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Jane Velez-Mitchell

New Abuse Cases Opened against Sandusky; Missing Tennessee Mom`s Timeline Twists?

Aired November 22, 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, disturbing new developments in the desperate search for a beautiful missing mother, who was getting divorced when she vanished. Searchers drag a river as new reports claim her estranged husband has lawyered up, though he`s not considered a suspect. Could her disappearance be tied to other similar- looking missing women in the same area? In an ISSUES exclusive, I`ll speak to her frantic son and her best friend.

Plus, a mother of three vanishes just hours after her feud with her ex airs on "The People`s Court." I`ll talk to Michelle`s sister in an exclusive.

And a stunning confrontation on "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." One housewife confronts Taylor Armstrong about allegations that her now dead husband, Russell, hit her. The show was taped before Russell committed suicide. Did these allegations drive Russell to hang himself? Are they even true? We`re taking your calls.

ISSUES starts now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: More on those stories in a moment. But first, we have breaking news in the Penn State child sex scandal. We are just learning two new cases of child abuse against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky have been opened by Children and Youth Services. Now, Jerry Sandusky already faces 40 counts of sex crimes involving eight young boys. But these are the new cases, and these are the first cases that involve alleged victims who are still children as we speak, still under 18 years of age.

Straight out to the reporter who first broke this entire scandalous story, Sara Ganim. She is live at Penn State. Sara, what can you tell us about these two new cases?

SARA GANIM, REPORTER: Well, what we know, Jane, is that these are current children. These are not adults who came forward and said, "I was abused by Jerry Sandusky when I was a child."

CYS only investigates -- Children and Youth Services only investigates in Pennsylvania if current children under the age of 18 are involved in the case. So we know that this happened. These allegations were brought forward in the last 60 days. We don`t know when in the last 60 days. We know that the investigation is still open. So we don`t know if they were deemed credible allegations or not.

But Children and Youth Services is investigating two new cases in the last 60 days of children being abused by Jerry Sandusky.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Which leads me to ask, why on earth is Jerry Sandusky a free man tonight, roaming around without an ankle bracelet and having been released on unsecured bail, which means he didn`t have to put any money down?

And another shocker: we have learned that his preliminary hearing has been pushed back by about a week into mid-December.

Straight out to Jean Casarez. You have new information about the judges in the county in which all of this is going down. Tell us what you know. This is also breaking news.

JEAN CASAREZ, TRUTV`S "IN SESSION": That`s right. I was able to confirm that all of the judges from Centre County we`re talking about, the court of common plea judges, they have all recused themselves. This is according to the administrative department of Pennsylvania court. So they are finding an out-of-state -- an out-of-county judge that will preside over the trials.

Now, the magistrate judges will preside over the preliminary hearings, but going forward, it will be another judge from within the state of Pennsylvania.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And remember, the judge who let this guy go against the advice of prosecutors, freeing him without an ankle bracelet on unsecured $100,000 bond, which he didn`t have to put down a penny for, she was forced off the case, because it turns out that she was a volunteer for the Second Mile charity, which this guy allegedly used at his personal hunting ground to get young boys, allegedly. And also that she had taken contributions from people connected to Second Mile.

Joey Jackson, I do not understand why tonight, as we speak, this man is out. He is out, and not only despite all the uproar, which has included riots over this case, but people demanding that this guy be put behind bars. As opposed to listening to the general outcry, the powers that be have actually allowed him to stay free yet another week, pushing his preliminary hearing back to mid-December.

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know what, Jane? You raise a very legitimate concern. But I should tell you to pause only momentarily, because that may change for two reasons.

No. 1, as you mentioned, Jane, there was an issue with the initial judge, and whether she had ties to him and at least the Second Mile. No. 2 and more importantly, in order for bail to change, there has to be what`s called a change in circumstances. That change in circumstances can very well be these new allegations with those who are under 18, in addition to other allegations which we are learning at least ten other people presumably may come forward.

And so if that happens, Jane, what you will see, and quickly, particularly with a new batch of judges who have no connection to Penn State, is an entire change of circumstances, and that means different bail conditions, which could even mean revocation of bail. So stay tuned on that one.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yada, yada, yada, yada, yada. Yada, yada, yada. With all due respect, why isn`t he behind bars tonight?

JACKSON: Because of the judge.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: We have now two more alleged victims who are coming forward who are currently children. And not to overstate the obvious, but that means that there`s a greater likelihood, I would think, that all of this happened more recently if these two alleged victims are still children.

CASAREZ: Very true. And think about this. When the grand jury presentment was announced, the charges were announced, the hotline number was to the attorney general`s office, if there were any other alleged victims to come forward. This is separate and distinct from that, if the Children and Family [SIC] Services is now interviewing and leading this investigation. This is before it gets to the attorney general`s office.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And I know, quickly, Sara Ganim, there has been a lot of controversy over why they just, when they had the allegations that were contained in this grand jury, but when they first heard about them, instead of going through a whole long, extended, year`s long grand jury investigation, why they didn`t just go out arrest this man.

GANIM: Governor Tom Corbett has been getting a lot of questions about that, and that`s important because the governor, Tom Corbett, was actually the attorney general when this investigation started back in 2009. And it wasn`t -- we`ve learned it wasn`t for 15 months that they put more than one investigator on that case.

So for 15 months only, one state trooper was investigating, and he was only looking into one set of allegations, and that was victim one`s set of allegations. The second seven cases that are outlined in the grand jury report didn`t come to light until late 2010. So it was the second half of the investigation that brought us stuff like the testimony of Joe Paterno, that 1998 report on campus. The 2002 report from Mike McQueary, all of that stuff came in late 2010 moving forward.

So the governor is getting a lot of questions about why Jerry Sandusky wasn`t arrested immediately.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I would like to know whether any of these allegations include the time period during which the grand jury was investigating. That would really be an indictment.

Now, a young man named Frankie Probst has just come forward, saying he had a very close relationship with Jerry Sandusky as a kid and was not molested, but last night, he told NBC`s "Rock Center" he did shower with Jerry Sandusky, and added that Sandusky gave him a special scrapbook.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This scrapbook tells the story of the six years Frankie Probst was coached, mentored and befriended by a man 43 years his senior. Sandusky put the book together, documenting an intense relationship that appears to border on obsession. There are personal messages and inspirational passages and scores of photographs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Joey Jackson, that creeps me out. When was the last time you put together a scrapbook, as an adult male, for a young boy?

JACKSON: Well, you know what, Jane? You`re right, you`re on to...

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Never?

JACKSON: The issue really becomes -- right, exactly, as in never. But the issue really becomes whether this was something that was done with genuine heart, with something that was compassion with him being a mentor versus him being a pedophile.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: It is creepy!

JACKSON: It is somewhat creepy. And it depends upon how it`s spun. And obviously, his lawyer would try to use it advantageously.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes.

JACKSON: Many, of course, will disagree.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, my personal opinion: it`s creepy.

Thank you, fantastic panel.

Up next, the search for a missing mother, Karen Swift. We`re taking your calls on this: 1-877-JVM-SAYS. An exclusive interview with Karen`s son and her best friend when we come right back. We want to find this woman. Stay with us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON SWIFT, MISSING MOTHER`S SON: If my mother is out there, we are very worried, very concerned. If anyone has any information about her, please, please, let us know. We just want to know. We want to know she`s OK. And I love you, Mom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A family franticly searching for a missing mother of four. Karen Swift vanished from her home in Dyersburg, Tennessee.

SWIFT: We are very concerned and very worried. And we want her back home safe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Swift was last seen about a mile away from her home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mother of four children had just returned home from a Halloween party. Investigators have found her abandoned SUV and some clothes that could belong to her.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A beautiful young mom of four vanishes without a trace.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s taken a pretty good toll on our family right now. I mean, everybody`s trying to hold theirselves together right now, you know, but we just pray for her safe return, really.

SWIFT: If my mother is out there, we are very worried, very concerned. If anyone has any information about her, please, please let us know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This is a family in agony, and we want to help find this missing woman. And we`ve got some stunning new details tonight in the hunt for beautiful missing Tennessee mother of four, Karen Swift.

She was last seen over three weeks ago on Halloween weekend, just 19 days after she filed for divorce. Now cops have found clothing on a river bank, and they are searching the river for any clues.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a massive search, certainly the biggest search since Karen Swift went missing. Fifty people are involved, six rescue squads. The river, the lakes, the banks are being searched. Sonar equipment and dragging equipment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: There are many, many questions about the night Karen went missing.

Let`s look at the timeline. The night of the 29th, Karen went to a Halloween party. At 11:40 p.m. that night, she calls and texts her friends two times in a row. Then at 1:30 in the morning, Karen picks up her daughter from a Halloween sleepover. The child had said she wanted to go home, and they went home. And they apparently go to sleep together.

Between 1:30 and 5 a.m., Karen gets up and moves her daughter to her little sister`s bed. And then at 5 a.m., there is a Google search, a mysterious Google search made from Karen`s phone. And then at 6 a.m., Karen is gone.

Now I don`t know about anybody else, but I don`t make Google searches at 5 in the morning for no reason. What was she looking for? Was it even her using her phone?

What do you think? I am going to take your calls: 1-877-JVM-SAYS.

Straight out to my exclusive guest, the missing woman`s son, Preston Swift.

Preston, I want to thank you for joining us. I know that you are doing everything in your power to find your mother, and I know this is extraordinarily difficult for you. Our hearts go out to you and everyone in your family. Your two kid sisters who are going through a lot. How are you and your two kid sisters holding up?

SWIFT: We`re doing pretty good. We`re doing everything we can to be together right now. They`re actually doing well. My father and I have been doing everything we can to help them deal with the situation and also to help us deal with the situation. We`ve had them in therapy. We`ve also been to some therapy. But we`re doing everything that we can to help us in this situation right now.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: What about this Google search, at 5 in the morning? That seems very suspicious, very odd to me. What do you know? What was searched? Do you have any idea?

SWIFT: We really don`t have any idea. I know that they pinged her phone at 5 a.m. in the morning, and it was about 12 miles off from the house. They`re not really telling us a lot about the Google search. In fact, I`ve never even had it confirmed yet that it was a Google search. But we`re still talking to the sheriff every day, seeing what we can find out, if there is any new information.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let`s look at some possibilities here, or some aspects of this case. Just a month before your mom disappeared, a man was arrested for poisoning dogs, allegedly, including Karen`s dog, your family dog. That man, John Hogshooter, is out of jail on bond. Cops say he is not a suspect in your mother`s disappearance. But did she confront him at all? Did -- did -- why on earth was he poisoning dogs? What a horrible thing.

SWIFT: You know, I found out about the situation the day it happened. I know that she was upset. I know my brother is -- it`s actually my brother`s dog. He was really upset, too. I don`t know that she actually confronted him. I know that the sheriff was involved in that situation, but I can`t have any information on her actually confronting him.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: And now, your mom is not the first pretty, petite blond woman to go missing in this quad-state area. She is one of five. And I want you to take a look at these beautiful women, all missing without a trace. And I want you to take a look at the map.

Paige Johnson went missing September 23, 2010 from Florence, Kentucky, Holly Bobo went missing April 13 from Darden, Tennessee. Two months later, Lauren Spierer goes missing from Bloomington, Indiana. Katelyn Markham missing August 13 from Fairfield, Ohio, and now Karen Swift last seen October 30. Now all of these locations are just 130 miles apart or less.

Preston, do you think there could be some kind of serial killer or kidnapper? What do you think happened to your mom?

SWIFT: I really don`t know what happened to my mom. I don`t really think that it is tied to those cases, but when you do look at the hard evidence, it seems like it might be. There`s -- there`s just a lot of speculation on so many leads right now that we`re going -- me and my family are doing everything that we can to figure out which leads to look into a little bit more. And the sheriff`s department is really handling those leads, as well.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: I want to bring in Janet Ross. You`re a childhood friend of the missing woman, Karen Swift. First of all, is there any reason why Karen would want to, of her own volition, get up out of bed in the middle of the night, put one child, one young child sleeping with the other child, and then leave for parts unknown?

JANET ROSS, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF KAREN SWIFT (via phone): Not that I`m aware of. It`s not something that I know to be characteristic of Karen.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, what about her relationship with her estranged husband? I know that 19 days before she disappears, she files for divorce. I don`t want to get into it. I don`t want to -- there`s no -- we`re not pointing the finger. There`s no suspects in this case. We just -- I`m just trying to get a sense of what their relationship was like, because I know that they had one been married, and then they got divorced. Then they got re-married again.

ROSS: I really -- I don`t know. Karen and I have been friends since we were children, and since we graduated high school, we`ve kept in touch off and on. For the last two years, we`ve kept in touch regularly. We didn`t really talk about that. I know they`ve had up and downs, just like all married couples do, but I don`t know of -- she never shared anything with me, specific.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, we want to find this woman. We are going to talk to an investigator on the other side, who feels that there may be a connection to other missing women. Stay tuned.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are more questions than answers into the disappearance of Tennessee mom of four, Karen Swift.

SWIFT: We are very worried, very concerned. If anyone has any information about her, please, please, let us know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Where is this beautiful mother of four, Karen Swift? Now, is there any link to the disappearances of four other women within a 130-mile radius? All of them have a very similar look.

And the theory that there might be a connection was first brought to our attention by private investigator Bill Warner, who joins us tonight.

Bill, have you been, I think, checking this out, and you have apparently found out that three of these five women`s cell phones have not been found. Do you have any new information for us that might give us an idea of whether these cases are connected.

WARNER: Well, I want to go back to what Preston just said concerning his mother`s cell phone, and it appears they pinged it at 5 a.m. on this Google search, and it was 12 miles away from the home. The car was found about a half a mile away from the home. Kind of indicates that she had gone mobile.

Also back to Holly Bobo, when she was kidnapped in April of this year, her cell phone was found on the side of the road, six miles down the road, heading towards Nashville. Again, she had gone mobile. The similarities of the looks of all these women, yes, that`s a real problem I have. I can`t understand why. Maybe two, three girls looking alike, but five, that seems to be a pattern.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Have police given you any feedback on your theory?

WARNER: No. No. There`s no communication there. But the FBI did a report about two years ago that kind of is very interesting as far as serial killings on the highway. Interstate trucking was involved. Over the last 40 years, 440 cases of bodies that were found were linked to the trucking industry. Of the 440 cases, only 30 have been solved. So 11 cases a year. That`s astounding.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let me go to Levi Page, crime blogger, Internet radio host, and based in the area. Obviously, it`s standard procedure, Levi, to look at the closest family when somebody disappears. Karen filed for divorce from her husband 19 days before she goes missing.

Other than her daughters, who are very young, Karen`s husband is reportedly the last person to see her. I want to stress, cops say he is not a suspect, but what are your thoughts on how they need to investigate this to eliminate him or not?

LEVI PAGE, CRIME BLOGGER: Well, it will be interesting to note whether or not he`s taken a polygraph. We don`t know. The investigators are keeping everything close to the vest, as they should.

We do know that there was a friend -- her name was Laura Jane -- gave a quote to "The Huffington Post," and she described their relationship as volatile. And she also -- I don`t know this for a fact; the investigators have not confirmed it -- she says that David Smith, her estranged husband, hired an attorney and is refusing to cooperate with the investigators.

And going back to what the other guest just said earlier about a connection between Holly Bobo and other women who have disappeared in the same area here in Tennessee, the fact is, is that it could also be a hunter. Remember, in the Holly Bobo case, her brother seen her leaving into the woods with someone dressed in camouflage.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Good theories. We want to find her.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a definite she-bear. I am pounding on doors. I`m going through crackhouses. I`m going through Dumpsters.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Michelle disappeared just hours after she went on national TV on "The People`s Court".

MICHELLE LEE PARKER, MISSING WOMAN: I felt somebody grab me and yank me around. He`s crying, I`m crying. He`s sorry, I`m sorry.

STEWART: This isn`t just a wallet, this isn`t a purse. This is my baby girl. We need to find her.

PARKER: We brushed it under the rug and I stayed with him for a few months.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re like drugs to each other. You`re addicted to each other.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody`s searching. And now let`s hope we find her and bring her home.

STEWART: Whoever did this to her, God help them when we find them if they don`t do the right thing and turn her loose.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: A young mother of three goes missing after appearing on national television. Tonight, is there new information on her location? Her ex-fiance was the last person to see her, but police say he is not a suspect.

Good evening everyone. Jane Velez-Mitchell back with you, live from New York City. We are closely monitoring the situation in Florida. It`s been more than four days since anyone has seen or heard from 33-year-old Michelle Lee Parker. And today the desperate hunt continued for this beautiful woman who`s a bartender who just vanished hours after appearing on "The People`s Court". Watch this from YouTube.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DALE SMITH, EX-FIANCE OF MICHELLE LEE PARKER: We were dating for about four years.

PARKER: He said that wanted his ring, I threw it out. I felt somebody grab me and yank me around.

He`s crying, I`m crying. He`s sorry, I`m sorry.

We brushed it under the rug and I stayed with him for a few more months.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re like drugs to each other. You`re addicted to each other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That episode aired Thursday, the same day Michelle disappeared. Sixteen detectives have been assigned to this case; 20,000 flyers have been distributed. So far, no trace of this beautiful woman.

Then this morning, the missing woman`s mother goes on the "Today" show and reveals this shocker.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: The only thing that frustrates me, and it`s not with the police department, it`s with our laws in general. I have really good information that she may be in a certain area and I just can`t go kick the door down and go in and get her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That is a shocker.

Joining me tonight, Michelle`s sister, Lauren Erickson; Lauren, thank you for being here. I know you are going through hell and that it`s important that we get the word out about your sister.

It was actually, to me, shocking, but also encouraging that your mom is saying on national television that she has good information that Michelle may be in a certain location. She just doesn`t have the resources, the power to go and knock the door down. What was she referring to?

LAUREN ERICKSON, SISTER OF MICHELLE LEE PARKER (via telephone): As far as more information and, you know, where she is, you know, we don`t know where she is right now, you know? My mother is a mother who has a child who`s lost right now, and I think just what she means by that or what she was trying to say is, you know, she sees certain places and she`s like, wow, that looks suspicious. I want to go in there and knock a door down. Go see if she`s in there, go see if my baby`s in there.

But, you know, there are laws in place and we can`t go do that. I think that that`s kind of what she meant by that. Her emotions have so up and down. I mean, she`s a mother whose child is missing.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So she doesn`t have specific information on a specific location where Michelle might be, suffice it to say?

ERICKSON: If we had something that specific, we would have done it by now. If it was something like that, then we would have -- you know, the police department would know and we would go in there and they would do what they had to do to get warrants and what not, I`m sure. But I think it`s really just that her emotions are so crazy right now and she`s just emotional. I mean, her daughter is missing.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Oh, I totally understand. I totally understand. And my heart goes out to her, and you.

Now, watch this, because it`s Michelle`s appearance with her ex on "The People`s Court", and then from the "Today" show, what her mother said about that appearance. And then we`ll analyze.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is not for the sake of the kids. This is because you`re like drugs to the each other. You`re addicted to each other. This is a very, very bad idea because it`s not good for children to grow up in this kind of conflict.

PARKER: Absolutely not.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is very, very bad --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: She hated every second of that show. She said she was humiliated by that judge.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So, Lauren, is it possible that Michelle was humiliated by the show, as your mother suggested and that because of that, she decided to take off and maybe be somewhere by herself. Or is it possible that maybe she got into -- since she was dropping the kids off with the ex, with whom she was on the show -- that she got into some kind of altercation with him?

Any theories? I`m just trying to get some information here so we can find her. Lauren?

All right. Let`s go straight out to Jon Leiberman, investigative reporter, Howard 100 News Sirius XM. Jon, you have been investigating this case. What have you learned?

JON LEIBERMAN, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, HOWARD 100 NEWS SIRIUS XM: Jane, here`s what we know at this point. Police are looking at three different theories. One: that you just alluded to, that somehow Michelle was humiliated by this show, so she either chose to run away or chose to commit suicide. That is an unlikely scenario.

The second scenario is that she was randomly carjacked and abducted. That, too, according to police sources, is an unlikely scenario.

Police now, though, are more focused on Dale Smith, Michelle`s ex. Here`s what we know, Jane. And obviously, he has not been named publicly as a person of interest, but we know they seized computers from his home. They are going through his computers because they received a tip that he has been corresponding via Craigslist for more than a year with different men and women. They`re looking into those relationships.

Number two, they`re also looking into information they have received about past relationships that Dale Smith has had, that have been tumultuous as well. And they`re looking into and talking to friends of Michelle`s who have told police that she was extremely fearful of Dale Smith.

Of course, he was a marine. He doesn`t have a criminal record that we can find at this point. But police are zeroing in on his possible involvement.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me say this -- that Dale Smith was not been named a suspect or a person of interest, and authorities say they have no suspect or person of interest. So we want to make that very clear. And we invite Dale Smith and/or his representative, his attorney, his relative or all of them on our show anytime to give their side of the story. We want to be very fair here and he is not a suspect, according to police.

Now, here`s something else Michelle`s mom said on this morning`s "Today" show. And it`s interesting. Her theory as to what might have happened to her daughter. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEWART: I know in my heart of heart that she`s been carjacked, that the people saw an expensive car and a girl who looks like she has money, and I know they`ve made a mistake and I know that they want to fix this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. That`s the hummer that belongs to Michelle. So Joey Jackson, criminal defense attorney, does it make sense to you? And it could, if Michelle was carjacked, do they often abandon the car that quickly?

JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You see, here`s the problem with that theory, Jane, the problem is, how would she go missing as a result of it? I think the carjacker`s more inclined to take the car, not the person in addition to the car. And therefore, I`m optimistic about it. I think potentially because of the show and what happened, because of the tumultuous relationship with the boyfriend, because of the issue with the ring that the show was about; perhaps she just needed a time out.

And as a result of that -- I know it`s an optimistic theory, Jane -- but perhaps she`s just getting out of dodge for a while, will resurface and resurface safely, at least that`s my ardent hope here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: On "The People`s Court" Michelle made some rather strong allegations against her ex-fiance. Check this out from YouTube.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PARKER: For the five years that we were together, I could probably rattle off seven girls that he had in the house, e-mails, pictures, text messages, Craigslist --

SMITH: Two while we were broke up.

PARKER: He`s cheated on me constantly and I`ve always tried to keep it together for the kids and would forget and forgive and this was the final straw.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: She says that he cheated on her with seven different women, and we`ve already discussed how Dale describes himself on Facebook, saying he studied death, destruction, terror, and mayhem in the Marines.

But I have to say that the family, Jon Leiberman, the family of the missing woman is saying that he has absolutely nothing to do with this. They are completely confident that he is not involved. And is it my understanding that the kids are with him; the twins that they had together are him now?

LEIBERMAN: Yes. And you hit the nail on the head, Jane. I can tell you from my time at "America`s Most Wanted", seven years there, there`s nothing in it for the family to come out and point a finger at Dale, particularly because he hasn`t been charged with anything, as you pointed out. And he is watching the twins, which are his children. So, of course, he would gain temporary custody.

So there`s no reason for the family to come out and point fingers. I think everybody wants to stay optimistic for the very same reason that police aren`t getting into this tunnel vision. There`s nothing in it for police to name Dale as a suspect if, indeed, even they`re going that way, because that doesn`t do anything for their cause. The minute you say somebody is a person of interest, they clam up, they lawyer up; that`s exactly what police don`t want to happen here.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We`re going to go to the phone lines. Kenny, Indiana; Kenny, your question or thought?

KENNY, INDIANA (via telephone): Hi, Jane.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hi.

KENNY: Is her ex-fiance doing anything to help find her or what is he doing?

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s a very interesting question.

Jon Leiberman, I know that there`s been searches, massive searches, vigils, and all sorts of things. Is the ex-fiance involved in any of that?

LEIBERMAN: Well, he has stayed out of the public eye. Now, to be fair to him, he is watching two 3-year-olds, which is a full-time job in and of itself. But, no, we have not seen him publicly searching. We have not seen him help out the search teams or detectives in front of the cameras.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Yes. And now, tell us about the cell phone very briefly. I only have a couple of seconds, but that`s key.

LEIBERMAN: Well, we know that she texted like a two-word location to her brother on the cell phone, then the cell phone goes dead. The iPhone has not been located, but it`s important to note it appears after this final text message, the phone shuts off. So, either she shut it off or somebody shut it off, but it didn`t ping on any other locations after that final text message.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We want to stay on top of this case. We want to find Michelle and we`re going to do everything we can. Thank you, fantastic panel.

Up next, the "Housewives of Beverly Hills", more -- well, no shocker here, more dramarama, but the shocker is that it involves a man who committed suicide.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAYLOR ARMSTRONG, "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS": A lot of the issues in my marriage are definitely addressed this year.

DYLAN HOWARD, RADARONLINE: Two weeks before he died, took himself off his antidepressant medication.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Physical abuse and debt, those are things that can be made up by producers.

HOWARD: There are graphic photos showing Taylor Armstrong with a cut on the right side of her face from her mouth to her eye socket.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Taylor tried to keep those injuries under wraps.

ANN HOTCHKISS, MOTHER OF RUSSELL ARMSTRONG: He said, well, this is the way reality TV is. I said, Russell, this is brutal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The show characterized him as someone that abused his spouse.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: They just announced plans to re-edit the show.

HOTCHKISS: He said, it`s ratings. They don`t care about how people feel or how they`re hurt or if it destroys their marriage.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Russell Armstrong, the estranged husband of "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills" Taylor Armstrong committed suicide on August 15th. He killed himself. And that caused Bravo executives to re-edit the season that was taped prior to his death. But despite Russell`s mother warning them, begging them, pleading with them right here on ISSUES not to show her son ever again, they did just that.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOTCHKISS: Oh, I better not see one frame. I better not hear one frame. And that goes for all of the family. We are circling the wagons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Not only did they ignore what the mother asked for and show Russell, they also chose to air an impromptu intervention the other housewives had with Taylor about her claims that her late husband physically abused her. Beat her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve been protecting you.

CAMILLE GRAMMER, "REAL HOUSEWIVES OF BEVERLY HILLS": Because we don`t say that he hit you. Because we don`t say that he broke your jaw or that he beat you up and he hit you. We don`t say that. But now we said it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Straight out to Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter, radaronline.com, are you shocked that Bravo aired this, and some might say, thumbed their nose at the request of Russell`s family to leave him out of it from now on.

ALEXIS TERESZCUK, SENIOR REPORTER, RADARONLINE.COM: No, I am not shocked at all. This is what we`ve been waiting for all season. This is what`s going to start showing exactly what was wrong in Taylor`s marriage. This is where her friends are saying, you were beaten by this man. You need to talk about your domestic violence.

Whether or not it really happened, it seems like the women are actually turning on Taylor, and they`re saying, we don`t really believe you. You have all these different stories, you say he beat you, but then you got on a plane with him three hours later. So they`re really being pretty fair on this.

But this is exactly what Bravo had to show. This is the whole season. This is the story.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: So they should just ignore what the mother wants?

TERESZCUK: I don`t know -- I don`t think that they should just ignore it, but they did just ignore it. This is what they have to do. This is how they`re going to make their money. This is what everybody wants to see on this show.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, let`s look at Russell`s appearance on last night`s "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We -- this is really going to happen now.

RUSSELL ARMSTRONG, COMMITTED SUICIDE: Would you relax?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ok.

R. ARMSTRONG: We have a very nice gift that is going to be ready at 4:00.

T. ARMSTRONG: Right, but I`m saying that we don`t have -- anyway, Russell --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s wrong with this?

T. ARMSTRONG: Nothing.

What really upset me is it`s supposed to be about Kennedy`s birthday. He`s more concerned about everyone seeing him as father of the year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: This man is dead. His family believes, at least in part, because of the show and the humiliation that he experienced on the show.

Rob Shuter, Popeater`s Naughty but Nice columnist, he`s not here to defend himself, is this fair?

ROB SHUTER, COLUMNIST, POPEATER`S NAUGHTY BUT NICE: It saddens me, Jane. It absolutely saddens me that Bravo decided to do this. I think what happened is after the tragic death, they took a little time to figure out what they wanted to do. And surprisingly, the numbers for the show bounced back very quickly and they have learned that they can do this, because there will be no backlash from their viewers. As long as the viewers keep watching and there`s no audible gasp or anybody out there saying that this is wrong, they will keep doing it. And it`s not fair.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Alexis, is -- I hate to say it -- the suicide turned this show into even more of a hit?

TERESZCUK: Absolutely. This show was always very popular, but this is a huge ratings bonanza for them. It`s the reason everybody is watching, because they want to know what exactly happened.

They`ve seen the stories that we`ve written, that other people have written. They`ve seen Taylor`s images of her bruised and battered face, but they want to see exactly what happened for themselves and this is the only way they`re going to be able to do it. So Bravo knew that. They capitalized on it. This is how they make their money with this reality show, so despite what Russell family`s wanted --

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Got to leave it there.

Up next, a butt lift gone wrong.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: O`Neal Ron Morris, allegedly posing as a doctor and promising enhancement, maybe even hips like his.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They agree on the price of $700 for him to enhance her buttocks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But unknown to her, authorities say she was injected with a shocking concoction of household chemicals.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: A back alley butt lift? You will not believe this story. A woman in Florida decided she wanted a fuller figure; probably had something like this in mind, you know, the famous full figures there. Instead, she allegedly went to this person O`Neal Ron Morris who has a figure so full -- you be the judge on that one.

Morris who was born a male but now identifies as a woman allegedly agreed to give the woman a butt lift in exchange for $700. However, when it came time to do the surgery, Morris allegedly injected the woman with -- are you sitting down -- cement, mineral oil, and a Fix-a-flat tire sealant and then used Super Glue to seal it all up.

Morris`s lawyer says not true but, seriously. The woman reportedly became very ill and nearly died. Police fear there may be other victims out there as part of some kind of underground butt lift ring.

Straight out to Captain Ralph Suarez; Captain sometimes I have to read stories over three and four times because I`m like, no. No. No. In this case, that was one of those -- a fake doctor injects allegedly cement and Fix-a-Flat tire sealant into a woman`s butt and seals it with Super Glue? Really? Captain?

CAPT. RALPH SUAREZ: Yes it is hard to believe something like this could happen especially when there are so many legitimate doctors who would do this procedure in other ways. It is hard for us to believe that this happened but it actually did happen and I know there are more victims out there that we`re looking for.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Why does this suspect -- and by the way, the attorney for the suspect has issued a statement; "The allegations against my client are false. My client has never injected anyone with the items that have been reported by police. We`re prepared to vigorously defend against these outlandish allegations and I look forward to the objection exoneration of my client."

But back to the photograph of the suspect, what is making the suspect`s buttocks look so large? We`re going to show the photo -- there it is.

SUAREZ: We`re not sure if the subject went ahead and injected herself or himself with any type of this substance. I`m not sure exactly what substance the subject injected himself with. But if you look at the pictures of the subject you can really pick out -- yes, in fact, he was injected with something.

(CROSSTALK)

VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s not normal. That`s not normal. Voluptuous, it looks like there is a -- Alexis Tereszcuk, there are times, and by the way, you can study all of this in depth at hlntv.com. I just don`t have any words, Alexis. Do you?

TERESZCUK: It`s really hard and I really -- I feel like laughing but the really sad thing is that this poor victim apparently went to the hospital multiple times and she was too embarrassed to say what happened to her. She would not tell the doctors what happened. Finally her own mother reported it to the doctors and she got some help which she desperately need.

VELEZ-MITCHELL: Ok. We`re going to continue on the other side.

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VELEZ-MITCHELL: The bad puns are rolling in. Talk about junk in your trunk, check out this suspect. Look at that. There is something strange, freakish about it and, yes, you are not imagining it. She is accused of, well, injecting cement and flat tire sealant into the buttocks of another woman who was too embarrassed to say anything. And cops suspect that this fake doctor, alleged, may have done the same to herself and she is a person who had posed as a doctor and her lawyer is saying, no. These are ridiculous allegations. Take a look at her body. How did she get that way?

"NANCY GRACE" next.

END