainly that`s part of the equation here. We want to have an open line of communication between the investigators and all the people that know something about this case. And he`s chosen to get a lawyer. So that avenue of information has dried up for us.
GRACE: Well, does that mean when he got the lawyer -- everybody with me tonight, special guest with us, Captain Teal Nally.
Hey, you`re seeing photos of Paige Johnson from Facebook. She`s absolutely gorgeous.
So just because he got a lawyer doesn`t mean he`s not cooperating. Is he cooperating?
NALLY: He gave us information that he dropped Paige off at -- in the area of 15th and Skyview here in our city Covington, Kentucky. And that`s the last that he saw of her. So he`s been -- he was unable to give us any information that would lead us in the right direction to find Paige.
GRACE: What time of the day or night does he say he dropped her off, Captain?
NALLY: This would have been the early morning hours, around 1:00 a.m. on the 23rd of September.
GRACE: OK. Was that a weekend or a week night? 23rd of September.
NALLY: I`m not sure off the top of my head, ma`am.
GRACE: Let me look it up real quick. 23rd of September. OK. Hold on one moment. Thursday, it`s a week night. What`s she doing out at 1:00 in the morning on a week night, Captain? Does she have a job or was she in school?
NALLY: She`s not in school. Doesn`t have a job right now. That`s our -- the information that we`ve got was that she was being dropped off in that area to see a friend. And that`s the last we`ve seen of her.
GRACE: Well, so far, no one is covering this story. We are covering it. And we`ll stick with it until we find out what happened to 17-year-old Paige Johnson.
A lot of people have struck the case off because she`s a teen mom, suggesting she`s some kind of tramp, that she kind of got what she asked for. I disagree. Look at this little girl. She`s 17.
Under other circumstances she might be the homecoming queen come fall. She might be a cheerleader or the school basketball player. She might be on her way to college. It didn`t work out for her that way. But right now, she is missing.
Now Captain Teal Nally with us from Cincinnati, Ohio.
Captain, we were told she was headed to her sister`s house that evening. You were told it was a friend?
NALLY: The information that I`ve been given was that she was being dropped off near a friend`s residence there at 15th and Scott.
GRACE: Captain, has this friend that dropped her off, is it her boyfriend`s friend that dropped her off?
NALLY: I was told that this was an acquaintance of Paige`s.
GRACE: OK. Has he taken a polygraph?
NALLY: No, ma`am, he`s not.
GRACE: Has he been offered a polygraph?
NALLY: I`m sure he would have been offered a polygraph. But at this point that`s not possible.
GRACE: What do you mean it`s not possible?
NALLY: Unless he decides to take a polygraph, certainly with a lawyer involved, his counsel has advised him that --
GRACE: OK. What about the boyfriend? What about her boyfriend? Isn`t it true he lawyered up, too?
NALLY: I`m not familiar with that. I don`t know -- I don`t know --
GRACE: Let me find out about that. What do you know, Jean Casarez?
CASAREZ: We had heard that her boyfriend had lawyered up also. And the fact she has a little baby, that`s significant. Because although it`s being raised by the grandmother, every single weekend she would go visit that child and she hasn`t been there.
GRACE: That`s a big red flag. Out to the lines. Samantha, Missouri, hello, Samantha.
SAMANTHA, CALLER FROM MISSOURI: Hello, Nancy. How are you this evening?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
SAMANTHA: Well, I`m curious, Nancy. There seems to be all these nameless friends, and friends of friends, and does anybody know the relationship between the one that was supposed to have dropped her off and the boyfriend?
GRACE: You know what, I`m trying to figure it out, too. I think I`m going to have to draw a flow chart, Samantha in Missouri.
Let`s go to Amanda Johnson. This is Paige`s first cousin joining us tonight out of Cincinnati.
Amanda, dear, thank you for joining us. Help me, help me understand what happened that night. What is your understanding of that evening?
AMANDA JOHNSON, COUSIN OF MISSING TEEN MOM PAIGE JOHNSON: My understanding is this guy dropped Paige off at 15th and Scott around 1:00 to 2:00 in the morning.
Paige had told her mother that she was going to her sister`s house. To pick her up the following day in the morning. Paige never arrived at her sister`s. Never called her mother. And no one has heard of her since.
GRACE: You know what, Miss Johnson, I couldn`t hear you. Would you repeat that last sentence?
JOHNSON: No one has heard from her since.
GRACE: Who is -- who`s the friend, and -- that dropped her off, the acquaintance? And does the a acquaintance that dropped her off know her boyfriend?
JOHNSON: I`m not sure if he knows her boyfriend. And I`m actually not sure who this guy even is. I`ve never even heard of him before.
GRACE: Where are Paige`s parents? I haven`t heard a word from them.
JOHNSON: Paige`s mother is doing everything she can. She has other children that she has to take care of as well. She`s a wreck. She`s, like I said, doing everything she can. She`s putting up posters. Taking all the calls that she can from people that have tips. Her father, unfortunately, he`s locked up right now. And that is my uncle.
GRACE: Everyone, very quickly, we are taking your calls in the disappearance of 17-year-old Paige Johnson.
Take a look. She`s a mom of a 2-year-old daughter. White female, 5`1", 110 pounds, light brown hair, brown eyes. Last seen wearing a multi- colored jacket with jeans. Disappeared September 23rd between 1:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m., Covington, Kentucky. It`s just outside the Cincinnati suburbs.
And now to "Tonight`s Case Alert." A California driver saves the life of an 8-year-old little girl, helping her escape from a kidnapper. Take a look. The 8-year-old little girl snatched Monday while playing with friends in the front yard of her own home. Fresno.
Eleven hours later, the hero driver spots the missing girl in a red and white pickup, cuts the truck off, risking his own life, allowing the little girl to run to him. To safety. Twenty-four-year-old Gregorio Gonzalez, a gang member, on probation, arrested on charges of kidnap, false imprisonment, and child sex assault.
Thank God for a Good Samaritan.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 17-year-old mom, Paige Johnson, is missing.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Covington Police called Paige`s case a critical missing one.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Because she`s the mom of a 2-year-old toddler.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you see her on anywhere, it`s www.missingkids.com.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Friends and family say Paige would never just take off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not like her not to call someone.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Especially considering she checks in with her parents every day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She wouldn`t want to just leave. This is very unusual.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Paige allegedly last seen when she was dropped off in Covington, Kentucky, by a man. But that`s where the trail runs cold.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She`s hoping for the best.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re very scared.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: But suspecting the worst.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Cops refuse to identify the man but say he`s refusing to talk with police and has hired a lawyer. Why?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to the lines. Claire in North Carolina. Hi, Claire.
CLAIRE, CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
CLAIRE: OK. First off, I`d like to say that I am really sick and tired of hearing about the crimes against the female gender, whether it be a child, teenager, or a woman. But don`t you think that these two guys have lawyered up because they both know something about it and don`t want to spill it?
GRACE: Well, Claire, I know this much. I know that they`re not taking polygraph tests. And that`s disturbing to me. And if they are no longer cooperating with police, it looks really bad. Because if they were innocent, why wouldn`t they tell what they know? Why wouldn`t they try to take a polygraph?
I mean, being nervous or upset or anxious is not a reason to fail a polygraph. Everybody that takes a polygraph is nervous, anxious or disturbed. There`s a reason you`re taking a polygraph.
Long story short, I`m with you, Claire. I think --I think something is very wrong when her own boyfriend lawyers up. From what we are hearing.
Out to the lines, April, Wisconsin. Hi, April.
APRIL, CALLER FROM WISCONSIN: Hi, Nancy. First, I wanted to say thank you for bringing attention to this case. I was a teen mom. I`m in my last semester of nursing school. So not all teen moms are losers. And I`m really sick of hearing that.
But my question was, has anybody checked like her e-mails, her Facebook, MySpace, to see if what she said was different from what maybe she posted online? Because, you know, they talk about everywhere they`re going online, maybe it`s different?
GRACE: Well, you know, April, I`m glad you said what you did. Because let`s just remind everybody, that Mary, as in Christ mother Mary, was a teen mom. So I hear you about the teen moms, April.
April, again, what`s your question?
APRIL: I`m wondering, have they checked their e-mails, Facebook, MySpace?
GRACE: Check e-mail. Good question. Again, she didn`t have a cell phone with her. Right, Jean Casarez?
CASAREZ: Right. Correct. We do know that she participated in MySpace and Facebook. And we just know that there was no correspondence after she went missing. But I would think authorities would have subpoenaed to get any message, or the family would give them a computer that she would have had at home.
GRACE: Right. To Captain Teal Nally with the Covington Police Department.
Captain, what do we know about her computer, about her on MySpace or Facebook or twitter account? What do you know? I`m sure they`ve been checked, right?
NALLY: To answer the question from North Carolina, they certainly have been checked. And all of her networks that she would normally be active on, including Facebook, there`s been no activity since then.
GRACE: Weigh in, Pat Brown.
PAT BROWN, CRIMINAL PROFILER, AUTHOR OF "THE PROFILER": This corner that this a acquaintance dropped her at, it`s 1:00 in the morning, she`s 17 years old. I don`t know about you but when I take my friends and drop them off someplace, I drop them in front of a house and I watch them go in. That`s the most suspicious thing to me.
GRACE: I agree.
BROWN: This anonymous corner.
GRACE: Dr. Joshua Perper, do you believe that the acquaintance`s car needs to be searched, and why?
DR. JOSHUA PERPER, MEDICAL EXAMINER, AUTHOR OF "WHEN TO CALL THE DOCTOR": Well, the reason is that -- there`s obviously a suspicion because they don`t want to testify or cooperate with the police. And therefore, perhaps in the car, there was some kind of fight or some attempt to attack her possibly.
And there might be some evidence which might indicate that. Like blood, spots of blood, or hair, or some torn clothing parts. So I think that would be a plain justification. Because obviously she did not run away at 1:00 in the morning. And that`s the only time, space, relationship which occurred during this drive, or shortly thereafter.
GRACE: Right. And for all we know, Paul Penzone, she may never may have been in that car.
PAUL PENZONE, DIRECT OF PREVENTION PROGRAMS, CHILDHELP.ORG, FMR. SERGEANT, PHOENIX PD: That`s very true. And you know I think one of your callers earlier asked the best question of the night, and that is what is the relationship between the boyfriend and the person she was last seen with.
Because for both of them to lawyer up and not be willing to cooperate, I`m going to say well, unfortunately, you know, the fine officer can`t say because of his position. Those are your two primary suspects right now.
You don`t want to close your vision to any other possibility. But if they`re uncooperative and they`re the ones who were closest to her, that`s where you really have to put a concentrated effort on your focus and try to learn more.
It`s going to take a lot of help from people around her. And anybody who`s out that time of night, those are -- those are the terrible hours of night. So very few people out running around but anybody --
GRACE: Hey, come on.
PENZONE: -- who saw anything out of the ordinary.
GRACE: Let`s get real about it, Paul.
PENZONE: They are the ones you got to talk to.
GRACE: Anybody out on the street at 2:00 in the morning is probably drunk.
Unleash the lawyers. Jennifer Smetters, Doug Burns, Alex Sanchez.
To you, Alex Sanchez, why is everybody lawyering up?
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: And I think it`s easy to conclude that because they want to speak to lawyers they`re somehow hiding information. Some people don`t want to speak to the authorities because they`re afraid of the authorities. They`ve had bad experiences in the past.
Maybe they`ve had open cases. Maybe they`ve committed some other type of offense and they don`t want the police to come in and start trying to get them to confess to those types of events. So don`t automatically assume that the reason why they`ve lawyered up is because they`re frying to hide information in this particular case.
GRACE: So you would say then, Jennifer Smetters, in response to Sanchez that somebody`s more worried about their possible open case than they are about a potential homicide of a friend?
JENNIFER SMETTERS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: No. You have a missing loved one at bay with a daughter at home. This is -- should be their first and primary concern, not protecting themselves. Actions speak louder than words here, Nancy.
GRACE: Doug Burns?
DOUG BURNS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Still a distinction between law and public relations, though. And the point is, while it looks bad, and I certainly agree with you pointing that out, it`s not legally dispositive. They may be just totally intimidated and nervous. We don`t know.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re very scared and we want her to come home. She wouldn`t want to just leave. This is very unusual. She`s never been gone like this before and --
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She`s a teen mom of a 2-year-old child. Kentucky Police are asking for your help in finding 17-year-old Paige Johnson. Paige mysteriously disappears and is never heard from again. The teen mom, 5`1" and 110 pounds last seen wearing a multicolored jacket and blue jeans.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls. A 17-year-old girl goes missing and apparently not many people are helping to find her. The tip line, 859-292- 2222.
Ellen Gamberg, I`m having a hard time digesting that the boyfriend and his acquaintance are not helping police.
ELLEN GAMBERG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, Nancy, they really might be very intimidated, very scared. And the other thing is you don`t know the --
GRACE: What?
GAMBERG: You don`t know the pressure they`re getting.
GRACE: What, excuse me. You know, to just throw something out like that, Ellen Gamberg, you`ve got to back it up. Scared of what? Intimidated by what?
GAMBERG: By law, other experiences. But also scared of what they may be involved in.
GRACE: Everyone, take a look at this girl. Paige Johnson, 17, mom of a 2- year-old little girl. The tip line, 859-292-2222. Just across the river from Cincinnati.
We need your help tonight.
Everyone, let`s stop and remember Army Specialist Brian Alex Vaughn, 23, Pell City, Alabama, killed in Iraq. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation medal, National Defense Service medal, a combat medic. Got his first aid certification at just 10 years old.
Personality lit up a room. Never met a stranger. Lost his life just weeks before he was to return home. His family surprised by a goodbye letter and personal journal he left with a friend, "Just in Case" he titled it.
He leaves behind grieving parents Terri and Jim, stepparents, Patrick and Cindy. Three sisters, two brothers.
Brian Alex Vaughn, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. And a special goodnight to L.A. friend, Josh.
And thank you to North Carolina friend Susan for these Hess patrol cars for the twins. They are obsessed with police.
And congratulations to author Rick Hutto. His new book, "A Peculiar Tribe of People," on bookshelves now and on our Web site.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, goodnight, friend.
END