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Dr. Drew

Actor Arrested for Murdering Wife; More Outrage: Surfer Girl in Hot Water

Aired May 20, 2014 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. DREW PINSKY, HLN HOST (voice-over): Tonight, an actor who calls 911 on himself. Police say he shot and killed his wife. Their two little sons were at home at the time.

Plus, a dad throws his toddler into a pool head first. Why?

These stories and more blowing up on social media.

Let`s get started.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: Good evening, everyone. My co-host, of course, is Samantha Schacher.

And, Sam, that`s video you just saw on social media of the man throwing his kid -- that bothers me more than anything else we have done.

SAMANTHA SCHACHER, CO-HOST: So disturbing, I know.

PINSKY: We`re going to get into that one.

We also have coming up a hidden camera showing what appears to be abuse in a nursing home, more common than you guys, might imagine, but now that we have surveillance footage, we can pick this stuff up. This woman`s daughter is here to talk to us.

SCHACHER: And that footage is also disturbing.

PINSKY: So, here we are, the world we live in now.

SCHACHER: It`s good.

PINSKY: It`s good, it`s happening and we`ve got to pay attention to it and social media is the way it`s coming --

SCHACHER: Being exposed, thank God.

PINSKY: All right. First up tonight, though, the most tweeted story of the day, an actor could spend his career playing a cop could spend the rest of his life behind bars.

Michael Jace called 911 to report his wife had been shot. Hours later, he was the one in handcuffs. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Los Angeles police have arrested and charged the actor Michael Jace for the shooting death of his wife. You might know Jace best for his roles as a cop in TV series like "The Shield." He also had roles in films like "Forrest Gump."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are here to offer protection and help to all those who need our help.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police handcuffed the actor just outside his Los Angeles home early this morning.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jace was home alone. This was last night when his wife April shows up with their two sons, both under 10, by the way. Who knows what they saw. It`s another element of this story. Neighbors say they hear shots around 8:30. Jace reportedly calls 911 and says, "I shot my wife."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They say it was domestic violence. That`s why they`ve charged him with homicide and set the bond at $1 million.

(EN VIDEOTAPE)

PINSKY: Now joining us, Anahita Sedaghatfar, defense attorney, Judy Ho, clinical psychologist, actress and "People" magazine blogger, Elisa Donovan, you know her from the film "Clueless."

SCHACHER: Yes.

PINSKY: Now, the police tell us there were no previous reports of domestic violence, but Michael Jace`s ex-wife, Jennifer, claims he was abusive. Court documents from the their custody case reveal Jennifer`s friend witnessed the violence. She testified that Jace, quote, "choked and hit his ex-wife, slammed her against the wall while the son screamed in the crib next to her. He was raging and out of control."

And, yet, Anahita, Michael Jace`s current wife, April, in this case defended him against those allegations of abuse.

ANAHITA SEDAGHATFAR, ATTORNEY: Right, Dr. Drew, let me just make a comment about the statement that was made. We have to remember that was a declaration that was made by his ex-wife`s friend in a divorce proceeding, OK, I`m not saying it`s not true, that he didn`t abuse his ex-wife.

But the fact is, we have to take it with a grain of salt because oftentimes in those proceedings people throw out abuse allegations that are unfounded or false against their ex-spouse. So, you know, again, as you said, his current wife, it`s so sad -- she was only 40 years old, the one that died. She claimed that she was never abused. They were married for 10 years. No one ever said they witnessed abuse. There were no allegations of abuse.

So I think we have to wait and see what the facts are. This might not have been a domestic violence incident.

PINSKY: Judy, you beg to differ. I wonder why women don`t listen to the cautionary tales told by the previous partners.

JUDY HO, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: And, unfortunately, these women have found a way to justify it for themselves, just as the perpetrator justified that abuse is the way to solve problems.

PINSKY: Right, rationalize it, yes.

HO: Absolutely. And how many times have we heard that women or men who are in abusive relationships actually end up protecting the person that is hurting them and even sometimes going to jail in place of them?

PINSKY: Oh, Judy, it`s because he loves me so much, he can`t control himself. That`s the coercive component, coercive and controlling relationships.

This guy filed for bankruptcy in 2011, he was fighting to keep his home from foreclosure. Court documents show he was about a half million in debt.

Elisa, comments assume he was a millionaire because he was all these roles, he was an actor, but talk to us about actors` lives. Even though they have lots of jobs, they may not be rolling in the dough.

ELISA DONOVAN, BLOGGER: Exactly. Just because someone is on television does not mean that they have money to pay their bills. And the unfortunate thing is that people oftentimes get very -- once you have a job when you`re in the public eye, if your ego was not in check, you can tend to get a little out of whack with your spending, with your inflated sense of self, and it seems to me like that was just a perfect recipe for this guy.

I`ve never met him. I never worked with him, but -- I mean, it`s a terrible tragedy all around, but I would bet that the people that know him, sadly, don`t find this as that much of a surprise.

SCHACHER: Yes, and to your point, I think not only is this somebody dealing with anger issues and also an inflated sense of self, but he also played a cop for years and years and years. Perhaps somehow he had a false sense of security and entitlement within law enforcement.

DONOVAN: I`m really glad somebody brought this up beside from me, because I didn`t want to sound like the grandma here, but I really think that we have to look at violence on television, and I`m sorry to say that, and I am, obviously, a creative person and I`m excited to play any sort of a role, but I really do think that the proliferation of it in television is really a little bit upsetting.

PINSKY: Guys, we`re going to go down a rabbit hole if we`re not careful and we`ve got to go to break.

Next -- not next, but soon, I`ll be talking to another actress that knows Michael Jace, her name is Melissa Gilbert. You know her. And she`s here exclusively to talk about what she observed about him. They knew each other fairly well.

Next up, however, surfer girl update. Be back with that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This all started with an idea --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s a wannabe model, an aspiring surfer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A surfer now facing attempted murder charges.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say Hansen followed 73-year-old Elizabeth Conklin, then waited until she got out of her car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the victim got out of the car, we`re told Hansen drove at her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s not known why.

PINSKY: She posted about suicide, about Satan coming after her.

SCHACHER: She allegedly tried to hire a hit man off Facebook to kill her father.

PINSKY: Couldn`t be any mental health issues here?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She also called the police and said, hey, you know what? My father, and my mother, and my sister were all murdered in the house.

PINSKY: This is not necessarily entertainment you`re watching. This may be people with serious illness unraveling because people sat on the sideline as opposed to becoming citizens of social media.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PINSKY: All right, I`m back with Sam.

Sam, what we just finished there is exactly what I want to talk about right now to open the segment, about the surfer girl. She`s an opportunity to talk about it and make a comparison with something that happened last summer. If you remember, Amanda Bynes had a meltdown and it all played out on social media. Everyone thought it was so funny, they stood by it, did nothing, made fun of her. They abused her, said either she was funny or she was acting to get attention.

She ended up spending months in a psychiatric facility. She`s had severe, some sort of severe mental health problem and we all stood by and did nothing. So, what I`m saying, that was the leading edge of something that we should have made note of, must make note of now, which is when people start exhibiting signs of profound mental health breakdowns online, we need to be able to identify it and do something about it and surfer girl case is a prime example.

Got my panel back, starting with Anahita, also joining us, Segun Oduolowu, social commentator, Michelle Fields, correspondent for PJ Media.

Now, this woman ran over her victim. She apparently got out of the car, then yelled, "My father made me do this, he`s a high-powered attorney."

Anahita, you`re a high-powered attorney. What`s your reaction?

SEDAGHATFAR: Yes, I am, Dr. Drew. Well, I think you said a lot in your introduction. I think this woman is clearly mentally ill, and everyone around her knew that there was something wrong with her.

She was posting all these bizarre posts and rants on her Facebook and this wasn`t even her first brush with the law. She had numerous other arrests and incidents, she called herself a model and professional surfer, by the way, look at her picture, she is not a professional model.

(CROSSTALK)

SEGUN ODUOLOWU, SOCIAL COMMENTATOR: Anahita, catty.

SEDAGHATFAR: That was a joke, that was a joke. Really, this isn`t a joking matter. The issue is, at one point, Dr. Drew, the court ordered her to undergo some type of mental evaluation, and I`m wondering whatever happened to that. Did she ever do that? Because, at that point, I think we could determine where did we make a mistake, was it her family, was that the system that failed, was it her friends?

SCHACHER: Anahita, I`m so glad you brought that up, because those are my unanswered questions, is, has she been diagnosed with a mental illness before? Has she been administered any medication? Is she self medicating herself with drugs?

There`s so many unanswered questions and has her family tried to help before?

PINSKY: Let me bring in the great skeptic, Michelle. Segun, I thought it would be you. I`m going to Michelle.

(CROSSTALK)

MICHELLE FIELDS, PJ MEDIA: You guys are treating this girl like she`s some sort of victim. The girl needs to be locked up. What I think, she has anger management issues and she wants to be famous. That`s what she desired, talking about some pro surfer, that she`s a model.

And now, if you saw her today in court, she`s waving and blowing kisses like she`s on the cat walk.

(CROSSTALK)

PINSKY: Show what Michelle is talking about, please if you can. We have footage. Go ahead, Michelle, finish up.

FIELDS: She just wants to be famous, that`s all it. She has anger management issues.

If you look at her past history, she has anger problems when she`s driving, that`s what it is. But she`s not a victim.

Lock the girl up and throw away the key.

SCHACHER: I think it`s more than that. That could be a symptom. But it`s also --

(CROSSTALK)

SEDAGHATFAR: That`s what I`m asking, Dr. Drew. I would be curious to know, are those symptoms of somebody with mental illness?

PINSKY: Of course, it is.

(CROSSTALK)

SEDAGHATFAR: At her arraignment, she`s smiling and waving.

FIELDS: Everyone has mental illness problem.

PINSKY: Segun, let`s hear your piece, your part.

ODUOLOWU: Well, I think, Dr. Drew, in a perverse way, that that fact that she is a pretty blonde girl from Hawaii can actually serve as being the poster child for mental illness. So, often, we treat mental illness as, oh, something that happens in the middle of the country to unattractive people or actresses faking it or whatever.

But here`s a girl seemingly living in paradise and suffers from, obviously, some type of mental issue. I`m not a doctor so I`m not going to say that it`s road rage or that she`s over-privileged and wants a BMW, but something is definitely wrong.

PINSKY: All right. Segun, let me bring in somebody who knows her, at least knew her. His name is Todd Messick. He`s a long time friend of Jill Hansen.

So, Todd, thanks for joining us. We`re trying to decide is she somebody trying to get a lot of attention or is there something going on here from a mental standpoint?

TODD MESSICK, FRIEND OF SURFER GIRL (via telephone): It`s funny listening to all you guys talk because I`ve known her for quite a while and all those symptoms are very correct in her character and her personality. As long as I`ve known Jill, she`s been a little disillusioned in the reality of things, and from where she was at to how things were really -- calling herself a pro surfer.

PINSKY: Was she ever treated for mental health issues? Was she treated -- do you know, does she have to take medication?

MESSICK: Not as far as any of our friends know, there was never a professional diagnosis done, but everyone in the circle kind of knew, you know, things weren`t kind of all there with her. Hearing what you were discussing on the social media stuff, just kind of in the posts most recently created a whole lot of hesitation, you know?

SCHACHER: Also Todd, I noticed on Facebook is she seemed paranoid. She thought that President Obama was after her, she thought that the government was after her. So, did you also witness this sense of paranoia?

PINSKY: Before you answer that, I want to admonish Michelle, that`s not what people start to say, they don`t say the government`s beaming thoughts into their head, that`s a paranoid delusion.

So, go ahead, Todd. Answer that.

MESSICK: As far as thinking things that weren`t there, I know there`s a couple professional surfer friends of mine who I know personally and she was on the social media kind of slandering their names, and as hard as everyone works in this industry, it is hard work for a lot of people that aren`t on the top of the list, you know, trying to make a living, and to slander someone`s name out there, to say something is not true, it`s kind of --

PINSKY: But, Todd, to me that goes back in Michelle`s camp.

MESSICK: Absolutely.

PINSKY: She`s a pain in the butt.

MESSICK: I`m all for it, right in there saying things in that girl`s world were not correct in how she views things.

PINSKY: I don`t know if that`s a mental illness or just being a pain. That`s what our panel is fighting about.

MESSICK: Well, I can say that as far as the person as a surfer, she was accusing surfers of stalking her and saying these guys are endangering her and she was threatened by them. I know for a fact these guys are the mellowest, coolest guys in the world. They don`t do this.

ODUOLOWU: Paranoid schizophrenia?

PINSKY: No, sometimes there`s certain personality disorders that can get rather paranoid, those are implicit people to be around. So --

FIELDS: Or maybe she`s just on drugs.

PINSKY: Well, or maybe, Michelle, that`s a possibility, but that`s a mental illness, too, everybody.

So, hey, we have to take a break. Surfer girl update continues. Todd, stay with me. More after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: All right, I`m back with Sam.

Sam, and we`re going to do something I`ve never done before, I stopped the show and I want to bring Michelle back in here, because I love Michelle. And I want -- there -- hi, Michelle, you know I love you.

And you`re the person I need to convince out there of how to look out for somebody in social media that`s in trouble. What would you need to see? You heard what Todd said, she`s not well and everyone`s been worried about her, but you still are unconvinced.

So, what does social media have to reflect for somebody like Michele who thinks that everyone just trying to get famous on social media to let you know someone was in trouble?

FIELDS: Well, look, I think if I saw something that was -- that they were putting their lives in danger, then, yes, I would reach out to the person.

PINSKY: So, I`m going to kill myself. I`m going to kill myself, I`m going to kill somebody else, evidence of aggression.

FIELDS: Yes --

(CROSSTALK)

PINSKY: Good. How about --

FIELDS: Then I would reach out to the person, definitely.

PINSKY: So, Michelle, here`s what I want to do, I want you to stand by -- Sam, are you good for this? Are you ready for this?

SCHACHER: Yes.

PINSKY: OK. Sit by and I`m going to bring in a behavior bureau and want them to explain what they would look at as signs somebody is in real trouble.

We`ve got to become more sophisticated about social media. We have to become citizens, not mobs. That`s what I`m advocating here. So, this is a perfect story to do that. And, Michelle, you`re a mob leader, I love that about you, but we`ve got to get a little bit better about our behavior on social media, as somebody who participates in it.

So, what, you want something, too?

SCHACHER: I agree. To that point, I think it should be responsible citizens of social media, because if you do dismiss the signs, you are essentially endangering those around you.

PINSKY: There was not anything we could do about it, leave her alone, she`ll get help when she wants, and she did.

But we need to get more sophisticated. So, let`s bring in the behavior bureau.

Judy, Lisa, Wendy Walsh, of course, Wendy is psychologist, author of "The 30-Day Love Detox". All right. Jill`s friend, Todd, is still on the phone if we need him.

But I want to go around the panel here. Lisa, hold tight for a second because I`ve got two professionals planking you.

Wendy, what would you need to see online to let you know somebody was in trouble and need help rather than disdain?

WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, first of all, I want to tell you something fascinating. New research is showing those crisis hot lines where people call when they maybe suicidal are actually becoming proactive, Dr. Drew, and they`re using algorithms to comb through social media and look for key words and they have much better results, because obviously, when someone`s depressed, or think of hurting themselves or others, they usually don`t pick up the phone and say I`m having this problem.

But there are key words that they may use relating to sadness and black feelings and hate and anger, and this constant shift of emotions that people should be looking for.

PINSKY: OK. Wendy, what you guys don`t get to see that I get to see, is I still got Michelle on my panel of people I get to watch from satellite feeds, and she`s going -- so what! Somebody`s describing dark feelings, so what?

So, all right, I agree with you, but Michelle is saying no --

FIELDS: Everyone on the Internet.

PINSKY: Well, yes.

FIELDS: Everyone is always posting about their breakups. They`re posting these sad images from Pinterest. I mean, how do you decide which is something you go out and you actively try to reach out to the person, which is it?

PINSKY: OK. Hold on.

Elisa, you`re a layperson. You were sort of siding with Michelle there, no?

DONOVAN: Well, because I feel the big problem here is that social media breeds such narcissism on a level that is, I think, catastrophic. It`s really hard --

PINSKY: OK. So, we need to see it through that prism that that`s -- that`s what Michelle`s complaining about.

WALSH: I want to argue that, actually.

DONOVAN: Lack of accountability that is associated with it.

PINSKY: Wendy, before you do, I`ve got a couple people I want opinions from.

Go ahead, Sam.

SCHACHER: Yes. So, I looked through this "professional", in quote, model surfer`s Facebook page quite extensively last night and I saw a lot of similarities like we talked about with Amanda Bynes, a lot of nonsensical stuff, a lot of paranoia, and I think that`s what stuck out to me, especially it`s flanked by other issues that seem seemingly normal.

PINSKY: Perfect time to bring in Judy.

So, Judy, I agree with that. I don`t disagree with what Wendy said, but if you see avert delusional paranoid thought, that`s somebody really in trouble. Mania, schizophrenia, drug abuse, that`s what causes those things.

So, what does that look like on social media?

HO: That`s right. So, in addition to what Sam mentioned, this kind of nonsensical language that he used in the post, you can also watch for really severe aggression or especially if they seem they are angry at a specific person, threatening to harm a person or entity. Those are the types of things you can look for.

PINSKY: Wait, wait. Judy, tell us -- people don`t know what paranoid delusions are. Give me some examples. Give me three examples of paranoid delusions.

HO: Perfect. I just saw a patient that thought he was god and he believed he was getting uploads into his arm of information fed from different --

PINSKY: OK. So, God, Satan may be talking to them, too. It could be God or Satan.

HO: That`s right. Second might be you, they think that you, Dr. Drew, are speaking specifically to them on this TV program.

PINSKY: Right. I`m talking directly to someone who I don`t know through the television. That`s a good -- no, they`re funny, but they`re real. These are what these thought disturbances are.

Give me a third one.

HO: Right. And the third one is less common, a nihilistic delusion. It means that the person thinks that they are dead. So, it`s kind of like Bruce Willis in that movie he was walking around, but he was dead. He believes he`s dead, but he`s actually alive.

So, there`s issues with that. That`s a less common delusion.

So, I want to say, though, with people who have psychosis, that gets exacerbated, like you said, Dr. Drew, with substance abuse.

PINSKY: Yes, of course. Or caused by.

Wendy, last thought, then I want to get Michelle in a two-shot with me. So, go ahead, Wendy.

WALSH: We`ve forgotten to talk about the elephant in the living room, what do you do if you see this stuff? The problem is, these people are over the age of 18, they are adults, they can decide to see a therapist or not. If you`re one of their surfer dude friends, really, what can you do?

PINSKY: OK. Well, here`s what you do, you keep watching this program. We`re going to struggle with exactly that. This is a new medium. We`re trying to understand this.

And we will come up, as we evolved and understand this thing better, the first thing you can do is, if you know this person, because you`re hooked in on social media, contact their relatives, contact local authorities. These are the kinds of things you can do.

Give me Michelle. Give me Michelle. Michelle --

FIELDS: I don`t buy it. People post things that are weird all the time and you assume it`s an inside joke and you weren`t in on it. People use social media accounts like diaries. You can`t help it --

PINSKY: I have my new foil, this is it. Life`s work is going to be convincing Michelle Fields what -- how to identify serious mental illness online.

Stay put, everybody.

Next up, why would -- and this is one is so disturbing -- why would a dad deliberately throw his own baby into a pool? After the break. It is very disturbing video.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (EGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I saw the video, oh, my God, no, that was -- whoa.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just hope that my kids are gonna be OK from this. I`ve got a 5-year-old little boy asking why his daddy hurt his sister. I got a girl who may be traumatized.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mother of two, Samantha, is reacting to seeing her 23- month-old daughter, Mia, tossed into a central Phoenix pool by her father.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She`s having nightmares, she`s showing signs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He realizes what he did. He didn`t mean to do it to that extent that he was trying to teach her water safety, but which I told him, I was like, in that video, bro, that`s not water safety.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

DR. DREW PINSKY, DR. DREW ON CALL HOST: Sam, we`re back. He didn`t mean to do it? I want to show you that video again. We`ll show you how purposeful this guy`s behavior is. He meant explicitly to do it. He`s gonna show that little person, because apparently she was involved in a circumstance where a puppy drowned or something.

SAMANTHA SCHACHER, DR. DREW ON CALL CO-HOST: Puppy drowned, yes. Here`s the thing, he left the dogs and her unattended for 25 minutes. What do you expect? He`s lucky she didn`t drown.

PINSKY: Listen, he did it again, after he got her -- someone fished her out of the pool, he did then the same thing again, and I guess, dunked the child. Can you imagine the trauma to -- is she 18 months old or 24?

SCHACHER: She`s under two years.

PINSKY: Under two years of age, the trauma of having your own father -- the guy that is supposed to be protecting you, him taking you and sticking you under water and you believe, you`re a little person, that he is trying to kill you.

SCHACHER: That`s torture.

PINSKY: It`s torture. Back with us, Michelle, Judy, Elisa. Video also shows the child as, Sam, says was unattended for 25 minutes at pool side. Michelle, since you`ve been such a worthy adversary today. I`ll let you have at this one first.

MICHELLE FIELDS: Well, look, this is abuse. I mean, he obviously doesn`t care about the child. He left the child unattended for 30 minutes, and he throws her like it`s some sort of rag doll or something. I mean, it`s disgusting, and I read today that he was abused or beat up in prison, and all I have to say is it`s karma, good, I`m glad.

SCHACHER: Good. Me, too.

PINSKY: go ahead, Elisa. Do you have something?

ELISA DONOVAN: I feel -- first of all, this video is so upsetting to me that it`s almost impossible to watch. It`s so viscerally upsetting to me as a parent, but I have to say, I feel like this is -- this man`s behavior is based on his environment. He was obviously raised in an environment where violence was used to solve problems. And I`m not excusing his behavior. I`m simply saying something needs to be stopped, like we`re doing something very wrong that people are continuing to behave this way, and then passing them on.

PINSKY: People, people use violence as a way -- as a means to, quote, discipline their children, and anyone who studies children and child development know for certain that that disturbs child development and brain development. Judy, you`re nodding.

JUDY HO, PH.D.: That`s right. I really agree with Elisa, that this man is a product of his own upbringing environment and we know that that is a risk factor for people as parents to also abuse their children.

PINSKY: But, Judy.

HO: Yes?

PINSKY: Michelle, will say, who cares, right?

HO: But I do.

FIELDS: Yeah. Who cares, lock him up. Lock him up.

HO: Michelle.

FIELDS: I don`t care if he`s a product. I mean, what this guy did was disgusting and the way you guys are talking about it, as if you`re excusing him for this. Oh, it`s not his fault.

HO: Michelle.

(CROSSTALK)

PINSKY: One at a time. One at a time!

HO: Let me respond to Michelle.

PINSKY: Go ahead, Judy.

HO: Hi, Michelle. Michelle, you know I love you, I love your opinions, but our answer is not to lock everybody up, OK, what it does do for our society? We need to give these people treatment. And guess what, we have very effective methods of how to teach parents, who are scarred from their own childhood, how to deal with their kids more effectively in stressful situations. That`s what we need for this dad.

PINSKY: Yes. And that is the way we prevent the cycle of abuse from continuing, not by abandoning children from their separating kids from parents, which is the intervention of last resort. Now, the pool toss not the only outrage. Listen to the child`s mother again. She is the one who called the cops and went public with this. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAMANTHA CAREY, THE BABY`S MOTHER: Then you see him taunting her, like throwing her, like he`s going to, then he`s not, throwing her, like he`s going to, then he`s not and then what people don`t know is also in the beginning of the video, he hoses her down with a water hose, like, to -- to kind of torture her that way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: Sam?

SCHACHER: Clearly, Dr. Drew, if this is the way that he disciplines his child, you know there have been a number of different incidents. So, now what is going to happen to her? Is she later going to turn into become an abuser? Going on what you`re shame?

PINSKY: She will not have abuse her. She gets attracted to abusers. It`s the gift -- no, Judy?

HO: No, I`m saying, yes, that that sucks.

PINSKY: Yes, that sucks.

DONOVAN: And then him getting beat up in jail, as much as it makes everybody happy to some extent, it`s just perpetuating the same thing.

PINSKY: And let`s remind us all that once again.

(CROSSTALK)

DONOVAN: I`d like to drown him, too, but that`s not going to help.

PINSKY: Once again, we`re all a little bit uncomfortable with all the surveillance video, and yet we`re seeing circumstances it`s a double-edged sword, that surveillance and social media can have positive benefit. We are seeing things like this so we can intervene.

Minutes away, I`ve got Melissa Gilbert here exclusively to discuss Michael Jace, the actor, is arrest, she does know him.

And next up, I have a hidden camera that reveals now the abuse of a grandmother at a nursing home. We going to the other end of the life spectrum, of the life span, and seeing how surveillance can perhaps help us in this domain, as well. Be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How dare you. How dare you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The one person the Mendez family says they trusted with their 84-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia, betrayed their trust.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was very happy when they told me he was gonna be the person in-charge of her, because he was so kind, so respectful.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This case is just a little piece of the problem. But there are thousands and thousands of Mrs. Mendez out there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PINSKY: Wow, back with Sam, that story is from our affiliate, K.E.N.S. Sam, that`s a video we`d like to see go viral, these kinds of videos, if anybody is aware of their family member being -- this is abuse, it`s over abuse, flat out, let the social media speak.

SCHACHER: Please, absolutely. Takes a really callus person to go after someone so defenseless, elderly person, someone with dementia, at that.

PINSKY: Yes. You know, over my career, I was an internist, so, I had hundreds and hundreds of nursing home patients. I have full respect for people who work in nursing homes. It is very stressful and difficult work. In fact, one of my panel members, I believe, also worked in a nursing home. We`ll talk about that in a second. The family of the 84-year-old woman has filed a lawsuit accusing the nursing home of negligence. No charges have been filed against the suspect. He have apparently has a criminal record, according to the family`s attorney. Anahita, Segun and Wendy are back with us. Segun, you are the one I was talking about. Your mom works in a nursing home, I worked in a nursing home, you have volunteered.

SEGUN ODUOLOWU: Absolutely.

PINSKY: And elder abuse is a major preoccupation -- concern in nursing homes, they should never even be skating near anything that could possibly look like elder abuse.

ODUOLOWU: It`s so very scary because for a lot of people, nursing homes are a dumping ground for the elderly when it`s too hard to take care of them. And my mom is an occupational therapist. She has worked with stroke victims, and people that are -- elderly people in nursing homes who suffered from all types of maladies. This man should be in prison, because what bothers me more than anything in this video is the taunting and just the bullying of a woman in a wheelchair. It`s so gross.

PINSKY: Also, as though with the brain disease, she haven`t -- as though she could respond.

ODUOLOWU: Yeah, I mean, and look, in the video she`s fighting back. It`s so hard to watch, because I question the authorities at the nursing home, because I`m sure this is not an isolated incident in nursing homes throughout the country.

PINSKY: Well, of course it isn`t. And Anahita, I think, I want you to make the distinction for us, this is not malpractice. This is a criminal offense, right?

ANAHITA SEDAGHATFAR: Exactly, right, because he`s not a physician. He is not a nurse. So, it`s not medical malpractice, but I think this is criminal. Like you said, this is assault, this is battery, this is elder abuse and it`s just so sad because he`s a caretaker. He`s the one supposed to be protecting and caring for this elderly woman. Not abusing her like that, and the fact that she`s helpless, that`s what gets me. That`s not even a man, that`s an old woman with dementia. And he knows she can`t speak up. She can`t tell anyone. So, I`m so glad this family caught this on tape so he can`t do this again.

PINSKY: And Wendy, I think people need to know this is more common than you might think, as Segun is -- not just in nursing homes, but out there in the world, people get very frustrated with their caretaking demands and they do things that are not appropriate.

WENDY WALSH: And sadly, even loving family members lose their patience when they get caregiver burnout, and also remember a lot of family members are intertwined emotionally with their aging mother, and they can get the older person doesn`t know what they are saying and could say something awful to them and set them off, but I think the really big piece here is we need to talk about, you know, people use technology to monitor all kinds of stupid stuff in the world. We need to monitor our moms and our dads, not our pets in pet hotels. We could be putting nanny cams in every single nursing home in America.

PINSKY: I think that`s gonna happen. I think that`s the way of the future.

SCHACHER: Wendy, I`m so glad you brought that up. That was my very point, if this is so common, which is horrific to even state, if so many elderly people are going through this without us knowing and they have no voice, why don`t we implement something to prevent this from happening?

HO: There are (inaudible) issues that come up.

(CROSSTALK)

ODUOLOWU: Because, Sam, because the dirty secret -- the dirty secret is, people dump their elderly parents in nursing homes and kind of forget about them.

PINSKY: Segun, you said something outrageous. I`m going to bring in the daughter of the elderly woman, you saw on the video. Rose, I`m certain you did not dump your mom in a nursing home, and you actually the reason we know about what happened is you were attentive and suspected something was wrong.

ROSE RODRIGUEZ, SET UP SECRET CAMERA ON ALLEGED ABUSER: Yes, that is true. I did not dump my mother. I adore this woman. She is the most precious person in my world. And she was ill, and they suggested a skilled nursing facility for the rehab and then she would be able to come home in about two weeks, but she didn`t respond to therapy, and then that just put her in a totally different category. She went from somewhat active and helping, you know, getting from point A to point B, to being totally bedridden, needing a lift to get her out of bed, and she just never recouped from that UTI. They tell me, that`s very dangerous in elderly people.

PINSKY: How is she now?

RODRIGUEZ: She`s doing well. She`s doing well. She`s still, you know, I think she`s still scared, because just by her look and the way she -- her body language, but we assure her every day that she is in a better place now, and I`m still with her, and I go to visit her every day, and she can count on me to be there until the very, very end.

PINSKY: Rose, I have to -- we have to go. Thank you for joining us. Thank you for sharing this video, because it brings up a very important topic, which is elder abuse, it is much more common than people realize and now we have electronic media to help us monitor it, and distribute information to raise awareness. Let`s be clear, there are lots of wonderful nursing facilities out there, lots of wonderful caretakers of elderly patients, and all nursing homes are aware of elder abuse because as what of, Anahita, pointed out, it`s not a malpractice issue, it`s a criminal issue, so they are quite aware. And believe me, that nursing home is not happy that this happened at their facility. I don`t care what facility that is, they are aware of what they`ve got ahead of them with somebody behaving like that at their facility. Thank you, guys.

Next up, no jail time for a convicted rapist who drugged his victim. His victim just happened to be his wife. Reminder, you can find us any time on Instagram @drdrewhln. We`re right back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If a woman says, she was drugged her at least 3 years, raped in her sleep and her attacker recorded it on video.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Inaudible) was -- he would use his cell phone to carry out his plan inside the couple`s former home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I always knew something was happening to my body but I never had proof that it was happening.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She would wake up later with no energy, just sleepy, and sometimes she would just pass out, but one day, Mandy, got suspicious. She would through (inaudible) of cell phone and found three explicit videos of herself unconscious with Wise on top of her. It took three years for judgment day to come, and when it did, a jury found, Wise, guilty on all six counts, including rape. A judge would then sentence wise to eight years -- eight years, that is, on home detention.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

PINSKY: All right, back with Sam, Anahita, Michelle, and Wendy. That story had you commenting all over our Facebook page on record numbers, last count, over a thousand comments. That same judge also told the rape survivor, Mandy Boardman, to go ahead and forgive her attacker husband and just let him walk, let him walk, yes, Wendy, because -- you`ll love this, Wendy, let him walk because it would help her heal. And, Sam, has even some more details on this, right Sam?

SCHACHER: Yeah. This is such a disturbing story. So, for one, this was a really healthy, vibrant young woman in her early 30s, then all of the sudden, like you saw in the earlier package, she was feeling groggy and sleepy. One night she woke up to her husband standing over her with a flashlight putting a liquid-type medicine in her mouth with an eye drop type dispenser, and then another night she woke up with a pill in her mouth dissolving, so she did look into his cell phone and saw what any of us could not imagine, her husband raping her while she was passed out.

PINSKY: And she -- and then there was an e-mail, Wendy, where she apparently said you need to stop this. I think, you`re doing something wrong figuring things or what ever. Wendy, go ahead.

WALSH: OK. Are we in the middle ages, where a wife is property and you can do anything you want to her? I`m sorry, this is rape and drugs are a weapon and this man criminally attacked her and raped her. He deserves to be in jail.

PINSKY: Michelle, he says, he drugged her, because she was snippy and it made her nicer, Michelle.

FIELDS: You know, this judge is ridiculous, I think, the only reason he got a light sentence is because she is his wife, but just because she is his wife, doesn`t mean that she is his property.

(CROSSTALK)

PINSKY: Nothing to do with it. Anahita, what`s wrong with the legal system, Anahita, what`s wrong with your system?

SEDAGHATFAR: For once I actually agree, even as a defense attorney I agree that the mentality that this judge expressed is seriously, seriously wrong. Even though every defendant have a presumption of innocence, he was convicted on six felony counts and the fact that he didn`t get one day in jail is problematic.

PINSKY: Well, there we are, just because the wife, well, just the wife. You can rape her. We can rape the wife.

SCHACHER: And this judge is running for re-election in November.

PINSKY: All right. Let`s leave it at that.

(CROSSTALK)

SCHACHER: Thank God.

PINSKY: Not if, Wendy, has anything to do with it. Let`s take, Michelle, on him. Put your energy, Michelle.

Next up, Melissa Gilbert joins us to discuss the arrest of fellow actor and friend Michael Jace. Right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PINSKY: Back with Sam, Segun, Michelle, and Wendy. Neighbors are shocked by the alleged murder of actor Michael Jace`s wife. Police say he did it. He, himself, called 911. Now, panel, stand by, because I want to bring in somebody who had worked with Michael Jace, actress Melissa Gilbert, she joins us. Now, Melissa, thanks so much for joining us tonight. What did you think when you first heard the story?

MELISSA GILBERT, EXCLUSIVE CO-STARRED WITH JACE: I was absolutely stunned. And I`m still having a really hard time. You know, I`m working, so, I`ve sort of been living in a bubble of work, and I came right out of it when I got word of this today and I`ve been reading and gleaning what I can from the internet and talking to other friends, and I still can`t reconcile the Michael Jace that I know and worked with, with the Michael Jace that I`m reading about, and the other thing that I`m dealing with or thinking about is, my heart is breaking for those children.

SCHACHER: Melissa, a lot of people talk about him allegedly having anger issues. Did you ever witness him having a short fuse maybe on set?

GILBERT: Not for a second. Not for a second, and we were working under some pretty, you know, strenuous and rigorous circumstances (inaudible) all night (ph), on the streets of downtown L.A. in really scary areas and Michael was the kind of guy who, you know, I would go walk to my trailer and it was a pretty sketchy part of town we were in, and he would make sure that someone walked with me or he would walk me there.

PINSKY: Michelle, you had a question for Melissa?

FIELDS: Did you ever interact with him and his wife? And what way, if so, what was their relationship like?

GILBERT: I didn`t. Because we were shooting at night, our families never visited us because we were, you know, up all night and shooting from, basically, sunset to sunrise, but we talked about our children all the time. And talked about our families all the time, and I never heard him say anything but loving things, you know, we would exchange stories back and forth.

PINSKY: Melissa.

GILBERT: Yes.

PINSKY: Before -- Segun, hold on for a second, I want to ask, Melissa, one question. There`s confusion about whose children was there in the house. One of the children was not biologically related to Michael, is that right?

GILBERT: I don`t know for sure. I`m as confused as you are. So, I`m not sure about that. I haven`t talked to anyone close to him. And you know, the actors who worked with him more than I did, like the actors who worked with him on The Shield, have been, clearly, very quiet. You know, I`m speaking to you now because you and I have, you know, a friendship, Drew.

PINSKY: Yes. Thanks, Melissa. Segun, you have a question?

ODUOLOWU: Well, there are reports that he had fallen on hard times, and I was wondering if you had heard anything about that or maybe he reach out to you or anyone you might have known?

GILBERT: Not that anyone was aware of. I mean, you know, from what -- I mean, if there was anything going on with him in the time that we worked together or anything, there was no sign of that on the set or around work, and even, you know, in the moments in between or after, we didn`t socialize. But, you know, when you work together on a film set, you grow extremely close, especially when the hours are long and we`re shooting, you know, filming all night. I do know that, you now, it`s not uncommon and we`re hearing more and more about people in the entertainment industry who are having a hard time because the economy hit people hard, but this, obviously, is an extreme situation.

PINSKY: Melissa, I have to interrupt, we are running out of time. I want to thank you so much for I want to thank you for joining us, and helping us get our heads around this tragedy. DVR us anytime, everybody, you can watch us then. Forensic Files is up next and it begins, right now.

END