Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Teen Boy Shoots Mother and Sister
Aired October 09, 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 Ft. Worth, Texas, upscale suburbs, gated community. Police race to a sprawling two-story home, complete with pool and poolhouse, sitting on two acres of lawn. Inside, a loving mother, former school teacher, and her little girl gunned down.
Bombshell tonight. The 911 caller then makes a sudden confession on the phone. Quote, "I wasn`t angry. I thought it would be quick. I didn`t want to hurt them," didn`t want to, quote, "have them feel pain," but it all, quote, "went wrong."
It went wrong, all right, Mommy and her daughter each sustaining multiple gunshots as they crawl down the stairs begging for mercy amidst a hail of bullets. The killer, Mommy`s own teen son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. Parker County 911. Where is your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just killed my mom and my sister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?
911 OPERATOR: 911. I just killed my mom and my sister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just killed your mother and your sister? How did you do that?
911 OPERATOR: 911. I shot them with a .22 revolver.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Emotionless, confessing to the murder of his mother and little sister.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I swear, I wasn`t even really angry with them. It just kind of happened. I`ve been kind of planning on killing for a while now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just heard about it. It gave me goosebumps!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m very shocked (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I told my sister that my mom needed her. She was in her room. And she came out of her room and I -- I shot her. She rolled down the stairs, and I shot her again. And then I went down and I shot my mom about maybe three or four times.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amy Evans was found in an office, her 15-year-old daughter in a downstairs foyer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just, like, everything went wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live Westminster, Colorado. 8:30 AM, this little girl, 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway, heads for a three-block walk en route to school. Mommy watches her as she walks away from the home, Jessica never seen again.
And tonight, as we go to air, we uncover reports of the same man, a mystery man, attempting to lure at least two other girls into a royal blue four-door sedan near Jessie`s elementary school. Tonight, where is 10- year-old Jessica?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Volunteer after volunteer poured into the West View rec center starting at 8:00 this morning, all here to help find 10- year-old Jessica Ridgeway, last seen leaving for school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Any sign of the 10-year-old girl is better than nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nearly 500 volunteers hanging signs in nearby businesses and combing through fields.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s overgrown brush everywhere and trees, and you hit dead ends. And it`s be really easy to miss something.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police telling volunteers to walk in one direction in a straight line, searching for any footprint, piece of clothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bloodhounds searched again today. Police have constant patrols, and neighbors want everyone to know what happened.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is really a parent`s worst nightmare!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One that has many wondering if they should ever allow their child to walk alone to school again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. To Ft. Worth, Texas, upscale suburbs, gated community. Police race to a two-story home with pool and poolhouse. Inside, a loving mother, a former school teacher, and her little girl gunned down, Mommy and daughter each sustaining multiple gunshots as they crawl down the stairs begging for mercy. The killer, Mommy`s own teen son, the little girl`s big brother.
In a stunning and sick twist, as police on the line with the 911 caller, the teen son -- here he is pictured with his sister -- he makes an abrupt confession. And in that confession, he says he`s been thinking about killing his mother and sister for a long time.
We learn tonight that he took his grandfather`s gun undetected about two weeks before the shooting, waits until his father is in D.C. on a business trip, and then unleashes a hail of bullets on his own mother and sister -- pictured here, his little sister.
As they crawl down the steps trying to get away, begging him to stop, he apparently says to the little sister, OK, OK, OK, stop, stop, stop, stop. Don`t freak out. I`m going to make it better, and then commences to shoot her three more times to put her out of her agony, like she`s a dog or a horse that you put down. Says he didn`t want to cause them pain, said it was all kind of weird.
And out to you, Selwyn Crawford, reporter from "The Dallas Morning News." Selwyn, isn`t it true that on the 911 call, as he`s reporting his mother and his sister, his little sister, dead, he starts saying, Wow, this is going to really mess me up in the future. What is he talking about, he`s not going to get into Harvard?
SELWYN CRAWFORD, "DALLAS MORNING NEWS" (via telephone): Yes, Nancy. It`s really goofy, the way he comes across and says, This is really going to mess me, up and what he didn`t think would happen about shooting people and how he thought he was going to make everything quick, and that`s why he chose a gun to do the shooting. Just a lot of very interesting comments, for lack of a better term.
GRACE: I mean, they both look like they should be on an Abercrombie and Fitch advertisement -- well not that picture, that picture. Look at these two! I mean, by all outward appearances, they had the perfect family, Selwyn. I mean, they had this beautiful home that people just dream of. I mean, I`ve actually never even dreamed of living in a home like -- that`s that magnificent, this gorgeous home, pool, poolhouse, wonderful schools, Mom former teacher, beautiful family, Dad good job.
What more do we know? I mean, isn`t it true, Selwyn -- Selwyn Crawford joining me from "Dallas Morning News." Everybody, we`re taking your calls.
But let me get back to you, Selwyn. He says, This is really going to mess me up in the future, and starts saying things like, I bet I`m going to have bad dreams. Can they put me on medication for this?
CRAWFORD: Yes. Yes, he was really worried about having nightmares, particularly about his sister, he said, who he described at one point as a really sweet person, which was kind of odd, as well.
But yes, he did definitely say it was going to mess him up, and he seemed concerned about what was going to be in the future. But he also had thoughts about what would be -- life would be like in jail because he said that when he went to jail, he didn`t want any visitors, including his own family.
GRACE: OK, let`s see what we can determine. Everybody, we have obtained the 911 call in which this teen boy confesses to gunning down his mother and his little sister for apparently no reason. Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Were your mom and sister in their beds?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. This -- this is really going to mess me up for the -- you know, in the future. My sister -- I told my sister that my mom needed her. She was in her room and she came out of her room, and I -- I shot her. And she rolled down the stairs, and I shot her again. And then I went down and I shot my mom about maybe three or four times. But I`ll never forget this...
911 OPERATOR: OK. That`s fine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My sister, she came down the stairs and she was screaming. And I was telling her that I`m sorry, but to just hold still, that you know, I was just going to make it go away, you know? But she was -- kept on flipping out. But finally, she fell down, and I shot her in the head, about, probably three times.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Parker County 911. Where is your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house.
911 OPERATOR: OK, what`s the emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just killed my mom and my sister.
911 OPERATOR: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just killed my mom and my sister.
911 OPERATOR: You just killed your mother and your sister? How did you do that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I shot them with a .22 revolver.
911 OPERATOR: And what is your name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jake Evans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: He is as cool as a cucumber! Was there any evidence at all Selwyn Crawford -- Selwyn joining me from "The Dallas Morning News." I want you to say yes, but I think you`re going to say no. Was there any evidence that he was high on drugs, methamphetamine, cocaine, anything that would get him jacked up?
CRAWFORD: As far as we know right now, I think at one point he was even asked about that and he said he wasn`t really on any medications. So as far as we know right now, Nancy, no, there was nothing at all. He just wanted to kill, he said.
GRACE: He said, Selwyn Crawford, that he just wanted to kill? I didn`t catch that little tidbit.
CRAWFORD: Yes. Yes. He just said that -- you know, the dispatcher asked him, you know, was he angry with his mom and his sister, and he said, No, it was kind of weird, you know, I just -- I just had been thinking about killing for a while. And then the operator asked him, you know, Them specifically or just anybody? And he said, Pretty much anybody.
GRACE: OK, Liz, New York control room, stop doing your nails! Pull up that sound from the 911. I want to hear that because that makes a huge difference in the way this case is going to be handled, Selwyn Crawford. Let`s listen to it before I go to the lawyers. Take a listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: OK. Do you -- is there any reason that you were so angry at your mother and your sister?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, no, I -- I wasn`t. It`s weird. I wasn`t even really angry with them. It just kind of happened. I`ve been kind of planning on killing for a while now.
911 OPERATOR: The two of them or just anybody?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty much anybody.
911 OPERATOR: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know. I don`t -- I don`t really like people`s attitude.
911 OPERATOR: Right.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: "I don`t like people`s attitude"? Unleash the lawyers, Jennifer Smetters, Darryl Cohen, Linda Lee (ph).
Darryl Cohen, all right, he`s not on methamphetamines. He`s not on cocaine. He`s not jacked up on some synthetic drug at all, no bath salts. Give me your defense. He`s not crazy. He planned this two weeks ago when he stole the gun. He waited until his father is out of town. Go ahead.
DARRYL COHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, he`s clearly crazy. He`s a psychopath. He has the classic signs -- no emotion, nothing. He`s done it. He`s going to be examined by psychiatrists and psychologists, and they`re going to find that he did not know right from wrong, that he didn`t know what the right thing to do was.
GRACE: Darryl, you remember the name Ted Bundy?
COHEN: I remember Ted Bundy, clearly.
GRACE: OK. Yes...
COHEN: Could have been a great lawyer.
GRACE: He was calm, too. He was calm, cool, calculated. He was a mass killer. Just because somebody`s calm and cool when they speak to police means absolutely nothing. Even Ted Bundy wasn`t insane.
Let`s take another listen to this teen now accused of gunning down his own mother and his little sister, who says, yes, the whole thing was just weird. I wasn`t even angry. I just wanted to kill. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just thought it would be quick, you know? I didn`t want them to feel any pain. That`s why I used a gun.
911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s like everything went wrong.
911 OPERATOR: It`s all right. Keep breathing for me. OK, just in through your nose real slow, out through your mouth.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: You`ll be all right, Jake. OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I`m, like, really worried about, like -- you know, like, nightmares and stuff like that. Are there any type of medications for that and stuff?
911 OPERATOR: Well, I think there is. I don`t know. I`m not a doctor. But you know, the justice system and I`m sure your family will get you the support you need.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t mean to sound like a wimp or anything, but you know, this is -- wow, I`ve never, like, done anything violent in my whole life, you know?
911 OPERATOR: You don`t sound like a violent person. No, you don`t. Help will be provided for you, medical and psychological. That`ll be provided to you, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right.
911 OPERATOR: So you don`t have to worry about that right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s just my family -- I don`t know, they`re just kind of really -- I guess this is really selfish to say, but to me, they -- I felt like they were just suffocating me in a way. I don`t know. I can`t -- obviously, you know, I`m pretty, I guess, evil, but that`s -- you know, whatever. I`m sorry.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: You guess you`re evil? You are evil. If you`re watching tonight, don`t wonder about it any longer.
Take a look at this guy. He`s got a loving mother, a little sister. There are two other older siblings. One`s in college, one`s married. He`s at home with the mother. The father is away on a business trip to D.C. when he unleashes a hail of bullets on Mom and little sister. As they beg him for mercy, he continues to shoot the little sister, too -- put her out of her pain. He says they are, quote, "suffocating me." What, mom wants to know where he goes on a Saturday night?
Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer, what more can you tell me?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, police say that he has been talking to them since he`s been behind bars. But they say they still don`t have any clear-cut idea of why he allegedly shot his sister and his mom. They said he`s talking. They`re not having to drag answers out of him. But they`re still not...
GRACE: Ellie?
JOSTAD: ... getting an idea why this happened.
GRACE: Can you ask you a question?
JOSTAD: Yes.
GRACE: Do we care why? Why ask why, Ellie? As you know, Ellie -- I mean, you go all the way back to Court TV with me -- long story short, the state doesn`t have to prove motive.
I`m just curious. I`m curious. And also, Ellie, actually, I think you`re right and I`m wrong. We do want to know why because when the defense tries to argue insanity, if we`ve got a motive, that way, the state can battle that insanity claim.
Out to the lines. Katie, Oklahoma. Hi, Katie. What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey. I`m not really familiar with, you know, how people can, like, put (INAUDIBLE) on someone. But can he be given the death penalty? Because he`s clearly a psychopath. He`s clearly -- I`m so furious about this story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: You don`t want to hurt yourself, do you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know. I`m a little freaked out about guns now.
911 OPERATOR: Oh, well, sure. But you don`t want to hurt yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know. I definitely...
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: I`m freaked out about guns now? Well, he just murdered his mother and his little sister as they`re crawling down the stairs, begging for mercy, and he`s freaked out about guns!
All right, Katie in Oklahoma, your question was -- let me refresh our recollection -- can he get the death penalty? Is that your question, Katie?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. I absolutely think this kid is, like, the next Ted Bundy. Like, he is completely a psychopath. And like, I don`t know, I mean, can he get the death penalty? Because I`m scared, you know?
GRACE: You know, Katie in Oklahoma, under a recent Supreme Court ruling, no matter how heinous the act, anyone under 18 in our country cannot get the death penalty. He can, however, I believe, get life without the possibility of parole.
Out to Brett Larson, investigative reporter on the case. Brett, what more do we know?
BRETT LARSON, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, I mean, we know a little about him in terms of what a person he was. His classmates describe him as the quiet kid. He played sports when he was in school. He was on the golf team. He played football. He was also home-schooled.
But Nancy, none of this adds up to someone who would go on this psychotic rage and shoot his parents. He had no history of violence, no -- he didn`t even have any run-ins with the law. He just decided two weeks ago, Look, I`m going to steal Grandpa`s gun and I guess I`m going to shoot my mom and my sister.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Parker County 911. Where is your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My house.
911 OPERATOR: OK, what`s the emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just killed my mom and my sister.
911 OPERATOR: What?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just killed my mom and my sister.
911 OPERATOR: You just killed your mother and your sister? How did you do that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I shot them with a .22 revolver.
911 OPERATOR: And what is your name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jake Evans.
911 OPERATOR: Are you sure they`re dead?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Were your mom and sister in their beds?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. This is really going to mess me up for the -- you know, in the future. My sister -- I told my sister that my mom needed her. She was in her room and she came out of her room, and I -- I shot her. And she rolled down the stairs, and I shot her again. And then I went down and I shot my mom about maybe three or four times. But I`ll never forget this...
911 OPERATOR: OK. That`s fine.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: You are listening to a teen boy describing on a 911 call how he has just murdered his own mother and his little sister by tricking the little sister saying that mom wanted her and the little girl crawling down the stairs, begging for mercy, as he continues to shoot her and her mother.
We are taking your calls. Out to Demetrius in Washington. Hi, Demetrius, what`s your question?
DEMETRIUS, CALLER FROM WASHINGTON: Just wanted -- what would make him do something like this?
GRACE: You know, Demetrius --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I don`t know. But I got a question for you, Demetrius. Would it matter to you? The only thing that would really matter to me is if somehow the mom or the father had been abusing him in some way.
DEMETRIUS: Right.
GRACE: That`s the only thing I can think of that would make a difference in my mind. Why do you ask that, Demetrius? What`s your thinking?
DEMETRIUS: Because I`ve got teenager boys. And that`s like, that is something I don`t want them to see. Something psychologically to be going on with him, between him and his parents so.
GRACE: Well, what he says is -- the only thing, the only clue we`ve got is he tells 911 they`re kind of, quote, "kind of suffocating me." Kind of. I guess that means they`re asking where you going? What are you doing? What`s happening at school? Monitoring what he`s doing.
I mean, Demetrius, how old are your boys?
DEMETRIUS: Seventeen, and 16 and 13.
GRACE: I bet they don`t like it when you ask them what`s going on and you try monitor what they`re doing.
DEMETRIUS: Actually, they don`t mind. I just don`t bother them on Facebook. You know, I let them be themselves on Facebook. But I can monitor them that way. You know, check my -- other than that, I don`t bother them too much because they don`t get in trouble.
GRACE: You know what?
DEMETRIUS: So I think that`s just --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I agree. Don`t wake up a sleeping tiger. If they`re not giving you any trouble, let them be. And apparently that was the case here as well.
Isn`t that true? Out -- back to you, Selwyn Crawford, "Dallas Morning News." I mean this kid had good grades. He played on the golf team. He played on the football team. Never a problem at home from what we can determine.
SELWYN CRAWFORD, REPORTER, DALLAS MORNING NEWS: From all accounts he was a really good kid. Everybody says that -- all the family members really, all the kids were good and just really solid people. No trouble. You`re right, he played on the golf team when he was at (INAUDIBLE) High School. Other kids liked him. They got along well with him even though he was quiet and reserved. They said that was a good thing.
You`re right, no problems. You know, as the caller said, you like to think your kid is not giving you any problems, great things, not until you wind up with bullets in the heads.
GRACE: Out to Rachel Kent, our media producer.
Rachel, online people are going berserk. They`re actually saying there`s no way a well adjusted, loving boy like this could do such a horrible thing. We must do everything we can to get him freed and find out who, quote, "really did this."
Rachel, he gave a confession on 911. The DNA and the ballistics match up. He did it all right. He murdered his mother and his sister, his little sister.
RACHEL KENT, NANCY GRACE SOCIAL MEDIA PRODUCER: Well, yes, Nancy. And other -- your other followers on Twitter also saying that he clearly had obvious psychological issues, possible sexual abuse. Some of your viewers are even saying that home-schooling could have been an attempt to isolate or hide his sexual or psychological abuse at home.
GRACE: OK. Rachel, is there even a scintilla, a tiny shred of evidence that everybody knows about except me to suggest he was insane?
KENT: Not that I`m aware of. But your viewers are convinced that something was terribly wrong with this boy.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Smetters, Cohen, Linda Lee.
Linda, to blame home-schooling is not the answer. Yes, there are other home-schooled killers. You`ve got David Ludwig, Matt Murray. There are many, many other home-schooled killers. But there are no more home- school killers per capita than there are teen killers that go to regular school, Linda.
LINDA LEE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, here`s the thing Nancy. You talk about the law on this show every single day. And whether he`s home- schooled or not, this boy is insane. The law protects certain people, whether it`d be minors, whether it`d be people who are mentally challenged. And whether you like it or not, the reality is is that the law protects the mentally insane.
And this boy is cool, calculated, calm, and crazy, Nancy. This boy is crazy. And all the viewers, everybody is saying --
GRACE: OK. Linda? Linda?
LEE: Yes.
GRACE: Just because -- if your legal precedence is everybody is saying it, I`m not impressed. Now if you can give me one shred of evidence other than he`s a killer, that doesn`t show you`re insane, just give me anything. Give me, he was committed before. Give me, he was in therapy every single day with psychiatrists and under sedation. Give me, he had been diagnosed as paranoid schizophrenic.
Give me anything, give me anything other than everybody says he`s crazy. Yes, not buying that. Give me something more than that, Linda Lee.
LEE: Well, Nancy, if you want to know, the reality is that he`s never committed a violent act before ever.
GRACE: Right.
LEE: That in itself is evidence that nobody goes from being completely nonviolent their entire life than all of a sudden, hey, I just want to kill somebody. It doesn`t matter who it is. I just want to kill somebody.
GRACE: OK.
LEE: Clearly, Nancy, there is an issue with his --
GRACE: Linda, OK.
LEE: Whether he understood the nature.
GRACE: You said clearly about 10 times. Do you think that Scott Peterson was mentally insane?
LEE: No. I think there is a big difference here.
GRACE: OK. That was a yes-no question. Because he had no run-ins with the law. He had never been arrested for anything before -- ever before he kills his wife and his unborn child, Lacy and Connor.
LEE: Was he a minor, Nancy?
GRACE: All right. How about --
LEE: Was he a minor?
GRACE: How about --
LEE: Was he a minor? A child, Nancy?
GRACE: No. No.
LEE: Exactly, we`re talking about a child here.
GRACE: OK.
LEE: A child who decided to kill his mother and sister.
GRACE: How about Louise Woodward? Are you familiar with Louise Woodward?
LEE: Yes, Nancy.
GRACE: Do you think she was mentally insane?
LEE: You know what, possibly.
GRACE: Possibly. Possibly.
LEE: Yes.
GRACE: So bottom line, your theory is that any teen killer is insane even though you have no evidence to support that.
Jennifer Smetters, weigh in.
LEE: The prosecutor --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Jennifer Smetters --
JENNIFER SMETTERS, FAMILY LAW ATTORNEY: Bottom line here, Nancy --
GRACE: Doesn`t sound like Smetters. Go ahead.
SMETTERS: Nancy, bottom line here is we have a teen of privilege that decided, made a plan, carried out the plan and on those 911 tapes clearly had -- knew he had consequences coming at him. He knew what he was doing.
GRACE: Darryl Cohen, take off your defense hat just a moment. Because I remember you in the day when you prosecuted. Have you ever prosecuted a teen killer, Darryl Cohen?
DARRYL COHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I have never prosecuted a teen killer at his age that we didn`t think was probably off his rocker and as a result of that he was gone and he went to have psychiatric care, maybe spent some of his life or the rest of it in prison. But also whether he was receiving psychiatric care.
GRACE: So wait --
COHEN: This guy is off of it, Nancy.
GRACE: I`m asking you, did you ever prosecute a teen killer? I don`t know where that came from that you just spouted out.
COHEN: I did, Nancy.
GRACE: So that was a yes or no?
COHEN: But I prosecuted the right way. The answer is yes but the right way.
GRACE: OK.
COHEN: Not just because he committed a horrible murder. Doesn`t mean he`s not crazy. This kid is insane. He`s absolutely nuts.
GRACE: Was the teen killer that you prosecuted determined to be insane?
COHEN: Yes.
GRACE: Let`s go to a psychologist joining me. Dr. Patricia Saunders. Weigh in, Patricia.
PATRICIA SAUNDERS, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I think a lot of people are getting confused between the legal definition of insanity and the psychiatric. I don`t think guy is legally insane at all as you all have been saying. There are signs of premeditation, planning. He knew that there would be negative consequences. He said he was evil afterwards. And that rules out both prongs of the insanity defense.
GRACE: Out to Dr. Vincent Dimaio, former chief medical examiner, Bexar County.
Dr. Dimaio, you`re joining me from Texas tonight. What can you tell about the injuries to the mother and the child? What does that say to you?
DR. VINCENT DIMAIO, M.D., FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BEXAR COUNTY, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, that suggests that they were -- they have a lot of wounds and many of which are not fatal. On top of it, it`s a .22. So you can take a number of these shots and not die immediately. He was doing that much shooting, he probably reloaded the gun because most revolvers only have six cartridges. He might very well have reloaded during this process of shooting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A missing 10-year-old Colorado girl.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What happened to her after she left her home Friday morning for school?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police were alerted that a resident of Superior had discovered a backpack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somehow the backpack got there.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Police say they do not have a person of interest at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Agencies that are assisting us will be using approximately 125 people to search that area. We still will be searching and conducting canvasses using dogs in and around the neighborhood of Jessica`s home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Where is 10-year-old Jessica? It`s every mother`s worst nightmare. Mom works the graveyard shift. Comes home. Sees her little girl, her 10-year-old little girl, off as she walks to school. Within three blocks she`s gone.
Out to Shaul Turner joining me there in the field. Shaul, what do we know at this hour?
SHAUL TURNER, REPORTER, CNN AFFILIATE KDVR: Well, at this point we can tell you that police have held another press conference. They`re going to step up this search effort from the sky and on the ground. As well they`re receiving a lot of help from this community, especially mom sending their prayers to this family.
Now at this point Sarah Ridgeway, Jessica Ridgeway`s mother, has not spoken to the media. She did step outside for a few minutes yesterday wearing purple, her daughter`s favorite color.
Take a look right now at the house here. It`s very quiet. But just a couple of hours ago we saw a man believed to be Jessica`s father coming from Missouri here to lend support to the family. Other friends have been stopping by. But again, no comment yet from a Jessica`s mother.
There is a strong police presence here on the street. At this point they`re talking to residents, stopping them as they leave the street, trying to get as much information as possible.
And as I mentioned, Nancy, some 200 moms have joined the effort to try to find Jessica. Many of them taking time off work doing anything they can to show solidarity with this mom.
The school is right around the corner. We see a lot of parents now driving their kids to school, not letting them walk. Everyone extremely frightened by what has happened. And they just want to find little Jessica and bring her home safely.
Of course, police are manning that tip line. Hopefully they will get something in the next couple of days that can lead them to little Jessica.
GRACE: With me is KDVR`s Shaul Turner, joining me there on the scene.
Shaul, in the last hours we`ve learned that little Jessica`s backpack and water bottle were found six miles away. We know it`s hers because her name was put on there by her mom. We`re wondering if there is any DNA on that. I don`t think that DNA is going to be helpful. It seems to me that it was flung from the car. At least it gives us a sense as to which direction the perpetrator may have been going.
And, Shaul, what can you tell me about claims a man has been trying to lure little girls into his car with candy in the same area as Jessica`s elementary school?
TURNER: Yes, actually, this is going to be about the third instance we`ve had of a situation like that where a man has been roaming around trying to lure kids into a car with candy. We had another case a few months ago where a man was trying to use a puppy to do the same thing. This was taking place across the metro area around Denver. Here we are in a suburb of Denver. But police are following up on that lead. And as well, this morning they are taking a look at anything they can find associated with that backpack, especially any DNA evidence that could help lead them to Jessica.
Now they have been very thorough along this street in going through one car in particular here for at least an hour trying to find some sort of evidence and, of course, Jessica`s family and neighbors along the street have been extremely cooperative with police as they try to find any clue at all to lead them to little Jessica.
GRACE: With me is Shaul Turner from KDVR. Tip line, 303-658-4336.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Out to the lines. Kelly in Arkansas. Hi, Kelly, what`s your question, dear?
KELLY, CALLER FROM ARKANSAS: Hi, Nancy. It`s always great to talk to you.
GRACE: Thank you.
KELLY: I have a question. From what I understand her father had some implications with the law in Missouri. So my question is, is there any type of video surveillance between her house and, say, the school, like the car, cameras, on stop light, or anything like that that could have picked up any activity? Maybe there`s a correlation --
GRACE: Good question, Kelly in Arkansas.
Out to Nia Bender, joining me, Clear Channel Denver.
Nia, the father is confirmed to be in another state at the time his little girl goes missing. And tonight as we go to air, we are learning that the search for Jessica has expanded. This after key evidence, her backpack and her water bottle with her name on it were found six miles from where she was last seen. What do we know about that, Nia?
NIA BENDER, OPERATIONS MANAGER, CLEAR CHANNEL DENVER: What we know at this point is you`re right. It`s six miles away from her home. And it had sat there overnight apparently. The people that found it saw it about 6:45 in the evening when they went out and just assumed that it might have belonged to one of the neighborhood kids.
As far as the search goes, now they have expanded it out to some of the wooded areas and some of the outer terrain fairly far from her home for obvious reasons because they need to be searching everywhere and a lot of wide open spaces are up there.
GRACE: To Mark Smith, former detective and expert with New Jersey polygraphist.
Mark, what is the significance of finding her backpack and water bottle? I know it`s hers because her name is on it, six miles away in another neighborhood?
MARK SMITH, FORMER DET. AND POLYGRAPH EXPERT, NJ POLYGRAPHIST: There`s a couple of possibilities. She ran away and dropped it which would seem unlikely because of her age, or a very careless kidnapper that dropped it there, or it was planted there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: American hero. Marine Sergeant Daniel Angus, 28, Thonotosassa, Florida. Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Loved fishing, hunting, mud wheeling. Parents, Kathy, Williams, sister, Tracy, widow, Bonnie, daughter Kaitlin.
Daniel Angus, American hero.
And tonight happy 100th to friend Marie. Loves reading, Judge Judy, and our show every night.
And happy birthday to another Pennsylvania friend, Joe Debroski.
Back 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A new aerial and dog search for Jessica Ridgeway after a Superior man and his neighbor find what police believe is the missing 10-year-old`s backpack.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is really a parent`s worst nightmare.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Out to Nia Bender joining me from Clear Channel Denver. Nia, what can you tell us?
BENDER: Well, apparently she saw her little girl off that morning. And she was going to -- the little girl was going to walk on up to a park to meet with her friends then they were going to go on back to school. But she never arrived at school. And the mother apparently didn`t get the phone call from the school earlier in any day saying that she wasn`t at school because mom, of course, works on overnight shift.
GRACE: To Marc Klaas, president and founder, KlassKids Foundation. So, Mark, unbeknownst to the mom, unwittingly, the mom calls about a what? Six or seven hour delay?
MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: That`s exactly right, Nancy. She apparently slept through the phone call. Although this was a case where the school district did exactly what they should have done. The little girl didn`t show up. They made a timely call to the home. Unfortunately the woman was asleep and she wasn`t able to answer it. Thus the Amber alert which also was issued against the criteria got out much later than it should have.
GRACE: All right. So within the space of just a few minutes, she goes missing. And tonight we are learning not only about a predator, a child predator that has allegedly been trolling the area of little Jessica`s elementary school. So far we know of two little girls that he allegedly tried to lure into a late model royal blue four-door sedan with skirts on the tires.
Let`s see the sketch, Liz.
He appears to be a white male with a very thin mustache, a very thin beard. One of the little girls did not notice facial hair.
Matt Zarrell, what can you tell me about this? Allegedly luring little girls into his car or trying to with the promise of candy.
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE STAFFER, COVERING STORY: Yes, Nancy. There are separate victims that describe the suspect and you talked about the different suspect descriptions. We also have a little bit more about the car, as you said. Royal blue four-door sedan, possibly from the mid-`90s. It may have dents on the passenger rear side door. May have had of the rear wheels, covered with a skirt.
Similar to those, as you mention, seen on a 1996 Cadillac. The school system also warned all the parents in the area about the suspect sketch. Right now police are looking to see if there is a link. They have no evidence right now connecting the cases.
GRACE: You know, Matt. Don`t tell me that. Because this guy is trolling -- what`s the name of her elementary school? Trolling her elementary school area. And now she goes missing. What`s the name of it?
ZARRELL: Witt Elementary School.
GRACE: "DR. DREW" up next. Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
