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Nancy Grace
Massive Search Continues for Missing 6-Year-Old Girl; Mom Finds Babysitter on Care.com, 3 M.O. Girl Found Dead
Aired August 06, 2014 - 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, Bremerton suburbs, Washington state. A beautiful 6-year-old little girl, Jenise, first
thought snatched from her own bedroom just past bedtime.
Bombshell tonight. Investigators removing bags of items from the family home as a new timeline emerging, neighbors reporting they may have seen
little Jenise the following day. As the FBI goes door to door looking for the girl, search teams scouring dumpsters, trash cans, police questioning
registered sex offenders, the clock is ticking down. We join the search. Where is 6-year-old Jenise?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is heart-wrenching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Six-year-old Jenise Wright.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s really independent. She`s tenacious.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And we`re going to do everything we can to try and find her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Witnesses in the neighborhood put her out and about between 12:00 and 4:00 o`clock.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I remain an eternal optimist.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, a working mom calls on a baby-sitting Web site, Care.com, and finds the dream baby-sitter. Mommy even paid $300 extra for
the, quote, "premium" background check. Then Mommy`s worst nightmare when she gets the call her 3-month-old baby girl, Rylan (ph), nicknamed Turtle,
stops breathing, pronounced dead.
Tonight, we learn the, quote, "perfect" baby-sitter was actually spotted that morning leaving the baby girl alone not once but twice to buy liquor
at the drug store. And now the baby-sitter says she may have dropped the baby`s head on the wooden changing table? At this hour, the medical
examiner insisting little Turtle dies of blunt force trauma.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What kind of baby-sitter would I want?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three-month-old Rylan Coop Minor (ph) died of a skull fracture and cranial hemorrhaging at the hands of the baby-sitter hired
through Care.com.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A professional background check.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gunn`s (ph) record included 2 DUI citations and a battery cases.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get the help you need, Care.com.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That Care.com commercial from YouTube.
And then to Oregon. The search for young mom of two, missing, broad daylight, pumping gas, comes to an end, the body of Jennifer Huston found
on a rural road 20 miles from where she pumped that gas, just yards away from her green Lexus SUV. Tonight, what was the cause of death?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities delivered the news nobody wanted to hear. Jennifer Huston had been found, but she was dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have recovered the body of Jennifer Huston.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. To Bremerton suburbs, Washington state. A beautiful 6- year-old little girl, Jenise, first thought snatched from her own bedroom just past bedtime. Bombshell tonight. All that is changing as
investigators removing bags of items from the home and a new timeline emerging, neighbors reporting they may have seen the 6-year-old girl the
following day. FBI going door to door looking for Jenise, search teams scouring dumpsters, police questioning registered sex offenders.
The clock is ticking down. We join the search. Where is 6-year-old Jenise? Tonight we call on you, our viewers, those of you listening on XM
and Sirius, please help us find 6-year-old Jenise.
Straight out to Carleen Johnson joining us from KOMO. Carleen, what are the latest updates?
CARLEEN JOHNSON, KOMO (via telephone): Well, we got an update late this morning from Scott Wilson with the Kitsap County sheriff`s department, and
he started right off by saying any suspicion surrounding the parents of this little girl is at this point unfounded. He said (INAUDIBLE) reports.
They were aware of the criminal background on the father, but that is not the focus.
He said they`re following up on leads. They`re getting hundreds of tips. They`re scouring surveillance video from nearby businesses, and as you
mentioned, looking through all those homes, the 103 other homes in that mobile home park community. But so far, no solid leads that have helped
them to find this little girl.
GRACE: With me, Carleen Johnson, KOMO.
Also with us, the Kitsap County sheriff`s office deputy Scott Wilson. Deputy, thank you for being with us. I understand you, along with the FBI,
are doing it all. You`re searching dumpsters, trash cans, even speaking to transients that seem to inhabit a densely wooded area near this
neighborhood, near this community. Whether they live there, congregate there, hang out there, that`s up in the air.
But you are actually questioning transients, as well. Is that correct, Deputy Wilson?
DEPUTY SCOTT WILSON, KITSAP COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE (via telephone): Yes, ma`am, Ms. Grace. We are contacting every person who resides in that
mobile home park, as well as we`re now starting to contact residences on side streets in front of, adjacent to, behind that mobile home park and in
the wooded area surrounding, where there may be transient encampments. We are definitely contacting as many of these folks as we can locate to sit
down and have a chat with us.
GRACE: Take a look at this graphic we`re showing you, 97 registered sex offenders in the area -- 97 in that particular area! That`s a huge, huge
concentration within just a 7-mile radius.
Deputy Wilson, how are you reaching out to these sex offenders? Are you what, knocking on their doors? Are you calling them? Are you searching
their homes? What?
WILSON: For the sex offenders, we`re trying to make personal contact, provided we`re able to actually get them on the phone, sit them down and
then talk to them in person, get them on the phone, arrange a mutually agreeable time and go in and make contact with the person.
We have more than 100 law enforcement personnel assigned to this case. They work in shifts. We have teams that are going out and conducting these
door-to-door interviews -- "deep canvassing" is the term that I came up with -- and also going into the woods, contacting the transients and also
going out and sitting down with the registered sex offenders.
GRACE: Deputy Scott Wilson joining us from Kitsap County sheriff`s office. Deputy, you say you`re not focusing on the father -- the stepfather, that
is -- the stepfather and mother both taking polygraphs. And you`re not focusing solely on his criminal history. What is the history?
WILSON: Well, what we`re aware of is there is an assault conviction out of Whatcom County. Whatcom County is at the far north end of the state,
underneath Canada, the border with -- the Canadian border. We`re referring all media to Whatcom County for any information on whatever occurred up
there.
We`re aware there`s a conviction. That`s not germane right now to this investigation. We`re aware of it, that`s something to consider, but we`re
not focusing on that. We`re focusing on getting Jenise reunited with her family.
GRACE: OK. With me, Deputy Scott Wilson, and Carleen Johnson, KOMO, also joining us.
Coralise Almajero, the sister of the missing girl -- Coralise, thank you for being with us. What can you tell us about what you do know about the
bedtime ritual? Does Jenise go to bed on her own? Do they read her a bedtime story? Did the parents go to bed, leaving her watching TV? I
mean, did they see her in the bed that night, or did they assume she was in her bed that night?
CORALISE ALMAJERO, SISTER (via telephone): I personally wasn`t there. I live 100 miles away. But from what I know from when I did live there, we
always had a routine in our household, and it`s always stayed that way. Yes, the bedtime`s a little late, but it was always you eat dinner, you get
ready for bed, take a shower, brush your teeth, whatever you need to do, and then you get ready for bed and go to bed.
They always make sure she`s in her bed and that she goes to sleep. You know, she`s one of the few who goes to bed pretty early and falls asleep
very quickly. So I can`t totally say because I wasn`t there. I don`t know. But from what I do know, I`m pretty positive she was in bed and
sleeping.
GRACE: Yes, and the other thing is, this is summer. Everybody`s children are staying up late before they have to go back to school, getting up early
in the morning.
Everyone, joining me is Jenise`s older sister. She`s no longer living in the home. She was raised up with these parents.
Let`s go to the calls. Sherry in Texas. Hi, Sherry. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Thanks for taking my call. Well, my question is more of a comment. You know, we all have children,
grandchildren. Who in their right mind lets a 6-year-old run around the neighborhood and not even know where this child is? Not in the world we
live in today.
I am just sickened in my heart to know that this child has not been found yet, and I just say a prayer over that everything comes to pass that she`s
going to be OK. And folks, watch your kids. Keep an eye on them. Hold them close. Thanks, Nancy. I appreciate it.
GRACE: You know, Sherry in Texas -- hold Sherry, please, Justin.
Back to Deputy Scott Wilson, Kitsap County sheriff`s office. Deputy Wilson, I would at the very least call this bad parenting because by the
parents` own admission -- and maybe the older sister, Coralise, can clear this up -- they say that this little girl, 6 years old, would wander the
neighborhood. In fact, that Sunday morning, they didn`t even see her. They thought she was out playing. They didn`t see her get up. They didn`t
see her leave. They knew nothing about it.
They assumed she had left because it was their norm for her to wander the neighborhood, neighbors telling us that they would wake up in the morning
with the little girl knocking on the door at early morning hours, looking for somebody to play with. Other neighbors see her in the neighborhood
walking barefoot, unattended. Other neighbors have stated they have observed her in the front yard wearing nothing but a man`s shirt.
What do you make of that, Deputy Wilson?
WILSON: Yes, ma`am. We`re aware of that. We`ve interviewed numerous residents in the park, and we`re understanding of their observations of the
little girl. And that`s something that certainly is part of the overall big picture in the investigation. It`s just one minor part of this. It`s
part of the larger picture.
GRACE: But you know what, Deputy? That`s interesting that you would say it`s part of the larger picture because when you look at a child, when you
have a case where a child seemingly disappears from their own bedroom, at first, you look at the parents because they`re the ones home when the child
disappears.
But in light of this -- let me just say euphemistically -- style of parenting, if they little girl did wander the neighborhood, which I don`t
approve of -- but if she did, she was allowed to go out in the neighborhood at will, that puts a whole new layer to this. That sets her apart from
children that are taken out of their bed.
For all we know in this case, she was out playing on her own and could easily have been abducted by these transients that are in the densely
wooded area near the neighborhood. There are about 100 sex offenders within seven miles.
I mean, right now, it`s anybody`s guess. So this style of parenting, while we may not approve of it, adds a whole `nother layer of where this child
could be. Nobody was chaperoning her!
WILSON: Yes, ma`am, we`re aware of that.
GRACE: OK. Let me talk about the prior record of the dad. Let`s just address the elephant in the room. The father has a conviction of an
assault on a 15-year-old girl cousin. He was also charged at the time of assaulting an 8-year-old little girl. That count was dropped in the
agreement he would plead to the assault on the 15-year-old.
All right, that said, it would be a huge disservice in this case, a huge disservice to this child, to focus on the father, even in light of his
prior incident, to the exclusion of other possibilities.
Deputy Wilson, the father has been cooperative, even submitting to a polygraph, a consent search, letting you search the home. Is that correct,
Deputy?
WILSON: Yes, ma`am. He participated voluntarily in what we call a truth verification process, what`s commonly known as a polygraph test, that
occurred Monday evening. Also Monday evening, the Washington state patrol crime scene collection team took a look at the residence. And then last
night, the FBI evidence research team also went in as a second pair of eyes and took a look at the residence.
They did gather items. I`m not at liberty to talk about what they may have gathered. That`s all going to be set aside for processing by the state
patrol crime lab. But the father is very cooperative with us, as is the mother. And the focus, the overall team effort here, is focusing on
getting that young girl reunited with her family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s the little girl who was always roaming the neighborhood. Six-year-old Jenise Wright was always on the go. Her father
said he let Jenise roam freely because it was summer.
More than 80 volunteers from seven counties, combing the neighborhoods, checking the woods and looking from the air. Firefighters checked a vacant
home that had been in a fire in case she was hiding there, but nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The FBI is conducting what they call a deep canvassing of this neighborhood.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we`re looking for here is any trace of what happened to Jenise.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m really scared for her. She is very outgoing, not shy at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re also making contact with registered sex offenders who reside in East Bremerton.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day that goes by, every hour that goes by, concern is mounting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back, everyone. The search for a 6-year-old little girl goes on. Take a look at Jenise. We are now learning what we think she was
wearing when she disappeared. First, we think she was snatched from her own bed. Now reports are emerging from neighbors they may have seen her
the following day in the afternoon, wandering the neighborhood.
We`re not convinced the neighbors have their days straight, but what if? If that`s true, this timeline has completely blown up.
Straight out to special guest joining us, Deputy Scott Wilson from the Kitsap County sheriff`s office, and Coralise Almajero, the sister of little
Jenise.
To Deputy Wilson. What can you tell us about the neighbors who think they may have seen her sometime between 12:00 and 4:00 on Sunday, keeping in
mind she disappears, to our knowledge, Saturday night after she goes to bed around 10:00 o`clock?
WILSON: Yes, ma`am. Witness reports from the park indicate that they believe they saw her walking around sometime between 12:00 noon and 4:00
PM. They also provided a vague clothing description. They thought she was wearing a pink blouse or a pink shirt, bluejeans, may have been wearing
flip-flops or may have been barefoot.
This is the observation of one or two residents in the park. We`re not able to corroborate that right now, so we`re taking that as a possibility
and putting it out there. But beyond that, that`s all we...
GRACE: OK, Deputy, let me ask you a couple of quick questions on this. So they see her, they think, between 12:00 and 4:00. Now, they say she had on
a pink blouse, jeans and flip-flops, they believe. What was their opportunity to view the child`s face? Did they see her face?
WILSON: I don`t have access to that detailed information, Ms. Grace.
GRACE: OK. OK. Question. Were they familiar with the little girl? Did they know her, or they just identifying her from a picture?
WILSON: No. Same answer because I don`t -- have not read any transcripts...
GRACE: OK.
WILSON: ... have not been briefed on exactly who the persons were that reported this to investigators.
GRACE: Got it.
Unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Peter Odom, former prosecutor, now defense attorney out of Atlanta. Also with me, Hugo Rodriguez, defense
attorney, former FBI, joining me out of Miami.
All right, Peter Odom, that`s one of the things you always do if you`re a veteran trial lawyer in court when you`ve got an eyewitness. There are
several things you want to prove. In fact, it`s in black and white statutory criminal code.
In other words, what was their opportunity to view the victim or defendant? What was the lighting? Was their view impaired? Were they wearing
glasses? Did they get a facial view? Was the child from behind? Was she from the side? What was the distance between them and the child? Did they
know the child to recognize her, or are they making an independent observation, an independent identification based on, for instance, this
flyer I`ve got right here? There`s a big difference.
Peter, if I saw you walking at a distance, or you, Hugo, I know you. I`d recognize you immediately, maybe even by the way you walk. If I don`t know
you, it`s going to be more difficult for me to make a positive identification.
So Peter, we don`t know any of that. I can`t really give any credit to these eyewitnesses that state they see her between 12:00 and 4:00.
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right. You know, over the years, Nancy, what we`ve looked at in the law is that eyewitness identification is some
of the least reliable form of testimony. You know that these police are doing...
GRACE: I don`t agree with that.
(CROSSTALK)
ODOM: ... their due diligence -- absolutely.
GRACE: That`s what the trial attorneys spit out at trial. Forget you`re a defense attorney just for a minute, the two of you, all right?
ODOM: Right, but what I`m saying is you know...
GRACE: If these witnesses are right, it blows up the police timeline. If they`re wrong, they`re messing up the case and the investigation because
the police got to start at a whole new angle.
ODOM: But you know that the deputies that are investigating this are having all the same concerns that you are. They`re asking those questions.
GRACE: OK, Hugo, what about it?
HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I agree with you, Nancy. It may blow up the timeline, but they`re running another ancillary investigation as to
people that live in the park, other predators. They`re running another ancillary investigation, doing something else.
As to eyewitnesses, I agree with Peter. Today, we can`t rely upon them either in this search or in a criminal prosecution.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deputies stop and talk to anyone coming in and out of Steel Creek (ph) mobile home park here in Bremerton.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, they`re missing a child.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 6-year-old child just does not disappear off the face of the earth and not resurface within hours, never mind days, without
somebody knowing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Welcome back, everybody. The search expanding for a 6-year-old little girl. Take a look at Jenise. And we join the search. For those of
you watching or hearing our program tonight, 6-year-old Jenise missing, seemingly snatched from her own bedroom on a Saturday night. She`s only 6
years old -- that`s the age of my twins, John David and Lucy -- 3 feet, 45 pounds, brown eyes, dark hair, last seen by parents that Saturday night
around 10:00 PM.
At this hour, witnesses emerging in her little community, her neighborhood, stating they may have seen her the following day on Sunday between 12:00
and 4:00. They`re not sure.
That could set this investigation back on its heels. We`re going from a break-in of the home to the child coming out that day, wandering the
neighborhood and getting snatched sometime after 4:00. As Hugo Rodriguez and Peter Odom, the two defense lawyers tonight, accurately point out, this
case is on a double or triple track, anyway. They`re looking at people in the neighborhood. They are looking at family members, as they should.
Although the father and mother are being completely cooperative. They`re looking at transients, sex offenders, also we now know Carleen Johnson,
KOMO, I think it`s interstate or state road 303 that passes nearby?
CARLEEN JOHNSON, REPORTER, KOMO NEWSRADIO: Yes. Right behind the mobile home park community there they have a pretty major highway. And there are
apparently several businesses really close by. They`re going to be checking surveillance video to see if, you know, perhaps if somebody did
snatch the girl they can capture an image of her in a passing car or perhaps walking with someone. You know, that`s the hope. But like you say
--
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So, Carleen, hold on. Carleen Johnson, KOMO, did you say police are getting the for instance the toll and red light and highway camera
records to see if she pops up? They are doing that?
JOHNSON: They are doing that. The deputy Scott Wilson in the briefing to us late this morning said that we will check surveillance video from any
business. We will check to see if there is perhaps a highway camera along that state route that they can, you know, can catch a glimpse of her
potentially, maybe with someone, maybe in a vehicle. They`re having to look in any and all direction. And neighbors, you know, all those homes
being searched as well. Everybody trying to help find poor little Jenise.
GRACE: Out to Coralise Almajero, the sister of Jenise, the older sister joining us. And she is defending her mom and the dad in this case.
Coralise, I want to hear your defense of them as they are under attack. And let me just tell you, Coralise, my mind is completely open. I just
want to bring Jenise home. The reality is in most of these cases where children go missing, I`m going to have Marc Klaas on with some statistics,
you start with the family, because typically family, relatives, someone close to the child is involved. That`s not necessarily true. I want to
hear your thoughts. You have been in the home. This is your family, too. I want to hear what you have to say about the mom and dad.
CORALISE ALMAJERO, SISTER OF MISSING GIRL (on the phone): My mom is one of the best people I know. She would never do anything to hurt her children.
If anything, she would give up her own life for her children. And knowing my step dad for as long as I have, he`s never hurt his kid either, he`d
never do anything like that. He loved his children. And so that`s my mom. That`s why it`s so hard for me when people sit here and they banter and
they criticize my mom and my stepfather. Because none of what they`re saying is true. Everyone wants to sit here and say that they`re bad
parents, that they are parenting bad. That it`s just a very hard thing to deal with, to hear people sit here and say the things that they want to say
about your parents when they don`t know anything about them.
GRACE: You know what, Coralise? I want to hear. I want to hear what you`re saying. Because what we have been told, how do I know it`s
accurate? You`ve been in the home. Now, what neighbors are saying, how do I know if they`re right or wrong? They`re saying this little girl would
wander the neighborhood barefoot from early in the morning and late at night. But I want to hear the truth as you know it. Do you believe that
to be true? Or in this neighborhood is that OK? When I grew up, it was OK. We would go out and play un-chaperoned and come home hours and hours
later and that would be OK. We were not perceived to be in any danger. And I think my mom and dad were the best ones in the whole wide world.
ALMAJERO: That`s how it was in that neighborhood. I mean, we thought it was known to be a safe neighborhood. Most of the neighbors around there
know each other. They know each other`s kids. We almost always know where the kids are at when they`re playing. There`s the park, there`s their
friends` houses. They`re never allowed to go into anybody`s house unless my mom and stepfather have met the parents, they know who they are, all
that. It`s about yes, they gave her that trust.
They gave her the trust to go and be able to go out and play. But the thing with that is, we always had the older ones with them as well. You
always make sure you know where they`re at and you keep check on them. You come and you check in you aren`t out late like most people are trying to
say. They`re never out late late like that. And they come home, you eat dinner, you check, in all that. That`s why this is so weird. Because this
is so out of the usual for her. She always checks in. She always. She`s a very, very, very smart 6-year-old.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I mean, I have hope that she just wandered somewhere, you know? She was allowed to just wander around, you know? By herself.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: She`s just really sweet, trusting. She would walk up to a stranger and talk to them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: At this hour, a 6-year-old little girl is gone. At first we believe she`s snatched from her bedroom. But now reports emerging she may
have been seen the following Sunday around 4:00. To Clark Goldband, we`re talking about speaking to registered sex offenders. Let`s see the sex
offender map in the area. It`s kind of staggering. You know, you look around and you think, everybody around you is practically a registered sex
offenders.
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right.
GRACE: But Clark, your point?
GOLDBAND: Nancy, we were just chatting about this at the break. One of the scary words on your screen, folks, take a look. Registered. That
means there`s 97 people that have registered with the government saying they are sex offenders. Unfortunately, Nancy, from all the cases we have
covered in the past we know there tends to be a lot more sex offenders than registered sex offenders. And I also want to talk about, Nancy, law
enforcement is now saying the surge, they`re calling it the surge, this door-to-door search, over 100 homes in the community, has now
transitioned.
They`re spreading east to west. And there`s a highway. And you saw a map of it a few moments ago. Authorities are trying to determine if
surveillance cameras may have picked up any suspicious vehicles nearby. There`s a good chance they may have, Nancy. We know there`s at least a
convenience store and a fast food restaurant. They both have strong surveillance systems.
GRACE: Joining me right now Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. OK. Marc, you`ve been there. You`re the one that gets
the call that your daughter Polly is gone, snatched from her own bedroom, which is hard to conceive. It`s hard to conceive that someone can get in
your home, take your child, and you don`t hear a thing. But think about it, Marc. When I pick up John David and Lucy and carry them around in
their sleep, I used to even clip their toe nails in their sleep so they wouldn`t get upset. They slept right through it! It happens.
MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: First, let`s dispel this idea of a safe neighborhood. The great lesson of the Elizabeth
Smart kidnapping was that this girl was taken from her high, upscale, good neighborhood home, from her bed in the middle of the night. If that can
happen to Elizabeth Smart, then every child is at risk. And the idea that you put a child to bed at 10:00 on a Saturday night and you don`t see her
at all for the next 24 hours before you call the police, I think leads one to question the parenting skills.
GRACE: Everybody, we are taking your calls. Michael Board, WOAI joining us. What do you know, Michael?
MICHAEL BOARD, REPORTER, WOAI NEWSRADIO: Nancy, a vital part of this investigation we have learned that police are bringing in specialized dog
teams to search for this little girl. Now Nancy, as your loyal viewers will remember, these dog teams can search a scent that are days old. We
have covered cases where dog teams have picked up a day-old scent and followed it for miles. They will be a valuable resource for police. But
Nancy, one difficult thing is, they don`t have a starting point.
We don`t know that time frame, that Sunday time frame from noon to 4:00. We don`t know where this 6-year-old girl was spotted. So they don`t know
where the dog teams can start. They can start at the home, but they may just lead the dog teams around the neighborhood. But trust me, Nancy,
these specialized dog teams that are being brought in, they are going to be a valuable resource. And I hate to bring this point up, but they can also
find cadavers easily as well, Nancy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A working mom calls on a babysitting web site, Care.com, and finds the dream babysitter. Mommy even paying $300 extra for the premium
background check. Then mommy`s worst nightmare. She gets a call. Her three-month-old baby girl, Rylan, her nickname Turtle? Turtle stops
breathing, is pronounced dead. Tonight we learn the quote perfect babysitter was spotted that morning leaving the three-month-old baby girl
alone, not once but twice, to take a cab out to a drugstore to buy liquor. Each time buying a 1.5 box of wine. Well, now the perfect babysitter also
says she may have dropped little Turtle on a wooden changing table on her head! At this hour, the medical examiner insisting baby Turtle dies of
blunt force trauma.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A Wisconsin family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Care.com after a babysitter hired through their company is
accused of causing their three-month-old infant`s death.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Searching lots of profiles plus get access to background checks and more.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The investigators say, Gumm actually left the child home alone twice to go purchase alcohol and then slammed the baby`s head on
a wooden changing table when she became fussy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. Meg McKenzie, news anchor WISN, I`m just sick. This working mom goes to Care.com. You just saw the commercial. She actually not only
pays the web site but pays I think a monthly charge I think is how it works, the $300 on top of that. Their background search was supposed to
get every arrest. What happened, Meg?
MEG MCKENZIE, NEWS ANCHOR, NEWS/TALK 1130 WISN: You`re exactly right. They ordered the premiere background check. And that means that they look
at city records, county records, state records, national records, all of it, Nancy. They look at driving records. They look at bankruptcies. They
look at everything. And this couple with a three-month-old baby, so concerned about who was going to care for them, that they paid the money to
get this background check, were given the name of a babysitter that they were told was capable of caring for their child, only to find out that she
had a pretty serious criminal history.
GRACE: Matt Zarrell, what do we know about her history?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes. According to the lawsuit filed by the family she`s got two citations for drunk driving and a battery case
as well. And the family insists that if they knew about this prior record they never would have hired her in the first place.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait hey, Matt Zarrell, just wait until you have children, little boy. Because of course the family wouldn`t hire her if
she`s got two DUIs under her belt. You know, I mean, whether they`ve been adjudicated or not, I mean, when you find out your babysitter is driving
drunk, what else will they do drunk? Take care of your baby? And another thing, out to Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner, forensic pathologist out
of Philadelphia tonight. Dr. Manion, what this baby-sitter is saying, does not -- it does not jive with this child`s injuries. This did not come from
a single drop to a wooden changing table.
DR. BILL MANION, M.D., MEDICAL EXAMINER AND FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, I haven`t seen the autopsy but definitely she has severe fracture and
probably hematoma. And that forces the brain, crashes it, forces it to the -- and just stops your breathing.
GRACE: You know, Dr. Manion, think about it, Dr. Manion when you`re changing a baby and you drop it. If you`re changing the baby, you`re
changing it on the changing table. I didn`t use a changing table but people that use them, you`re changing them on the changing table. If you
drop the baby, that`s just a few inches. It doesn`t make sense. Hold on. I`m being joined right now by Adrienne Kallweit, owner of
SeekingSitters.com, also a licensed private investigator. What do you make of this, Adrienne?
ADRIENNE KALLWEIT, OWNER, SEEKINGSITTERS.COM: I mean, I am a mom of three young children. And it tears up my heart. I`m not commenting on what
happened in this specific situation but you have to know what kind of background screening you`re getting. What is a premier screening? What
does that mean? You know, you shouldn`t have babysitter without background screening.
GRACE: Meg McKenzie, WISN, in addition to Adrienne Kallweit joining us, Meg, the neighbors saw her in a cab going to get boxes of wine at the
drugstore. I mean mommy drops her off 6:45 a.m. to go to work. She didn`t even make it three hours before she had to get boozed up.
MCKENZIE: Right. And not just once Nancy but twice. She left in the morning and she left in the afternoon. And that only that, she lied about
it. She had said to investigators that she was home the entire day with the baby. It was the neighbor that said they saw her leave and then they
found the receipts from the drugstore to prove that she had used her credit card between 9:00 and 10:00 in the morning and then again just before 2:00
in the afternoon. So, and then, you know, when we`re talking about the baby being dropped too, she did admit that the baby got fussy when she was
trying to change her diaper and he got flustered. So, it isn`t until that they start pulling information out of her that she even admits what
happens.
GRACE: Right. Unleash the lawyers. Hugo Rodriguez. Peter Odom. All right. Peter Odom, I can see you on the camera. You`re looking pretty
smug. What`s your defense of the drunk baby-sitter?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, remember the lawsuit is not against the baby-sitter. The lawsuit is against Care.com.
GRACE: It`s against both of them, correction.
ODOM: And in defending Care.com, the mother is -- the baby-sitter is being prosecuted criminally. The lawsuit is against Care.com.
GRACE: But she`s being prosecuted criminally and the lawsuit --
ODOM: Correct.
GRACE: But what`s your point, regardless of that?
ODOM: Care.com did its due diligence, they did the background check that they said they were going to do. These citations, convictions didn`t come
up. It might be because they were expunged. It might be because they were --
GRACE: They were not expunged. Good try, Peter. Hugo?
HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, it`s going depend on the negligence, if they can prove negligence on the part of the company. This
is a referral service just like all these dating services. Then they have a multitude of disclaimers. It`s unfortunate. I don`t know what, I don`t
know what the parents signed and I don`t know what was provide to them but they did do a search. Whether they were negligent in obtaining that
information or not is a different issue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: The missing mother in Oregon found dead, what is the cause of death? Dan O`Donnell, WISN, cops telling us there`s no sign of foul play.
That does not mean that she killed herself.
DAN O`DONNELL, WISN REPORTER: No, it does not necessarily mean that. However, investigators have been very tight-lipped about a possible cause
of death or manner of death for that matter. An autopsy is being performed and we will hopefully find out soon what exactly the cause of death was. A
very tragic end to this story though.
GRACE: Erik Fisher, psychologist joining us. It would be very, very difficult decision to not only take your own life but leave your husband
and your two children. That`s making me think that this was not intentional or could still be a homicide.
ERIK FISHER, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, there`s a lot of information that we don`t know in this case. I mean one of the pieces of information is that
she did go to a convenience store and buy a bottle of sleeping pills. You know, probably over the counter of sorts. So we don`t know her history.
We don`t know if she had a history of depression. We don`t know a lot of details that still needs to be uncovered. What I appreciate is that the
police are being tight-lipped about this out of potential respect for the situation and for the family.
GRACE: Everyone, we are waiting to learn more about the cause of death on the missing mom. Our prayers for her two young sons.
Let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Sergeant First Class David McDowell, 30, Ramona, California, purple heart, two bronze stars, loved
surfing and skateboarding. Parents Stephen and Lori, sister Michelle, widow and high school sweet heart Jolene, son Joshua, daughter Erin. David
McDowell, American hero.
Everyone, thank you for being with us tonight. Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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