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Nancy Grace
Police Looking South to Florida for Abducted Virginia 12-Year-Old
Aired December 09, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We begin tonight with breaking news out of Virginia, a 12-year-old little girl in extreme danger after police find her mother dead inside the family home. As police chase a dual investigation of homicide and kidnap, a credible sighting surfaces of 12-year-old Brittany and her mother`s twice-divorced boyfriend. They are caught on surveillance video at a Salem Wal-Mart, using the murdered mother`s credit card to buy a tent and camping gear.
And that`s not all. Listen to this. We now learn he tried to use that same credit card at an ATM to get money. At this hour, investigators are scouring campgrounds in multiple states. In another major development tonight, investigators now believe the suspect is heading south with 12- year-old Brittany, an Amber Alert issued in Florida.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where`s 12-year-old Brittany Smith?
NANCY GRACE, HOST: The 12-year-old girl gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Caught on surveillance tape.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Surveillance taken from a local Wal-Mart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re extremely concerned for Brittany`s safety.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve expanded the search.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They purchased a 2010 blue Ozark camping tent (INAUDIBLE) for that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It seems like the police have definitely been looking at campgrounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brittany Smith disappeared after her mother was found dead in her Virginia home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Brittany`s 41-year-old mom, Tina Smith, dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspected abductor Jeff Easley.
GRACE: Using the dead mother`s credit card.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We simply do not know where they are at this time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: And more breaking news tonight, this time out of Arizona. A precious 8-month-old baby boy, baby Gabriel, mysteriously vanishes on a 978-mile road trip with his mother, Elizabeth Johnson. She claims she gives baby Gabriel to a mystery couple. She meets them at a Texas park. But then we learn she was really trying to give the baby away to an Arizona couple. In a stunning twist tonight, an explosive report reveals the mother confesses behind bars, admitting she kills her own 8-month-old son, baby Gabriel.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news, KPHO reporting that baby Gabriel`s mom, Elizabeth Johnson.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elizabeth Johnson, 72486.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allegedly confessed to a San Antonio police detective that she killed baby Gabriel.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t really know what to say, but everything is so false.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The confession reportedly made during an unauthorized meeting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I asked her, Where is he? And she said that, I stuffed him in that bag. She suffocated him, put him in the diaper bag, put him in the dumpster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During that meeting, Johnson also reportedly close to revealing the location of baby Gabriel`s body. Experts believe it won`t be admissible in court.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To this date, Gabriel has not been found. The search for him is still on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" on the truTV network, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us tonight.
After surveillance video from a Virginia Wal-Mart captures a missing 12-year-old little girl and her alleged kidnapper, the desperate search heads to Florida now for 12-year-old Brittany. For the latest, let`s go straight out to Sheila Ellis, reporter with "The Roanoke Times." Sheila, what is the latest tonight?
SHEILA ELLIS, "ROANOKE TIMES": Well, good evening, Jean. The latest is that there was actually a false alarm at West Palm Beach, Florida. There was a gasoline station employee who spotted someone who looked very similar to Jeffrey Easley, the abductor of 12-year-old Brittany Smith.
After police got there, they kicked the door down and found out that it was not Jeffrey Easley, but it was an overdosed drug addict in that bathroom. Also, there was a press conference today where Brittany`s family pleaded with Jeffrey to please bring her back home so that she could attend her mother`s funeral.
CASAREZ: Everybody, this is a 12-year-old little girl. Her name is Brittany Mae Smith. She has to be found while she is alive because we don`t want what happen (ph) to her to happened (ph) to her mother. Her mother, Tina Smith, 41 years old, found dead in her own home on Monday morning.
To Brittany Mae Smith (SIC) standing by, reporter for "The Roanoke Times." Why are police headed to Florida? And are there any other states that they`re headed to at this hour?
ELLIS: ... missing person alerts in several states. Those states are north Carolina, Alabama, West Virginia, Ohio, Florida and Kentucky. And actually, I`m not sure why they`re going to Florida. Jeffrey Easley does have family in Alabama and North Carolina.
CASAREZ: But they are telling us they are headed to Florida, as well as those other states, Amber Alerts issued in Florida and other states surrounding Virginia.
To Alexis Weed, NANCY GRACE producer. Charges were fired against this man, Jeffrey Easley, 32 years old, believed to be with little 12-year-old Brittany. What are those charges?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right, Jean. Yesterday we told you about some warrants that were out for his arrest. Those were just related to credit card charges for larceny, for fraud, for that equipment, for that camping equipment that was bought at the Wal-Mart there where Easley and Brittany were captured on surveillance video on Friday evening. But now today, an additional warrant was issued, and that is for felony abduction, Jean.
CASAREZ: Felony abduction, a very, very serious felony. To Alexis Weed, NANCY GRACE producer. What about trying to use the credit card on an ATM?
WEED: Right, Jean. Not only did Easley make purchases of this camping equipment with the credit card of Tina Smith, the deceased mother of Brittany, but now we`re learning today that a credit card of Tina Smith`s was also used at a local bank by Easley, trying to get cash out of the bank.
CASAREZ: To everybody, we want to remind you that at Wal-Mart, he was able to buy at least a tent and some Gatorade, maybe some water using this dead woman`s credit card. So much for looking at identification. Whether or not he succeeded at an ATM, we don`t know. He was the live-in boyfriend. If he had the code, then possibly he was successful at getting money.
I want to go out to Paul Penzone, former sergeant from the Phoenix Police Department, child advocate, joining us tonight. One issue here could be money because although that card was used at Wal-Mart, very likely he may not have known her PIN code to get money. What, in your experience, do they do when they are on the run, on the lam, but out of money?
PAUL PENZONE, FMR. SGT., PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT: It enhances the level of desperation because what`ll occur is he`s going to be involved in other types of crimes, trying to support his need to stay alive, whether he`s going to buy food or shelter, whatever it is. He`s going to look for other opportunities to stay out there as long as possible (INAUDIBLE) on the lam. If he doesn`t have money, it`s going to be very difficult. But don`t underestimate their ability to stay gone for a long time, although they don`t have those resources.
CASAREZ: That`s right. Let us -- we are taking your calls live tonight. We want to find this 12-year-old little girl whose grandmother says that Robert (SIC) Easley just gave too many glances, touched her hair a little bit too much over Thanksgiving, and they are very, very concerned not only for her safety, but also any sexual assaults that could be done toward her.
Karen in Iowa. Hi, Karen. Good evening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. How are you?
CASAREZ: I`m fine, Karen. Thanks for calling.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My question is, is it possible that the police are being so closed-lipped about how the mother died and the way that the cousin and the aunt spoke about still loving her, no matter what -- is there a possibility that they believe Brittany might have had a hand in what happened to her mother?
CASAREZ: That Brittany may have had a hand in what happened to her mother? Let`s go to Sheila Ellis, reporter from "The Roanoke Times." First of all, that autopsy -- at least there are preliminary results on that autopsy. Do we have any idea about the cause of death?
ELLIS: No. Police are really being tight-lipped with that information. We have no information from the autopsy. We also have talked to the police chief. He is not giving us any information about anything regarding Jeffrey Easley or Brittany Smith`s relationship. He says that`s not important. What`s important now is finding this 12-year-old girl, not how her mother died.
CASAREZ: All right. Let`s go to the attorneys, Eleanor Odom, felony prosecutor, death penalty-qualified, out of Atlanta, Georgia, Peter Odom, defense attorney out of Atlanta, and Lauren Lake, defense attorney, tonight out of Cincinnati, Ohio.
First of all, to Eleanor Odom. If this girl was coerced or forced in any way to participate in the murder of her mother, would she be charged?
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: I would think not, Jean, because of the influence and the intimidation this defendant probably put on her. And remember, she`s only 12. If she was charged, which I can`t imagine, she would be charged as a juvenile. But what`s most concerning to me is finding her right now and having her safe and away from this clearly obvious predator.
CASAREZ: And we are asking anybody tonight, if you have seen 12-year- old Brittany Mae Smith, to pick up that phone and call 911. It`s believed that they may be in her dead mother`s car tonight.
Let us go out to Alexis Weed. Tell us about that car, the vehicle that was last seen at the home and that is believed that Jeffrey Easley may be in with Brittany.
WEED: Right, Jean. The police are saying that this would be, as they believe, their only mode of transportation. It`s a 2005 silver Dodge Neon four-door vehicle. We`ve also learned today that on the back bumper, there was a bumper sticker, a Barack Obama bumper sticker, as well as the car is equipped with a spoiler on the back.
CASAREZ: So a 2005 silver dodge Neon, Virginia license plate. To Peter Odom, defense attorney. There is no defense at this point. There just isn`t. This is a 12-year-old little girl. That`s what she is. She`s a little girl, and we need to find her.
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you`re right, I mean, and as the police have indicated, the focus right now is not on the mother and how the mother died, but on finding the girl and making sure that she`s safe.
My take on the history here is that this person probably infiltrated the family to get close to the 12-year-old girl. There were complaints to the child protection authorities about how inappropriate he was with her. So that just makes it all the more dangerous, Jean.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) increasingly frustrated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s no sign of the 12-year-old since her mom, Tina, was found dead in their Virginia home on Monday.
GRACE: Is someone actually helping Easley hide out?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The search expanded now to several other states at this hour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, West Virginia.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want you to come home. We love you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please let Brit come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disturbing new developments in the search for a missing 12-year-old girl.
GRACE: You are seeing surveillance video from a local Wal-Mart.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twelve-year-old Brittany Mae Smith.
GRACE: Brittany`s mom dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And 32-year-old Jeffrey Scott Easley.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) is irrelevant.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops say Easley used a credit card belonging to Brittany`s mother, Tina, to buy a tent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The search for a missing Virginia girl moves across state lines.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have definitely been looking at campgrounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Be on the lookout for that silver 2005 Dodge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They also took the state police helicopter up in the air to look for this blue tent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," in for Nancy Grace tonight. Nancy at home. She`s on the sofa. She`s resting. And she is watching because she is concerned, as we all are, about this 12-year-old girl, Brittany Mae Smith, who was last seen with her mother in her mother`s home where she lives. Now her mother is dead and she is gone. Where is she? She has to be found. She has to be found before anything happens to her.
Out to Sheila Ellis, reporter from "The Roanoke Times" joining us tonight. Your newspaper actually spoke with a good friend of Brittany. What did she tell you?
ELLIS: Well, Brittany`s friend told us that she was scared, Brittany was scared. And a couple weeks ago, she actually gave her a call and she said that she was scared that Jeffrey was going to take her away, and then also hurt her mother. She asked for her to stay on the phone with her until her mother got home. That`s all the little girl told us about the last time that she talked to her friend, Brittany.
CASAREZ: To Alexis Weed, NANCY GRACE producer. What do we know about the latest on where they were, where they may have gone? Tell us again, what states are authorities looking at and have Amber Alerts in?
WEED: Sure, Jean. Police are looking in six different states, so this is a very, very large area to cover. They`re looking, obviously, in Virginia, as well as North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. So they have a lot of territory to cover. They`re looking in parks, campgrounds, even closed campsites in the hopes -- employing a helicopter even to try to find perhaps this tent in one of the campgrounds around the Salem, Virginia area.
CASAREZ: And Alexis, is it true that law enforcement is saying they believe that others that they meet along the way may be helping them at this point to retain cover?
WEED: That`s right, Jean. Police are saying that because Easley, they say, is of very limited financial means, so they say they don`t believe that he would be able to travel very extensively without getting assistance at least from someone else.
CASAREZ: All right, let`s go to the callers. Kathy in Virginia. Good evening, Kathy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Jean. I just have a question. I would like to know -- according to what our news said down here, that both the vehicles were seen at their home on Friday night. Now, if both vehicles were gone and are gone, obviously, how did he get one vehicle gone, and then get back to get the other vehicle? How did that come into play?
CASAREZ: OK, now, Kathy, this is a good question because you`re right there. You`re in the heart of it. You`re in Virginia where this all began. Now, when you say the two vehicles, you`re talking about the mother`s vehicle. And what is the other vehicle? Kathy, do I have you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you there?
CASAREZ: All right, let`s go -- Kathy, do I have you?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
CASAREZ: OK, what is the other vehicle you`re talking about?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, originally, they said that they were looking for his vehicle, a red SUV. The found the SUV in Roanoke. Then her vehicle was missing. If his vehicle got gone first, or whatever, how did the other vehicle get gone? Somebody had to have come and brought him back to that other vehicle.
CASAREZ: OK, that`s good. You`re talking about party to a crime right there. Sheila Ellis, reporter from "The Roanoke Times," can you expand on that? The vehicle they`re looking for is the mother`s vehicle, correct?
ELLIS: That is correct. And the red SUV is known to be Jeffrey Easley`s vehicle. And from police, they have told us that the vehicle was found in southeast Roanoke on Monday afternoon. So we`re not exactly sure what happened after that and who assisted him in getting the red SUV, hiding that, and then getting away in the silver Dodge Neon.
CASAREZ: All right, to Lauren Lake, defense attorney. Not really rocket science to take the vehicle of the dead woman, right, as you drive along? But anybody that`s helping him, anybody that transported him from his vehicle to her vehicle, they all can be charged in this.
LAUREN LAKE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Absolutely, Jean. Accessories before the fact, after the fact, and depending on the level of their involvement and complicity, they could be a co-conspirator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) that silver 2005 Dodge.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Virginia plate XKF-2364, a four-door, with a spoiler on the trunk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it`s the key to the entire location of Brittany and Easley.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The search for missing Brittany Smith.
GRACE: Every hour counts!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Expanded now to several other states at this hour.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s a lot of area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A number of states.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where they could be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: North Carolina.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, please let Brittany come home for Christmas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alabama.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jeff, we hope you`ll do the right thing and bring Brit home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Florida.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We beg you. Please let Brit come home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: West Virginia and Ohio.
GRACE: Bring this 12-year-old girl home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session," in for Nancy Grace tonight. We found out shortly before going to air that the funeral for Tina Smith -- it`s on hold. You know why it`s on hold? Because they want to find 12-year-old Brittany so she can attend her mother`s funeral. There`s an Amber Alert out in numerous states surrounding Virginia. Tips are leading authorities right now to the state of Florida.
I want to go out to Dr. Robert Kaufmann, M.D., doctor of internal medicine, joining us tonight from Atlanta, Georgia. We saw the Wal-Mart video. We see the still from Wal-Mart. They`re going out together. We see a tent, it looks like, is in the cart. It`s really cold to camp outside right now. Even if you go to Florida where temperatures are a bit warmer, it is still winter. If they sleep in a tent or if they sleep in a car, how are those temperatures going to affect them as time goes on?
DR. ROBERT KAUFMANN, INTERNAL MEDICINE: It`s got to affect them. I mean, it`s -- you talk about being warm in Florida, it`s down in the 30s and 40s down there. I can`t imagine them being comfortable or being able to -- especially a 12-year-old living in a -- staying in a tent, basically living in a tent, eating all your meals. You got to assume they`re going to have cold conditions, frostbite, anything like that in that type of situation. They weren`t buying sleeping bags and coats, the special kind of coats for the cold.
CASAREZ: That`s right. There was no purchase of sleeping bags, just a tent, and no blankets at all, nothing like that.
Let`s go to the callers. Tiffany in Canada. Hi, Tiffany.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Jean. My question is, have they found out what the object behind the man`s back is on the Wal-Mart surveillance tape?
CASAREZ: The what? Say that again?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have they found out what the object was behind the man`s back in the Wal-Mart surveillance tape?
CASAREZ: Let`s go out to Alexis Weed, NANCY GRACE producer. When you look at that still from Wal-Mart that they have released so we can see, we definitely see Robert (SIC) Easley and we see Brittany. What else do you see in that video?
WEED: Yes, Jean, it looks like he might have something tucked there in his left hand behind his back. We don`t know what it is. This is the only image that authorities have released to us. This is the only thing we`re able to see from the surveillance video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twelve-year-old Brittany Smith now missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Last seen Monday, December 6th.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These are the most dangerous situations.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are extremely concerned.
GRACE: This 12-year-old little girl in extreme danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Amber alert.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re up to over 500 tips.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Live, Virginia.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police on the lookout for 12-year-old Brittany Mae Smith.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They dropped off the face of the earth.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The search for missing Brittany Smith has expanded now to several other states.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re checking campgrounds, parking areas.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Remote areas, campsites, or just in the woods.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re just surrounded by mountains and woodlands.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For someone just to drop off the face of the earth.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They believe he`s getting help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think someone would have to be providing them money.
PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: She`s in danger, her life is in danger.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They could be anywhere.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: And we can`t find them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, Jeff, we beg you, please let Brit come home. We need her to say good-bye to her mother.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" of the truTV Network in for Nancy Grace tonight.
I want everybody to look at this picture, OK? It is 32-year-old Jeffrey Easley. He has been charged today with felony abduction. Authorities in numerous states believe he is with 12-year-old Brittany Smith, that he has abducted her. They are concerned for her safety.
I want to go straight out to Alexis Weed, NANCY GRACE producer, on the story from the very beginning. Bring us up to date. What is the latest development tonight?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right, Jean.
We`re learning tonight that the credit card -- the mother`s credit card, Brittany`s mother, was used not only to purchase camping equipment as we learned yesterday. That was purchased at a local Salem, Virginia, Wal- Mart. But that this credit card was used also at a bank nearby, around the same time that they were captured on surveillance video, to try to get cash.
CASAREZ: So the issue is money. The issue is a very concerning aspect that they need cash, they need money.
What about the Amber alert in Florida tonight? Law enforcement is headed there as well as these other states, but they really believe Florida could be the state, right?
WEED: It could be, Jean, because you know you look at the temperatures in the Salem, Virginia, area. And they`ve been as low as 20 degrees over the last week. So if they`re camping, they might very well have to go somewhere warm. And Florida might be just the place for that.
CASAREZ: And in fact, authorities believe that in West Palm Beach today that they had their man -- a man locked himself in a gas station. SWAT team members encircled that gas station, but lo and behold it was not the man they are looking for, Jeffrey Easley.
One more thing, Sheila Ellis, reporter from "The Roanoke Times," this man, Jeffrey Easley has tattoos, identifying marks of anyone who may come in contact with him.
Where are they and what are they?
SHEILA ELLIS, REPORTER, ROANOKE TIMES: He has one tattoo on his calf or he has two tattoos on his calf. One is a red and black star and the other one is some kind of black tribal tattoo. A tribal pattern. That`s what we`re told by the police.
CASAREZ: Let`s go straight out to -- and that is important for everyone to listen to.
To Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Dealbreakers," coming to us from Los Angeles today.
Tell us what this man`s state of mind may be, assuming for a minute that he allegedly played a role in the death of his live-in girlfriend that he had met over the Internet, now he has her daughter and he`s on the run.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": This is a man who moves quickly. Within a few months, he targeted the mother online, infiltrated the family, assumed control, developed a special relationship with the child, killed the mother and left.
And what that tells me is that he has a lethal combination of aggression, compulsivity and an incredible interest in this child, combined with low frustration tolerance and low impulse control. And as I just said, that is a very lethal combination.
Now what I`m concerned about most is about all these public pleas for her to come home because he want this is child all to himself. If she cries, if she sheds a tear, if she says she misses her mommy, if she says she wants to go home, all that aggression will be directed towards the child.
And one more thing, he had her call him handcuff daddy or handcuff buddy. The fact that he used the term handcuff shows a fondness for sadism. So I hope he`s not sadistically, sexually torturing her at this time.
CASAREZ: And that is a very big concern with law enforcement tonight.
I want to go out to Eleanor Odom, felony prosecutor, death penalty qualified out of Atlanta jurisdiction. When I look at motive here, if he allegedly played a role in the death, in the murder of his live-in girlfriend, the motive I can see is wanting to be with the daughter. Wanting to take the daughter.
Isn`t there also a possibility that the mother, though, knew he had an interest in her daughter? May have even sexually assaulted the daughter? And it was elimination of a witness, because Tina Smith could have testified in court against him?
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: And that`s a strong possibility, Jean. You know, one reason you murder people is to get rid of a witness. And that would be a strong possibility.
But it also could be that the mom knew all along that the daughter was being sexually molested and that she was in a sense going along with it and wasn`t reporting it. It happens a lot because a woman wants to keep that man so they`ll do anything in order to keep him around and keep him providing for them. Keep him in the house.
Sadly, that can happen as well. But again, she`s eliminated now, she can`t be a witness, she can`t tell what happened. And this girl now is in the clutches of a predator.
CASAREZ: That`s right, and possibly fearing for her own life at this point.
To Maureen in Ohio, hi, Maureen.
MAUREEN, CALLER FROM OHIO: Hi, Jean, how are you tonight?
CASAREZ: I`m fine, thank you for calling.
MAUREEN: I have another aspect to this. What if she went with him willingly? She could have gone with him willingly.
CASAREZ: If she went --
MAUREEN: With him willingly.
CASAREZ: OK. Went with him willingly.
To Lauren Lake, defense attorney out of Cincinnati, Ohio. She could have gone willingly, but that has no legal standing whatsoever. She is 12 years old, it is not the age of consent. And any sexual assault is called statutory rape, Lauren.
LAUREN LAKE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Sexual assault, yes. Abduction, no. We have to -- you know what? Speak to that, and from a defense perspective, Jean, we`re going to look at all of those angles. And unfortunately this girl is so young, so impressionable, it`s unlikely that she went willingly. I hate to say it, but it`s unlikely.
CASAREZ: But to Peter Odom, defense attorney. If she went willingly, it`s not excused under the law. She`s 12 years old, that`s an abduction.
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: That`s correct. If she went willingly, it might change what would be a kidnapping to something involving going against the custody that the mother had. It certainly is not legal for him to have her.
And remember, 12-year-olds really can`t consent to being taken away by someone who`s not related to them. He is not related to her. He`s not an uncle, he`s not a parent. He`s got no right of custody to her.
CASAREZ: Yes, that`s an excellent point.
To Paul Penzone, former sergeant, Phoenix Police Department, joining us out of Arizona tonight. If he was involved at all in the death, in the murder -- we don`t know a cause of death yet of Tina Smith, his live-in girlfriend. He is capable of doing violence.
If you were on this case tonight, would your ultimate concern be not sexual assault at this point, but coupled with violence toward 12-year-old Brittany?
PAUL PENZONE, DIRECT OF PREVENTION PROGRAMS, CHILDHELP.ORG, FMR. SERGEANT, PHOENIX PD: Absolutely. Every hour, every minute that she`s awake, her life is that much more in danger, and Peter pointed out something really important early on.
This is a common practice of predators that target a single mom who may be somewhat fragile and insecure, utilize them as the pathway to the real victim which is the young girl in this case.
And there`s something everybody needs to keep in mind (INAUDIBLE) a few times, this young lady, I don`t know about the crime scene itself, but she may be completely unaware that her mother has even been murdered.
In addition, we talk about people helping, law enforcement needs to make sure that every temporary housing facility from camping grounds to motels, that his picture is posted, so that unwitting people who want to help what appeared to be a single dad with his daughter may be in need of some financial aide, that they`re not providing that on any level, and they know who to look for.
CASAREZ: That`s right, and Paul Penzone, do you realize that the funeral for Tina Smith has been halted? There isn`t a date set because they want to find Brittany for her to attend that funeral. And you are so right, she may not even know that her mother is dead.
To Alexis Weed, I want to ask you, Jeffrey Easley, 32 years old, what`s his criminal background because he`s got a rap sheet?
WEED: He does, Jean. He has a rap sheet going back to 1996. Assault of a government official with a deadly weapon. Also, 1997 and 1998, possession of alcohol under age. In 2002 a guilty plea to a contempt charge.
CASAREZ: All right. To Tabitha in Alabama. Hi, Tabitha. Alabama is one of the states that authorities are looking at tonight.
TABITHA, CALLER FROM ALABAMA: Hi, how are you?
CASAREZ: I`m fine. Thanks for calling, Tabitha.
TABITHA: I just had a quick question but you all have answered it. I wanted to know how they had become acquainted with one another to begin with. But I just heard that he had -- was the boyfriend of the mother.
And I also think -- I would look at the possibility maybe she did go with him willingly like he did -- like you did spoken a moment ago.
CASAREZ: Well, you know what? There are some extremely concerning text messages, social network messages on Facebook that allude to the fact that possibly she was interested in him. But remember the "Roanoke Times" just spoke with her little friend, her little 12-year-old friend who said, no, she was scared to death of him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Twelve-year-old Brittany Mae Smith.
GRACE: Brittany`s mom dead inside the family home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And 32-year-old Jeffrey Easley.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The live-in boyfriend is suspected in this case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dropped off the face of the earth.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Brittany Smith --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Missing.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- missing.
GRACE: Gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re confident at this time that Brittany is with Mr. Easley.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The boyfriend of the mother.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: There`s a lot of area around here where they could be if they`re still in the region.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s almost been a week now since the last sighting.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: They were seen together Friday night at a Wal- Mart.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Surveillance image was taken at 8:35 in the evening on Friday.
GRACE: Shopping nearly 72 hours before the mom`s dead body was even discovered.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Brittany`s last entry on MySpace read, whatever, nothing is going right in my life. F my life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sir, please let Brittany come home for Christmas.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez of "In Session" in for Nancy Grace tonight.
Police tonight are searching and combing parks, campgrounds, rest areas, highways and byways, all over the South trying to find 12-year-old Brittany Mae Smith.
I want to go out to Alexis Weed, NANCY GRACE producer. Social network sites, YouTube, Facebook, all these different ones, it is very difficult many times for these people to comply with subpoenas, but we do know some of the things the communications that were written between Jeffrey Easley, Brittany Smith and even Tina Smith.
Go over that with us.
WEED: Right, Jean.
As recently as Saturday, Easley`s MySpace page was updated. And he said -- well, what we believe to be his MySpace update. We don`t know for sure whether it was him that posted. But it said on Saturday -- this would be the day after the mother is believed to have been murdered.
It says, "I`ve got a lot on my mind." Also, the mother posting a suspicious message on her Facebook page. Again, if it was posted by Tina Smith, that saying, "If I should die before I wake, God bless my friends, may I be remembered for my good heart and hopeless romantic ways."
CASAREZ: To Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst coming to us out of Los Angeles. How do you read that? What we just heard.
MARSHALL: Well, when he says I have a lot on my mind, it shows that he fails to grasp the severity of the homicide, and what he has done, and he really doesn`t care about it. But when she says that if she should die before she wakes, something about that she`s a hopeless romantic, she`s giving a shout out to her friends, but there`s no mention of her daughter in this Facebook posting.
And it tells me that she was wrapped up in Easley, but she was not thinking in a protective manner about her daughter. And when she uses the word romantic, she`s completely minimizing the danger into which she`s put her daughter and her family. She`s excusing herself ahead of time.
CASAREZ: All right. To Paul Penzone, former sergeant, Phoenix Police Department. Tonight SWAT teams are out, forces are out, trying to find this little girl.
If you were part of that investigation tonight, what would you be doing?
PENZONE: I think they`re doing all the right things. This has to be firm mind. Just like the show tonight. People need to understand what`s going on, they need to see his face as often as possible. And law enforcement, multiple agencies around that entire part of the country need to be willing to post not only the Amber alerts but this picture in any convenience stores, any locations, because this little girl`s life is on the line.
And the quicker that we can find her, the more likely it is we`ll have a chance of saving her life because if not, as time passes, this man is a violent predator. And I assure you, the mother, the victim, saw this coming, because his behavior didn`t click like that. It went on for some progression before it got to this point.
So number one rule right now or number one need is to save that little girl`s life.
CASAREZ: As Nancy told you all last night, time is of the essence. And it`s people just like you and me that are vigilant, that look, that watch, that can find this man, Jeffrey Easley, 32 years old. And more than anything, little girl, 12-year-old Brittany Mae Smith.
Everybody, we want to take you right now to the great state of Arizona. When I`ve heard about the development in this case, I couldn`t believe it. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Did baby Gabriel`s mom Elizabeth Johnson allegedly confess to killing her baby?
KPHO reporting a source close to the investigation tells them that Johnson confessed during what`s being described as an unauthorized meeting between Johnson and a San Antonio police detective.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And it`s a very real possibility that Elizabeth killed Gabriel.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Allegedly told her ex-boyfriend she killed the child.
LOGAN MCQUEARY, BABY GABRIEL`S FATHER: She put it in the text that I killed him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That she killed him?
MCQUEARY: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Now reports the alleged confession will never see the inside of a courtroom. Why?
MCQUEARY: Once you betray her trust or she thinks you did, she will not talk to you, won`t do anything for you, never -- you know, it`s just how she is.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: All right. Let us go straight out to Phoenix, Arizona, Mike Sakal. He is a reporter with the "East Valley Tribune."
Mike, the last thing I remember on this story was Elizabeth Johnson had said that she had given baby Gabriel away to another family, another couple in San Antonio, somebody she met at a park.
Well, now we have developments. Start out with a San Antonio detective, goes to Arizona and actually talks with her in a room and she confesses?
MIKE SAKAL, REPORTER, EAST VALLEY TRIBUNE: Correct. This interview happened in May when detective Jesus Salome flew into Arizona, got into the Maricopa County and straight to jail. And he apparently interviewed Elizabeth for a number of hours without her legal counsel present when she was reportedly on medication. And that is when they are saying --
CASAREZ: But Mike, that`s OK. If she waived her rights, she can talk. It`s free, it`s voluntary. But what`s the issue here?
SAKAL: The issue -- well, her former attorneys are claiming, contending that her Sixth Amendment rights were violated because her legal counsel was not present. And the detective in San Antonio contends, while this didn`t have anything to do with the case in Arizona, and now Elizabeth`s new attorney has been granted a motion by a Maricopa County judge for him.
A judge signed an out-of-state subpoena to try to get Detective Salome into Arizona to testify. However this could create a legal quagmire in the case because --
CASAREZ: Mike.
SAKAL: Sure.
CASAREZ: Mike, did she confess to killing baby Gabriel?
SAKAL: According to what other media reports understand and the McQueary family, they understand that Elizabeth has said that --
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCQUEARY: She`s very, very stubborn. Very secretive. She -- you know, it`s hard to get anything out of her. I`m just hoping, you know, she`ll have a change of mind and change of heart, and just tell somebody exactly what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Breaking news. KPHO reporting that baby Gabriel`s mom Elizabeth Johnson allegedly confessed to a San Antonio police detective that she killed baby Gabriel.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
CASAREZ: Elizabeth Johnson takes baby Gabriel from Arizona to San Antonio. She is in a San Antonio motel. She tells everybody she gives the baby to a couple she meets at a San Antonio park. She then goes on her way from San Antonio. Now she`s charged with kidnapping.
To Mike Sakal, reporter our of Phoenix, Arizona, tonight, the "East Valley Tribune." What I was asking you when we went to break, we know a San Antonio detective went to Arizona, he spoke with her for hours.
Did she confess to killing baby Gabriel?
SAKAL: Yes. According to media reports and KPHO, as well as the McQueary family, they understand that Elizabeth has said -- once again, for the second time that she has killed her son. The details of her confession have not been revealed. But we may learn more in January. If not sooner.
CASAREZ: All right. To Eleanor Odom. Felony prosecutor Eleanor Odom out of Atlanta, Georgia. This confession, prosecution is saying, they don`t think they can use it because that she may have been incompetent, that she was on medication, could not have voluntarily waived her rights.
Further more, the defense is saying that there was an inappropriate touching from the San Antonio detective. How can this confession be saved?
E. ODOM: I don`t know that it can be saved because she was not Mirandized most importantly. But here`s one way it might be saved. She also allegedly confessed to the baby`s father so they could use that confession.
CASAREZ: All right.
Tonight, let us stop to remember Army Specialist Joseph Nurre, 22 years old from Wilton, California. He was killed in Iraq. He was awarded the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, Combat Action Badge, an Army Commendation Medal.
He loved football and he loved Notre Dame. He left a goodbye letter to his family insisting they carry on with joy. Living their lives to the fullest. He leaves behind grieving parents Lee and Charlie, proud Gold Star Parents.
Joseph Nurre, a true American hero.
Thank you so much to all of our guests, to you at home for being with us tonight. See you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, everybody.
Good night, Nancy.
END
