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Jane Velez-Mitchell
Parents Hold out Hope of Finding Isabel Celis
Aired October 17, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, HLN ANCHOR: JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL starts in just about ten seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. She`s talking Hulk Hogan and also is getting us caught up on the Elizabeth Johnson trial. So Jane coming up next. Stay with us.
JANE VELEZ-MITCHELL, HOST: Tonight, what secrets lie in the room of little Isabel Celis, the very room she vanished from nearly six months ago? Her parents have now opened the doors to Isabel`s newly remodeled bedroom as they say they`re remaining hopeful their little girl will come home. How will that happen? The latest on this case next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL (voice-over): Tonight, stunning new insights into the mysterious case of beautiful little Isabel Celis, who vanished from inside her Arizona home. As cops struggle for clues, leads and suspects, tonight we`ll take an unprecedented look inside the room where the then-6-year-old went missing nearly five months ago. Why are her parents painting and buying new furniture? Is this simply grieving parents holding out hope? We`re investigating. And I`m taking your calls.
Then an unimaginable mysterious death rocks a small Nebraska town. What happened to precious baby Juliet? The 2-year-old was found dead in her family home with multiple blunt force trauma. Cops say her mom and two friends partied in the other room. Four years later, the cops still have no suspects in the infant`s baffling death. Who could have done this?
Plus, it`s Hulk Hogan like you`ve never seen him before. The former wrestler caught in the act, videotaped having sex with his best friend`s then-wife. But in a fascinating twist, it`s the Hulkster who`s fuming mad, claiming he had no idea the camera was there. Tonight, the bitter battle just getting started. Who`s the real victim here?
SERGIO CELIS, ISABEL`S FATHER: We love you. And we miss you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Isabel was last seen in this home by her parents.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They have been interviewed extensively.
S. CELIS: We are cooperating to the fullest extent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re labeling it as suspicious circumstances and a possible abduction.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: New details about what may have happened that Saturday morning.
ALICIA STARDEVANT, NEXT-DOOR NEIGHBOR I remember briefly waking up and hearing male voices outside my bedroom window.
BECKY CELIS, ISABEL`S MOTHER: We are here today to play -- to plea.
S. CELIS: And we will never give up. We will never give up looking for you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, were secrets left behind inside the bedroom where 6-year-old Isabel Celis vanished almost six months ago?
Good evening. Jane Velez-Mitchell coming to you live.
For the first time ever we`re going to take you inside Isabel`s bedroom where the adorable little girl was sleeping one minute and gone the next.
Even though Isabel is still missing, her parents have recently painted her room with pink and purple polka dots just like they say Isabel would have wanted, and they also purchased new furniture for the little girl in the hopes that she`s coming home soon. Take a look at this. It`s obvious Isabel`s parents are clinging to any hope. They say that their precious daughter is still alive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. CELIS: One big emotion of sadness, frustration and anger.
B. CELIS: I know she`s out there somewhere. I know it. I know it. I know it. We just have to find her. That`s -- that`s my mother instinct.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s them speaking out recently. You`ll remember Isabel was 6 when she vanished from her Tucson, Arizona, home. This was a story we covered extensively. Her dad reported her missing on the morning of April 21 after her mother had left for her morning nursing job.
Police say the bedroom window to Isabel`s room was open and the screen was removed. Evidence of blood was found in her bedroom.
Sex offenders in the neighborhood and Isabel`s family were questioned at length, but after six months still no sign of this adorable young girl. But Isabel`s dad says he is convinced Isabel will be coming home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. CELIS: There isn`t a doubt in my mind or in my heart or in my boy`s heart that she is alive and that she will come home. Absolutely.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`ve got a file very thick on this case. We`ve been studying. We`ve also called Tucson police. They did not return our calls. We have so many questions.
They reportedly still have investigators working full time on this case. But after six long months, where does this case go? How are we going to bring Isabel home?
I want your theories and questions. Call me: 1-877-JVM-SAYS; 1-877- 586-7297.
Straight out to Tom Shamshak, former police chief and famed private investigator.
Tom, it`s been months since this child vanished, months since we first heard about apparent blood on the floor of her bedroom. Why are the police saying absolutely nothing? They have to at least know the results of the blood, the apparent blood found in the bedroom.
TOM SHAMSHAK, PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR: Jane, good evening.
There are two possible explanations. No. 1, that the blood is unrelated to the child`s disappearance.
Secondly, it could be related to the child`s disappearance. And what they want to do is keep this whole back evidence to themselves. And they may be preparing to go into an investigative grand jury and seek an indictment against somebody. Those are the only two obvious signs that I can take away from this, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you could certainly hear and feel the panic in the voice of Isabel`s mother.
First, the father called 911. We`re going to play that tape in a second. Then the mother rushes home from her nursing job, and she calls 911 the morning Isabel vanished. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
B. CELIS: I went to work this morning at 7 and I just -- and I didn`t even come and check on her. I should have come to check on her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. All right. Just catch your breath, OK.
B. CELIS: Oh, no, I can`t even (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Does she have a medical condition?
B. CELIS: No. She has nothing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m sorry. She has what?
B. CELIS: She has nothing. She has no medical condition. She`s healthy. No allergies. No medical condition. She has brown hair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Didn`t hear anything at all?
B. CELIS: No, I didn`t hear anything at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Lisa Bloom, legal analyst for Avo.com. Let`s go over the timeline.
The child was last seen at 11 p.m. on the evening of April 20. That was a Friday night.
At 7 in the morning, the next day, the mom leaves for her nursing job, and she told police she did not check on Isabel before leaving.
Then at 8 a.m., Isabel`s dad, Sergio, goes into Isabel`s room and finds her missing and says the window open and the screen is missing.
Now Sergio said -- also said that he`d been sleeping in the living room watching the game and had fallen asleep in the living room the night before. And that sometime in the middle of the night he gets up and goes back into his marital bedroom.
What are your thoughts as -- as we try to figure out what the heck happened to this child?
LISA BLOOM, LEGAL ANALYST, AVO.COM: Well, first of all, I`m not going to judge this family. They are crime victims as far as we know. They sound like a normal family. Parents don`t always check on children when they come home or, you know, when they think children are just sleeping in their rooms.
I`ve heard a lot of people criticizing them. And I think that`s terribly unfair. When you hear the pain in their voices on that 911 call, I mean, this could have happened to any of us. And so we hope and pray that Isabel will come home.
I do have a concern about the redecorating of her room. That`s their personal choice how they want to decorate their house and how they want to handle their grief and what they`re going through. But from a criminal justice point of view, blood was found in that room, police often do come back months and even years later to do additional searches. So I would have preferred that they not move things around and change things in her room for that reason.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, it is bizarre. I`m going to go quickly to Robi Ludwig, psychotherapist. It`s bizarre to me, frankly.
ROBI LUDWIG, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: Well, sure. I mean, the first thing that can come up is, No. 1, is there a cover-up going on? Why would someone want to change a room that potentially could have some information about a crime?
Having said that, you know, it`s the parents` denial at work. And perhaps they don`t want to consider that anything horrible has happened to their little girl. So this is a way of keeping their daughter`s dream alive, keeping their own dream alive that their daughter will return to this room and be thrilled. And they`re holding onto that idea.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. We`re going to the phone lines. Susan, Illinois, your question or thought, Susan?
CALLER: Hi, Jane. You are a total angel.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Thank you. You too, I think.
CALLER: I just wanted to say that if your child is missing, the grief that the parents feel, why on earth would they change the room? It seems a little too soon for that.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, you`re talking about exactly what we`ve been talking about.
Now, there was also something about the initial 911 call by the father. Remember, it was Isabel`s dad who says he went into her bedroom and found her missing. And then he made this call to 911. And listen carefully, because it`s hard to catch. But it`s a bizarre comment that some interpreted as a joke or a chuckle. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is mom there also?
S. CELIS: She had just left for work. I just called her, and I told her to get her butt home. (LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK, your child`s just gone missing. "I told her to get her butt home. Heh-heh-heh." A lot of people took huge issue with that.
Again I want to stress that this father and this mother not considered suspects or persons of interests. There are no suspects, no persons of interest.
ABC has reported that Child Protective Services did visit the family`s home in December, which was a few months before the child vanished. Nobody will discuss the circumstances of that reported visit.
And then the dad was actually -- he reached an agreement not to have any contact with his two sons after the child disappeared -- this was an agreement with CPS, a voluntary agreement. But they`re all back together again.
So Joey Jackson, criminal defense attorney, how does that, this visit prior to the child`s disappearance, and then this mystery agreement that only lasted a while for him to stay away from the two older sons, who are approximately, I think, 11 and 13 or 14.
JOEY JACKSON, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know what? You know what, Jane? It certainly gives us an indication or some type of indication that something may have been amiss in the family as it relates to the children and the father.
You know, but going back to the phone call that you mentioned, we could interpret that in a number of ways. And clearly, it`s not appropriate to be laughing or giggling when you`re making such a serious call.
But you know, Jane, very well that there are oftentimes where people handle their stress in a different way. You know, laughter and giggling could be nervous energy. It could be, "ha ha," like "I can`t believe it." And so there`s a number of ways to interpret it.
But clearly, if social services was involved in the home, I mean, something was amiss there that, you know, we need to be certainly concerned about.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: But then again, a lot of people that know them say they are wonderful parents, hard-working people. I think he`s some kind of dental worker. And she`s a nurse, and he sings opera. And there are so many people in the community say they are fantastic parents.
More on the other side. Your calls.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STARDEVANT: Well, at 6:30 in the morning on Saturday I woke up. My dogs were going crazy, their dogs were going nuts. And I remember briefly waking up and hearing male voices outside my bedroom window. But it was light outside. I didn`t really think anything of it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: A neighbor to the Celis home says her dogs went crazy at 6:30 in the morning the very day that this child disappeared. Remember, she was last seen 11 p.m. They put her to sleep. And then at 7 a.m. her mom leaves for work. And then at 8 a.m. the dad discovers her missing, he says.
Well, guess what? We just heard from this woman saying at 6:30 in the morning, half an hour before the mom leaves, her dogs suddenly go crazy. What does that mean?
Meantime there`s a lot of interest in the idea that the family`s redecorating the child`s room, saying that they pray every day that Isabel will soon return home. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. CELIS We can`t wait for her to see it. And if she happens to see it on the news, just for her to know that -- you know, what we`ve done for her.
B. CELIS: We haven`t forgotten her.
S. CELIS: We haven`t forgotten her, and we`re waiting for her.
B. CELIS: I know that she`s going to, like, just lose it for that little second. And that`s what I want to see. I want to see her face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And I will say, these parents are also very religious. And they pray every day, as well, with the rosary for the return of their child.
But, again, some are wondering -- and let me throw this out to Tom Shamshak, private investigator. The redecoration, what do you make of it?
SHAMSHAK: Well, as earlier guests have commented, they are victims. And people handle stress in various fashions. It could be that they...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I`m talking about as a private investigator, could there be forensic evidence in that room that could be erased by the repainting? They found apparent blood on the floor.
SHAMSHAK: That`s true. But there shouldn`t be any residual physical evidence there. If the police performed an exhaustive comprehensive crime scene investigation, they should have walked away with any piece of information related to this case.
So there shouldn`t be any discussion about the going back in there in time. They would have photographed this. They would have videotape of this. And they would have scoured that room for any evidentiary value.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, Lisa, you disagree.
BLOOM: Jane, there is no right way to act when your child has been taken from your home. There`s a right way to act as a crime victim. On our Web site on Avo.com we have legal guides for crime victims on what you should do. But there`s no guide to what you should do as a parent when something horrendous and shocking happens like this in your life. And I think it`s wrong for us to judge these parents. God forbid this is any of us.
Have any of us ever smiled or giggled nervously at a funeral, for example? Or behaved inappropriately in some other shocking situation? I mean, I think it`s just really wrong to go off on these parents, who have endured so much and who are still hanging in there with every shred of hope that they can find.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, I know. You were the one who raised the issue of -- that it`s bizarre to repaint the crime scene, essentially.
BLOOM: I didn`t say bizarre. I did not say bizarre. I said...
VELEZ-MITCHELL: OK, what`d you say?
BLOOM: ... it`s probably not a good idea. But I don`t know if law enforcement has cleared them to do that. I don`t know what kind of conversations they may have had from the police. From a criminal justice point of view, I would rather that they not redecorate her room. That is true.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Well, let`s go to the phone lines. Lindsay from Alabama. Your question or thought, Lindsay?
CALLER: Yes, I had three, actually. First one is I was curious about the Alicia Stardevant lead where she was talking about her dogs outside. I mean, my dogs would go nuts if, you know, somebody was outside my window.
My second point and question was simply about the brothers. Was there any new information regarding her brothers that she slept in the room almost every other night?
My third point and my question most curious after having living in Arizona for a long time, would there possibly be any connection that they assume she`s alive, you know, from a relative possibly taking her over the border? Something to that effect?
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, to that point, OK, the brothers are the 11- year-old and the 14-year-old. Of course, they may have had birthdays since the last reports that I`ve read.
Now, here`s something that`s interesting. In the 550-page report that was released, detectives listed some claims from somebody they interviewed, saying that a guy was staying with the family who, quote, "owed some money -- somebody a lot of money. And that`s why she was taken," end quote.
Now Joey Jackson, we know, like, these things can be gossip, a game of "Telephone." Somebody hears something. You can hear how people misreport all the time. But that is significant. Wouldn`t they know, obviously, who this -- if there was a person staying with the family -- first of all, I wonder wouldn`t the parents have said something? And wouldn`t the police know by now and have identified that individual and found out whether he, in fact, was involved?
JACKSON: Jane, it`s a wonderful point. And in fact, you know, you started out with that big book that you had that had document after document, I`m sure, of what the investigation entailed.
But certainly, fingers point and people are blamed about what owed who and who owed what, and tempers flare. But certainly, to your point in the event that someone owed money -- that is the dad -- to another person who was unsavory, this person would be identified. They would be investigated. They would be questioned. And any information or knowledge that they had to bring the party to justice who abducted her should be either in that file or in someone -- some file similar like that so that we can get answers here.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, on the other side of the break we`re going to play you Isabel`s father`s emotional plea to whoever took the child. Stay right there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, you have looked everywhere, under the bed?
B. CELIS: Yes, I looked everywhere. The window`s out of our house. Somebody took the window out of our house.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
B. CELIS: (UNINTELLIGIBLE). Please hurry, please, and get here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re almost there, ma`am, OK? Where -- where is your husband and your kids?
B. CELIS: They`re outside waiting for the cops.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
B. CELIS: Oh, my God.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: It`s been almost six months. Where is little Isabel? The first time Isabel spoke out -- Isabel`s dad, he reached out to this child`s kidnappers, if in fact that`s what happened. And the dad made an emotional plea.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
S. CELIS: Tell us your demands. Tell us what you want. We will do anything for her.
We are -- we`re looking for you, Isa. We love you. And we miss you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Now, I am holding in my hands hundreds of pages, 550- page police report. And here`s the thing, Tom Shamshak, private investigator, there`s so much that how do you know what`s just garbage and what`s for real?
Like they found some spilled fluid in the alley behind their house with fresh shoe prints next to a rug. Then you hear -- here`s a police report, supplemental narrative. A guy says that he saw a young female 6 to 7 years of age running northbound nearby a few minutes prior -- presumably prior to her disappearance. And when he initially saw the small girl running northbound along the east side of the street, he noticed an older male, and it occurred to him that it was odd for a little girl to be out at such an hour.
I mean, my gosh. Somebody saw a child running around at a late hour around the time she disappeared.
SHAMSHAK: Well, to address your question about the evidence outside. The police will, you know, footwear impressions are very potentially important pieces of evidence. So they`ll have plaster molds. They`ll also be looking for any discarded clothing, cigarettes, anything that may be related to this case if this results in an abduction prosecution.
And, again, what the family also will be undergoing is a full scrutiny. Police are going to know all of the financial history of this family. They`ll know if there are stresses there. They will also know through phone records going back several months before this abduction who was this family in contact with.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That`s a very good point. Robi Ludwig, psychotherapist, I think some people are confused by the different -- first the father is sort of casual and chuckling. Then he`s hysterical. Do you see any discrepancy there or not?
LUDWIG: Well, clearly there is. But, again, this could be an understandable reaction. Even though it`s hard to understand it from the outside looking in. When somebody is going through a horrible situation that is almost unbelievable, they are detached from the situation, in part to protect their psyche. To really believe somebody has abducted your child is just too painful. So the way the brain protects itself is it goes into denial mode.
So that could have been what happened with the father initially. Kind of chuckling out of nerves and hoping that this really wasn`t happening. And once reality really set in, he`s having a very different experience, one of tremendous grief, frustration, reaching out, trying to control the situation any way he can.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So your bottom line explanation is you cannot look at people`s reactions and make any kind of determination about their motives or what they may know or do based on that because human nature, people react differently to crisis.
On the other side, a story involving another precious child. You won`t believe it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She wasn`t afraid of anything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her aunt, Monica Hall, says Juliet was her twin sister`s, Jaeylyn, protector. In the end Juliet was the one who needed protection.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Three adults were inside this home when Juliette Gerts was beaten to death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What mother wouldn`t feel responsible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, mystery surrounds a small town in Nebraska rocked by tragedy after a precious two-year-old dies in her family home. Look at this angel. Cops say little Juliette Geurts died in her crib of multiple blunt force traumas four long years ago while her twin sister lay just a few feet away completely untouched. The girl`s mother and two other men were in the house drinking the night tragedy struck.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRANDON TOWNSEND, IN THE HOUSE WHEN JULIETTE DIED: When I peeked in, it looked like, you know, Juliette was still sleeping. I really couldn`t believe my eyes when I seen her laying there. I walked over to her, I dropped to my knees -- and I went to pick her up and -- it just -- it wasn`t her anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That was one of the men living in the house at the time of the murder in a 2011 interview. Cops have questioned all three adults who were in the house including Juliette`s mom, Charyse Geurts and her then-boyfriend Dustin Chauncey and the other male you just heard from, a friend who had moved in six months earlier, Brandon Townsend. They all say they had absolutely nothing to do with this heinous crime and no one has ever been arrested. We don`t have any suspects at this point according to law enforcement.
Breaking her silence for the very first time in years, "Inside Edition" caught up with the mom, Charyse, who`s now living in Wisconsin and asked the question on everyone`s mind.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LISA GUERRERO, CHIEF INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, "INSIDE EDITION": Did you kill baby Juliette?
CHARYSE GEURTS, MOTHER OF JULIETTE GEURTS: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: The unsolved murder investigation remains open. According to law enforcement there are no suspects. I want to repeat, no suspects. Nobody`s been charged in connection with this case. So what happened? Could these toxic secrets inside this home have led to Juliette`s death?
Call me, 1-877-JVM-SAYS, 1-877-586-7297.
I want to welcome chief investigative correspondent with "Inside Edition", Lisa Guerrero. Lisa, excellent work on this case; tell us what you uncovered.
GUERRERO: Well, several months all I was contacted by Juliette Geurts` family to investigate the story that has not had national attention. So first of all, thank you Jane for letting us talk about this story today.
Interestingly when this little girl was beaten to death in her crib, there were three adults in that house. Then they determined that this was indeed a homicide, these three adults were allowed to leave the state. All of them are now living outside of Nebraska. And the authorities have not spoken to these three adults for over three years in person.
So we at "Inside Edition" decided to look at this cold case and to go ahead and track down these three folks ourselves to try to get some answers about what happened that night. So over the summer we tracked down all three of them -- the mother, the boyfriend and their friend. And we interviewed every single one of them and asked them the question whether or not they killed Juliette.
Now what`s interesting about this and you`ll see tomorrow when you watch our entire investigation on "Inside Edition" all three of them were very nervous at first to speak with us. But interestingly the mother, Charyse, and the guy that was living with them on their couch, Brandon, both pointed the finger at Dustin, the boyfriend.
And "Inside Edition" has gone on to find out that this young man, Dustin, has been arrested 12 times. And yet he has still not been charged in this case. And now it`s really troubling for those that care about Baby Juliette.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Let me say this, again, I want to stress that authorities are saying there are no suspects in this case. But cops say they found DNA on little Juliette`s clothing from the person you just mentioned, Charyse`s then boyfriend, Dustin Chauncey. And they say it was not significant enough to connect him to the child`s death.
Now, Lisa, in your excellent investigation you tried to catch up with Dustin to ask him about the case. Here`s what you got.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GUERRERO: Did you hurt Juliette?
DUSTIN CHAUNCEY, FORMER BOYFRIEND OF CHARYSE GEURTS: No, I didn`t. And you guys can speak to my lawyers. I`m done.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And we also tried to reach him for comment; did not hear back before show time. Lisa, it`s clear he wants this case to end. What did you make of his somewhat I would say hostile exit?
GUERRERO: Well, obviously he didn`t want to talk to us and has been avoiding talking about this case altogether. I think this is the first time he`s ever been on camera answering to it. He was really nervous.
And interestingly we caught up with him while he was working at a construction site. As soon as we started asking questions he hopped the back wall, had his girlfriend pick him up in a car. And then they drove off.
Little did they know that our producer, Charlie (inaudible) was right behind them; and so Charlie followed them. And they made an illegal left turn. And my photographer and I were able to catch up with them while the cops were giving them a ticket. So he didn`t want to speak to us, but he had to speak us to.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: By the way, Dustin Chauncey or Brandon Townsend and Charyse Geurts, they`re invited on our show any time. We`d love to get their side of the story.
Now cops say -- here`s what I found very weird. The night this precious child died she had a seizure early on in the night and was rushed to the hospital, treated and then sent back home where she went to bed. Then, later that night she died.
Now, if she went to the hospital with blunt force trauma injuries, no doubt they would have seen that and not sent her right home. So when did these deadly blows occur? Is there a missing piece to the puzzle? I find it very odd that she was raced to the hospital and then just a few hours later she dies of multiple blunt force trauma.
So I want to bring in Monica Hall -- and thank you for your patience, ma`am. You`re Juliette Geurts aunt. Your niece was murdered in 2008.
That`s what I don`t understand. They`re partying, there`s drinks, there`s a woman and two guys. And these children, one of them the child who ultimately died had a seizure, went to the hospital, came back and then is beaten to death by someone?
MONICA HALL, AUNT OF JULIETTE GEURTS: That`s from -- that`s what the autopsy showed. Of course, over the years we`ve had multiple different versions as to what happened coming mainly from the mother and from Brandon who`s been the only one that`s been willing to talk about it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, speaking of Brandon, according to court affidavits, neighbors complained of loud parties every weekend at the house where people were partying, they were drinking. In an interview last year Brandon says that deadly night was no different. Listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOWNSEND: I`d be made like -- like the bartender. I`d be the one, you know, serving out the drinks. I was pretty drunk that night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: So Lisa Bloom, legal analyst avo.com, court records show day care workers had reported prior to the child`s death signs of child neglect, poor hygiene on the children, lack of regular bathing. Now you add in alcohol and a partying to the point where I know as a recovering alcoholic with 17 years of sobriety, sometimes you can blackout and you don`t know what the heck happened. That is a possibility as well that everybody`s recollections are fuzzy because they were all in a blackout.
LISA BLOOM, LEGAL ANALYST AVO.COM: This is an absolutely disgusting case -- completely different from the prior case. I`m very suspicious of all of these three people who were in the home. This child died from being beaten to death. By the way, those bruises might not have shown up immediately in the hospital if she had been beaten just before she went to the hospital. It could take hours, even a day sometimes --
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good point.
BLOOM: -- for bruises to show up. She might not have been x-rayed. So we just don`t know exactly when it happened. But some people also really don`t know how to handle a seizure. And I`m thinking perhaps God forbid she was having another seizure, maybe one of the men came in and he was drunk and thought beating her or hitting her was going to help in some kind of twisted way. I don`t know what happened.
But I do know that one of those three adults probably killed her. And one or more of the other adults knows what happened. They have some information and they`re covering it up. And they`re covering up a killer of a little girl. This is just a horrendous situation.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: I have to say that that is your hypothesis.
BLOOM: Yes.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: And you are an expert, but we have to stress over and over again the police say they have no suspects. So we, again, we try reach out to these three individuals. We invite them on our show any time. We want to be fair.
Monica Hall, last question to you, you`re the aunt of this poor child who was murdered -- such a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, beautiful little girl. The surviving twin, she is with who?
HALL: She is currently living with the grandparents. My brother will be getting out of the army shortly. And so for the past four years she`s been in the care of grandma and grandpa while he`s been serving our country. Three tours overseas and now he will be getting out of the army to be home with his little girl.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Well, that is a ray of sunshine in a very sad case. This girl will have her daddy and her grandma and grandpa. And that warms our heart.
Lisa Guerrero, chief investigative correspondent "Inside Edition", the story is tomorrow on your show -- excellent job. Thank you for sharing your excellent work with us. We will be watching.
GUERRERO: Thank you, Jane.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Good to see you.
Time for our "Shocking Video of the Day". This camera caught, look at this, a pawnshop shooting after a would-be crook tried to rob a south Florida pawnshop. Not such a great idea.
The manager and a friend wrestle the would-be robber to the ground. And it spilled outside the parking lot. Then the manager shot him. He ran away with a bullet lodged in his back. He was caught later by police.
You know what, the time has come with all this video available to stop breaking into these convenience stores and trying to rob them because you will be caught. It`s like the high speed chase. You will be caught. You will be caught. You will be caught. Don`t try it.
Hulk Hogan next.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: We`re hearing more and more about potentially dangerous ingredients in the beauty products we slather on our bodies. You know 100 ingredients on the back of the bottle. We don`t know what those ingredients are. My alternative is I make my own makeup remover, perfume, body lotion.
And essentially what I do is almond oil, very simple. I pour that in. And then I use essential oils like tea tree oil and rosemary and lavender. And I mix it all up. And put it in various bottles so that I can go on trips, I can go exercise. People always asking me what are you wearing and I say I made it myself.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: And your viral video of the day. This one is one for -- look at this. Someone forgot to tell these adorable twins that, hey, dinner hour isn`t over because they are falling asleep right in the spaghetti, or what is it that Honey Boo-Boo says? The sketti. They`re falling asleep in the sketti. Oh, they`re so cute.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hulk Hogan versus radio personality Bubba the Love Sponge over that sex tape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Clems secretly videotaped Mr. Hogan having private consensual intimate relations in a private bedroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Claiming they secretly recorded Hulk having sex with Heather. The sex video ended up on the Gawker.com. Hulk is suing them for $100 million.
HULK HOGAN, FORMER WRESTLER: It`s the worst thing I`ve ever been through bar none.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Tonight, a secret sex tape scandal that will stop you in your tracks. An undercover camera caught world famous pro wrestler Hulk Hogan with his pants down, literally. Now he`s doing everything he can to put that video under wraps. The tape allegedly shows Hulk having consensual sex with the then-wife of his former BFF, Shock Jock known as Bubba the Love Sponge. Hulk admits to "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" he did have sex with the former Mrs. Love Sponge about six years ago.
By the way, I have to tell you, I didn`t watch it. But that`s why I have producers because I really didn`t want to pollute my brain with that video. So they looked at it and they said he takes a phone call during the sex act. Ok. Just throwing that out there.
But the existence of this tape Hulk Hogan says totally shocked him. Listen to this.
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HOGAN: This single-handedly has split my world more than anything, more than the divorce, more than eight back surgeries when they say you`re not going to walk, more than my son`s accident, going to jail, this came out of nowhere.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Hulk is so upset about the tape he`s suing everybody involved, his old pal Bubba, the ex-wife, the alleged sex partner, that`s one and the same and the Web site, Gawker, that posted a one-minute clip of said sex act.
Straight out to senior editor "In Touch Weekly", Kim Serafin -- Hulk says he`s the victim. Bubba says come on, you had to know. You knew we had surveillance all over the place. What do you make of this dramarama.
KIM SERAFIN, SENIOR EDITOR, "IN TOUCH WEEKLY": Yes, it`s interesting. You`re right. Bubba is now saying he`s calling Hulk Hogan a hypocritical fraud. He`s saying that he knew he was being taped. That he had lived in the house. That he knew they had video cameras all over the place.
He`s saying we really need to focus on who released this but also implied that maybe it was Hulk Hogan himself -- sort of not ruling that out -- which is interesting because as you mentioned, again, I didn`t watch it either, so I`m just going from the reports too but apparently if he does -- I just want to make that clear.
If he does take a phone call as you mentioned, I mean, I don`t think this is something that is necessarily painting Hulk Hogan in a good light. I don`t know why he would necessarily release this. I don`t see how it helps his career or helps who he is or helps his image in any way. This is definitely he said/she said.
And yes, as you mentioned, he did file these lawsuits. I imagine more information will come out as those progress.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: By the way, we have a poll. Who do you think is telling the truth, Hulk or Bubba? 75 percent last I checked said Bubba.
Dylan Howard, editor-in-chief, Celebuzz, usually guys aren`t as excited about the sex tape as women. I don`t know if that`s a good thing or not, but why is he so darn upset about this?
DYLAN HOWARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, CELEBUZZ: Well, disclosure here, Jane -- Kim, I should say, not Jen, and Jane, I have watched the tape. I love them at Gawker and I watched it and it is nothing to write home about. Let me tell you that first of all.
Why is he upset? I`m not sure. There are two distinct cases here: one, the lawsuit against Gawker; and, two, the lawsuit against Bubba the Love Sponge. The fact that Hulk Hogan was taped in Florida, a state that has a two-party consent law, i.e. both parties must agree to be recorded, places Bubba and his wife in serious legal problem. Gawker on the other hand, they`ve been down this route before. They released the sex tape of Eric Dane from "Grey`s Anatomy". That was settled out of court.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: That I would watch.
HOWARD: But of course, media organizations argue it`s a first amendment right to publish this tape. I for one though probably wouldn`t have done it.
VELEZ-MITCHELL: All right. Now, we`re going to talk more about this in a second.
But first you have to see this. A guy caught red-handed, shoplifting from a store. One shopper turns him in. And what she doesn`t know is he`s an actor.
So what do you do if you saw that for real? That`s the question we ask in the hit show "What Would You Do" coming to HLN starting this Sunday. Check it out.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With the weak economy making times difficult, shoplifting among the elderly is on the rise. So we wonder, what would happen if our senior citizens weren`t just looking for the best deal, but were spotted taking a five-finger discount?
We set up hidden cameras in the supermarket to see what would happen. This senior shopper is an actor, hired by us. And so is the manager.
This shopper appears not to notice the crime in progress, even as it unfolds right in front of him. He walks right on by. But when we catch up with him, it turns out he was doing a little acting himself. He had seen everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It looked like he took a can or something. Then after that, he took something else. And I kind of felt pathetic for him that he had to do this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re sorry?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know it`s wrong not to report him but I don`t like to be a snitch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like so many shoppers in the store, this woman can`t believe what she`s seeing. She stares. Apparently, trying to make certain that it`s the crime her eyes tell her it is. She hesitates. And then, moments later, she confides in a bystander, who also happens to be one of our actors. But, finally, this shopper has seen enough and takes action.
Did you feel bad about having to do that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would have with one thing but when he started taking other things, I said enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What one thing would you let him get away with?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A box of Jell-O.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That would have been ok?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That would have been ok.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jell-O`s are good.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Go for it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: "What Would You Do?" The show starts Sunday, 9:00 pm Eastern. It`s an absolutely fascinating, fascinating look at ethical dilemmas. "What Would You Do?" This Sunday, 9:00 p.m.
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VELEZ-MITCHELL: Keep sending us your fabulous pet pics and stay tuned for Nancy Grace. Fiesta.
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