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Nancy Grace
Attorney Charged in Murder-for-Hire Plot Against Wife
Aired February 03, 2011 - 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, Texas. A gorgeous Houston socialite, mother of two, living the high life in the family`s million-dollar estate. But then she`s ambushed getting out of her own luxury car, shot point-blank in the stomach. Miracle! The millionaire wife survives. Investigators link the socialite shooting to a hitman, murder for hire. But tonight, we learn it`s not the first time -- three prior attempts on the millionaire mom`s life.
Bombshell tonight. After police hone in on six separate suspects, they zero in on the mastermind. Who? The socialite mom`s own husband, a high-profile Houston lawyer. And then there`s his mistress. She`s suspect number two. In a bizarre twist tonight, socialite mom drops the divorce, stands by her man and walks hand in hand with her husband of 20 years straight to the courthouse, the man accused of plotting her murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... say she thought she`d gotten away with it. Boynton Beach police say 26-year-old Dahlia Dippolito tried to pay a hitman $3,000 to kill her husband.
GRACE: Problem! Ruh-roh! The hitman is a cop.
DAHLIA DIPPOLITO, CHARGED WITH SOLICITING MURDER: I didn`t do anything and I didn`t plot anything!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Allegedly targeted for a murder-for-hire plot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yvonne Stern is standing by her man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A prominent lawyer, his socialite wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Despite the fact he`s accused of trying to have her killed more than once.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And a murder-for-hire plot with his mistress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stern asked his alleged mistress to arrange for the murder of his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michelle Gaiser.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s her husband`s mistress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By the way, she`s still in jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been six different people charged in the alleged conspiracy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) very complicated very quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three attempts on Mrs. Stern`s life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The shot was fired through the window of their Bellaire (ph) home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stern had been shot at twice before but was never hit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yvonne was actually shot in the stomach last May.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Stern is steadfast in her support of her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing Jeff is guilty of is having had a marital transgression.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three attempts on this woman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She does not believe he was complicit in the attempts on her life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live, Maryland. Beautiful brown eyes, shoulder- length hair, gorgeous smile, the world in front of her, a 16-year-old beauty, straight-A honor student, visiting her sister over Christmas break, Baltimore. She vanishes. Tonight, where is missing girl Phylicia Barnes?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I want you to know about a missing 16-year-old girl.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My baby is missing!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re talking about Phylicia Barnes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s a child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Last seen at her sister`s apartment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let`s look at the timeline.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The timeline is consistent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) sent a text message to her sister.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Between 12:30 and 1:00.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She walked out of her half-sister`s apartment to go to lunch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`d left to get some food.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She did not go and get anything to eat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The ex-boyfriend, the last person to see her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Goes missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disappeared.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) young lady`s missing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All of her money and her credit card that I gave her was left behind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These raise red flags.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is not the case of a runaway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as foul play, we can`t rule that out.
GRACE: This girl seemed to vanish into thin air.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Still no word on where she could be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are pleading.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It took a lot for me to let her come here in the first place because I`m strict and I need to know where she`s at at all times. And to send her here and she comes up missing -- oh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. A gorgeous Houston socialite, mother of two, living the high life in the family`s million-dollar estate, but then she`s ambushed getting out of her own luxury car, shot point-blank in the stomach. After police hone in on six separate suspects, they zero in on the mastermind. Who? A prominent Houston attorney, her husband.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fifty-three-year-old Kimberly Alters (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The patients (ph) certainly can`t believe it. I can`t believe it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tried to hire a hitman to kill her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sobs of a grieving wife. Detectives say it was all a performance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: His wife, Dahlia, is accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prominent Houston-area attorney accused of plotting to have his wife killed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Sterns walked hand in hand as he turned himself in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is charged with two counts of solicitation of capital murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Intended target was his own wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prosecutors say he asked his mistress to help kill his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mother of two was shot in the stomach outside an apartment complex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s apologized to his family. He surely regrets the affair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wife of a Bellaire attorney is standing by her man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s sounds like a plot for an episode of "Dallas."
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stern`s former mistress, Michelle Gaiser.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is in jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pressure was put on her to give him up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And four others have been criminally charged in connection with this case, all stemming from three attempts on Mrs. Stern`s life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once when a shot was fired through the window of their Bellaire home, and again when Yvonne Stern was shot in the stomach.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had nothing to do with this plot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Incredible. Three separate attempts on her life, and she`s still standing by her man, including one shot point-blank to the stomach? Out to Joe Gomez, reporter, KTRH Newsradio, joining us there in Houston. Joe, what happened?
JOE GOMEZ, KTRH NEWSRADIO: Nancy, you know, Yvonne filed for divorce, and after surviving three different bungled assassination attempts that police say were orchestrated by her husband, a prominent Houston attorney, and his mistress, Yvonne now is apparently having a change of heart and is standing by her man, saying she doesn`t believe he had anything to do with it and that she`s trying to rekindle the love flame with him. Jeff Stern had turned...
GRACE: Wait. Stop.
GOMEZ: ... himself in to authorities...
GRACE: Stop, stop. Rekindle the love flame? Joe Gomez, are those your words or hers?
GOMEZ: Well, she says that she`s trying...
GRACE: The love flame?
GOMEZ: ... to make the romance happen again.
GRACE: The love flame. OK. Go ahead.
GOMEZ: The love flame. Well, at any rate, Jeff Stern turned himself in to authorities and Yvonne accompanied him, even hugged him before he was arrested. He`s been charged with two felony counts of solicitation of capital murder. Police say that he and his mistress at the time had hired several men to carry out three bungled assassination attempts. All three failed. But the last maimed Yvonne for life. She was sitting in her car at the time it happened. A gunman came up to the driver`s side window, put a pistol to her head. After Yvonne desperately pleaded for her life, the gunman relented, Nancy, and instead shot her in the gut.
GRACE: Hey, look, I`m all for happy marriages. But how desperate is she to keep a man that she wants to rekindle the "love flame," as you are describing? Jean Casarez joining us, legal correspondent, "In Session," what do you know, Jean Casarez, about the previous two attempts on her life?
JEAN CASAREZ, "IN SESSION": Well, it all started in February, and that was a drive-by shooting in their mansion in Houston. It didn`t hit anybody, but she was downstairs at the time and she definitely could have been targeted. After that drive-by shooting, it all culminated in April again.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait! Wa-wait! A drive-by? In that tony neighborhood? Yes. Not going to happen. You don`t have a drive-by in gated communities, multi-million-dollar mansions, ritzy apartment complexes. No. You don`t have drive-bys like that. It just doesn`t happen statistically, Jean Casarez. Tell me more about the drive-by.
CASAREZ: Well, the drive-by was just a bunch of shots into their front windows as someone drove by. It didn`t hit anybody. But let`s go to April because they came back. This time, Nancy, they rang the doorbell. We`ve heard of a case like this before. It`s called James Sullivan (ph) in Atlanta, Georgia. And so the doorbell rang, and she, the victim in this case, Yvonne Stern, began to try to open the door. And shots were fired, but they missed her. A second time they missed her.
GRACE: So she didn`t catch on?
CASAREZ: Well, apparently not because they started to have renovations of the home, so they moved to an apartment. Guess what? She`s coming out on May 5th to go to her car, and she`s shot in the abdomen.
GRACE: OK. What can you tell me about the so-called other woman?
CASAREZ: Well, the other woman -- and this is how this case started to unravel. Her name is Michelle Gaiser. And she was caught on tape because one of the men she was working with turned to be a prosecution witness and was all wired up. And she was caught on tape two times offering $10,000 to get rid of the wife of Jeffrey Stern.
GRACE: To Alexis Weed, also on the story. Alexis, what more can you tell me?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, I can tell you that Stern`s lawyer, Jeffrey Stern`s lawyer, is telling us that the only thing that his client is guilty of is having an affair with this mistress. He says that his client had no idea that this alleged plot was in place. And as far as he`s concerned, his client has nothing to do with this.
GRACE: OK, look, Joe Gomez, KTRH Newsradio, what evidence do they have on the husband? And apparently, it`s a high-profile Houston lawyer.
GOMEZ: That`s right. He`s a very high-profile Houston attorney. Oh, by the way, Jeff Stern also has a very shady past. He was apparently -- the Texas bar association tried to disbar him several times, but he survived every one of those attempts. In Houston, he`s also known by attorneys as somewhat of an ambulance chaser. Right now, police aren`t really releasing what...
GRACE: Hey, hey, hey, hey!
GOMEZ: ... what evidence they have...
GRACE: Don`t knock it, Gomez. Ambulance chasers make a lot of money. A lot of money. Go ahead. I mean, did you see that house, Gomez?
GOMEZ: And she...
GRACE: Show us the house, Dana. Show me the house. Go ahead, Gomez.
GOMEZ: And he`s got two homes in Aspen, apparently. But police aren`t releasing any evidence they have that links Jeff Stern right now to the crime because perhaps they think it could jeopardize the case. So right now, we don`t know exactly how he`s connected to it. But prosecutors say, rest assured, they have the evidence that pins him to it, Nancy.
GRACE: We are taking your calls. Out to Maryanne in New York. Hi, Maryanne.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, first I have to (INAUDIBLE) you`re outstanding. I watch your show every evening. I think you`re intelligent and you`re compassionate, and I love when you unleash the lawyers and give it to them!
(LAUGHTER)
GRACE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two things. Why would she -- is she lacking that much self-esteem that she would stand by someone so un-loyal? Or is she being bribed maybe by the husband?
GRACE: To Dr. Doug Bremner, professor of psychiatry, author of "Before You Take That Pill." Dr. Bremner, what do you make of the injury that she received in her stomach, and then going back to the guy?
DR. DOUG BREMNER, PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY: Well, this is just incredible, Nancy. I mean, she got shot right in the gut. It`s a wonder that she survived. And she had to drive herself to the ER. I think this woman must be just delusional.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Murder-for-hire plot.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dahlia Dippolito tried to pay a hitman $3,000 to kill her husband.
DIPPOLITO: I didn`t do anything. And I didn`t plot anything.
GRACE: Now, according to this cop that she`s trying to hug, he barely got the words out, "Your husband," and she started wailing, like she anticipated the bad news.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It gets very complicated very quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A Houston lawyer who is charged in an alleged murder-for-hire case surrenders to police with his wife by his side.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The intended target was his own wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She does not believe he was complicit in the attempts on her life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prosecutors say he asked his mistress to help kill his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Michelle Gaiser knows that Jeffrey Stern is her winning lotto ticket.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The alleged mistress, Michelle Gaiser, is also charged in this case.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is her ticket out of a 5 to 99-year bid (ph) in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities believe on at least two occasions, Stern paid to have Yvonne killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three attempts on the life of his wife, Yvonne.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is going to continue to support him unless and until someone can show her differently.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: For those of you just joining us, a wealthy Houston attorney now under suspicion in the murder-for-hire plot against his wife. This wasn`t the first time. This is now the fourth attempt on her life, culminating in her being shot in the stomach. She survived. And in another bizarre twist, she stands by her man, refusing to believe he had anything to do with it.
Where are police getting their information? We know that altogether, six suspects were rounded up, including the husband`s mistress, Michelle Gaiser. I also know -- out to you, Jean Casarez -- another perpetrator has already pled to solicitation for murder, Richard Gutierrez (ph)...
CASAREZ: That`s right.
GRACE: ... guilty, 15 years. Do you think he`s not going to give a statement?
CASAREZ: Exactly. And he`s the one that was wired. He`s the one where authorities got the information, when Michelle Gaiser gave all the information. And Nancy, all these people have been charged. The last one that was just charged was the husband. The grand jury met last week, and the reports are saying in the secret grand jury that Michelle Gaiser, the other woman -- that she was a witness. Now, her attorney is not confirming or denying, but simply saying she made a statement at her arrest.
GRACE: Now, on the April 15th incident, where the shot came through the door, according to prosecutors, Gaiser hires Gutierrez to find a hitman to kill Yvonne. They say -- prosecutors say Gutierrez then recruits James Steven Lowry (ph), who enlists another person, Nijen (ph), to fire a shot through the front door. It doesn`t end there. There`s another shooting occurs outside some very ritzy apartment complex, the Meritage, there in Houston.
What more can you tell me about the crime itself, Joe Gomez?
GOMEZ: Well, in that case, apparently, Yvonne had just left the apartment. They had moved to the apartment because their home was being remodeled. And for whatever reason, Yvonne was stepping out to go to her car. When she went into her vehicle, she sat down and suddenly, she noticed a gunman was coming at -- unmasked -- coming out to the car and pointed a pistol at her head through the window. She pleaded desperately with the gunman for her life, to please let her live. And something in the gunman finally clicked and he relented. But not by much, Nancy. He pointed the gun instead at her abdomen and shot her there, maiming her for life.
GRACE: What could convince her to drop her divorce petition and choose to believe her husband had nothing to do with this? I want to go out to the lawyers, Alan Ripka and Alex Sanchez, both defense attorneys joining us out of New York. First to you, Alex Sanchez. She could be choosing to believe that all of these people, these six people, are ganging up and pointing toward the husband to save their own skin.
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, and I`m sure that is exactly her thinking process. But also, Nancy, maybe, in fact, he`s not guilty. And as a matter of fact, I`m kind of surprised at everybody on the show, you included, Nancy, because everybody`s assuming this guy`s guilty. I haven`t heard a scintilla of evidence. I haven`t heard any text messages or haven`t heard about any money transfers...
GRACE: Well, let`s just break it down...
SANCHEZ: ... I haven`t heard any recording...
GRACE: Alex Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: ... or video. Show me one piece of evidence right now which would lead you to believe he had something to do with this.
GRACE: Well, one piece of evidence is common sense. And that would be -- Jean Casarez, let`s answer Sanchez`s question. There have been three or four attempts, murder attempts on this one woman`s life. Who has motive to kill her? Who, Jean Casarez? Who`s having an affair? And again, tell me, Jean Casarez, what was learned from the mistress who was being recorded? What was learned?
CASAREZ: That she wanted to get rid of Jeffrey Stein`s (SIC) wife and she`d pay $10,000 -- $2,000 to Gutierrez and then she would pay the others off also. And now what did she know that she`d said before a grand jury?
GRACE: Come on! Alexis Weed, who else has motive to try to kill this woman four times!
WEED: Right. And Gaiser`s saying through her attorney that the husband was the ringleader. He was the financier for this operation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stern asked his alleged mistress to arrange for the murder of his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michelle Gaiser.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mistress.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By the way, she`s still in jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s been six different people charged in the alleged conspiracy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It gets very complicated very quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At one point says she`s 5,000 percent sure she wants her husband dead.
GRACE: Another cop says no matter how much she wailed, she couldn`t squeeze out a tear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s no doubt in my mind that she`s absolutely guilty as charged.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: According to the police report, Alters approached a man, asked him to kill her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If anyone wanted proof that Yvonne Stern is standing by her man, the Sterns walked hand in hand as he turned himself in to face the two counts of solicitation of capital murder. Authorities believe on at least two occasions, Stern paid to have Yvonne killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls live. And the plot thickens. We understand that the mistress, the husband, the high-profile lawyer, the multi-millionaire there in Houston -- the husband`s mistress, Michelle Gaiser, actually goes on interviews to meet potential hitmen. I mean, come on!
To you, Detective Lieutenant Steven Rogers, joining me out of New York. How big of a trail -- she left a trail a mile wide. She meets with potential hitmen, one after the next, pays one $7,000. He backs out of the deal. Finally, it goes on and on, she`s caught on wire. Where`s she getting all the money?
DET. LT. STEVEN ROGERS, NUTLEY, NJ, POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, exactly, Nancy. Look, the love triangle, the typical routine love triangle, the only thing that changes are the cast of characters. That money had to come from someone. Now, the police are going to have to, in their investigation, find the reason why the wife is standing by her man. It`s one of two reasons. It`s either a lot of money involved or someone close to her is being threatened and she`s trying to protect them.
GRACE: I highly doubt that. I think she`s choosing to believe he didn`t do it. I think from what we know -- we know that the girlfriend, the mistress, has already spoken to police. As a matter of fact, Jean Casarez, who`s the number one witness at grand jury?
CASAREZ: Well, we think it was Michelle Gaiser. That`s what reports are. And Nancy, listen to what was found in Michelle Gaiser`s car -- $6,700 in cash, six cell phones and personal journals of writing. And she was an office manager for a lawfirm.
GRACE: OK, Alan Ripka, Alex Sanchez. Alan, this is the way I see it. The wife comes on TV and she says, through all of her reps, that all he`s guilty of is having an affair. OK. We know the mistress has testified at grand jury. So what it sounds like is the husband is letting the mistress take the fall because a lot of evidence is against her.
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it sounds like she ought to take the fall because, first of all, he had no motive to kill. Why? They were in a divorce. He was going to be rid of her anyway. So why would he...
GRACE: Yes, and half of his money.
RIPKA: ... put his life on the line?
GRACE: Rid of her and half his money.
RIPKA: Well, maybe, if he`s that rich, it wasn`t worth going to jail for. And there`s not a single tape connecting him to this crime with anybody.
GRACE: Well, other than all the testimony at grand jury.
RIPKA: Grand jury, by people who want to bring him down with them because they`re pissed off that they did this work for this woman, and he still lives in a mansion and lives a rich life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yvonne Stern is standing by her man.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A prominent lawyer, his socialite wife.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Despite the fact he`s accused of trying to have her killed more than once.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And a murder for hire plot with his mistress.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Stern asked his alleged mistress to arrange for the murder of his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Michelle Geyser.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: That`s her husband`s mistress.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: By the way, she`s still in jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There have been six different people charged in the alleged conspiracy.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: It`s very complicated very quickly.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Three attempts on Mrs. Stern`s life.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Shot was fired through the window of their Bellaire home.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Stern had been shot at twice before, but was never hit.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Yvonne was actually shot in the stomach last May.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mrs. Stern is steadfast in her support of her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing Jeff is guilty of is having had a marital transgression.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Three attempts on this woman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She does not believe he was complicit in the attempts on her life.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: 53-year-old Kimberly Alters --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Patients certainly can`t believe it. I can`t believe it.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Tried to hire a hitman to kill her husband.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The sobs of a grieving wife. Detectives say it was all a performance. His wife Dalia is accused of trying to hire a hitman to kill him.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Prominent Houston area attorney accused of plotting to have his wife killed.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The Sterns walk hand in hand as he turned himself in.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: He is charged with two counts of solicitation of capital murder.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Intended target was his own wife.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Prosecutors say he asked his mistress to help kill his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The mother of two was shot in the stomach outside an apartment complex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s apologized to his family. He surely regrets the affair.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The wife of a Bellaire attorney is standing by her man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sounds like a plot for an episode of "Dallas."
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Stern`s former mistress Michelle Geyser is in jail.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Pressure was put on her to give him up.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And four others have been criminally charged in connection with this case, all stemming from three attempts on Mrs. Stern`s wife.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: One shot was fired through the window of their Bellaire home. And again when Yvonne Stern was shot in the stomach --
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NANCY GRACE, HOST: What do we know about the husband other than he`s a high-profile Houston lawyer, a multi-millionaire? We know that he is embattled. He has had multiple disbarment proceedings. People that want to kick him out of being a lawyer. He has always emerged unscathed. But no stranger to controversy.
What about their children, Alexis Weed? What do we know about them and where do they stand in this?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: We know they have two children, a son and a daughter, ages 12 and 14. But Nancy, this indictment came down on the 24th of January, a week ago. And Jeffrey Stern was not arrested until yesterday. So the question is, what happened there during that time.
What we`re hearing are reports that he requested that his arrest be delayed so that he could attend his son`s bar mitzvah.
GRACE: And wasn`t the whole family there?
WEED: That`s what we understand. There was a big party Saturday.
GRACE: Mother, father, two children?
WEED: You got it.
GRACE: They`re all there, acting like daddy didn`t try to shoot mommy in the stomach? He had her shot in the stomach, according to police.
WEED: That`s right.
GRACE: OK. I`ve got a problem with that, Dr. Doug Bremner. How does the family gather together and celebrate the bar mitzvah when daddy is indicted with shooting mommy in the stomach?
DR. DOUG BREMNER, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, as a psychiatrist, Nancy, I have to tell you that denial is an incredibly powerful psychological phenomenon. And I think that`s what`s going on here. Otherwise why would she be walking hand in hand with him into the courthouse. I mean that`s the only explanation.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Krista in Canada. Hi, Krista.
KRISTA, CALLER FROM CANADA: Hi, Nancy. I love your show.
GRACE: Thank you, dear. Thank you for calling in. What`s your question?
KRISTA: My question is, how come CPS is not involved, if they are not involved, and why are the police letting her be with him if there are children involved? Because who knows, next they could be dead.
GRACE: You know, you can`t stop her from being with him.
How old are the children, Jean Casarez?
JEAN CASAREZ, LEGAL CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": Twelve and 14 years old. And we don`t know if the Texas Department of Children and Families have gotten involved at all in this case.
GRACE: Well, I can tell you this much, Jean Casarez, where typically one of the spouses is accused of killing or trying to kill the other, the children are taken out of the home. But I guess those rules don`t apply to rich people.
CASAREZ: Well, they weren`t out of the home this weekend at that bar mitzvah.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Sue in Canada. Hi, Sue.
SUE, CALLER FROM CANADA: Hi, Nancy. It`s a thrill to talk to you. You are such a great mama.
GRACE: You know what, thank you for saying that. And thank you for calling in. What`s your question, dear?
SUE: My question is, does the husband or the mistress have any history of violent behavior?
GRACE: Good question.
What do we know, Joe Gomez? Gomez, joining us from KTRH News Radio.
JOE GOMEZ, REPORTER, KTRH NEWS RADIO: Well, as far as we understand right now, Nancy, the husband, Jeff Stern, doesn`t t have any history of domestic violence. As far as Michelle, his alleged mistress, is concerned, again, similarly we don`t know if she has a history of a violence side.
What we do know is that Jeff Stern does have a shady past. As you mentioned before, he`s had several disbarment procedures, the state of Texas has tried to rip his -- you know attorney`s license away from him. He`s also received sanctions in Louisiana.
So this person is certainly not -- you know, not unfamiliar with the ways of the law when it`s turned against him, let`s say, Nancy.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Amber, Ohio. Hi, Amber.
AMBER, CALLER FROM OHIO: Hi. I was just wondering -- Nancy, first, I just wanted to say that I think you`re great. I love your show.
GRACE: Thank you.
AMBER: I love that you always give glory to God.
GRACE: Amen.
AMBER: -- that you have in your life, and I just think that`s awesome. But my question is just -- did the mistress come forward and say that her and the husband had planned this?
GRACE: Well, I can tell you this much. I know that she testified at the grand jury.
What more do we know about the status of her case, Alexis?
WEED: That she entered a not-guilty plea. And her attorney is also telling us, like we talked about before, that Jeffrey Stern is the ringleader, so she says.
GRACE: Well, Michelle Geyser has allegedly admitted to somebody that she concocted a scheme to kill the wife. But I guarantee you, that at this juncture, this is what`s happening. Everybody`s pointing the finger at everybody else.
And in the end, they`re all going to stew in their own juices, especially if they`re all tried together. They`re all going to be doing this.
Out to Dr. Leigh Vinocur, University of Maryland School of Medicine, joining us out of Baltimore.
Dr. Vinocur, thank you for being with us. Explain to me her injuries.
DR. LEIGH VINOCUR, M.D., UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Well, she had a gunshot wound to the abdomen. And it really depends on the trajectory of the bullet. The fact that she could drive herself somewhere, she must have -- it must not have hit a main artery like the aorta right away which if that fills up in the stomach -- fills up with blood, you know, it usually causes you to pass out and go into shock really fast.
So she -- it really depends on the trajectory of the bullet. And what injuries -- organs were injured.
GRACE: So it`s really a miracle that she has survived.
Just one big question, to you, defense attorneys, who say he`s fresh as a daisy, as clean as a lily.
Alan Ripka, Alex Sanchez, could one of you tell me why when he was arrested he was carrying two pistols illegally? Sanchez?
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, I have no idea. That`s a question that he`s going to have to answer himself why he had that. But you know, you mentioned before about --
GRACE: Yes, I guess we will.
SANCHEZ: You mentioned before about disbarment proceedings. First of all, he wasn`t disbarred, number one. But even if he did have some ethical problems, it`s quite a leap to go to murder from having ethical problems.
GRACE: Yes. Now what I asked you. I asked why he was packing heat.
What about it Ripka?
ALAN RIPKA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, the bottom line is, we know he wasn`t the shooter. Right? And we know --
GRACE: That`s not what I asked you.
RIPKA: Well, I`m telling.
GRACE: Do you have a pistol on your ankle and one stuck down the back of your belt right now, Ripka? Do you?
RIPKA: I would if I thought somebody would --
GRACE: Sanchez, do you -- I take that as a no.
RIPKA: If someone was trying to kill my wife, I would.
SANCHEZ: There you go.
RIPKA: I`d be defending myself.
GRACE: Okidoki.
RIPKA: That`s what he was doing, defending himself.
GRACE: OK. Let`s weigh in. Jean Casarez, what can you tell me about the weapons?
CASAREZ: All right. I can tell you that what his attorney said was that he had the weapons because someone was trying to harm his wife. But the fact is, he was found with the mistress with those weapons on him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only thing Jeff is guilty of is having had a marital transgression. He`s apologized to his family. He surely regrets the affair. But he had nothing to do with this plot.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Where is missing girl Phylicia Barnes.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A straight A student.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Was visiting her father in Baltimore.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s a country girl.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: When she left the apartment where she was staying --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: To go to lunch.
JANICE SALIS, MOTHER OF MISSING PHYLICIA BARNES: She knows nothing about city life.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Vanished.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: She may have been abducted.
GRACE: She`s absolutely beautiful.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want Phylicia`s picture on every television screen.
GRACE: 5`8", 120 pounds, brown eyes, brown shoulder-length hair.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police investigators are now re-interviewing the last few people who saw her.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police went building to building handing out fliers and knocking on doors.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lady right here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ll continue to look.
SALIS: She was protected and safe. Here at home.
GRACE: To Janice Salis, Phylicia`s mother, what should we know about her as a person?
SALIS: She`s a flower. She is so compassionate. She is so loving. She does not like confrontation. She has no enemies. Everybody takes to her.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls. Straight out to Jean Casarez. What is the latest on missing girl Phylicia Barnes?
CASAREZ: Nancy, there are some developments in this case. The ex- boyfriend of Phylicia`s half-sister, Dina Barnes, he was the last person to ever see Phylicia. It is believed that 1:30 that afternoon, well, he has gone to police. He went into their office and he is talking with them.
GRACE: So he`s actually in the police station and he`s talking with police?
To Anthony Guglielmi, chief of public affairs, Baltimore PD.
Anthony, thank you for being with us. Who is this guy?
ANTHON GUGLIELMI, CHIEF OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, BALTIMORE, PD: Nancy, he`s one of the people that we`re focusing on. I mean, it`s frustrating for us. There are a lot of people that came in and out of Phylicia`s sister`s apartment there at the university. About 20 individuals.
We`ve whittled that list down to about a dozen or so. And since Phylicia went missing about a month ago, we`re now focusing in on luckily a handful, half a dozen individuals that saw her last and we`re really narrowing down, or trying to narrow down a minute-by-minute timeline of her whereabouts that day.
And now we`re getting a lot of tips coming in at the BPD from individuals who say they`ve seen Phylicia at bars or at malls. And we`re really trying to narrow it down a timeline. So we`re really stressing to the people in the Baltimore area try to bring themselves back to 1:30 p.m. on December 28th, if they were in the area of (INAUDIBLE) Road.
Let`s say they were doing landscaping in the area, they were going to work, or they lived close to there. Really trying to get individuals to jog their memory, because we`re hoping that we can corroborate some of the statements that we`re getting from the individuals that we`re interviewing.
GRACE: For those of you just joining us, a beautiful young honor student. Straight A`s. Goes to the Baltimore area to visit her half- sister and reconnect. She`s never seen again. After just a few days of visiting. Her mother, heart broken. She says she had a gut feeling something was wrong. So she called to Baltimore trying to find -- trying to talk to her daughter. And that`s when the half-sister says she`s missing.
Back out to Jean Casarez. Take me through the timeline of how Phylicia went missing.
CASAREZ: Nancy, this timeline -- you get different things from different people. But let`s start from the beginning, December 28th in the morning. Phylicia`s sister said that when she left for work, she saw her, that she even talked to her right before noon. They talked to her about getting beauty products and doing some different things in the Baltimore area.
Her half-sister said she told her to get on Facebook because she wanted to look up this ex-boyfriend so Phylicia could see this other woman that she thought that he was dating. She also told Phylicia that the ex- boyfriend had sent her a text that day talking about, couldn`t we maybe get together?
She said that was the last time she talked to Phylicia. But the ex- boyfriend was at the apartment during that time washing clothes. He says Phylicia went to sleep around 1:30, which is sort of strange because another sister was going to pick her up a little bit after that for them to do some errands.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Wanda in North Carolina. Hi, Wanda.
WANDA, CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA: Hi. Great to talk to you, Nancy.
GRACE: Likewise. Thank you for calling in. What`s your question, dear?
WANDA: Has the ex-boyfriend taken a polygraph?
GRACE: Good question.
What do we know? Out to you, David Lohr, crime reporter with AOLnews.com.
DAVID LOHR, CRIME REPORTER, AOLNEWS.COM: Well, Nancy, that`s the same question I posed to investigators last week. They said they wouldn`t mind giving polygraphs to some of these individuals. But they`d have to go through their attorneys first. So at this point, I don`t believe any polygraphs have been given.
GRACE: Well, cops say only police or FBI will be giving polygraphs, and at this time no polygraphs have been given.
What about it? Back to you, Anthony Guglielmi. What do you know?
GUGLIELMI: Well, Nancy, I mean, the polygraph are a tool that we use. We use them routinely. But as you know as a prosecutor you need consent from counsel. You need cooperation from the individuals. And again, you know, polygraphs aren`t -- they`re a tool. They`re a tool in the process. They`re not a definitive answer. But it`s definitely something that we`re exploring. And we`re going to look into as the investigation progresses.
GRACE: I want to hear more about who this guy is, the guy that`s talking to police now.
Deedee in Texas, hi, dear, what`s your question?
DEEDEE, CALLER FROM TEXAS: God bless you, Nancy.
GRACE: Thank you.
DEEDEE: I appreciate you very much. Considering all the human trafficking problems, and it`s escalating by the day, in the Houston area we know that there`s so many missing people anyway. But in Baltimore, Maryland, also the little Phylicia Barnes girl.
Do you -- has anybody checked to see if she had a laptop with her or access to a computer? Did they check the hard drive? The other question is, did they check all the local predators, sex offenders there?
GRACE: Good question, Deedee in Texas.
Back to Anthony Guglielmi, chief of public affairs, Baltimore PD.
Anthony, the computer -- was the hard drive checked?
GUGLIELMI: Nancy --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Or the half-sister`s computer --
GUGLIELMI: -- social media, the FBI has helped us out. They have a tremendous amount of expertise in technological resources. And we`ve been over every computer, every social networking page. There hasn`t been a single illicit activity from Phylicia since she went missing on December 28th.
GRACE: Did you get the hard drive from that computer she was on?
GUGLIELMI: Yes, we`ve looked at hard drive of computers. We`ve done forensic analysis of everything we can. Just nothing. And that`s frustrating for us. There`s no physical evidence. And right now, I mean, you could say anything. I mean theories about abduction, theories about human trafficking, all of it`s a possibility. But what investigators need are some type of physical evidence to point us in a certain direction.
GRACE: Now the guy that`s talking to police now, he`s already lawyered up with a defense lawyer?
GUGLIELMI: He has. And, you know, that`s not all that difficult. I mean we`ve been at some of these individuals four, five, six times now they`ve been contacted by members of the homicide division, members of the FBI. And it`s not all that uncommon for individuals to seek counsel. So I wouldn`t read too much into that at this point.
GRACE: Take a look at Phylicia Barnes, a 16-year-old honor student. 5`8", 120 pounds, brown eyes, brown shoulder-length hair. Last seen in a navy blue hooded pea coat, a turquoise shirt, blue jeans.
There`s a $35,000 reward in her disappearance. Tip line, 1-855-223- 0033. Please help us find Phylicia.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pray to God that my daughter is fine and she will be found safe. That`s the main thing that people can do, just keep praying to the highest -- as high as they can. And understand that this should not happen to no child, nowhere in this country.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: JVM, the host of HLN`s "ISSUES," Jane Velez-Mitchell, "New York Times" best selling author, new book, "Addict Nation: An Intervention for America."
Well, according to you, Jane Velez, let me just talk to you before you hit the bestseller list again, and then I can`t get you to work me into your schedule.
According to you, everybody`s addicted to something. What`s your addiction, Jane Velez?
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST OF HLN`S ISSUES: I`ve got so many, I won`t even begin to tell you all the things I`ve given up. I`ve given up smoking, I`ve given up drinking, I`ve given up drugs, I`ve given up meat and dairy products and sugar.
GRACE: Well, may I ask what`s left?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I still have my vices, Nancy. And the thing about this book --
GRACE: Weren`t you a night binger?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. In this book "Addict Nation" I talk about how I suffered from night eating syndrome --
GRACE: I met your kind before, Jane Velez-Mitchell. You night binger.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. You eat most of your calories at the end of the day when you`re home, when you feel like you deserve a reward, when you`re tired, when nobody`s watching.
And I really had to get a handle on that and I know millions of other Americans are suffering from that and other over consumptions. And this book is a blueprint for digging your way out of that. There is freedom out there. And there`s nothing freer than being free of an addiction.
You know, when I gave up alcohol 16 years ago, it was like I got out of prison. I know what people who are released from prison feel like because that`s what it felt like for me. So if anybody at home has something that they`re doing that`s self-destructive but they just can`t seem to stop themselves whether it`s shopping --
GRACE: Did you just say you were in prison?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: No, not yet.
GRACE: Did I hear that?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Felt like it. It really felt like prison for me. Because I couldn`t stop myself.
GRACE: Hey, JVM, I don`t know how you did it. But you worked in a donut, chocolate cake, booze, coffee and a .9 millimeter.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, well, because we`re addicted to violence. Do you know 100 -- you probably do. A hundred thousand Americans are shot every year. We can do something about that as well. And the book is a blueprint.
GRACE: Well, I`ve got my book, everybody, please go get yours, Jane Velez-Mitchell`s "Addict Nation."
Let`s stop and remember Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Swaim, 19, Yadkinville, North Carolina, killed Iraq. Awarded Purple Heart, Combat Action Ribbon, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal. Loved fishing, camping, paintball. Only child. Leaves behind parents Michael and Rebecca.
Daniel Swaim, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you.
And our thoughts with Massachusetts friend, Rose. Mother to one of our "Swift Justice" stars.
Get well, Rose.
And happy 3rd birthday to Abbi. Loves church, time with mommy and daddy, Tam and Jennifer, and Aunt Kathy.
Happy birthday.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
