Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Missing Maryland Woman`s Body Found
Aired June 22, 2012 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, upscale Maryland. A loving wife, the mother of three, devoted to the children`s ministry at the local church, works late at the church on a Thursday night, getting ready for Sunday morning, calls home, then heads to the grocery en route.
Bombshell tonight. Nicole Bennett, mother of three girls, never seen alive again, never makes it home to their upscale gated community, Mommy`s red Chevy minivan still sitting at the church parking lot.
As we go to air, we learn the body of Nicole Bennett just discovered on an embankment off an isolated dirt road just six miles from the church. Tonight, the murder mystery of mother of three Nicole Bennett.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICOLE BENNETT, VICTIM: Hi. My name is Nicole Bennett.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mother of three Nicole Bennett seemingly had the world in front of her.
BENNETT: three beautiful (INAUDIBLE) daughters that I want to (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a matter of hours, the great life comes to a screeching halt.
BENNETT: I want to be free.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A young lady that was killed by some criminal.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re all angry, you know? She was stolen from us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Husband reports her missing.
BENNETT: I want to thank my husband. I wouldn`t be here today if it wasn`t for him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is video of Nicole Bennett being baptized.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nicole Bennett found by a hiker, dead.
BENNETT: I want to be forgiven for my past. I want to be new. I want to start my life over and live just for God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight, live, Maryland. Nicole Bennett, mom of three girls, works late at a church on a Thursday night, getting ready for Sunday, calls home, then heads to the grocery store en route home. She`s never seen alive again. As we go to air, we learn the body of Nicole just discovered on an embankment off an isolated dirt road just six miles from the church where she was last seen working late.
We are taking your calls. I want to go straight out to Kelli Steele, news director, WGMD. Kelli, this is quite a shocker to the community. What can you tell me about what lies between that church where her red minivan was still parked and the location where her body has been found on an embankment?
KELLI STEELE, WGMD NEWSRADIO (via telephone): Nancy, there`s really nothing there. It`s a desolate area. There`s lots of trees. There`s lots of ticks. It`s not someplace you want to be walking. It`s not someplace, definitely, you want to be by yourself. And again, this unknown man finds this body, and again, it`s in an area that police are searching, and this body turns up.
GRACE: Question. A jogger finds the body. Now, Kelli Steele with us, she`s the news director, WGMD there in Rehoboth (ph).
Kelli, of course, the police`s first focus is going to be who found the body, and of course, the husband. It`s my understanding the police can document that she called the home before she left for the grocery store after working late at the church. They should be able to document that.
STEELE: The husband can document that he received a call around 7:40 from her saying she was going to work late at the church doing address labels. She worked at the church doing day care there. And then she was going to leave and go to the grocery store. That`s the last anybody heard from her.
GRACE: And where was the grocery store, Kelli Steele?
STEELE: I`m not sure about where the grocery store was located in conjunction with where the body was found and where Nicole worked at the church.
GRACE: It`s my understanding it was just a couple of miles away, basically, equidistant almost. Kelli Steele, who`s the jogger that finds her body?
STEELE: The man has not been named by police. We do know that he was questioned by police, though, and cleared.
GRACE: Cleared. OK, that`s important. With me, Kelli Steele, joining me live from Rehoboth.
A mom of three girls is working late at the church she loves, devoted to children`s ministry there. It`s on a Thursday evening. She calls home. Her husband answers at home. She says she`s stopping by the grocery store after working late and that she would be home shortly. It never happened, her red minivan found parked there still in the church parking lot, her body discovered by a jogger down an embankment off a rural road that you`re seeing here.
We are taking your calls. I want to go to Ellie Jostad. What more can you tell me about the fact scenario, Ellie?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, the real problem here is that they don`t know exactly at what point in this scenario -- now, she`s going to work late, go to the store, then head home. They don`t know at what point she encountered whoever apparently abducted and murdered her.
They find the car still there at the church, so it appears that she didn`t get in that car and started driving to the store. It`s not clear -- at least, police haven`t released what store she was possibly headed to.
And then, you know, her body is found six miles south, over the state line into Maryland. It`s not clear when she ran into trouble or if somebody actually went into the church and encountered her there.
GRACE: Ellie, is there any sign of a scuffle in the office where she was working?
JOSTAD: No, not that we know of, Nancy. And her car also doesn`t apparently appear to be disturbed. Police told us that her cell phone and some of her personal belongings were still locked inside the car there in the church.
GRACE: Well, wait a minute. The belongings, such as cell phone, pocketbook -- were they in the car, or were they in the church?
JOSTAD: They were still in the car, parked at the church, locked inside the car.
GRACE: So I can`t figure out, Ellie, if that means she made to it the car, put her stuff in the car, and then was snatched...
JOSTAD: Right.
GRACE: ... or willingly got into the car with somebody else, or if she left those items in the car when she went into the church. Now, when she called her husband do we know, Kelli Steele, joining me from WGMD -- did she call from her cell phone or the church phone?
STEELE: We do not know that. We just know that a call came in to her husband from Nicole Bennett at around 7:40 on Thursday night.
GRACE: You know, it`s interesting to me, Ellie -- does the church have any security video? Who else was at the church with her as she worked?
JOSTAD: You know, those are a couple of key questions we asked. We don`t know if anybody else was there at the church. It appears she may have been working there late alone.
Also, we asked about surveillance. Apparently, the church did not have surveillance cameras. Police told us there were some businesses nearby, but they didn`t appear to have functioning surveillance cameras. So they don`t appear to have that to work with.
GRACE: That`s going to be a problem.
Out to the lines. Wanda in South Carolina. Hi, Wanda. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was just -- well when I first came on -- now I have a lot of questions.
GRACE: OK, what`s your first one?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The remote dirt road, were there any tracks where they found her body?
GRACE: Good question. Hold on just a moment. Keep Wanda.
Out to Victoria Taft, talk show host, KPAM. Victoria, what do we know about any clues left behind at the disposal of the body site?
VICTORIA TAFT, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, KPAM: All we know is it was on a (INAUDIBLE) called Swamp Road. And her body was found at 9:00 o`clock the following morning. And it was found by a hiker or jogger on an embankment, just left behind like a pile of refuse. (INAUDIBLE) if I had a child at home with my husband, Nancy, I`d have my cell phone with me.
GRACE: You know, that`s a good point, unless the husband could have called her in the office.
I`ve got another question. Ellie Jostad, when was she reported missing?
JOSTAD: She was reported missing 8:00 AM the next morning. And the wife`s family, or the -- rather, I should say the sister-in-law -- so this is the husband`s sister -- she tells us that, you know, by 6:00 AM, the husband is awake and calling people, trying to figure out where she is because he realizes she never made it home from working at the church that night.
GRACE: Whoa-whoa! Whoa! Wait. Wait. Ellie, she calls home at 7:40 PM.
JOSTAD: Right. Right. But here`s the missing part of the story, Nancy. We don`t know at what point the husband fell asleep. The sister tells us that he was up with their sick child. Their 15-month-old was sick. He was apparently up with that baby, fell asleep at some point on the sofa. We don`t know what time that was. We just know that she says she got a call at 6:00 AM. He`s woken up. Wife wasn`t home.
GRACE: Well, this is what I don`t get. If she calls at 7:40 PM, I mean, by 11:00 o`clock, doesn`t he think it`s kind of late, Ellie?
JOSTAD: Well, right. Yes, you would think so, Nancy, and that`s why that`s one part of the story we still have to clear up. At what point was he awake, and you know, she`s still not home? Was it 10:00 o`clock? Was it later? We just don`t have that answer at this point.
GRACE: Well, right now, I`ve got a guest that may be able to give us some of those answers. Craig Reiser is with us. It`s Nicole Bennett`s brother. As soon as I get his satellite up, I`m going to go to Craig, joining us from Norfolk.
Wanda, we don`t know of any tracks off the embankment, but when you see that...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, if she had...
GRACE: ... dirt road...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) in her car. If she had gone in the office and she was working in the day care later at the church day care in the office late, then she got in her car with all her stuff, correct? Of course. And then all of a sudden, she goes missing and you can`t find any tracks on the road? Did you even look for them?
GRACE: So what is your theory, Wanda?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My theory is that someone took her out there in her own vehicle, or picked her up out there, because all her stuff is in her car. She left the day care, OK? Where she went from there, who knows. But all of her stuff is in the car. Someone brought that car back to the day care.
GRACE: OK, with me right now is Craig Reiser. This is Nicole`s brother. I`m so happy to have you, Craig. Thank you for being with us. And first of all, our sympathy to you and your family, especially her three girls. How are they doing, Craig?
CRAIG REISER, MURDERED WOMAN`S BROTHER (voice-over): You know, I would say everybody could be better. But I think the oldest is -- from what I`ve heard, she`s taking it pretty tough. We`ll see them this evening. And then Emily (ph), the middle one, she`s, you know, same thing. I think she`s (INAUDIBLE) a little shock. And then Allie (ph) -- you know, of course, she`s not quite a year-and-a-half old, so -- but yes, yes, they`re taking it pretty tough.
I think it`ll be one of those things where, you know, it might take a little time, but I`m sure it won`t -- tomorrow, when we go to the wake, it`ll probably hit home pretty hard.
GRACE: Craig Reiser is with me. This is Nicole`s brother. Craig, can you answer any of those questions regarding what took so long to report her missing?
REISER: Not really. I mean, all we really know is, you know, she had to go to work. She -- Allie, the youngest, was under the weather in the morning, so she wasn`t able to go in, and so she stayed home. And then Kevin watched her in the evening so she could go in and make up the time she missed.
So it wasn`t, like, a scheduled thing for her to go in the evening to work. But she was just (INAUDIBLE) the last contact was saying she was going to be late.
And Kevin, you know, he fell asleep on the couch, which wasn`t out of the norm. He used to do that here when we were -- for holidays and stuff. So he woke up early in the morning. That`s when he realized she wasn`t home. But that`s pretty much it. I mean, I think he -- once he called in -- once he found out, he called in right away because...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: OK, question...
REISER: ... no contact (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Craig, when she called him from the church office that evening, did she call from the church office phone or her cell phone?
REISER: I have -- actually, I do not know. I`m assuming it might be the church because, you know, when they found the vehicle, her phone was there (INAUDIBLE) I tried calling her, you know, as soon as I found out she was missing. So that`s a good question. I don`t know. We don`t know a lot. That`s the one thing that we`re hoping we all find out soon is some kind of answers. And we don`t even know the cause yet. We only assume.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-five-year-old mother of three Nicole Bennett reportedly never returned home from her job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Young lady for -- that worked for us this week that was killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kind of woman Nicole Bennett was, saying she had a lot to be thankful for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But in a matter of hours, the great life comes to a screeching halt.
BENNETT: I want to be free, free from my past mistakes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful young lady.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who would want to harm this mother of three?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back. This mother of three girls` body just found down an embankment off of a rural road about six miles from a church where she was working late that Thursday evening. She was devoted not only to her family, but to the children`s ministry there at the church.
We are taking your calls. And with me is a very special guest. It is her brother, Nicole Bennett`s brother, Craig Reiser.
Craig, I still can`t get my head around her calling home around 7:30, 7:40 PM, saying, I`m still working late, I`m going to stop by the grocery and come home. And she`s not reported missing until 8:00 AM the next morning. That`s a long time.
REISER: Yes, you know, I don`t know. I mean, I have -- we don`t know. I mean, we all ask the same questions. I know that she had contacted the father-in-law to ask some questions related to work. I think she was (INAUDIBLE) an address (ph) for one of the members of the church, but yes...
GRACE: What time was that?
REISER: I think it was around that same time, that same time you mentioned. That`s really what we know. I mean, most of the details, actually, we`ve gotten...
GRACE: Was anybody else there, Craig? Was anybody else at the church that could place her there even later?
REISER: Not that I know of. I mean, they haven`t really -- no, I mean, not that I know of. They haven`t told us (INAUDIBLE) investigator a couple of times, and they just -- you know, they won`t release much until - - you know, they want to build their case and -- and go forward, so...
GRACE: How was the marriage?
REISER: Good. I mean, as far as we know, it was good. I mean, we wouldn`t see -- my wife and I and our daughter, you know, it was tough around -- Christmas was the big thing. You know, we always tried to get all of us together for Christmas.
But that was, you know, starting to be real challenging because we`d travel and everybody -- you know, they`re living out there and we`re in Nebraska, so it was really tough. But in the last few years, my parents would just go out there.
But yes, things were really good. I mean, especially the last, you know, three or four months, things were great. You know, work was good there at the church. She worked those two jobs at the church. And you know, I think they were all in a real great place and...
GRACE: Did the husband go to church with her?
REISER: Excuse me?
GRACE: Did the husband go to church with her every Sunday?
REISER: Oh, yes. They all went as a family. Oh, yes. That was -- they were -- you know, she -- I think she felt like that was a great home. You know, from moving from the Philadelphia area to the Delaware there, they felt right at home. I mean, she was baptized there and (INAUDIBLE) saw the video there on line and she seemed very happy.
GRACE: Was his family there?
REISER: Oh, of course, yes. They are.
GRACE: OK, so that`s where the husband`s family is. When you would speak to your sister, and your wife -- when your wife would speak to your sister, what would she talk about?
REISER: Well, my wife and her talked a lot more. I mean, they -- they -- because it was always about the kids. You know, we have a daughter and she also had three daughters, and so that was mainly it was always about the kids. You know, we`d send clothes and she`d send us clothes back, you know, for different stages of their (INAUDIBLE) growing up. And so yes, we exchanged boxes in the mail, I mean, constantly.
And Facebook -- my -- my wife`s on Facebook, so they were always back and forth. But it was always family. You know (INAUDIBLE) Nicole was devoted to those three girls and her family and (INAUDIBLE) I mean, it was pretty much work at the church and the day care there at church and the family. That was it.
I mean, she was never -- you know, her whole life -- you know, we went to a Catholic school growing up, and -- and you know, she`s been an excellent person her whole life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Within an hour of Nicole being reported missing, her body discovered by a hiker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re just very -- we`re going to miss her very, very much.
BENNETT: Three beautiful daughters that I want to live life for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her body in an embankment. What happened?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are back and taking your calls. This mom of three young girls` body just found. She worked late that evening, a Thursday night, at the local church, to which she was devoted. She called him around 7:40 PM telling her husband who was there with the three girls that she had some more work to do, would stop by the grocery and be right now. She was never seen alive again, Nicole`s body found down an embankment about six miles away from the church where her red minivan still sits parked in the parking lot.
We are taking your calls. To Craig Reiser. This is Nicole`s brother joining us out of Norfolk. Craig, what`s the cause of death?
REISER: We don`t know. We`ve been asking constantly. I mean, we -- because I think, you know, obviously, we know she`s not with us anymore, but that`s one thing we all want to know. We can only assume. We`re always making -- you know, we just -- we -- you know, we don`t know. We have no idea. We`ve asked the investigators. Sunday was the last time, myself and my parents, we were all on the phone at the same time and asked them, and they wouldn`t tell us -- (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Well, have they told the husband? Have they told the husband?
REISER: They may have. I have no idea.
GRACE: When did you last speak to him?
REISER: I haven`t talked to him. My parents have been. He`s been -- you know, he`s -- he`s in a mess. I mean, he can`t hardly talk to anybody. And so they`ve talked just, I think just maybe three times since this all happened. And we`ve talked to the -- mainly, we`re just kind of going back and forth with his parents, the communication. But you know, he`s just a wreck.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-five-year-old Nicole Bennett seemingly had the world in front of her.
BENNETT: I want to be new. I want to start my life over and live just for God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But in a matter of hours, the great life comes to a screeching halt.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obviously, we`re all shocked, and we love her and we`re going to miss her very much.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nicole Bennett found by a hiker, dead, her body in an embankment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to be free. Free from my past mistakes, I want to just love for Jesus, I want to hear Jesus.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A shock to friends and family who describe Nicole as a woman with no enemies.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have three beautiful daughters that I want to live right for. I want to be free. Free from my past mistakes, I want to just live for Jesus. I want to hear Jesus. So I`m here today to be baptized. I want to be forgiven for my past, I want to be new, I want to start my life over and live just for God.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: Starting her life over, she got just the opposite. The life of this mother of three girls came to an abrupt and tragic end.
She`s working late at the church, the local church that evening on a Thursday night. She calls home around 7:40, speaks to her husband, he`s there with the children. Says she`s working late, it`s going to be a little while longer and to stop at the grocery store and route home.
She`s never seen alive again. Her red minivan found still sitting there parked at the church parking, inside her pocket book, her cell phone.
Her body is found down this embankment, about six miles from the church.
We are taking your calls and trying our best to help solve the mystery of what happened to the mother of three, Nicole Bennett.
With us, a special guest, her brother, Craig Reiser.
Straight back out to Kelli Steele with WGMD. Go with me through the line, the timeline, Kelli.
KELLIE STEELE, NEWS DIRECTOR, WGMD NEWS RADIO, FM 92.7 (via phone): Well, the timeline stands as follows and this is according to Maryland and Delaware state police. I think, Nancy, we have to keep in mind, this is a joint investigation between the two states. Maryland state police taking the lead on this case. They are saying it is a homicide, but the exact cause of death as we just heard Nicole Bennett`s brother say, they are not releasing the exact cause of death right now.
The time frame is, Nicole went to work, she works at the Bay Shore Community church in Gambrel. And she works in the daycare there, and she went to work, and she called her husband at about 7:40, she said I`m at the church, I`m going to be working late doing address labels and then I`m going to leave and I`m going to go to the grocery store and I`m going to come home. That never transpired.
Police have a lot to work on with this and they are trying to figure out what happened. And according to Maryland state police, the lead investigator Elena Russo, forensics is going to take a play a huge role with this. So, that`s what we`re waiting for now for the forensics to come back from the medical examiner`s office.
GRACE: Why do you say forensics will play such a big role? That suggests to me that there was DNA left behind. Was she raped?
STEELE: According to Elena Russo who I have been in contact with on a daily basis at Maryland state police, that`s what she`s telling WGMD, that forensics is going to play a large part in this case. Again, it`s been ruled a homicide, but no exact cause of death has been released.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers joining tonight, Peter Odom from Atlanta, Sima Ire, defense attorney New York.
Peter Odom, before you became a defense lawyer, you were a veteran prosecutor in multiple jurisdictions. When I hear DNA, OK, if you`ve got a strangling, let`s say, or a gunshot wound, you`re probably not going to get DNA of the perpetrator on the victim`s body. Unless there is a sex assault. Is that what that suggests to you?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it might be, Nancy. But, if there were a violent attack, then, there could be DNA from the perpetrator, a blood from a perpetrator if the perpetrator is wounded, perhaps sweat, saliva, skin cells left behind. So, we really don`t know much just from the fact that it`s DNA evidence. GRACE: OK,
IRE: Nancy, I really hope that these police officers are looking at that church. I`m telling you, that church will say it all. This young woman, it sounds like she was made to having an affair with someone at the church. Now --
GRACE: Where are you getting that?
IRE: I will tell you where I`m getting it, Nancy. The husband doesn`t call until the next morning? Let`s think about that, maybe the husband doesn`t call until the next morning because Ms. Bennett, this activity is like the way she`s been behaving in the weeks leading up to her death. Maybe he was scared, oh, my God, she`s out again with another man.
I`ll tell you another reason I say this, is that her belongings were in the vehicle. So it sounds like this could have been some kind of late- night rendezvous.
GRACE: Sima.
IRE: Nancy?
GRACE: Sima.
IRE: Nancy.
GRACE: You know what.
IRE: Nancy, she had two jobs at the church.
GRACE: My mother does too. But that doesn`t make her a whore. All right? So, just stop right there. You know what, Sima, I put up with the lot from you. Having an affair on your husband, I don`t what else that could - what are the translation there is. Just stop.
IRE: A love triangle.
GRACE: Liz, cut her mic. I`m going to finish this. I put up with a lot of you twisting the facts and giving your own interpretation, Sima. And that`s all well and good, because sometimes to defend a client, that`s what defense attorneys think they`ve got to do.
But I am not going to have you suggest on my air, you can do it where else, that this mom of three was having an affair. I`m not going to have it. I`m not going to have any more talk about that, period.
She has three girls who one day are going to grow up and they`re going to read this transcript. And I am not going to be any part of suggesting that about their mother working two jobs at the church and trying to race her children. And the only reason her husband was home with them that night, one of them had been sick, and this woman who never goes into work at night, had to finish her job at the church.
To you, Craig Reiser, would that be a fair representation? Your sister was never out and about at night?
CRAIG REISER, NICOLE BENNETT`S BROTHER: Exactly. Nancy, I appreciate everything you just said. Because that`s exactly right. I mean we have a thought, I`m not sure what her name was, but was saying, I mean, that`s just kind of just very frustrating to all of us.
GRACE: Well Craig, you better dig in because a defense team when there finally is one, and there will be, is going to come up all kind of crazy stories to justify this death. But you know what? It`s not going to work. Because your sister shines through. Her character, her record as a mother, her working at the church, to me, speaks volumes. All right?
In fact she reminds me a lot of my mother who was in and out of that church at all times of the day and night and it worries me no end. Now Sima may be right about one thing, I got to give who credit for this, that this all may have started at the church. Someone obviously abducted her leaving the church on the way to her car, her car seems to be undisturbed. So she is right about that. Whether it`s somebody that goes to that church, or somebody that was in the parking lot, or driving by, I don`t know that yet. But something happened in that church or in that church parking lot.
Now, Liz, you can turn Sima Ire`s` microphone back on, but remind her she`s on a short leash. Now, to honor our tracking crime and justice across our country.
A Utah mom opens fire in a drive by shooting with her 2-year-old and9- month-old children in the car. Tanks mom.
A California couple plants drugs in the car of an elementary school volunteer. What?
And police say a Texas mother crashes into a bus, then abandons her three injured children in the car to go to ice cream. What? Then she`s arrested completely nude.
For more "on the radar" to have your story on our radar, go to hlnTV.com/ontheradar.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to start my life over and live just for God. I`ve got a lot to live for.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A daycare teacher loved by many.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reportedly never returned home from her job at the church daycare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are back and taking your calls. This mom works late at the church that Thursday evening, heading home, stopping by the grocery store, en route, she never makes it even to her car, apparently.
Her car, her red minivan found in the parking lot of the church, inside her cell phone and pocket book, this is the embankment down which her found was discovered very shortly after her husband reports her missing the next morning.
Out to CW Jensen, retired police captain, joining us tonight out of Cave Creek, Arizona.
CW, how sick do you get every time a woman is found dead or goes missing? Somebody claiming she`s having an affair, as if that`s the reason she`s dead and that`s OK.
CW JENSEN, RETIRED POLICE CAPTAIN: Well, I would say in this case, it makes more sense that she was leaving the church, she was putting her stuff in the car, maybe with her back to whoever came and got her and she was abducted. I mean, unfortunately, things like this happen and women are very vulnerable. They`re going out to their car, they got their purse, all your stuff, you`re putting it in there and if you`re not paying attention, someone can come up and snatch you just like that.
GRACE: To Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "deal breakers." I want to hear your thoughts?
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR, DEAL BREAKERS: I agree with CW Jensen, this woman working at a church at night is in an extremely vulnerable position. And the DNA is going to tell a story. It is going to tell us whether or not this was sexual homicide. And if it was, the likelihood is that the perp was trolling the neighborhood, looking at the church, saw the lights on, and approached her as she was leaving and going out to the car and this good hearted woman, who`s putting labels on envelopes at night, when her 15-month-old is sick, how much better hearted can you get?
You know, she is not being paid a lot. Her husband`s home with the baby. This is not the profile of a woman who`s going to have an affair. However, it is the profile of a woman who is going to feel sorry for somebody who walks up to her and says he needs $10 or he needs directions or he needs gas. And that is what made her vulnerable is --
GRACE: Now. Let me tell you something else, Bethany. I can see as the mom of 4-year-old twins, when they`re 15 months old, and take a listen to this Sima, but I`m not asking you to respond.
When my children were 15 months old, nobody`s interested in having an affair. You`re just barely putting one foot in front of the other because when you`re trying to work and take care of children, this lady`s got three children at home.
To Dr. Bill Manion, joining us from Salem, New Jersey. Weigh in on how we`re going to determine cause of death and where are we going to be getting DNA, Bill.
DOCTOR BILL MANION, M.D., NEW JERSEY MEDICAL EXAMINER (on the phone): Well, you do have to treat this as a potentially sexual homicide and they`ll check for DNA everywhere, oral, you know privates, everywhere, they`ll check for DNA.
Also, I was wondering if her van had been taken, if someone could have driven her van and dispose her van and then going back to the church and left her van right there. So, maybe her van is going to be also be considered a, you know, a likely source for finger prints or whatever, whatever they can find.
GRACE: You`re right, Dr. Manion, the van, itself the red minivan could be crime scene number two. That`s just what Wanda in South Carolina was saying at the beginning.
Right now, CNN heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
T. JACKSON KAGURI, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: In Uganda, HIV/AIDS came striking like a machete in a cornfield. Killing men and women, living 1.2 million children orphaned. The grandmother stepped in and closed that gap. Some of them have up to 14 children to raise.
I was born and raised in Nyaka village. I moved to America. I went to Columbia University. I came to visit. I looked in the eyes of women who carried me a child and said now is the time to give back.
I am T. Jackson Kaguri. Nyaka AIDS Orphans project.
Who is happy this morning?
We started with $5,000 that my wife and I had saved for a house. We provide free education to children who are orphaned by HIV/AIDS. We provide them uniforms, health care, the library, clean water and we started giving them meals.
We teach the grandmothers the skills so they can support themselves. Eleven years later, this project has produced close to 600 students and helps about 7,000 grandmothers.
I feel humbled looking in the faces of the children smiling, focused on what their dreams are going to be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to be free, free from my past mistakes. I want to just live for Jesus. I want to hear Jesus. So, I`m here today to be baptized. I want to be forgiven for my past. I want to be new. I want to start my life over and live just for God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: So to you, Peter Odom and Sima Ire, I would like to see the two of them, please. Sima Ire, he bring that that this mom may be having an affair. The mistake she is talking about was drinking beer in high school. OK?
IRE: Can I respond?
GRACE: Now, Sima. Let me just guess, let me just take a wild, crazy guess and go out on a limp. You don`t have any children, do you?
IRE: No, I don`t, Nancy, but that`s really besides the point.
GRACE: I can just imagine, Peter, you do. Can you imagine, and you`re the dad, when the kid is 15 months old, you don`t sleep. You are sleep deprived. You are exhausted. I don`t think --
ODOM: I remember. I remember.
GRACE: Yes. I know you do with your boy and girl. Putting labels on envelopes for the church and Ire, her big breakthrough is the woman`s having an affair? It is just ridiculous.
ODOM: Well, Nancy, the police will -- the police will look at everything. They won`t --
GRACE: Yes, you`re not touching that with a ten-foot pole. Wise.
ODOM: Exactly.
GRACE: OK, Sima, go ahead. I`m graced.
GRACE: Nancy, thank you. And let`s look that the video where she is talking about why she wants to be baptized, she is saying there is a rough road. She is saying she wants to be free. She wants to be free. She wants a new life. This is pointing out to --
GRACE: Well Sima, if you had ever -- if you are familiar with the Christian belief, what that actually means is you want to start your life over living like Christ does. It is really, really simple.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: We are taking your calls. Rosalie in South Carolina. Hi, dear what is your question?
ROSALIE, CALLER, SOUTH CAROLINA: Hi, Nancy. I`m a little confused. My husband is retired air force now and when I worked night shift and I will call him say 20 minutes before I got off, if he didn`t hear from me in a matter of 40 minutes or maybe an hour, and we didn`t have cell phones back then, and he will call my job. And there are times where if I couldn`t get a-hold of him because of a car issue, that man was out there at 1:00 in the morning. I don`t understand how a father could go to sleep not knowing --
GRACE: Well, Rosalie, I`ve got the same problem. But I`m not getting enough facts where I can point a finger and also concern because when you`ve got a sick 15-month-old old, you`re up all night.
Everyone, Andrew Holland, a 15-year-old Kentucky teen with terminal cancer. One of his dream to become an army soldier. That dream, comes true thanks to a dedicated group of army officers inspired by Andrew`s personal battles and bravery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A couple weeks ago, we were told that the cancer is spreading so rapid that he doesn`t have a lot of time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So, Andrew has compiled a list containing --
ANDREW HOLLAND, 15-YEAR-OLD: Everything I want to do before I kick the bucket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready to be a soldier in today`s army?
HOLLAND: Yes, I`m army strong. I Andrew Holland --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do solemnly swear.
HOLLAND: Do solemnly swear.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So help me God.
HOLLAND: So help me God.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations, you are army stroke.
HOLLAND: How do I do a perfect salute?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you do a perfect salute? Well, it is really simple. Right hand, there you go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your paw right there, there you have it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: From this point forward, they got your back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don`t underestimate the power of Andrew Holland`s life and light.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: Let`s stop and remember Army Sergeant Christopher Abetta, 23, Midlothian, Illinois, killed Afghanistan on a second tour. Purple heart, bronze star, Afghanistan campaign medal, also served Iraq.
Loved writing journals, reading music. An only child, leaves behind parents Paul and Barbara.
Christopher Abetta, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you.
And a special good night from the New York control room. Good night! There`s Brett, Liz, Bonnie and -- who`s that -- there`s Dana on the end.
"SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" up next.
Everyone, I will see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night friend.
END
