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Nancy Grace

DNA May Link Jessica Ridgeway`s Murder to Other Attacks

Aired October 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, HLN HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Westminster, Colorado. 8:30 AM, this little girl, 10-year-old Jessica Ridgeway, walks three blocks en route to school. Mommy watches as she walks away from home. Jessica never seen again.

FBI, search dogs descend onto Jessica`s home and the back yard. This as a mystery man tries to lure children into his car with candy nearby, but that incident never publicized. Then a terrible find, the awful discovery, 10- year-old Jessica`s dismembered body found just seven miles from her own home.

Reports a man, a local photographer, arrested in the kidnap and assault of another young girl nearby. Is that linked to Jessica`s murder? Investigators warning neighbors tonight a child predator at large still in the community.

Bombshell tonight. Reports DNA on Jessica`s book bag could be linked to a male wanted in a sex assault of a female jogger across from Jessie`s school. And tonight, have blond hair believed to be Jessica`s and receipts for garbage bags been found near the girl`s remains? And in a stunning turn, a handmade wooden cross found planted near Jessie`s body. Left behind by Jessica`s killer?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clue that police hope will help crack the case of a murdered girl in Colorado.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jessica Ridgeway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A small wooden cross police say belongs to Jessica Ridgeway`s killer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe that it was left behind or dropped by somebody that was involved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cross has three distinct marks on one side, and on the other what appears to be the letter "S."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It potentially was left intentionally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are now re-examining an attempted abduction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looking back, the crimes in this Westminster neighborhood do seem eerily similar. A 22-year-old woman running this trail attacked, gets away. Four months later, Jessica Ridgeway didn`t.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fairly close to where Jessica was abducted and later where her body was found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is such a tense time for that community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s scary. It`s very scary.

LEE BRIK, WESTMINSTER POLICE CHIEF, INVESTIGATING CASE: We recognize that there`s a predator at large in our community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This sicko is out here still. We don`t know where he`s at, but we need to find him!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.

Bombshell tonight, live to Westminster, Colorado. 8:30 AM, a little girl walks just three blocks en route to school, never seen again. Now 10-year- old Jessie`s dismembered body found a just a couple of miles from home.

Tonight, bombshell reports DNA on Jessie`s book bag could be linked to a man wanted in a sex assault of a jogger right across from Jessie`s school. And in a stunning turn tonight, we learn a hand-made wooden cross -- is it planted near Jessie`s dismembered body?

We`re learning all sorts of information tonight as we go to air. For instance, we are learning that there are reports that Jessie`s clothes were neatly folded up and put in her book bag. Remember -- let`s see that video, Liz. Her book bag and her water bottle with her name on it found discarded, like it was thrown out of a car in a nearby neighborhood. There you`re seeing those shots.

Were Jessie`s clothes neatly folded up and placed inside her book bag? Is this linked to a man that tried to attack a nearby jogger? All of this is happening -- and this is very important to the investigation. All of this is happening within a couple of miles radius, which adds to the theory that this is a local predator.

That jogger, the female jogger -- catch this. She was jogging along a trail when a guy came up behind her with a chemical-soaked rag and put it over her mouth and nose. She got away. We`ve got a description, all right? Another jogger attacked, another attempted attack on a little boy nearby. And now Jessie`s remains found in an open field?

All of this within the same radius of a couple of miles -- Jessie`s home, her school, the jogging route, the location where her backpack and water bottle were discarded. And now another monkey wrench thrown in, but it`s a piece of the puzzle -- a receipt, a receipt. I can`t tell you how important this is.

Straight out to Nia Bender, operations manager, TNN Denver. There`s so much happening. It`s fast and furious tonight, Nia. Tell me about the receipt.

NIA BENDER, OPERATIONS MANAGER, TNN DENVER (via telephone): Well, apparently, the receipt is from a King Supers, which is located not that far from Jessica`s home, in all reality, at about 100th and Wadsworth. That`s just a few miles from Jessica`s home.

Now, they found the receipts. They looked things up. They went to the King`s Supers. And now they`re trying to go through, you know, surveillance tape. And they have about four hours of surveillance tape that they have to go through. They can save (ph) that in one shot. The receipt -- on the receipt, though, it does show a purchase for trash bags.

GRACE: OK. What do we know about that location, Nia? We`re showing it right now. Where does it figure into this radius that I`m talking about?

BENDER: It`s right in that general neighborhood, within a, you know, 5 to 6-square-mile area. That`s not very far from her home at all. It`s very suburban, you know, very, very quiet, family-oriented area.

GRACE: All right. I want to go out to Matt Zarrell. Matt, what can you tell me about these other attacks, the one on a female jogger -- there`s two joggers, I believe, and one little boy, attempted attacks?

MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Yes, Nancy. OK, so we`ve got the two joggers and the one boy. May 28th is the key jogger. A 22-year-old woman`s jogging on a trail around the lake which is right next to Jessica`s school. At about 1:15 PM, she encounters a male suspect. He grabs her from behind and tries to put a rag over her mouth. The victim said the rag had a chemical smell on it. She was able to get away and call 911.

Now, this is not the first time we`ve encountered this person because in July of 2010, another jogger was chased by a man fitting a similar description. And in addition, Nancy, three weeks before the jogger attack in May, an 8-year-old boy -- there was an attempted kidnapping on an 8- year-old boy, and that suspect also fit a similar description.

GRACE: So you know, all these armchair quarterbacks saying, OK, an attacker that would attack a full-grown woman, a sex predator, would not be interested in children, or a guy that would attack a little boy would not be interested in little girls. OK, if this is the same guy, Matt Zarrell, he`s disproving all those amateur theories.

So what do I have, Matt, if anything, linking this one guy to all of these victims?

ZARRELL: OK, Nancy, the key here regarding Jessica is DNA because KDVR is reporting that DNA from the suspect in Jessica`s murder has been linked to the alleged -- the attack on the jogger on May 28th. They`ve linked it through DNA. And they do believe that the jogger -- the two jogger attacks was the same suspect, and they`re working to confirm it was the 8-year-old boy was also the same suspect, as well.

GRACE: OK. Hold on, Matt. Matt, Matt, Matt -- I`ve to get this straight because we`ve got so many victims we`re talking about. And this may just be the key to unlock the mystery to Jessica`s murder.

I`m not understanding how they got DNA in an attempted sex attack on the jogger, Matt, because it`s my understanding he came up behind her as she was jogging along. What do you know?

ZARRELL: Yes, Nancy. As the victim passed the suspect, he grabbed her from behind and tried to put a rag over her mouth. She said the rag had this chemical smell on it. But she was able to get away, Nancy, so I wonder if there was DNA under her fingernails. Maybe that`s where they got the DNA from the suspect.

GRACE: Yes. Good thinking, Matt. Good thinking. Now, how did the incident with the little boy go down?

ZARRELL: OK, now, three weeks before the jogger attack, an 8-year-old boy is out with his sister and the sister`s friend. They`re actually playing games outside. They`re walking on a trail near Ketner (ph) Lake, the same location as the jogger, right by Jessica`s elementary school.

The suspect actually grabs the boy by the neck and tries to pull him over the guardrail onto the street. The sister and the sister`s friend panic. They throw the cell phone at him. They scream and yell. The suspect panics, runs away. Cops got on scene. They tried to track him down, were not able to.

GRACE: Do I have DNA in that case?

ZARRELL: Nancy, they tried to get DNA from the toy gun that the boy was holding, but they were not able to get the suspect`s DNA from it.

GRACE: OK. All right. Now, OK, so I`ve got -- then what`s connecting that to the jogger, a physical description?

ZARRELL: Yes, Nancy. The mother of the 8-year-old boy says that the description of the suspect who attacked the 8-year-old boy is similar to the suspect description in the jogger case. Police have not confirmed an exact connection yet, but they are working to do that as we speak.

GRACE: OK, what`s my physical description?

ZARRELL: OK, you`ve got a light-skinned male, 18 to 35, or someone who...

GRACE: Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wa wait! When you say light-skinned male, that doesn`t -- Matt, Matt, Matt! Is it a white guy?

ZARRELL: Yes.

GRACE: OK. It`s a white guy. Go ahead. What`s the rest. What do we know?

ZARRELL: 18 to 35, brown hair, medium build, 5-foot-6 to 5-foot-8, sunglasses with small frames. At the time of the jogger attack, he was wearing a black T-shirt, jeans and a navy blue ballcap.

GRACE: What kind of frames on the T-shirts? I mean, on the sunglasses?

ZARRELL: Sunglasses with small frames.

GRACE: Sunglasses -- and he wore the sunglasses on the attack on the little boy and the jogger?

ZARRELL: I have not seen an exact description of the suspect`s sunglasses, but they said he was also between 5-foot-6 and 6-foot tall.

GRACE: And the other thing -- out to Victoria Taft, talk show host with KPAM. Victoria, I don`t need DNA to tell me it`s the same guy. You`ve got a white male that is stalking this lake, Ketner Lake. How many other white males with a slim athletic build are going to attacking people on the same jogging trail in, basically, you know, a low-populated area compared to, for instance, Philadelphia, Manhattan, Atlanta, San Francisco.

So long story short, of course, it`s the same guy. So I`ve got the same guy linked up to Jessie`s murder because his DNA is on the backpack. I`m trying to fit out how his DNA got on that backpack. His DNA is on her backpack. And I understand there`s DNA at the crime scene where her body is found hacked to pieces. I`ve got DNA linking him to the jogger, and a physical description linking him to a little girl.

What about it, Victoria Taft?

VICTORIA TAFT, KPAM: Well, you know, Nancy, one of the things that is arising here where I am in a case is the small stuff matters. And in this case in Colorado, you had attack after attack after attack. Maybe they didn`t seem quite as serious, but everything counts.

Now the police have to go back over all of the crimes which were committed in this area, Nancy, that you rightly point out has been the scene of so many different sort of odd coincidences, attempted abductions, attempted attacks. And they`re going through clear back to 2011.

So Nancy, you`re right. It`s probably the same guy. We`ve got a predator, and he`s loose. And those parents (INAUDIBLE) parent have been -- they were actually moved out of the neighborhood because they were afraid for their children.

GRACE: To Pete Marone, director, Virginia Department of Forensic Science. Pete, thank you for being with us. I want to talk very quickly before we go to break about that handmade cross that was found planted near Jessica`s remains. Is it possible to get DNA off of it? What do you think, Pete? And what do you think forensically about the crime scene?

PETE MARONE, VA DEPT. OF FORENSIC SCIENCE (via telephone): You ask an interesting question. Is it possible? Anything is really possible. On the other hand, it`s equally possible that they may not be able to find anything.

When you`re dealing with touch DNA and then the cross or even the backpack that you spoke of, it`s not necessarily a sure thing, and people have to understand that. Quite often, you may be able to get some results, but the results won`t necessarily be meaningful. And one of the things we have to be careful of in following it, as many your folks have...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A little girl snatched while simply walking to school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s a predator at large in our community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lines of law enforcement officers search where the body was found.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Tonight, the breaking news in the search for 10-year-old Jessica is coming fast and furious. Back to you, Matt Zarrell. What more have we found out about the crime scene itself? In particular, I want to talk about those trash bags?

ZARRELL: OK, Nancy. Now, KDVR is reporting that portions of Jessica`s remains were found on the black garbage bags. Now, we were talking last week about whether it was inside the bag, and now reports have surfaced from "The Denver Post" that remains were found inside that black garbage bag.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Burke Strunsky, senior deputy district attorney out of LA, author of "Humanity of Justice," Eric Schwartzreich, defense attorney, Miami, Jason Oshins, defense attorney, New York.

Jason, let just kick it off with you. I was just listening to what Matt Zarrell just said about this 10-year-old little girl`s remains, her body hacked to pieces. I know for a fact reports are her clothing was neatly folded up in her backpack. So this is painting a horrible scenario as to the hours surrounding her death. And now we`re just trying to decide, were her hacked-up body parts inside or outside of garbage bag?

JASON OSHINS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right.

GRACE: Does Colorado have the death penalty, anybody? Clark, do they have the death penalty? Weigh in, Jason.

OSHINS: Listen, Nancy, you know, I hear where you`re going in terms of this is the typical case that`s out in the public eye...

GRACE: I didn`t say typical.

OSHINS: Well, that would require us to think about the death penalty. But I think before we get to that point, I think law enforcement needs to make certain about who they`re targeting, making sure these are not isolated incidents in among themselves...

GRACE: It`s death by needle, Jason.

OSHINS: Death by needle.

GRACE: Death by needle.

OSHINS: Death by needle would be appropriate for the perpetrator who`s convicted of these crimes, Nancy. I don`t think anyone would disagree.

GRACE: So not only that, Eric Schwartzreich, defense attorney, does the mom have to wrestle with her daughter`s death, she has to wrestle with her child`s murder, her dismemberment and her likely sex attack prior to her murder. Thoughts?

ERIC SCHWARTZREICH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, it`s awful. It`s atrocious. It`s heinous. But to echo what Jason`s saying, we need to make sure that we get the right person. Everyone deserves justice. Her family deserves justice...

GRACE: Put him up!

SCHWARTZREICH: ... and a suspect deserves to justice. But we need to make sure, Nancy, we get the right person and not...

GRACE: And what do you think that justice would be?

SCHWARTZREICH: ... jump to conclusions.

GRACE: Oh, you think there`s a problem with DNA? You don`t accept deoxy...

SCHWARTZREICH: Nancy...

GRACE: ... ribonucleic acid? You think there might be what...

SCHWARTZREICH: Nancy...

GRACE: ... a cover-up, like in the O.J. Simpson case? The cops...

SCHWARTZREICH: Nancy, I...

GRACE: ... framed him?

SCHWARTZREICH: Nancy, I`d agree with you and we`d both be wrong on this. The issue is it`s not a cover-up. It`s not about DNA. It`s about making sure I`s are dotted, T`s are crossed. Law enforcement does not...

GRACE: I don`t even know what you`re talking about!

SCHWARTZREICH: ... mess up and get the right person.

GRACE: Strunsky...

SCHWARTZREICH: That`s what I`m talking about, making sure we get the right suspect.

GRACE: Talk some sense, Strunsky.

BURKE STRUNSKY, SR. DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: Well, the crime is going to be solved by DNA evidence. There`s no question forensic evidence is going to lead us to who this is and ultimately to a conviction. And it`s hard to imagine...

GRACE: Come on, Burke! Burke, put it out there! May he rot in hell, all right?

STRUNSKY: No doubt. Anybody that chops up -- kidnaps and chops up an 8- year-old child deserves the death penalty. That`s the kind of person that the death penalty was absolutely designed for...

GRACE: It`s too good for him! The death penalty is too good for him. He`ll get the needle and just drift off to sleep!

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: The developments surrounding the crime scene where this little girl`s body was found are coming in so quickly tonight.

Out to the lines. Chris in Colorado. Hi, Chris. What`s your question?

CHRIS, CALLER FROM COLORADO: OK, we had two attempts in Arvada in September not so far from where the little girl was found. And we -- I live in Westminster, my son lives in Arvada. And nobody was alert that this happened. One was an 8-year-old boy and one was a 12-year-old boy. I want to know why we weren`t notified of this. This could have been...

GRACE: You know what, Chris in Colorado? I want to know, too. I want to know, too, Chris in Colorado, because the guy luring children into the car with candy was not publicized at all. None of the attacks around Ketner Lake were publicized, not a notice, not a flyer, nothing. And this girl is now dead and dismembered.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Clue that police hope will help crack the case of a murdered girl in Colorado.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jessica Ridgeway.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A small wooden cross police say belongs to Jessica Ridgeway`s killer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe that it was left behind or dropped by somebody that was involved.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The cross has three distinct marks on one side, and on the other what appears to be the letter "S."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It potentially was left intentionally.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police are now re-examining an attempted abduction.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Looking back, the crimes in this Westminster neighborhood do seem eerily similar. A 22-year-old woman running this trail attacked, gets away. Four months later, Jessica Ridgeway didn`t.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fairly close to where Jessica was abducted and later where her body was found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is such a tense time for that community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s scary. It`s very scary.

BRIK: We recognize that there is a predator at large in our community.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sicko is out here still. Who knows where he`s at but.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: What happened to 10-year-old Jessica?

In just a few days my children, believe it or not, are going to turn 5 years old. To all of you that prayed when they were in intensive care when they were born, please don`t stop.

Can you imagine what this mother is going through? She watches her little 10-year-old girl walk away from the house. Three blocks she had to walk to meet up with her friends to walk to school in the morning. She`s dead. She`s not just dead. She`s clearly been sexually molested, held captive, murdered, and hacked up.

As we analyze all the clues tonight forensically, what is she doing? Can you imagine? She`s probably sitting at home on her sofa in the dark going, where`s my -- where`s my girl?

I want to go back to -- hold on, panel. Hold on, everybody. I want to go back to Chris in Colorado who has just called in. Chris is very familiar with this area. She`s hearing about all these attacks. There was no publication of any of these attacks much. Tonight through DNA, logistics and physical description, this one guy, a white male, as we predicted last week, is responsible for attempted attacks on, we believe, two joggers and a little boy, literally pulling the little boy over a fence away from his playmates to molest him.

OK? Nobody knew. Nobody knew. There wasn`t a flyer put up, a warning, nothing. And so Jessica`s mom lets her walk to school that day. Right by Ketner Lake.

Chris in Colorado, I want to hear your thoughts on this.

CHRIS: It`s terrible, because if we would have known, so many -- so many people would have gotten somebody to walk their kids to school. You know? Kids are our life, you know? And it`s (INAUDIBLE). It`s terrible.

GRACE: You know what? You know what, Chris in Colorado? If anything happened to the twins, to either one of them, I was just go lay down in front of the railroad, in front of a train. I couldn`t stand it.

CHRIS: Right. Right.

GRACE: And to --

CHRIS: What do you think this mother is going through?

GRACE: I don`t know. I don`t know what she`s going through, but I want to go back to Nia Bender.

Nia, is this true? Was nothing -- none of these attacks publicized or talked about on the local TV stations, nothing?

BENDER: Well, I think they got a little bit of press, but they really didn`t get much press. I mean, surprisingly enough, as big a city as, you know, the Denver metropolitan area is, there are a lot of instances that take place all across this -- you know, the counties. But it wasn`t made a big deal. Sadly, it wasn`t turned into a big deal at all.

GRACE: Matt Zarrell, let`s go through the evidence that we`re learning tonight. I want to start with this handmade wooden cross seemingly planted right there on the scene.

ZARRELL: OK. Now the cops actually released the pictures of this cross. They actually say it can help identify and locate Jessica`s killer. It`s about an inch to inch and a half tall, an inch wide, three verticals bars etched on one side that you`re seeing in the photos.

Now the cops have confirmed that the cross does not belong to the Ridgeway family and was recovered at one of the crime scenes. They would not say which one. They believe the cross was left behind by the killer. They`re looking for someone who may carry or wear this type of cross or may have recently purchased one of these or is known to have some association with one.

Cops are also getting together with local businesses including religious stores to try and get a feel of who could have sold this cross.

GRACE: To Dr. Vincent Dimaio, former chief medical examiner, Bexar County, forensic pathologist.

Doctor, you have dealt with so many homicide cases. What can we do with the garbage bags? What can we learn?

DR. VINCENT DIMAIO, M.D., FORMER CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, BEXAR COUNTY, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: The fact you want to find out where they were sold and then you look for the video cameras. All stores nowadays have cameras. So the receipt would give you an idea when it was sold. Then you`re going to look at the film to see if you can figure out who actually bought it.

The other thing is you`re going to have to make a detailed examination for the presence of fingerprints and also DNA, if that had been handled with bare hands.

GRACE: You`re right.

Matt Zarrell, from that receipt and we can link it back up to King`s Grocery Store, you can get the day of the purchase of the garbage bags, the time of the purchase of the garbage bags, the clerk I.D. I learned all this from working at Sears myself where you have to punch in your I.D. every time you ring something up. You can get the date, the time, and the clerk that sold the person the garbage bags.

What do we know -- what more do we know about the receipt, Matt?

ZARRELL: Yes, employees told KDVR that police and security guards actually spent days going through four months of surveillance video trying to find images of the person who bought the garbage bags. They actually had a photocopy of the receipt with them, and the police told the employees that it was connected to Jessica`s disappearance. KDVR also spoke to the cashier who sold the garbage bags to the person. Unfortunately, she doesn`t have a specific memory of the transaction or the guy, but she says she was shown two receipts by police. The receipts were long. One was in the amount of $60. They`re still combing over the surveillance video. They`re trying to key in on who bought these garbage bags.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The body was discovered.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: About eight miles away from where she lived.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Very disturbing details.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: From the helicopter you have footage of the body which would show the public that it`s not intact.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Overnight investigators released new photos of the cross hoping someone recognizes it. It was found at one of the crime scenes in the case, but police won`t say which one because that is information only the killer knows.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Profilers say statistically the murderer is most likely a man and possibly a local.

BRIK: We are committed until we achieve justice for Jessica.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks like it was cut weather by hand or by machine out of a solid block of wood. We believe that it was left behind or dropped by somebody that was involved and knows information that we`re looking for.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Left intentionally perhaps?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It potentially was left intentionally.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: A handmade wooden cross with distinctive markings on it. Religious stores have been approached. We don`t know if that`s where this cross came from. Take a look at it. Was it planted there? Was it dropped there?

Matt Zarrell, what exactly do we know about the cross?

Listen up, everybody, if you know anyone that wears a cross like this or has one in their home. See, it`s not exactly perpendicular. It`s not straight up and down. You can see that it`s handmade.

Go ahead, Matt.

ZARRELL: OK. I`ll give you the best description I can give you. It`s an inch and a half tall, an inch wide with three vertical bars etched on one side. The cross also had a hole drilled through the upper post portion to possibly be worn on a necklace. The opposite side of the three vertical bars is a zigzag pattern carved into it. The upper post portion is offset from the lower post portion below the horizontal section.

The cops have confirmed the cross does not belong to the Ridgeway family. It was recovered at one of the crime scenes. They do believe it was left behind by the killer. They`re looking for someone who may carry or wear this type of cross, may have recently bought it or is known to have an association with it.

And as you mentioned, they`re also looking for local businesses that may sell this specific cross, and we spoke to a local store operator who also says it looks to be handmade because as you mentioned it is not perpendicular.

GRACE: OK. We definitely need a shrink now. Joining me, Dr. Ramani Durvasula, clinical psychologist, L.A.

Doctor Ramani, explain to me what this tells us about the killer.

RAMANI DURVASULA, PH.D., CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: It could be a couple of things. We know that when we`re dealing with serial criminals, it`s not unusual for them either to take a trophy or leave something behind. And this could -- this is a guy who keeps trying to do this, and now it`s almost as though he achieved a horrifying goal of killing this girl and now something is left behind, if it was left at that scene.

It`s something to think about. But it does feel sort of like a ritualized thing and something that he left behind as a mark, not as a mistake.

GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Strunsky, Schwarztreich, Oshins.

Jason Oshins, you and I have analyzed -- you`ve tried a ton of cases.

OSHINS: Right.

GRACE: I`ve prosecuted a lot of cases. Let`s talk about what this means. Where`s Oshins? I see a duck. I want to see the lawyers. There you go.

OK. Jason.

OSHINS: Yes.

GRACE: Let`s think about it. You`re a father of two.

OSHINS: Right.

GRACE: What does this mean? What killer would leave not just an object, something, as Ramani Durvasula says, at the scene, a cross, Jason? A cross that the symbol of love and sacrifice to millions of people across the globe. He clearly kidnaps, molests, murders, hacks up a 10-year-old little girl, and dares to put a cross at the scene? Now what is this telling me about him?

OSHINS: It all goes to the profile, and obviously, you could see that the demonic side of the killer, predator, first trying adult women. Now after children. He could be something where he was frustrated from getting his initial victim, and then went after children. And is so angry from something in his past that he throws down the cross in some intentional message to all of us. It`s horrific.

GRACE: Kardian -- Steve Kardian, former police detective, instructor at Defend. What can police -- how can investigators use the cross evidence to narrow down the list of possible killers?

STEVE KARDIAN, FMR. POLICE DETECTIVE, SELF-DEFENSE EXPERT, LEAD INSTRUCTOR AT DEFEND UNIVERSITY: Nancy, there`s a history that exist between the cross and the killer. When they -- if they can identify where that cross came from, it came in his possession. He deposited it at the crime scene essentially or otherwise. And the history exists, so if they can connect those two, the killer and the history, they can identify this individual.

GRACE: Well, I know this, too. I`m going to go not only to Steve Kardian but to Strunsky, Schwarztreich, and Oshins.

OK, Schwarztreich, this guy, while he obviously is a repeat offender, he`s also an amateur, right? Because why would you grab a child, a boy, when he`s there with a group of other children and try to grab him and pull him across the fence and then when they start screaming and throw a cell phone at you, you run, OK? Then he tries to kidnap or assault an adult female, who fights him off.

SCHWARTZREICH: Nancy, you give a dog a ball, he`ll always chase it. There`s something very conflicted about this individual, conflicted because he leaves the cross there and conflicted because of the heinous allegations.

GRACE: You know what? Conflicted my (EXPLETIVE DELETED). He is getting the death penalty.

What about it, Strunsky?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think he`s -- this is a person that`s getting better at attacking these people, and that`s the scary part about it. He`s trying -- he tried several times, he finally succeeded, and unfortunately he succeeded with this very young girl, and then lives out some kind of sick fantasy cutting her up, leaving the cross there. My hope is that the cross allows us to find who -- it should be tested for DNA and ultimately that will lead to the conviction.

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: As police literally beat the bushes, the FBI presents a profile.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could be your boss. Could be your friend. And ultimately could be your family member.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How safe is our neighborhood?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sicko was out here still. Who knows where he`s at, but we need to find him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls tonight. Developments in the search for the killer of 10-year-old Jessica are coming quickly.

Out to the lines. Mike, South Carolina. Hi, Mike. What`s your question, dear?

MIKE, CALLER FROM SOUTH CAROLINA: Hey, Nancy. This cross just to me makes it seem like the work of a serial killer and it reminds me of something straight out of "Dexter" or something. But my question is, are there any serial killers nearby and how long until they kill again?

GRACE: OK. Mike in South Carolina, are you still with me?

MIKE: Yes.

GRACE: Do you recall "Dexter" ever leaving a clue on the scene? Doesn`t he cover everything in plastic so he does not leave a clue?

MIKE: Well, maybe not the best analogy.

GRACE: You`re talking about a serial killer. Now I agree with you that this is a characteristic of a serial killer. But Mike in South Carolina, this guy is an absolute amateur.

Come on, he left the receipt for the garbage bag, Mike in South Carolina. But that does not preclude the possibility he has killed before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Hey, hey. The show is not over. We`re going to be back in 60 seconds. But tonight we remember American hero, Army Corporal Bryant B.J. Luxmore, just 25, New Windsor, Illinois. Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Loved teaching his son to play baseball. Parents Brenda, Leonard. Brother Brock. Widow Jamie. Son Lane.

Bryant B.J. Luxmore, American hero.

Back in 60 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The disappearance of Jessica Ridgeway.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Body found near some abandoned coal mines. But authorities say they`re continuing their search for this missing girl.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A footage of the body which would show the public that it`s not intact.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A little girl snatched while simply walking to school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How safe is our neighborhood?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We really want to determine if there`s any connection to those two cases.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That just makes me more afraid.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Who could do something like this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All our efforts now are in search of her abductor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: We are taking your calls out.

Matt Zarrell, what can you tell me about hair?

ZARRELL: OK, Nancy, multiple reports are now saying that a clump of blond hair was found about a mile from where Jessica`s remains were found. A source told CNN affiliate KDVR that cops believe it may be Jessica`s hair. Now when we called cops to confirm it they say that we don`t even know if this is a dog hair yet. And I would imagine, Nancy, they would have been able to tell that by now.

So the hair was reportedly found in a field by a woman. When she found hair, she immediately called cops. We`re waiting for confirmation as to whether this hair is not only human but if it is Jessica Ridgeway`s.

GRACE: OK. Matt, where was the hair found?

ZARRELL: Found in a field near where the remains were found. About a mile from where they the remains were found.

GRACE: To Dr. Vincent Dimaio, former chief medical examiner, forensic pathologist.

Dr. Dimaio, to match up hair, of course, you can match up to a certain extent without the root. If you have the root, they can positively identify it back to her. But they would know very quickly whether it was human hair or dog or animal hair. Correct?

DIMAIO: Right. It takes a few minutes. All you have to do is put it underneath the microscope and the structure of animal hair is completely different than human. So they would know that whether it was human. Then the next thing they would do would be to DNA testing. You don`t need the roots if you do mitochondrial DNA.

GRACE: Yes, I know you get mitochondrial without a root. But for nuclear DNA, you would -- need the root. But here mitochondrial is going to work. At first it seems farfetched that her hair would be in another field, but Doctor, we`ve got her backpack and her water bottle far away from where the body was found. Then there`s the body. I mean, it`s entirely possible that it is her hair.

Dr. Dimaio, how is it that the killer`s DNA is on her backpack?

DIMAIO: Well, it goes into this new concept of the touch DNA. That is, your body`s covered with cells which are gradually beginning to fall off your body. And so if you just handle an object enough, some of the cells that are on your body will be transferred to the object. Be falling off or being rubbed off.

You then by in the laboratory you multiply these cells and you attempt to do DNA. You`re not going to get a complete profile, but you`ll be able to, say, rule out certain people and rule in certain people. It just depends on how many cells you get, how good the DNA is.

GRACE: Everyone, tip line, 303-658-4336.

"DR. DREW" up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.

END