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Jane Velez-Mitchell

Yoga Shop Murder Shocker; Police Build Case against Ex-Cop Suspected of Killing Wife

Aired March 21, 2011 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST (voice-over): Tonight, an astounding twist in the yoga-store murder that shocked the nation. Cops say the female store employee who said she was raped as her co-worker was raped and murdered is actually the killer herself. Cops say this woman`s story about two masked men attacking them just didn`t add up. Did this suspect even tie herself up? I`ll talk to the victim`s friends.

Plus are police closing in on an ex-cop suspected in his estranged wife`s murder? Cops are keeping a close eye on this husband as he lays low at a relative`s house. Are charges coming soon?

And a bombshell arrest in a deadly daycare fire that killed four little children and injured three others. Cops capture Jessica Tata after she escapes to Nigeria. She`s accused of leaving seven toddlers alone at her home daycare center in Texas while she went shopping. I`ll talk to an outraged mom of one of the victims.

Then, a massive blow to the Casey Anthony defense. A judge rules a huge win for the prosecution, saying key evidence can be heard by a jury. Plus, does a neighbor think the Anthonys have something to hide? We`ll take your calls.

ISSUES starts now.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t imagine the type of anger that would bring someone to kill a person.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, this was such a shocker, we were all left absolutely speechless when we first heard about it. This is such a sick and twisted turn in the shocking murder we told you about last week of a young woman inside an upscale yoga shop. And you`re going to be completely flabbergasted, I assure you.

Cops now say a woman who they first thought was one of the victims in a horrific crime spree with sexual overtones is actually the murderer herself. Cops say she violently murdered her co-worker after that coworker discovered she was stealing merchandise. The alleged cover-up is going to make your head spin.

Cops believe this woman, 28-year-old Brittany Norwood, an employee at the Lululemon store in fashionable Bethesda, Maryland, killed her co- worker, Jayna Murray, and then faked her own injuries and pretended she and Murray had both been raped. Cops say it was all an elaborate plan.

After allegedly killing Murray, Norwood scratched herself up like she`d been in a struggle and then posed with her hands and feet bound, waiting for cops to find her and the dead woman.

She told cops two masked men followed them into the store and raped her and Murray during a violent robbery. But the cops say evidence just didn`t add up at all.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF TOM MANGER, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: There were only two sets of footprints at the crime scene, one belonging to Ms. Norwood, another belonging to a size 14 shoe that was recovered in the store. There is no evidence to support that either victim was sexually assaulted.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Cops also talked to people working right next door at the Apple store who say they heard two women screaming at each other in an argument.

Cops said the car belonging to the victim, Jayna Murray, had Brittany Norwood`s blood inside it. Jayna Murray`s skull was crushed. Her spinal cord was severed. I want to know how did a fight over allegedly stolen merchandise that couldn`t have been worth more than a couple hundred bucks turn into such a hideous crime -- we`re talking yoga pants here -- to murder.

Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. That`s 1-877-586-7297.

Straight out to Captain Paul Starks with Montgomery County police.

What an incredible turn of events. Honestly, I thought I`d seen everything and nothing would shock me any more. This shocked me. You were in court today for Brittany Norwood`s first appearance. What astounding details were revealed in court today, sir?

CAPTAIN PAUL STARKS, MONTGOMERY COUNTY POLICE: Well, the prosecutor for Montgomery County, John McCarthy, spoke in a very detailed manner and a very graphic manner about how her death occurred, about how detectives locked her into her statement and ultimately, how that evidence spoke to them in an unbiased manner just with the facts that her statement didn`t jibe with the evidence at all.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, give us some examples: footprints, the car story. Tell us what didn`t jibe?

STARKS: That`s correct. There were only two sets of prints among the blood on the floor in that shop. One belonged to Brittany, and one belonged to a set of shoes used by the store for customers to try on when they`re hemming the yoga pants. There weren`t any other prints there. There weren`t any prints that belonged to any other suspects.

She also stated that she had never been in Jayna Murray`s vehicle. But ultimately, blood evidence was recovered from that vehicle that put Brittany in that vehicle.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And apparently, she said the killers and the rapists told her she had to go out and move Jayna Murray`s vehicle, and then she came back and she didn`t -- she said she didn`t tell anybody, even though she passed a couple of cops?

STARKS: That`s correct. The detective termed that as the unbelievable part of her statement. She said she was gone ten minutes and saw folks and didn`t do anything to help herself or Jayna Murray.

We know now that she was in that vehicle for close to 90 minutes, and the prosecution surmises that she was thinking of ways to explain or get out of what she had done.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, I want to go to Judd Borakobe, who is a friend of Jayna Murray`s, who told us last week after his dear, dear friend Jayna was murdered that it all didn`t add up. Let`s listen to what you said before we get your reaction. This is what you said last week.

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JUDD BORAKOBE, FRIEND OF JAYNA MURRAY: It`s not just me. We -- a lot of us have talked, and just from the initial reports to the evidence that`s been presented, to the descriptions, the girls had even left the store. They had left, locked up, came back. And somehow these guys timed it perfectly to get into the store right behind them. Just nothing adds up.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, here are some of the inconsistencies. Court documents indicate that Brittany Norwood told cops she was attacked and essentially assaulted with an object in one of the bathrooms and she then passed out. At the hospital, a sexual assault exam found no vaginal trauma. The cuts to her chest, stomach and thighs were superficial and parallel. They did not correspond to the cuts on her pants.

It was the officer`s opinion Norwood posed herself in the bathroom with her hands and feet bound.

While Norwood said two males wearing masks attacked them, employees at a neighboring store said they heard two females screaming.

So Judd, was -- was this what you suspected when you predicted last week that it wasn`t the stranger murder-rape that -- that we originally said it was?

BORAKOBE: Well, Jane, I don`t know if I`d say this is what I expected. I had a feeling, a lot of us did. We all kind of said it just seemed a little odd. In that neighborhood, something like that to have gone completely unseen, unnoticed, didn`t make any sense.

And for -- you know, this came out, and it definitely makes a lot more sense to us for what had happened. You know, I personally had a feeling when we first heard the story that possibly the other girl had something to do with it. A couple of other people had mentioned to me the same -- same idea. So for this to be the case isn`t completely surprising.

But, you know, it`s still not closure to us. You know, Jayna is gone.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely. It`s -- to me, it`s doubly horrific.

The suspect, Brittany Norwood, was a star soccer player in college, but her friends claim that she also had a habit of stealing. Listen to this from "Good Morning America."

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MEGAN HEALY, FORMER TEAMMATE OF NORWOOD: Other girls on the team told me things like watch your locker, keep it locked. She`s been known to steal things.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, in court today, the state`s attorney said Jayna Murray`s bosses had told Murray to check Brittany Norwood`s purse for stolen merchandise. Minutes after the two women closed the store initially, the victim called her manager to say she had found stolen items in Brittany Norwood`s purse. Minutes later, Brittany calls Jayna, allegedly, to say she forgot her wallet inside the store and that they needed to go back into the store. OK?

Now, my question to Tanya Acker, defense attorney, did that put Jayna Murray in a dangerous position? Is it really a co-worker`s job to check on another co-worker like that? And could that be the basis for some kind of legal action in the future?

TANYA ACKER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think that if the employer or Jayna had a reasonable basis for believing that this woman might be violent, then it could be tricky, but I think we`ve got to be very careful about second-guessing this too much.

It is not uncommon at all in these retail environments. Look, I worked retail back in the day. It`s not uncommon at all for an employer to say to a manager or some over supervisory employee that you need to keep an eye on the other workers. It is not at all uncommon for another employee to have to check a colleague`s bags or a colleague`s possessions to ensure that there`s no theft going on.

I think that, if there was no basis for knowing that this woman might be violent, then I would be really hesitant to say that there might be some civil prosecution here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And I have to wonder whether somehow Brittany found out that Jayna had talked to the bosses, because it`s sort of oddly coincidental, that she suddenly says, allegedly, "Hey, let`s go back to the store" right after Jayna tells the bosses that she found something in Brittany`s purse.

Paul, how did Brittany know to go to allegedly tell Jayna, "Hey, we got to go back to the store" to be alone?

STARKS: You know, we don`t know that. I think they`re still working on some of those details and the motive, you know, exactly for how she was setting this up.

And we don`t -- we`re not sure whether she had in her mind when she -- when she was calling about what she was going to do. Maybe there was going to be a discussion. That`s up to the prosecution to set up and deliver that in court.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Wallace in Ohio, I know you`re hanging in there. We`ll get you right on the other side of the break. Everyone, we`re just getting started. We`re taking your calls: 1-877-JVM-SAYS.

Also, is Casey Anthony doomed? Her defense wanted to keep key evidence out of the trial, but the judge says, "No way, Jose, it`s all going in."

Plus, a lot more on this unbelievable twist in the Maryland yoga store murder. We`ll tell you about it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANGER: We`ve arrested Brittany Norwood, age 27, for the murder of Jayna Murray that occurred in the Lululemon Athletica store one week ago.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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MANGER: As the investigation continued, our analysis of forensic evidence was not supporting Ms. Norwood`s story. In fact, it was taking us in a different direction. After finding physical and forensic evidence inside the deceased victim`s car, Ms. Norwood became a suspect.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A horrifying turn of events in Bethesda, Maryland, as one of two women supposedly attacked and raped inside a yoga clothing store is arrested, accused of killing her co-worker, Jayna Murray, who is seen here on a YouTube video. We`re going to show it to you in one second.

We`re going to -- let`s go to the victim. There she is. Look at that beautiful young woman, murdered. I`ve got to tell you, how she was murdered, unbelievable. Too many head blows to count, her skull fractured, crushed, her spinal cord severed by a wound that extended through her neck. This struggle may have lasted 20 minutes.

That young lady, a murder victim and a woman who we know was really active in the community, with organizing yoga events and just a wonderful all around person. This is a horrific turn of events for that young woman you see in this video. And we`re trying to figure out why this double horror occurred.

Wallace, Ohio, your question or thought, sir?

CALLER: Double question: how did she stage her own rape? And could she have had an accomplice?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Stacy Kaiser, psychotherapist, you have heard the evidence, no evidence of vaginal trauma, and she even went so far as to say that they used an object on her in the bathroom. But when they examined her, they didn`t find any evidence of that.

STACY KAISER, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: It doesn`t sound to me like she staged a rape at all. What it sounds to me is that she was somebody who was in a panic. And when people are panicked, they don`t always think clearly, and they make decisions without thinking about consequences. And so she was just responding in panic mode.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: How do people really think if, in fact, she did this, that they will get away with it for one second? Do they really -- I mean any episode of "CSI," any episode of "Law & Order" will tell you that this is far too crude a cover-up to actually work. Taking shoes that are used for measuring pants and stamping the blood, and going up to a chair and leaving it there, it just boggles my mind, Stacy.

KAISER: Yes, I agree with you 100 percent. I think it`s clearly somebody that doesn`t know what they`re doing and didn`t put a lot of thought into it.

My thinking is that this is somebody who does have violence in her background, because nobody who`s a thief necessarily becomes a killer. So she has to have a history of violence. There had to be a lot of rage. And she really wasn`t thinking. She was just reacting out of that sort of animalistic rage that people get into sometimes.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, well, I don`t -- I don`t want to bring in -- my God, every time there`s a crime, people refer to it as animalistic. I don`t -- I don`t really see the connection there.

My big issue tonight: is this the ultimate betrayal? Not only is Brittany Norwood the alleged perpetrator, but she terrified an entire community with her story of rape, robbery, and murder by two masked men. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So deeply wounding to everyone with a heart who cares, you know, that there are people in this world who could do such things.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Judd Borakobe, you`re a friend of the woman who was murdered. What is the reaction in the community? Honestly, I was shocked when I heard this, because I actually did buy the story that, in this day and age of random violence, two men had followed them in.

BORAKOBE: The community, you know, I think there`s a bit of a sense of ease. Before that, a lot of people were -- they were afraid, you know. They were afraid that somebody would just randomly walk up to them in a neighborhood that it`s just not -- you don`t think of something like that, and attack them.

So to some extent, a little bit of a sense of ease. But at the same time, you know, that outrage that somebody would really make up this story and put it out there.

I mean the entire community was -- I mean, in a state of panic. I had numerous people come to us at our business, asking if we could host self- defense courses and things like that. So I know that people really felt the aftershock. I mean it was very, very major.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tanya Acker, does this sound from your perspective like an open and shut case: the stories that don`t add up, the forensic evidence of the blood that cops say they found in the victim`s car, the footprints, all of it, the phone call to the boss, the people at Apple store hearing women arguing?

ACKER: It`s hard to call something open and shut, I`ll be frank, without having all the facts, which we don`t have here.

But let me say this. Any time you start putting together a very convoluted, detailed story for authorities, I mean, it`s just like you said earlier, Jane. I mean, if you`ve watched one episode of "CSI," it is very easy to understand how the authorities will eventually work through that. The more details there are in a story, the more evidence there is for authorities to check and double check and verify. When those pieces don`t add up, you look suspicious.

But by the same token we can`t really be very surprised that somebody who may have perpetrated such a gross act of violence would lie about it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Got to leave it right there. Up next, panel, bombshell arrest.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is he being charged?

RENEE HILL, EDDY COELLO`S ATTORNEY: He`s not being charged. Not at this time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight cops tell the "New York Post" they`re building a case against an ex-cop, Eddy Coello, for the murder of his estranged wife but still no charges. How long do we have to wait?

Mother of four Tina Adovasio was missing for five days before she was found strangled and stuffed in a trash bag in a wooded area. She disappeared right after neighbors heard the couple arguing in her Bronx apartment. Now, the "New York Post" reports Coello was busted twice for domestic incidents against Tina. He was also charged with harassment in 2005.

An ex-girlfriend tells the "New York Daily News" Coello beat her and threatened her with a gun on several occasions. In fact, this guy had to resign from the police force over an incident with that woman.

Coello met with cops but left without giving a DNA sample or looking at photos. There he is. See, look, broken up about his wife`s death?

His attorney says he`s available if they want him back for questioning.

Straight out to attorney Tanya Acker. Tanya, what do you think police are waiting for, because their sources are saying they feel that they`re closing in on him. But he hasn`t been charged with anything. He`s not even being called a suspect at this point.

ACKER: Well, investigators can sometimes be a little more aggressive about when charges should be brought than with a prosecutor. A prosecutor is going to make sure that "T`s" are crossed and "I`s" are dotted. They`re going to -- they`re looking right now, I`m certain, for that critical piece of evidence that might connect him in terms of where he was, that might bust an alibi. They`re looking for something really hard.

I mean, right now, we`ve got a lot -- we may have some circumstantial evidence. It is true, by the way, just to throw in the facts, that most women in this country who are murdered are murdered by people that they know. But frankly, that`s not enough to build a case against this guy.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. But he`s got quite a record for domestic incidents with this woman and a previous woman. I mean, the list goes on and on.

Now cops guarded the wake for Tina Adovasio just in case this guy, the estranged husband, decided to show up. But get this: "The Village Voice" blog is reporting that Adovasio kept her marriage to this Eddy Coello character a secret, because she knew her family hated him.

We reached out to Coello`s attorney. We didn`t get a reply today. They`re invited on any time to tell their side. We know he`s been suspended from his job as a physician`s assistant without pay.

But cops say they are not tailing him. Why not? Isn`t he a flight risk? Isn`t this guy a flight risk? Why aren`t they tailing him?

Well, I`ve got to tell you: I think he is a flight risk, and I think they should be tailing him. I am looking at this guy right now. This is him leaving the police station, OK. His wife has just been found stuffed in a garbage bag, and do you see any tears rolling down his cheek?

Now let me tell you what other evidence the cops have. They have allegedly collected bodily fluid from this guy`s car, which he did not want to hand over initially, and they allegedly had video of Coello dragging out a large trash bag. Now, for all we know there`s trash in it, but certainly, it is suspicious, given that she was found in a trash bag.

Again, he`s invited on any time or his attorney to tell their side. He has not been arrested or charged with anything.

OK, the fugitive accused in a deadly daycare fire that killed four children turns herself in. I`m going to talk to one of the victims` mothers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I came to the side of the house in the backyard, and I had smashed one of the windows open. And I could see a kid, you know, having his hands out. I tried to grab him, but smoke got into my...

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A bombshell arrest in a deadly day care fire that killed four little children and injured three others. Cops arrested Jessica Tata after she escapes to Nigeria. She`s accused of leaving seven toddlers alone at her home day care center in Texas while she went shopping. I`ll talk to an outraged mom of one of the victims.

Then a massive blow to the Casey Anthony defense; a judge rules a huge win for the prosecution, saying key evidence can be heard by a jury. Plus does a neighbor think the Anthonys have something to hide? We`ll take your calls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIFFANY DICKERSON, SON KILLED, DAUGHTER HURT AT DAY CARE FIRE: I never got to say goodbye. She took that from me. I didn`t even get to see his body. I never got to see my little boy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, another horror, a fugitive wanted in the deaths of four precious toddlers may finally face justice. The devastated mother of one of the victims is my guest tonight. I`m going to talk to her in just a moment.

Jessica Tata fled to Nigeria last month two days after a fire gutted her home day care. Police say the 22-year-old had left seven children all alone to go to Target. That`s right, shopping. That`s when a pot of hot oil she left on the stove allegedly sparked the deadly fire. Four kids died, three were injured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CINY POURSARTIP, NEIGHBOR: Unbelievable nightmare, I can`t believe. We would drop them off in the morning and expect that you`re going to pick them up and you don`t see them again.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jessica turned herself in Saturday in Nigeria and was flown to Atlanta. What punishment do the families want for the person they entrusted with their precious, helpless babies? Will they be outraged if she cuts a plea deal to avoid a harsh sentence?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can hide, you can run, but God`s going to bring you to justice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to go straight out to Kenya Stradford, her 20- month-old daughter Kendall died in the fire. First of all, our deepest condolences; we cannot imagine the nightmare you`re enduring right now. Our hearts go out to you.

We want to talk about this story so that we as a culture can learn something, so that your precious child would not have died in vain, so that something will be done to prevent a horrific tragedy like this from ever happening again.

Kenya, what went through your mind when you heard the news that Jessica was finally in police custody, caught in Nigeria and coming back to face justice here in the United States?

KENYA STRADFORD, DAUGHTER DIED IN DAY CARE FIRE: I was actually relieved that our blessings have finally been answered so now the truth will start coming out.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tell us about your daughter. Look at that beautiful, beautiful child. Tell us.

STRADFORD: She was very outgoing and she was sweet and loving. She`s just full of joy and I`m -- I`m regretful -- I`m sad that she`s gone, but I know it`s God`s will, so --

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, your strength is unbelievable. And I suspect that -- that you`re just being very strong right now, I think I can tell that you`re being a strong person.

The feds say Jessica surrendered Saturday in Nigeria and she arrived this morning in Atlanta. And I think a lot of people are wondering is she going to cut a plea deal or will she be forced to go to trial and face all the families of these dead children?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICKERSON: I want her to sit there on the stand, look at me in my face and tell me that she left my kids alone in the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kenya, do you want to see this case go to trial or is this so difficult for you, you would rather avoid having to hear the heart- wrenching testimony about what happened to your daughter and the other children and let her take a plea deal if it`s offered.

STRADFORD: I think it`s a bittersweet moment to actually hear the truth and so that we can all have the closure that we have all been asking for, since it`s been almost a month. We have kind of been dealing with the peace in our own kind of way and now the reality has to hit. And I think the closure will be good for us.

So, you know, actually hearing the truth and seeing her will be everything that we have been asking for, for the last month.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: When I heard the details of this story, I just -- I honestly couldn`t believe it, she allegedly left a pot with hot oil on the stove with the burner on and went out to Target leaving seven children -- babies alone. These are babies who are too young to spend even a second by themselves.

Do you have any idea what this woman was thinking? I mean what would you say to her if you were able to confront her about that really, really tragically awful decision?

STRADFORD: Right now I don`t know how I would feel if I saw her. I really can`t say. Of course I`m upset. I have the same questions as anyone else. I don`t understand how you could leave someone, you know, babies like you said, just helpless, they`re in your care. They`re asking for your protection and it burns me up to think of that. But I`m hoping that I`ll at least get that kind of answer. It is upsetting.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Do you have other children?

STRADFORD: I do. I have an 8-year-old son.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank God that you have a child that you can hug tonight and I hope that is a comfort to you, I really do.

Here`s my big issue, was Jessica too young to handle the enormous responsibility of caring for seven toddlers on her own? I mean the woman is just 22 years old. Now Texas gave her a license to run a day care.

I don`t believe any 22-year-old should be in charge of seven children.

And Joe Gomez, you`re a reporter down there at KTRH. She wasn`t supposed to have seven children. My understanding is given the age of the children she was only supposed to have at most six, so she was in violation of the rules, wasn`t she, Joe?

JOE GOMEZ, REPORTER, KTRH: That`s right Jane. You know, she was, by a Texas code, she was only allowed to have six children that young. I mean the fact that there were seven children all beneath the ages of three years old in the home at that time it caught fire. They were left unattended and Jessica Tata was out apparently shopping at a nearby Target.

I mean this blaze has caused such horror in the Houston community here. Everybody is awaiting justice for Jessica Tata. Right now we believe that she`s going to be brought to Houston possibly tomorrow or later at some point in the week. And once she is here, people are going to be pressing for a trial against her.

A lot of parents like Kenya are just outraged and upset that she would take off to Nigeria and be on the lam for nearly a month, Jane, nearly a month. And four baby kids, innocent angels, perished in that blaze -- what was going through her mind, Jane?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, look, could the statements that she made after this fire come back to haunt her? Listen to what her neighbors say?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She told me on Thursday that she was here and she went to the bathroom and she grabbed two of them and told the rest of them to crawl out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She told you that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she told a group of us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tanya Acker, attorney, she lied. Said she was in the bathroom when in fact she was at Target, they have surveillance video, cops say; also her purchases on the front lawn. And then she flees to Nigeria. This is beyond comprehension.

TANYA ACKER, ATTORNEY: It`s beyond comprehension, Jane. The issue with respect to that statement that she made to the neighbor might be a little bit dicey legally because some of that is hearsay. So the defense is certainly going to keep those statements to the neighbor out.

That said, what will certainly come in is that after this who horrific incident, she left the country. And to the extent that the facts that gave rise to this terrible tragedy weren`t enough to convict her, certainly her subsequent flight will be, I think.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Kenya, I want to get back to your situation` your beautiful 20-month-old daughter Kendall died in this fire. Do you think you`re in a bit of shock right now -- because I certainly would be?

STRADFORD: Shock as to her leaving the children there, yes, definitely. I mean I don`t think anybody could be comfortable in that. It`s a day care, meaning that you stay there all day until you have no more kids to watch. So, yes, I`m completely shocked. When I left Kendall there that day, she told me that I could trust her and this is what happened. So, yes, I`m pretty shocked about it.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we are so sorry. Look at that beautiful little girl. We`re so sorry for your loss and our hearts go out to you. We hope we do learn something so that this never happens at another day care.

Thank you so much for joining us.

STRADFORD: Thank you.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Explosive Casey Anthony developments. Is Casey doomed? You will not believe the recent rulings, just in, from the judge. Have they sealed Casey`s fate? I`m taking your calls, 1-877-JVM-SAYS.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The question is when you called the police, they show up in response to your emergency 911 call, is it not your expectation, that`s the question part?

(CROSSTALK)

CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S MOTHER: Ok, I`m sorry. I`m sorry. This is very difficult for me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand.

GEORGE ANTHONY: Amber Alert, you name it, that should have been done and it wasn`t.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right, well.

G. ANTHONY: That`s right, well. That`s the (INAUDIBLE) between you and I. We can --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I object --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And check out my new book, "Addict Nation, you can get it at am son right now, it will talk to you about any addictions you or your loved ones may have and how to crawl out of that hole and get freedom from any addiction. And you might find out who`s manipulating you into this self-destructive behavior. Somebody`s making big bucks off of you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You loved your granddaughter more than anything in the world?

G. ANTHONY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you would have done anything to help find her?

G. ANTHONY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You love your daughter more than anything in the world?

G. ANTHONY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you would do anything to protect her?

G. ANTHONY: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is your baby?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Will Casey Anthony`s own words do her in? The judge has just dealt a crippling blow to Casey`s defense. Her lawyers had launched an all-out campaign to keep out a bunch of Casey`s most incriminating statements. You know, the ones she made right from the start, we`re talking that tall tale about a nanny named Zanny taking the baby.

The prosecution says that`s a big fat lie.

The defense argued, none of that or anything else she told her parents, brother, jailhouse pal, a corrections officer -- none of it should come in because Casey wasn`t read her Miranda rights.

Well, the prosecution says she wasn`t read her rights because she wasn`t a suspect at the time. Cops thought they had a panicked mom with a missing child on her hand and they had every right, in fact, were obligated to listen. And the judge agreed.

Now meantime, one huge piece of evidence still at issue -- that chloroform. Did Casey use that powerful knock-out chemical on little Caylee? Traces of chloroform were found in Casey`s car. The prosecution says there`s a connection; the defense says that science is totally unreliable. Those two sides will fight it out this week in yet another set of critical hearings.

So does it all add up to an airtight case for the prosecution? What do you think? Call me, 1-877-JVM-SAYS.

Straight out to Jean Casarez, correspondent with "In Session" on TruTV; Jean, what is the most dramatic development in terms of this judge`s ruling, bam, bam, bam, bam, ruling after ruling tonight.

JEAN CASAREZ, CORRESPONDENT, "IN SESSION": Three words, Zenaida Fernandez Gonzalez, because that is who she said took little Caylee. The judge even said that she voluntarily went with deputy Acevedo to the Saw Grass Apartments saying that is where Zenaida took my little baby. And so that is going to be a big challenge because when the jury hears this statement against interest of Casey Anthony, how is the defense going to deal with that in trial?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Absolutely. In fact it`s my big issue. You predicted it, the Zanny dilemma. In July of 2008, Casey, I`ve got the statement right here in my hands, this very, very long and complicated statement that Casey gave cops saying she left little Caylee with this nanny at the Saw Grass Apartments on June 9 and hadn`t seen her since.

The thing is -- you see the video you`re looking at there? That`s video of little Caylee visiting her great-grandfather at the nursing home several days later on June 15. This is days after Casey said she dropped her off and last saw her with Zanny the nanny.

Now this whole story about the Zanny the nanny has been a thorn in Casey`s side from the start. The woman you`re looking at here, her name is actually Zenaida Gonzalez; she says this whole Zanny the nanny thing ruined her life because people thought she was the Zanny the nanny that cops say doesn`t even exist. Nobody on the planet buys the Zanny story anymore.

The prosecution can now tell the jury Casey was making up the fake nanny and even told her mom Cindy. So at trial, Leonard Padilla, this is going to be a dilemma. Does the defense admit there never was a Zanny at all and try to explain why she lied? Or are they actually going to try to argue still that there is a Zanny out there somewhere?

LEONARD PADILLA, BOUNTY HUNTER: Well, it`s going to be very complicated because there`s another story she told us at her residence after she bailed out and that was that Zanny and her sister Samantha had taken the baby from her at the J. Blanchard Park and given her a list of items to tell law enforcement for the next 30 days.

She didn`t even tell us anything about taking the baby to the Saw Grass Apartments. She told us about the baby was taken away from her at the J. Blanchard Park by Zenaida and her sister Samantha and that they drove off in a gray or silver Ford Focus. That`s the story she gave us. Now, that`s the story that hasn`t really come out yet.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So she changed even -- her Zanny story changed from one time to another, from one location to another. Fascinating.

PADILLA: Correct. Correct. Correct.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I think that the cops and the prosecution certainly are going to try to bring that up, the fact that even the Zanny story has inconsistencies, a lot of them.

Susan, Texas, your question or thought, ma`am?

SUSAN, TEXAS (via telephone): Hi. I was just wondering that all of these statements now that they`re all coming in; are they going to have to put Casey on the stand now?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Jean Casarez?

CASAREZ: No, they really don`t. I mean the defendant never has to take a stand. But these are her statements against interest. So her words will be coming into the trial without her ever testifying.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, if they didn`t have Zanny the nanny, the defense could then come up with a whole new reason why the child disappeared and who may have been involved. They could argue that the man that cops call a Good Samaritan, Roy Cronk was somehow involved. He, of course, was that meter reader who first reported a suspicious item back in the summer and then actually found little Caylee`s body in the same location months later. And people have said many times that was a weird coincidence.

So Tanya Acker, ten seconds, are they going to have to stick with Zanny, yes or no?

ACKER: I think it`s hard for them not to, because again, this is a story that she put out there close to the time of the events and for her to backtrack from that story now is just a problem. It really is. It`s a big credibility problem.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. More on the other side, your calls.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The question is when you called the police, they show up in response to your emergency 911 call, is it not your expectation? That`s the question part?

(CROSSTALK)

CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY ANTHONY`S MOTHER: Ok, I`m sorry.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it not expectation.

C. ANTHONY: I`m sorry. This is very difficult for me.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I understand.

GEORGE ANTHONY: Amber Alert, you name it, that should have been done and it wasn`t.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right, well.

G. ANTHONY: That`s right, well. That`s a sore subject between you and I. We can -- we can badger all day long --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me, I`m going to object --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Another crushing blow to Casey Anthony`s defense. The judge will allow statements from Casey`s jailhouse pal, Robin Adams, to be heard by the jury.

Now Robin told cops that Casey told her that when little Caylee had trouble sleeping, she used chloroform to put her to sleep.

Jean Casarez, correspondent, "In Session" on TruTV, that is potentially very damaging if this woman`s words, even though she is a jailhouse pal and therefore has not so much credibility, can be allowed in a trial?

CASAREZ: And you know what`s so interesting? The defense never argued against that person having her statement come before the jury saying that she was an agent of law enforcement. And Judge Perry said that in his ruling. There is nothing that they argued against it coming in. It is coming in.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes, but I don`t think this woman has a lot of credibility. She also implied that mom, Cindy, brought chloroform home from the clinic where she worked. We know that mom Cindy did not work directly with medical materials. She was essentially in an office-type situation. Right there, I don`t think this Robin has very much credibility.

CASAREZ: Right. And I think on that point -- I think the prosecution`s case is going to be much more streamlined than people think. All of the stuff that they have, I don`t think you`re going to see it all in the prosecution`s case.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Marlene, California, your question or thought.

MARLENE, CALIFORNIA (via telephone): Hi Jane. Can you hear me?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. I can hear you.

MARLENE: I want to thank you for what you do about the war on women and animals. I have a rescued cat whose tail was cut off. I love your show.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you.

MARLENE: I want to talk about a theory I have had for a long time about little Caylee. I think Casey did a babysitting game with her daughter every night. I think the little hearts that she put on the duct tape every night was part of a game. I think a two-year-old would push that tape off if it wasn`t for the little heart sticker and then she did the chloroform. I think the mom had a binge and passed out. I think little Caylee cooked in that hot Florida sun in the back of the trunk.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Leonard Padilla, your reaction to this theory.

PADILLA: Well, I`ve always said she did not mean to kill her, but she did use that chloroform, which is just a horrific chemical to use in order to put her to sleep so she could go party. One of the things that I bet you the defense is going to come up with is that that night, Father`s Day, she came home, she got into an argument with Cindy. The child was out in the swimming pool swimming. She went out there and the child was drowned. She then put her in a hot tub bath, put her to the bed in the morning. The child was already dead when dressed her and carried her out of the house.

That`s what their defense is going to be.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. And once again, she hasn`t gone to trial yet. She hasn`t been convicted of anything.

But on the other side of the break, we`re going to talk about the trace evidence that prosecutors say they found of chloroform in Casey Anthony`s truck. Now, my understanding is there is still no word on whether the prosecution will be able to use that evidence and there`s going to be a big battle about that. And the decomposition in the trunk and that battle is coming up this week.

So, on the other side of the break, we`re going to get a preview of the next battle in the Casey Anthony case with Casey in court this week. Stay there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

G. ANTHON: I`ve said this many, many times. I will agree with you to a point. But you know, ma`am, I would have sold my soul to the devil to get my granddaughter back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, the big battle coming up this week when Casey goes back to court. Will this trace element of chloroform and decomposition in the trunk of her car -- will that evidence be allowed in? Leonard, if it is allowed in, is that game, set and match for the prosecution?

PADILLA: I believe that the prosecution has a lock on it with the chloroform and the decomposition. Those are irrefutable. And anybody who calls it junk science and all that just doesn`t really get it. I have been around this game for 35 years. Believe, it has convicted a lot of people.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So what happens --

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What happens this week is going to quite possible determine what happens to Casey. We are all over it; stay with ISSUES.

Nancy Grace is up next.

END