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Nancy Grace
New Twist in `Real Housewives` Suicide
Aired September 07, 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. Reality TV doesn`t get any more real than this after the LA coroner demands "Real Housewives" star Taylor Armstrong come in for questioning when a co-star found dead, Armstrong`s condescending and callous husband found dead in his own bedroom. But just before the body`s found, Armstrong accused of brutally beating his reality star wife and caught on tape blasting Bravo, the network that made him a star.
Bombshell tonight. Claims tonight of a real-life murder on "Real Housewives." As Bravo goes forward with the re-edited season premiere, In the last hours, just released, the gut-wrenching 911 call where the star`s body found hanging with an electrical cord. At the scene, the "Real Housewives" star herself, along with the couple`s 5-year-old little girl.
Tonight, Armstrong`s family reportedly hiring a private eye, insisting it was murder. As we go to air, autopsy and toxicology confirms no alcohol, no drugs in Armstrong`s system, as secret business files set to be turned over to the FBI. As the "Real Housewives" investigation unfolds, we learn Armstrong`s business partner also found dead just blocks away, also by alleged suicide.
Tonight, as murder allegations mount, what happened to the "Real Housewives" star?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My friend just hanged himself. Do you understand? Come over here right now. Stop asking questions and come here -- over here right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You can`t listen to the press.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I need my psychiatrist!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of the issues in my marriage are definitely addressed this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come here, Taylor. Come here, Taylor. It`s all right. It`s all right. It`s all right. It`s all right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not all right!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I better not see one frame. I better not hear one frame.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s the key to a happy relationship?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just got separated, divorced.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Make you look bad and they magnify all of the bad things in your life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Come as soon as possible!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live, Texas, a beautiful 14-year-old girl goes missing without a trace, Sharon West last seen at bedtime in the middle of the night when she disappears. Tonight, mystery text messages surface from the girl`s cell phone. Tonight, where is Sharon West?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Detectives are checking on all possibilities of what could have happened to 14-year-old Sharon West, including the possibility that she was abducted by a sex offender.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) fears that something terrible has happened to her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what sexual predators are out there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not knowing where she`s at, not knowing if she`s OK, all these crazy things that are going in my head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what individuals are out there that have taken advantage of a 14-year-old child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whether she did get in a car with some stranger and they`re doing something to her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Detectives tell us it`s impossible for them to know what really happened to Sharon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re scared, you`re upset, you wonder if you`ll ever see her again.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She just needs a chance to continue to live, or she just needs a chance to have a peaceful ending.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re not going to sleep or rest until we find her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight. Reality TV doesn`t get any more real than this, claims tonight of a real-life murder on "Real Housewives."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys look really happy tonight. You look like a happy couple.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Things are good, yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The friend went over through the back window and saw him hanging there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) with you now and the divorce.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They had a very volatile relationship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s nothing we can do. There is nothing we can do.
911 OPERATOR: Can you cut him down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I did not. I did not.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t want to see my son or hear of him being seen in even one frame.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it obvious (INAUDIBLE) did he just hang himself or (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hindsight is 20/20, but I don`t know what I would have done differently.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard you say so many times, you know, I`m so worried, you know, for Taylor, you know? I`m worried she`s going to have a breakdown or something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But nobody -- but we really didn`t see Russell.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think a lot of us have some guilt about not seeing this coming.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I never saw any sign of it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t think any of us saw any sign of this, and that`s why I think it`s such a shock because we all think that we know somebody, and then this horrific thing happens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I personally have gone through a lot of different emotions. I`ve gone from, you know, feeling really sad to watching, you know, Taylor, and you know, all of their daughter`s struggles and what she`s been going through, to at times, you know, I`ve felt very angry, you know, wanting to think that it`s kind of a very selfish act. And then...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But we don`t know what state of mind someone`s in to get to that point.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For sure. I mean, obviously, there`s a great depression behind that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You`re seeing video from Bravo`s "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Tonight, murder allegations begin to mount in the death of one of the "Real Housewives" stars.
Straight out to Alexis Tereszcuk, Radaronline.com. Alexis, we have just gotten ahold of the autopsy report, and I understand why the star`s family is suggesting, in fact claiming, that this was a murder, that this is no suicide.
Alexis, have you read this thing? I mean, his body is covered in bruises and abrasions, suggesting some type of altercation before his death.
ALEXIS TERESZCUK, RADARONLINE.COM: Yes, absolutely. The autopsy has really graphic details from the coroner, where it shows that there were abrasions on his elbows, around his ankles. So they are absolutely justified in...
GRACE: Well, hold on! Hold on!
TERESZCUK: ... calling for a deeper investigation.
GRACE: Abrasions on the elbows, the forearms, the back, the thighs, a bruise to the left eye. There`s abrasions and bruising on the right thigh. Not only that, did you notice, Alexis Tereszcuk, that he actually had his right foot on the floor? Now, how do you hang yourself with your foot on the floor, Alexis?
TERESZCUK: I think that one justification for that could have been that his weight pulled it down once he was hanged, and then after a while, that his leg was on the floor. But he -- it could have been from foul play also. And this is very suspicious, and that`s what the family is saying, that they want to investigate this.
GRACE: We are live and taking your calls. Out to Rob Shutter, columnist at AOL. Rob, thank you for being with us. Weigh in. What do you make of the allegations mounting tonight that the "Real Housewives" star was actually murdered?
ROB SHUTTER, "NAUGHTY BUT NICE" AOL COLUMNIST: This story keeps getting more and more bizarre, and I don`t have any indication that it`s not going to get even crazier. This autopsy report is really shocking. However, they are also saying that they do believe that this was a suicide.
GRACE: Wa-wait! Wa-wa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Let me -- let me tell you something. I don`t care about it getting crazier and crazier as you say, Rob. I`m concerned about whether this is a murder. Now, doesn`t it seem odd to you that he`s got his foot on the floor, but it`s supposed to be a hanging?
SHUTTER: Oh, absolutely. There are so many questions here, and I think we`re going to have more questions, Nancy. You might not like it, but there`s going to be lots and lots of more questions that are coming up because this is not right. There`s something that feels very wrong about all this.
GRACE: Well, what can you tell me about the family hiring a private eye to determine whether or not this was a murder? And actually, we learn tonight that his business associate found dead within hours of his death, a couple of blocks away, also by a suicide by shooting.
Now, what are the odds, Rob Shutter, that two business partners both commit suicide within a couple of hours a couple of blocks from each other? Now, why would that be?
SHUTTER: It is completely shocking. There is no explanation for this! This is why I think it`s very important that the family have decided to hire a private investigator to get to the bottom of this. Lots of questions, and maybe a private investigator can help us get some of those answers.
GRACE: And how much does the reality series "Real Housewives" play into the police finding tonight? Just as we go to air, I get ahold of the autopsy report. And before I can get to page two, there are already very disturbing discrepancies in the suicide theory.
Joining me right now is a special guest, joining us exclusively out of Dallas, Texas, tonight. It is Laurie Armstrong Kelsoe. This is Russell`s sister. Ms. Kelsoe, thank you for being with us.
LAURIE ARMSTRONG KELSOE, RUSSELL ARMSTRONG`S SISTER: Thank you for having me.
GRACE: When you first learned about the alleged suicide. What was your immediate response?
KELSOE: Absolutely, it was not a suicide. And I`ve said that throughout this whole thing. And I -- I`m sorry, I`m a bit shaken right now. I just learned about the autopsy report being given out today. And what I just heard was very, very disturbing to me, but it makes me feel very good that I`ve made the right decision to come here.
GRACE: Well, not only that, along with the autopsy report, Ms. Kelsoe, we get the toxicology report. And the toxicology report shows that there is absolutely no, zero, blood drugs or alcohol in his system. A lot of people were suggesting that he was on drugs or alcohol and had gotten depressed and committed suicide. But that is absolutely not the case. He was stone, cold sober at the time.
KELSO: Yes, that`s right.
GRACE: What does that say to you? If he`s in his right mind, would he have committed suicide?
KELSOE: No, absolutely not. It wasn`t an option. The way we were raised and our beliefs, and from day one, I`ve said, like, I will reiterate, it`s foreign to me when I hear that. And I am very...
GRACE: What do you mean by the way you were raised? What do you mean by that?
KELSOE: We -- as a Christian family, we just -- we were not raised -- suicide was not an option, in other words.
GRACE: You mean it was a mortal sin...
(CROSSTALK)
KELSOE: Correct, more or less, but it was just something that you just didn`t do. And we were always told, like -- or you know, we have always heard that it is the families that suffer from that. When people do take their own lives, it`s the families that are left to deal with it and hurt. So how is it going to...
GRACE: Have you told authorities you absolutely do not believe this was a suicide?
KELSOE: I`m just now stepping out and standing up for what I have said all along in private. In respect to my family and the children, I didn`t want to start all this, you know, before the funeral and -- but it was in the works, yes.
GRACE: Tonight, amidst mounting claims of murder on "Real Housewives," will the case be investigated as a crime?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don`t drive (ph). Just have her -- have her -- have her go away. I think we`re hearing them already. Taylor, have her go away as soon as possible. The man`s daughter is here, so we have to get her out of here.
911 OPERATOR: That`s her dad that`s...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s her dad.
911 OPERATOR: Did she -- did she -- did she find him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s fine. She`s fine. She doesn`t know of it. Oh, my God!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think there were a lot of problems. And we had finished filming, and I don`t think even Taylor was aware of his mental state. So it was a shock to all of us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very difficult to get to know, always had a wall up. So none of us really could ever predict that this would happen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can`t sit there and think, What could we have done? I mean, we have. You know, I think we all felt this sort of, Oh, my gosh, how come none of us saw this, including Taylor. We were never able to get to know him. I think we`re all still confused and shocked by it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Those are stars from "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" on NBC "Today," talking about season premiere and the death of their co-star, Russell Armstrong.
We are taking your calls. Out to Meryl in New York. Hi, Meryl. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I just saw your picture on Perez (ph). Your body looks amazing for "Dancing With the Stars." Congrats!
GRACE: Let me tell you something. It ain`t easy after the twins. I forgot all about that dieting and exercising.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, you look amazing.
GRACE: (INAUDIBLE) God bless you. And vote. Now, what about this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want to know -- so it`s for sure the business partner -- it was not a suicide, for sure it was a murder?
GRACE: No. Nothing is for sure, Meryl. They`re saying the business partner died within hours of Armstrong`s alleged suicide, a couple of blocks away, by gunshot to the head.
Now, I mean, listen, I`m not a statistician, but I know the odds of two male business partners both committing suicide a couple of blocks away within a couple of hours is astronomical, like a million to one. I need a Vegas bookie on this. But it`s unheard of that both of these guys are going to commit suicide within a couple hours of each other.
And you know, Meryl, there are allegations that because of "Real Housewives," the show, that an incredible amount of debt had piled up. And in order to keep his nose above water, he was associating with all sorts of characters in order to keep the show going -- in other words, the Armstrong show going. There`s a lot of theories.
So your question regarding the business partner is what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just wanted to know, is it for sure a murder? Is it a suicide? This whole thing is crazy, and hopefully, this PI will be able to figure it out. You know, I think it`s great that the family is hiring this person.
GRACE: To Alexis Weed, on the story. The business partner -- that`s been ruled a suicide, right?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right. The coroner`s already said that`s a suicide, Nancy, gunshot to the head. His body was found outside of his car on that same road where Russell Armstrong`s body was found in the home.
GRACE: We are taking your calls. I want to go back to the sister. Joining us tonight exclusively out of Dallas, Texas, Laurie Armstrong Kelsoe. Her brother allegedly commits suicide by hanging, but there he is with one foot on the ground? No drugs, no alcohol in his body.
Laurie, what effect did the show have on your brother? I mean, a lot of people don`t get this is for real, he`s not going to come back next season. He`s not an actor. It`s real.
KELSOE: Right. Right. That`s the one thing that I -- my goal is to help get it out that the public realize that this is real to our family and put a -- we need to put a face on this man that they have depicted as a monster, and he is not. And from day one, I said there`s no way it`s a suicide. I said it and I stood for it, and I now come public with it.
GRACE: To Chicago, and Dr. Helen Morrison, forensic psychiatrist and author of "My Life Among Serial Killers." Dr. Morrison, thank you for being with us. That`s a whole `nother wrench thrown into this, is the difficulty of people accepting this is real. This is final. He`s dead. He`s not going to come back next season and go, Hi, everybody, did you miss me?
DR. HELEN MORRISON, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: Absolutely. And I think one of the things is that we`ve confused reality shows with reality. His actions, whatever happened to this man, cannot be blamed on the show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He hanged himself. Do you understand? Come over here right now. Stop asking questions and come over here right now.
911 OPERATOR: OK. We`re already on the way. We`re already on the way. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come here, Taylor. Come here, Taylor. It`s all right. It`s all right. It`s all right. It`s all right. It`s all right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not all right!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
911 OPERATOR: Does he have, like, a lot of rigor mortis?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is that? Sorry?
911 OPERATOR: Is his body condition -- like, is he purple or is he...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what? It`s dark in there. And you know, I -- it`s not -- you know, like, I -- it`s all good. It`s all good. You know what, Taylor? Have your daughter go away, please.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daughter and I love to swim and spend time in the sun, so we`re out here every day that we possibly can be. So my husband`s a Texan and he loves barbecue. So we`ll come out here as a family and barbecue ribs or steaks, have some friends over, we have a margarita and just enjoy this gorgeous weather. One great thing about living up a little higher in Bel Air as opposed to the flats of Beverly Hills is we get amazing views. You can see from my home all the way downtown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I`m breaking!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re having a nervous breakdown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not another dinner party from hell!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taylor, don`t (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with me like that. I don`t like that, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you can`t be my friend, just please don`t be my enemy!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need to be honest! That`s not cool!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no idea what she`s done to me!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop! Stop! Stop!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Who was that screaming? That is video from Bravo`s "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." Alexis Tereszcuk, which one of them was that screaming?
TERESZCUK: Taylor Armstrong is the one screaming. She`s saying...
GRACE: OK, about what? What are they screaming about?
TERESZCUK: These women have issues that are a mile long. You know, with a lot...
GRACE: Just give me the short list, Alexis, just the short list.
TERESZCUK: They`re jealous of each other. One person has more money than the other person. One person says the other person offended them. They`re -- it`s cattiness to the 9 millionth degree, and with a little bit of alcohol, these women just let it all out. There`s no -- nothing is held back. They scream at each other about everything.
Taylor has always felt like the other women were very mean to her, and I think it was a lot of her insecurities about not having as much money as the rest of the women, which in turn really affected her marriage.
GRACE: OK. To Michaele Salahi, former cast member, Bravo`s "Real Housewives of D.C." How much -- just be blunt. How much does booze play into this whole thing? I mean, you get all these housewives. None of them are working. And they give them a couple of drinks and they have a fight. Is that the show?
MICHAELE SALAHI, FMR. CAST MEMBER, "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF D.C.": A lot of alcohol comes into it. I think our city was the biggest with alcohol. So it kind of plays a big role in it. And people love, you know, alcohol, and certainly, that becomes -- whatever your persona is or character, it blows up with alcohol.
GRACE: Well, it`s not just sitting around arguing at the coffee table anymore. Tonight, allegations of murder erupt in the "Real Housewives" series.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before he took his life, he said, Mom, they`re just going to crucify me this season.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I have this life that I want to celebrate. I just wish he would celebrate it with me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my god, oh, my god.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can`t imagine that anything that devastating was coming out on TV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is nothing we can do. There is nothing we can do.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: Did you cut him down?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That he would have taken his life.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just please, please come --
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: They`re on their way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At any point that you could quit.
UNIDENTIFIED 911 DISPATCHER: What sort of house is he in?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, he`s basically in the back. He`s going for a divorce. And he`s living at a friend`s house. And he locked his door, the friend went over through the back window and saw him hanging there. And that`s it. And we don`t know how long it has been because last time we all saw him was Friday. Oh my god.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I`m breaking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are. You`re having a nervous breakdown.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not another dinner party from hell.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taylor, don`t (EXPLETIVE DELETED) with me like that. I don`t like that, OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you can`t be my friend, please don`t be my enemy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You need be honest. That`s not cool.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have no idea what she`s done to me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stop, stop, stop.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is plenty of men that, you know, their wives leave them, they don`t kill themselves. She cannot feel responsible for that. Nobody can. It was his choice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was his choice.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Who was it? Tonight amidst claims of murder, you`re seeing video from Bravo`s "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."
We are taking your calls, but straight out to Dr. Ann Contrucci, joining us tonight, physician, emergency room doctor, medical expert, joining us out of Atlanta.
Dr. Contrucci, thank you for being with us.
DR. ANN CONTRUCCI, PHYSICIAN AND PEDIATRIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE EXPERT: Thank you, Nancy.
GRACE: I`ve been reading this autopsy report of "The Real Housewives" star and I find the body covered in bruises and abrasions. And also, it states that the fingertips are dehydrated.
What does that mean, Doctor?
CONTRUCCI: Well, that`s just -- that can be potentially an indicator of how long he had been hanging there. I agree the concern for bruises, lacerations, cuts on the body, in places where you wouldn`t expect somebody is going to do that to themselves. If you`re going to kill yourself, you`re going to kill yourself.
And so that is very concerning for potential foul play and I think that the family is justified in saying, whoa, just a minute. Let`s check into this a little further because that just doesn`t sound quite right to me.
GRACE: Well, one thing that does suggest to me as some sort of asphyxiation is that the Patiki eye had hemorrhage. Explain.
CONTRUCCI: Yes. That is correct. With the hanging, you die by asphyxiation. So, you know, with the lack of oxygen, and that is a very common finding, is that you will have the Patiki eye. What that means is burst -- tiny little blood vessels that are burst inside of the eye. So that`s actually very common. That would not necessarily go with suicide versus murder. That`s a pretty common finding in a hanging.
GRACE: Right. You can get that from a forced ligature or strangling.
CONTRUCCI: Absolutely.
GRACE: A manual strangulation, asphyxiation. But the abrasions, the bruises we`re talking about, abrasions to the outer elbows, to the upper right forearm, to the back, to the right thigh, to the left thigh, basically his whole body was covered in bruises and abrasions. That screams out to me that further investigation is needed.
Unleash the lawyers. Joining us tonight out of Orlando, Bill Sheaffer, former prosecutor, WFTV legal analyst. John Burris, famed defense attorney, San Francisco. Pilar Prinz, defense attorney, Atlanta.
What about it, Bill Sheaffer?
BILL SHEAFFER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, WFTV LEGAL ANALYST: Look, I`m not a great believer in coincidence and from everything that you`ve said, it appears to me that the family should do just what they did, hire a private investigator. They should also ask for a second autopsy, maybe get in touch with Warner Spitz, Dr. Spitz, to do a second autopsy.
There are too many indications that this was something sinister as opposed to a suicide. I think you`re absolutely right, Nancy.
GRACE: Especially the coincidence that the business partner is found dead within a couple of hours, a couple of blocks away, also by an alleged suicide.
To John Burris, defense attorney, San Francisco. Thoughts?
JOHN BURRIS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I agree with that. I mean think the -- all the bruises on the body in and of itself just raises real questions that somebody had to do this other than himself. That doesn`t necessarily mean he didn`t commit suicide, but it means he has some contact with some other persons.
It seems to me that the family and/or the police should be trying to find out how he got those particular bruises because that to me is extraordinarily important because you don`t commit suicide by having all these kind of bruises. That means you had to be somewhere else and you were in a tussle of some kind.
So a lot of work has to be done here and I think that -- I agree, I would normally hire Warner Spitz, he`s a great person to look into a case like this. Because what you want to find out is whether or not he could have died for reasons other than he died before, either through a blunt trauma of some kind or there are some other indications that he might have been dead before he was able even placed on that particular hanging situation.
GRACE: To Pilar Prinz, joining us out of Atlanta. We know that there was an alleged and brutal beating by the victim on his wife, Taylor Armstrong, within 24 hours of the alleged hanging. We also know that he had just gone on to Bravo and blasted the network that made him a star.
I mean, combined with that allegation of his business dealings. What do you make of it, Pilar?
PILAR PRINZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, the facts of this case are so bizarre and you`ve got evidence that points almost both ways. And my heart goes out to the --
GRACE: But what does it mean to you, Pilar, that the wife, the real housewife was called in for questioning by the coroner?
PRINZ: I think it means just that, that they wanted to see if she knew anything and they wanted to see what her involvement was. She had recently filed for divorce. She`s made claims of physical violence by him against her. And I think they just wanted to know what she knew. I don`t think we can read more into it than that.
GRACE: To Vito Colucci, private investigator, author of "Inside the Private Eyes of a PI".
Vito, thanks for being with us.
Vito, very often the first person to arrive at the scene comes under suspicion. And in this case, she was there at the scene when the body was found. And had her daughter there, the 5-year-old little girl.
VITO COLUCCI, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR, AUTHOR OF "INSIDE THE PRIVATE EYES OF A PI": Yes, you know, this case screams private detective, Nancy. You know, she files for divorce in July. Within a matter of a couple of weeks, he`s dead. His business partner is dead.
Is somebody connected with the wife or somebody that wants to get even for all these beatings? Are these business contacts that him and his partner screwed over? Are these loan sharks that go with organized crime that`s giving him a beating and killing him?
This screams private detectives. There is so much work to be done on this case. And they make this a suicide, Nancy, with all these bruises? Not in my day as a cop. They don`t go that fast and make this is a suicide.
GRACE: Whoa. Wait a minute. Wait a minute.
Rob Shuter, am I looking at him getting on a private plane? Those are around $30,000, $40,000 a hit.
ROB SHUTER, "NAUGHTY BUT NICE", COLUMNIST, AOL: Absolutely. The amount of money that this couple spent was staggering. I was actually in California for the final taping of what would have been the season finale of this season, that probably will not air now.
The amount of money that was spent at this party, the amount of alcohol that was consumed at this party was staggering. And Bravo does not pay for that. The housewives pay for that themselves.
GRACE: OK, wait, I need some detail, all right. I can`t really form an opinion based on what you`re telling me. I mean I work and go home and take care of the twins. What do you mean by a lavish party, what?
SHUTER: It was a very expensive private restaurant, bouquets of flowers worth thousands of dollars, champagne corks popping, and this wasn`t champagne for $20, $30. These bottles might have been $2,000 a bottle and there was at least 10 of them that were open during the evening. The amount of money, Nancy, staggering.
GRACE: OK, I`m sorry, I`m trying to catch my breath. Did you say $2,000 for one bottle of booze?
SHUTER: One bottle of booze. And let me tell you, there was many, many bottles that were popped that night.
GRACE: And the housewives and their families or husbands have to pay for all that?
SHUTER: Absolutely. You do not get an expense report that you can hand into Bravo and they pay you back. You pay your own expenses when you`re on these reality shows so if you want to throw a lavish party, Bravo will love to bring their cameras and capture all of that but you`re paying for it.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Jennifer in -- Jennifer in Virginia, hi, Jennifer, what is your question?
JENNIFER, CALLER FROM VIRGINIA: Hi there. First of all, I`m very sorry to Russell`s family for their loss. And I was wondering if they thought that his wife might have had anything to do with his demise.
GRACE: Good question. Out to our special guest, Lori Armstrong Kelso. That question is for you, Lori.
LORI ARMSTRONG KELSO: She`s not a suspect at this time, no. We are opening up an investigation, though. It`s obviously out in the press. And in good due time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before he took his life, he said, mom, they`re going to crucify me this season.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel like I have this life that I want to celebrate. I just wish he could celebrate it with me.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: No word from 14-year-old Sharon West.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is serious. This girl is missing.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: In the case, full of emotions.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sharon`s parents say they don`t know where to look for their daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not knowing where she`s at, not knowing if she`s OK.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Possibility that she was abducted by a sex offender.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what individuals are out there that will take advantage of a 14-year-old child.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some stranger and they`re doing something to her.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: And that has the community worried the worst may have happened to one of their neighbors.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Detectives search homes of the 24 registered sex offenders within a five-mile radius of the field. They say phone calls show Sharon was in that area.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Investigators found a cell phone in the woods.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not even sure if she sent that text message.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Sharon West`s family gathered in prayer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just needs a chance to continue to live.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You always fear that something terrible has happened to her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They went to a party of some kind and I think she made arrangements to meet with somebody after everybody went home and that`s what I think. I don`t think she was ever out there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to think she`s OK and she`s just don`t want to call home or come home for some reason.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are live and taking your calls. This teen missing, goes missing around bed time. Police now saying she`s in danger.
To Jessica Lipscomb, the breaking news reporter with the "Beaumont Enterprise."
Jessica, what can you tell us?
JESSICA LIPSCOMB, BREAKING NEWS REPORTER, BEAUMONT ENTERPRISE: Hi, Nancy. Well, around 2:00 a.m. on July 30th, it was a Saturday, Sharon was staying at a family friend`s house. They went to bed, said she was still up. When they woke up the next morning, she wasn`t there.
Investigators now know she sent a text message around 5:20 in the morning saying she was at a nearby soccer field, and apparently placed another call about an hour later at 6:30, also indicating she was at that same field, and after that, no one has reported hearing from her. It`s been more than a month and she`s still missing. We don`t have any idea where she is.
GRACE: OK. This is something I don`t understand.
To Rod Carroll, deputy sheriff with the Jefferson County Sheriff`s Office. Sheriff, thank you for being with us. How did she get from going home to a friend`s house, to being at a soccer field at 5:00 in the morning? Who is at a soccer field at 5:00 in the morning?
ROD CARROLL, DEPUTY SHERIFF, JEFFERSON COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE: This was a meeting place for some of the young people in the area. It is only about maybe a quarter mile from the residence she was staying at. And that`s what she was trying to get some folks to come out there and meet her.
GRACE: So this is one of those youth soccer fields that is basically a place to play soccer for various groups, church groups, schools, whoever wants to use the field, right?
CARROLL: Yes, ma`am. It actually belongs to a league, but behind that there is a bunch of trails which is where the children would hang out. Ride four-wheelers and things along those lines.
GRACE: We are taking your calls. This 14-year-old girl now deemed to be in danger by local police.
To Matt Zarrell, what more can you tell me, Matt?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE STAFFER, COVERING STORY: Nancy, cops have spent a numerous amount of time searching the area around the soccer field by land, air and water. They brought out cadaver dogs and bloodhounds. They were not able to pick up her scent.
But one thing I want to know, she was 14 when she disappeared. She turned 15 during this disappearance, Nancy. And I find it hard to believe that a 15-year-old is going to miss her birthday party.
GRACE: You know what? You`re right about that.
Joining me right now is Sharon`s mother, Sandra West. Joining us from Houston.
Miss West, thank you for being with us.
SANDRA WEST, MOTHER OF MISSING 14-YEAR-OLD SHARON WEST: You`re welcome, thank you for letting me be on here.
GRACE: First of all, our prayers and our thoughts have been with you and your family ever since we heard about your daughter`s disappearance. The thought of raising your girl all those years, sinking all your love and your hopes into her, and for her to just go missing at the drop of a hat.
I notice that there`s been no activity on her Facebook or MySpace. Is that unusual?
WEST: It is very unusual. She was very -- always on her Facebook, always, or texting.
GRACE: Are you familiar with the soccer field where she claims to have been? That`s where we think she was.
WEST: I`ve been out there. But before this happened, I had never really been out there.
GRACE: And what is your understanding -- why was she at a soccer field? Why did she want to be picked up? Why did she want to ride that night and who may have picked her up?
WEST: I really have no idea because -- I really have no idea.
GRACE: What can you tell me about Sharon? Where would she likely have gone?
Everyone, there is a reward in the case. The tip line is 409-833- TIPS, 409-833-8477. This 14-year-old girl missing and deemed to be in grave danger tonight. Where would she go, Sandra? What did she do in her spare time when she wasn`t in school?
WEST: She hung out with her friends and if she -- I mean if she would have left, she would have been with Austin and she wasn`t with Austin. So --
GRACE: That`s the boyfriend.
WEST: I don`t know.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Keena in North Carolina. Hi, Keena, what`s your question?
KEENA, CALLER FROM NORTH CAROLINA: Hey, Nancy, this is me. And my roommate Anna Grace, we watch you every single night. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. And thank you for watching. What`s your question?
KEENA: My question to you tonight, Nancy, is, is there any way to go back to her service provider and see through text messages who she was texting before the disappearance of this young girl?
GRACE: That`s a great question. To Bill Sheaffer, former prosecutor in Orlando what about it, Bill? Shouldn`t that be fairly easy to do?
SHEAFFER: Yes, that should be fairly easy to do. And they should cooperate probably even without subpoena.
Nancy, one of the things that hadn`t been mentioned is that this soccer field is close to a major highway. And these circumstances again are pointing to something other than just she`s decided to run away and I think it`s good that the police are conducting this as a missing child with a possible -- possibly being in danger.
GRACE: Well, as of right now there is no reason at all to suspect that she`s run away, none whatsoever.
To Deputy Sheriff Rod Carroll, explain to me what your search has entailed so far.
CARROLL: I`m sorry, ma`am. Can you repeat?
GRACE: Tell me about the search for the 14-year-old girl. What have you done to find her?
CARROLL: Basically what we`ve done, we`ve done a land search of the area. We`ve had volunteers out in that area. We`ve done aerial search with the helicopter. We`ve also searched with bloodhounds to see if they can pick up the scent. And we have used human remain dogs as well as our Marine Division has searched the canals in the area with sonar.
GRACE: Sharon West, a 14-year-old girl, has seemingly vanished into thin air. Take a look. Tip line, 409-833-8477. 833-TIPS. There is a reward.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Fourteen-year-old Sharon West could be hurt in a field somewhere.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The word is more concerned than scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re scared. You`re upset. You know, you wonder if you`ll ever see her again.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Won`t let up until that one clue, that one piece of evidence, leads to Sharon.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we`re not going to sleep or rest until we find her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re going to keep searching until we find her.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What really happened to Sharon early in the morning of July 30?
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back. We are taking your calls. Take a look at this 14-year-old girl, who seemingly vanishes into thin air, just around bedtime from a local soccer field.
I want to go straight back out to Jessica Lipscomb. Breaking news reporter with the "Beaumont Enterprise."
Jessica, what are the theories about the girl`s disappearance right now, and how close is that soccer field to a big thoroughfare?
LIPSCOMB: Well, Nancy, we still don`t know if there was an abduction that took place. But it`s been a month. And in the past, she has always contacted family, friends. Nobody`s heard from her.
GRACE: Well, I think it`s very telling, Vito Colucci. There`s been no activity on her Facebook or MySpace.
COLUCCI: Yes. Without a doubt. You know, I want to -- even though the police have done a very good job on this so far, Nancy, I want to talk to those sex offenders in the area. I know the police have already done that. But that`s highly unusual. A girl that age, Facebook, MySpace, no activity? There`s something going on here.
GRACE: Sharon West, just 14 years old. Deemed to be in grave danger tonight. Tip line, 409-833-TIPS.
Let`s stop and remember Army Captain Brett Schiller, 26, Waterford, Wisconsin. Killed Iraq. West Point grad. Majored in Chinese. Hosted Chinese military cadets at the Elite Academy. Awarded Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation. Loves sky diving, camping, languages, guitar. Started making electric guitars from scratch in high school.
Leaves behind parents William and Carla, sisters Rhonda and Renee, brother Ryan, serving the Marines.
Brett Schiller, American hero.
Thanks to our guests and especially to you for being with us. And a special shout-out tonight to Steve, at Grandpa`s Bouncy House, Kissimmee, Florida. I asked the twins last night if they wanted to go back to Disney, and they said they wanted to go to Grandpa`s Bouncy house. We slid on inflatable slides, bounced, played basketball, did sand art.
The twins worked up a sweat and so did I.
Steve, thank you. And we`ll be back.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
