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Nancy Grace
Mississippi Girl Burned Alive; 5-Year-Old Girl Forced to Drink Grape Soda Until She Dies
Aired December 10, 2014 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Courtland, Mississippi. Police and EMTs race to the scene to find a teen girl burning
alive in a horrific lighter fluid attack. Bombshell tonight. Just before her death, does the girl whisper her killer`s name to police?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Less than a couple of hours before she was burned alive, this gas station surveillance video shows Jessica Chambers pumping
gas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s at a local mom-and-pop gas station getting something to drink.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 19-year-old and her car found engulfed in flames less than a mile or so away.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) we could do.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, Tennessee suburbs, 5-year-old little Alexa (ph) sneaks one of Stepmommy`s grape sodas. Punishment? Stepmommy and the
child`s natural father force this 5-year-old little girl to drink grape soda, at least two liters that we know of, until this 5-year-old little
girl dies, dead of acute fluid intoxication and brain swelling.
Evil stepmommy, you`re going to wish you had a cold grape soda where you`re going!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The couple forcing the man`s 5-year-old daughter to drink excessive amounts of water and grape soda?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A form of punishment after Alexa was caught taking Mary Vaughn`s (ph) grape soda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) so much liquid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The large amount of liquid brought on seizures and excruciating pain.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight, live to Courtland, Mississippi. Police and EMTs race to the scene to find a teen girl burning alive in a horrific lighter
fluid attack. Just before her death, does the girl whisper her killer`s name to police? Look at this girl, Jessica Chambers, a teen girl dead.
The manner of death, homicide. Someone covers her body with lighter fluid, then sets her ablaze.
Straight out to Daniel Marin, reporter, anchor KTSM. Daniel, thank you for being with us. It`s almost more than I can take in. How were
police alerted to this?
DANIEL MARIN, KTSM (via telephone): Yes, it`s pretty unimaginable what happened to her, Nancy. Investigators say a passerby saw Jessica
apparently walking on the side of the road. She was on fire. By all accounts, she was still conscious...
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wa-wait! Did you just say she was walking? Walking while on fire...
MARIN: I spoke with her...
GRACE: ... on the side of the road? How did she have the wherewithal to do that, Daniel?
MARIN: I spoke with her sister. Her sister told me that the passerby said she was still conscious. She was walking alongside the road. Her
burning car was not too far from her. This was all kind of in a wooded area in Courtland.
GRACE: Everyone, let`s take a look at the last known video, the last images of Jessica. And we are joined by her sister, Amanda. This is video
just before Jessica is burned, essentially alive, one of the most horrific and painful deaths imaginable. There she is, a teen girl, stopping for
gas, no idea what is about to occur. She waves or speaks to somebody, steps over, and here she goes. This is just moments before her body is
engulfed in flames. There she is going into the store. It`s only moments after this someone intentionally douses her skin and clothing with lighter
fluid and sets her ablaze.
To Dr. Tim Gallagher, medical examiner joining me out of Daytona Beach. This is one of the most painful and horrific deaths possible. Why
inflict this on a teen girl who`s never hurt anybody? Doctor, what does her death entail? Look at her car!
DR. TIM GALLAGHER, MEDICAL EXAMINER (via telephone): Well, you know, this death is a very personal attack on her. Someone had to get very close
to her. It had to be somebody that could have possibly known her in order for them to get this close to pour the fluid on her.
GRACE: You know, another thing, Dr. Gallagher. And let me confirm this with Steve Taylor, co-host of "Gulf Coast Mornings." Is it true that
this girl, this little girl, has lighter fluid up her nose and down her throat?
STEVE TAYLOR, NEWSRADIO 104.9 (via telephone): Yes, Nancy, that seems to be what it is. In fact, the Panola County sheriff, Dennis Darby (ph),
is saying that Jessica had been doused with lighter fluid, set on fire, not just her throat but also her nose and the rest of her body. She was also
knocked unconscious and set afire.
And her father had noticed also that she had a huge gash in the top of her head. It appears that Jessica may have been knocked out, unconscious,
set afire. But as has been said, she -- they found her walking along the highway on fire not far from where her car was also ablaze.
GRACE: So let me understand this, Steve Taylor. She was also hit in the head, as well?
TAYLOR: Yes, she was hit in the head. Her father noticed that there was a gash on top of her head that she was bleeding from. Now, when you
start talking about that, though, how does that affect something like the autopsy results? And at this point, the official autopsy report is saying
that it was thermal damage or thermal burns that caused her death. And as far as it being the gash on her head, maybe being knocked unconscious or
anything like that, not so much. But squirted down her throat and into her nose. It is horrific to talk about what happened to this young lady.
GRACE: So you believe, Steve Taylor, that someone actually squirted lighter fluid down the girl`s nose and mouth?
TAYLOR: Yes. According to the sheriff there -- that`s Dennis Darby in Panola County, Mississippi -- he says it was lighter fluid that had been
squirted down her throat, into her nose. She was then knocked unconscious and set afire. And the burns on this girl -- 98 percent of her body. The
only thing on Jessica`s body that was not burnt were the bottoms of her feet.
GRACE: Guys, you are looking at shots of teen girl Jessica Chambers. We have her on video that we managed to obtain just before this, just
before she was killed. Look at this girl, just graduating out of high school, her whole life in front of her. And now this, not only death but a
horrific death.
And tonight, we want answers. We join the search for clues in the death of Jessica. Imagine, all you moms and dads out there pouring all of
your love, all of your energy into your little girl, her hopes and dreams becoming your hopes and dreams, only to have her life cut short in this
horrific manner?
I`ve heard of a lot of homicides, but to do this to a young girl is beyond almost any mode of death that I have heard, to have someone
literally burn alive, this young girl just getting out of high school, her parents devastated tonight. And tonight, we want answers. Everyone, there
is a tip line, and we are begging for your help, 662-563-6230. Repeat, 662-563-6230. To imagine this pain inflicted on someone that you love?
And to imagine -- Steve Martin (sic), Daniel Marin was telling me that this girl on fire was walking along the side of the road trying to get
help. Is that correct, Steve? I think I`ve got Steve Taylor with me. Steve, is that correct? Was she walking along the side of the road trying
to get help?
TAYLOR: Yes, that -- she may have been walking along the side of the road to get help. What actually happened -- a 911 call was made reporting
a car on fire on the same highway as the gas station you just showed video from a few minutes ago. And apparently, Jessica -- some rumors have said
that she may have had someone in her car with her at the time that she was set afire, that somebody did this to her that may have been traveling with
her. There is no confirmation of that, though.
GRACE: No, there`s no sign of that at this gas station, and this is right before the incident. Could someone have gotten into her car without
her knowledge? And we`ve got the photos of the car. The car is totally incinerated on the inside. So if that happened and somebody set her on
fire, how did they escape the car if they were in the car?
Everyone, we are stabbing in the dark here. We are taking swings in the pitch dark, trying to figure out what happened to this girl. But I can
tell you this much. I know her parents, her whole family are absolutely devastated.
And joining me right now is her sister, Amanda. Amanda, thank you for being with us.
AMANDA HUDSON PRINCE, SISTER (via telephone): Yes, ma`am. Thank you.
GRACE: Amanda, what are police telling your family tonight?
PRINCE: Yes, ma`am. All we know is that they -- they think it`s possibly someone that knew Jessica, that like you said, may have gotten
inside her car to set her on fire -- no, not necessarily being in the car with her maybe, but set her on fire inside her car (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: You are seeing her with her sister right now, and joining me is that sister, Amanda Hudson Prince. Tonight, we are searching along with
her family for answers.
Amanda, I understand the police reasoning that this may have been someone that knew Jessica because she obviously was close enough to her
attacker for them to get lighter fluid down her mouth and nose. So that had to -- I mean, they`ve got to be close enough to her to do that. To get
those into those orifices, those facial orifices, they had to be very close. She had to possibly let them that close to her. On the other hand,
this could be someone that attacked her violently and did this.
Amanda, do police have any clues right now? Does your family have any clues as to who may have done this and why?
PRINCE: No, ma`am. If they do, they haven`t told us. I mean, honestly, we -- Jessica was loved by everybody. I don`t understand who
could do this, who would do this.
GRACE: How are your parents doing tonight, Amanda?
PRINCE: Ma`am, what was that?
GRACE: How are your parents doing tonight?
PRINCE: I mean, my mom is doing about as good as she -- as good as she can get. She`s tried to keep company. She just -- she`s devastated.
You know, she`s lost her baby. This is her youngest daughter. And you know, I can speak as much as I can for her father. You know, I`m not
around him, but you know, her father just lost his oldest daughter two years ago to a car wreck, and now he`s burying his daughter.
GRACE: Joining me, in addition to Amanda Hudson Prince, is Robert Rowe, an expert arson investigator, the president of Pyrocop, Inc. Robert,
thank you for being with us. I`m trying to figure out in my mind -- I`ve prosecuted a lot of arsons, many, many arsons, and they`re difficult to
prove. You`ve got to first prove when a house or a structure burns down that it was a crime, that it was not an accident. But in this case,
there`s no doubt that this was not an accident.
ROBERT ROWE, ARSON INVESTIGATOR (via telephone): You`re absolutely correct, Nancy. This was not an accident. It was a violent act performed
by someone that has absolutely no regard for human life. And it`s -- even as a seasoned investigator, it`s very upsetting to me to have to talk about
this story. And my hope is that someone out there will know what`s going on and will report that to the police.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She left to go clean out her car and was going to get her something to eat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 19-year-old never made it home, instead found burning alive on a rural Panola County road not far from her house.
Investigators believe someone set her and her car on fire with lighter fluid.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was burnt on 98 percent of her body!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: One of the most horrific deaths imaginable, to burn alive. Who would wish that on this girl, just graduated from high school, planning
college? She wanted to be a nurse, loved by everyone, the baby in the family. That is all over. It`s all gone, that dream over for Jessica`s
parents. Tonight, we want answers. We join with police trying to find clues as to who and why would anyone murder this girl.
Back to Steve Taylor with "Gulf Coast Mornings." Steve, again, thank you for being with us. The only thing on her body not burned were the
bottoms of her feet. And the more I think about it, there had to be, had to be a physical struggle. She was hit in the head. Someone had to get
close enough to her, Steve Taylor, to get lighter fluid down her nose and mouth. Can you imagine the struggle she put up?
TAYLOR: I can imagine that`s likely one of the most gruesome ways to die. And in 30 years of reporting radio news, I`ve never had to utter
something quite as terrible, as you said, Nancy.
It was her father himself that noticed that there was a huge gash on the top of Jessica`s head. It is the sheriff of Panola County that --
Dennis Darby is his name -- that said lighter fluid had been squirted down her throat, into her nose, that she had been knocked unconscious and set
afire.
She was found -- and this is the hard to believe part of it -- her car on fire aside the road on one of the -- near a state highway there in
Panola County, but she was walking down the road and on fire herself when she was encountered by first responders, who, it is said, she told
something to them.
In fact, first responders said that they had to listen very hard, that Jessica was trying to speak to them, but her voice was very ragged. It was
very hoarse, it was very difficult to hear her, that it is believed she may have told some of those emergency workers who had done this to her. But at
this point, authorities have said nothing specific about anyone that they may have learned from Jessica herself in her dying words.
GRACE: Everyone, the Justice for Jessica Web site details this, the parents in agony tonight as they not only grieve the death of their
daughter, but are joining the Panola County sheriff`s office in the search for her killer.
Tonight, with me, her sister, Amanda. Amanda, did she have any known enemies, any old boyfriends, any would-be boyfriends, anyone with whom she
had argued that could possibly be responsible for this?
PRINCE: No, ma`am. We don`t know. At this time, she didn`t have a boyfriend. She -- you know, it was just her. She wanted to -- she just
recently got a job. She wanted to focus on starting school. She had even mentioned that she wanted to write a book. You know, she wanted to become
an author. She was really good with words. She -- I don`t -- I don`t -- I don`t know anyone that could do this.
GRACE: Everyone, we are searching for clues, along with the family. To Daniel Marin, anchor KTSM. Daniel, what about the crime scene? If
somebody had been in that car -- did it happen when the car was actually moving? The car had to run off the side of the road. Who could have
gotten out of the car? How could this have gone down logistically? We`ve got to start at square one and figure this out, Daniel.
MARIN: Right. Well, the car was found about -- it looked to be about 20 feet off the side of the road. Again, it was engulfed, pretty much
gutted. You`ve seen the photos. Investigators say they did manage to find a cell phone nearby, and that is now being checked out as possible
evidence.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! A cell phone has been found near the crime scene? Now, I`m looking at the crime scene. Is that where her car
went off the road?
MARIN: That`s where it came to a rest and that`s where it was found burning right there, just off the side of the highway.
GRACE: Came to a rest? Did you say it came to a rest? Because when I stop my car and put it in park, it doesn`t leave skid marks like that
down the side of a -- down the side of a slope, because I don`t know if I would call it at rest. It looks like it crashed through that way. That
tells me that this happened while she was driving or the attack happened while she was driving, which also tells me the assailant was in the car,
Daniel.
MARIN: Yes. Clearly, something horrific happened inside of that vehicle, and something horrific happened outside of the vehicle when
Jessica was found on the side of the road walking, on fire.
GRACE: OK, Steve Taylor, host, "Gulf Coast Mornings" -- Steve, when you look at this incident, either someone bonked her in the head, put her
in the car, or she was in the car and set it on fire, or there was a struggle as she was driving.
What have we learned about the crime scene? What have we learned from the car? What have we learned -- for instance, the cell phone, for Pete`s
sake.
TAYLOR: Well, at this point we know, and as you pointed out, Jessica`s car was completely burned out. And so far, crime scene-wise,
there have been no intact items that have been recovered by authorities. But you know as well as I do that may take several days, especially if
you`re trying to collect something of evidentiary value that may contain DNA, for instance.
And so I`m certain that they`re probably trying very hard to find anything that may remain from that. But you mentioned the cell phone found
at the scene, and authorities say it is Jessica`s phone, investigators in the process of not only just gathering information from that phone itself,
but working with the phone company to see if they can pass (ph) together a timeline of events, and were there any communications that Jessica may have
had that may have some evidentiary value, as well. And to this point, nothing has been revealed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They squirted fluid down her throat and up her nose.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Investigators say someone poured an accelerant on Chambers and set her on fire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, we join police and the victim`s family in the search for clues. Who killed Jessica? In a gruesome death, lighter fluid
squirted down this girl`s neck, down her throat, down her nose as she was set on fire. Here in America, this type of attack has occurred! And
tonight, we want answers.
Straight out to Daniel Marin, KTSM. A lot of questions. Have they absolutely stated this was lighter fluid, Daniel? Do we know it`s not
gasoline? Do we know it`s not some other type of accelerant?
MARIN: Yes, Nancy, they haven`t specified whether it was exactly lighter fluid or whether it could have been gasoline. In that surveillance
video from the gas station that you showed earlier, there was a man seen in a striped shirt filling a gas canister. He`s since been cleared as a
suspect. So at this point, investigators still haven`t said whether it was lighter fluid or gasoline.
GRACE: So that says that he wasn`t really even a suspect. He was somebody they saw in the video, right, Daniel Marin? And they got him and
cleared him. So he`s out of the picture, right, Daniel?
MARIN: That`s correct, yes. It just happened -- just moments after Jessica walks into the store, there`s a man seen crouching, filling a gas
canister, and then it appears he walks off in Jessica`s direction. But again, that man in the striped shirt has been cleared as a suspect,
according to investigators there in Panola County.
GRACE: To Dr. Tim Gallagher joining me, forensic pathologist, medical examiner. If there had been a sex attack, the fact that her body had been
burned does not necessarily mean that DNA cannot be recovered from her body, correct?
GALLAGHER: DNA can easily be recovered from her body. The DNA is deep within her pelvic area, and that area is generally protected from the
fire. So it`s very, very recoverable.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Joining me from D.C., Peter Odom, fellow defense attorney Danny Cevallos joining me out of New York. First to you,
Peter Odom. There are also reports, Peter, that she whispered a clue of some sort to police or EMTs.
ODOM: And the police are being --
GRACE: -- just before she died.
ODOM: And the police are being closemouthed. That might mean there`s something to it. But that`s a very complicated question. Let me try to
simplify it. The police are doing exactly what they need to do here. They`re eliminating the associates. They`re interviewing all the people
closest to her. They`re using her cell phone to try and figure out where she was, her whereabouts just prior to. And Nancy, my guess is you should
ask your arson expert about this. They`re looking for someone with singed eyebrows and maybe burned hands. Because the burner often gets burned.
You`ve handled enough arsons. You know I did as a prosecutor. Often the burner gets burned. They`re looking for someone who has signs of burns on
them.
GRACE: You said something else. You repeated something else that caught my attention. The cell phone. Because if her cell phone was
recovered outside the car, what does that mean? Why was her cell phone outside the car? Now, if her cell phone was inside the car, that`s a
different matter. But Steve Taylor, Gulf Coast Mornings, if it had been inside that car, it would have been burned up. So was it outside the car?
And if so, why?
TAYLOR: Well, a good question about that. The cell phone was found at the scene. It is Jessica`s phone. But we also know that Jessica was
found outside of the car. I would wonder if -- would she be in any sort of shape to use her telephone?
GRACE: I doubt it.
TAYLOR: That`s a big question right there.
GRACE: See, that`s a clue, Steve. Peter Odom, Danny Cevallos. Danny, if her cell phone was outside of her car, does that mean there was a
struggle? Why was it outside of the car? Did somebody take it and throw it? Are there fingerprints on it? Clearly the attack occurred inside the
car. The lighter fluid attack. But what else happened? Why did her car go down that slope? You saw the skid marks at the crime scene. It dug
into the earth. Was there a struggle in that car? That would mean the assailant was in the car. And clearly the lighter fluid attack occurred in
the car because the car`s burned out on the inside.
CEVALLOS: Some of these facts suggest that the lighter fluid was the method of covering up the initial crime. And the cell phone being outside
the car may have been a huge oversight by the killer, because as we all know, nowadays with each day we now leave a bigger wake of digital
evidence, and that cell phone will undoubtedly have some kind of digital evidence on it, along with her phone records. But it gives us an idea that
there may have been some kind of dispute in the car, and that`s why maybe the killer sought to burn not only the body as evidence, what he believed
to be a body, but also any evidence within the car.
GRACE: I don`t think that this attack on this girl is a dispute. This is a cold-blooded, evil attack on a high school girl who wants to
become a nurse. Her life has been cut short in a horrific manner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now live, Tennessee suburbs. 5-year-old little Alexa sneaks one of stepmommy`s grape sodas. Punishment? Stepmommy and the
little girl`s natural father force the 5-year-old little girl to drink grape soda. Not just a few sips. At least two liters that we know of.
Until the little girl dies of acute fluid intoxication and brain swelling.
Evil stepmommy, you`re going to wish you had a cold grape soda where you`re going.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people who live here are accused of killing her in a most bizarre way. Alexa was caught taking Mary Vaughn`s grape
soda.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had taken one or two grape drinks, snuck them off and drunk them.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But how could that cause a little girl to die?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All that liquid caused the sodium level in Alexa Linboom`s body to plummet and triggered fatal brain swelling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I am beside myself after hearing about what happened to little Alexa. Straight out to little Alexa`s natural mom, her biological mom,
joining us tonight, Katie Linboom. The child was with the father and the stepmother. Just a brief period of time. And this is what happens.
Miss Linboom, I am so sorry for your loss. I cannot even imagine it. Can you tell us what happened when you first learned anything at all was
wrong?
KATIE LINBOOM, MOTHER: Actually, I received a phone call from the doctor four hours after she had been removed from life support. I wasn`t
even aware that she was sick or in the hospital. Her father and stepmother started making excuses when I would call and talk to the children and said
that they were busy or they would have them call me back. And I never heard anything.
GRACE: When I look at the picture of Alexa, Katie, it reminds me so much of my little girl. Just turned 7. And I cannot even imagine losing
her, much less in this manner. We are taking calls. Out to Donna in California. Hi, Donna. What`s your question?
CALLER: They said does the time fit the crime? No. They need to stay in prison. They need to stay in prison for the rest of their lives
because that baby`s gone.
GRACE: I absolutely agree, Donna. I think they should get the death penalty because this is a 5-year-old little girl, Donna in California. She
can`t fight back. Mommy doesn`t know. Mommy lets her go and be with the father, her bio dad, and the stepmommy. No idea that anything like this
could conceivably happen. With me right now, Alexa`s mom, Katie Linboom. Katie, what`s so amazing to me and shocking is that you only find out about
this hours, four hours after Alexa has been taken off life support. When you start digging to find out what happened, what did you learn?
LINBOOM: I learned a couple -- at first they tried to tell me that -- Mary`s daughter tried to tell me they thought it was kidney problems and
that her kidneys shut down. Then I was told that it was a contaminated grape -- or a contaminated orange soda that she drank that they had taken
off. And it was probably four or five months before I started learning, you know, that there was -- those were not the cases and that there was
other things behind her death that were going on. I didn`t find out exactly what happened until I received her autopsy report.
GRACE: Let me ask you this, Katie. What was it about the grape sodas that made the stepmother so angry, that little Alexa drank her soda? I
don`t quite get that.
LINBOOM: I honestly don`t know. I can`t even begin to tell you other than in my opinion she was jealous because Alexa was not hers and Alexa was
defiant. I don`t know. A couple times I had called to talk to the kids and Mary had said that Alexa was in trouble for not listening and told her
that she wasn`t her mom, she didn`t have to listen to her. And they had placed her in the corner. I just -- the only thing I can think of is that
she was jealous. I don`t know, honestly.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: When 5-year-old little Alexa takes stepmommy`s grape soda and drinks it, she doesn`t just get reprimanded. She`s forced to drink at
least two liters of soda until the child dies of acute fluid intoxication. These two responsible. The evil stepmother, Mary Levon (ph) Vaughn, and
the child`s biological father, Randall Lee Vaughn. Let me just say, may they rot in hell.
Straight out to Dr. Tim Gallagher, medical examiner, forensic pathologist. They had to notice the girl was in distress, the little girl
was in distress. That little tummy could not hold 2 1/2 liters of soda or 2 1/2 liters of anything. Hold on, Liz. Let me know when you get
Gallagher back. Unleash the lawyers. Peter Odom, Danny Cevallos. All right, Peter, give me your defense.
ODOM: The issue, as in many of these cases, Nancy, is intent. That`s what it`s going to boil down to. It doesn`t look like they have evidence
that these people set out to kill her.
GRACE: Just torture her?
ODOM: That they woke up one morning -- Nancy, let me finish. You asked the question. I`m going to answer it. All right? It doesn`t look
like these people got up in the morning and said I`m going to kill this child. They engaged in assault, inappropriate punishment, and this is
essentially a reckless act. So it`s going to boil down to intent. And that`s going to be the defense.
GRACE: All right, Peter. I`m going to hope that that was your final word, because what you just described is felony murder. Child abuse and a
death occurs.
ODOM: Not in this state.
GRACE: Whether you intend the abuse, whether it`s unintentional, such as accidentally leaving your child in a baking hot car, or intentional, I
want to torture her by having her drink two liters of soda, I mean, Cevallos, are you actually jumping on that train? Are you hanging on to
the caboose here, claiming that forcing a 5-year-old girl to drink 2 1/2 liters of soda, that`s not intentional? With every swallow she took, that
was intentional.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You`re not Danny Cevallos, are you?
CEVALLOS: Nancy, all you need to hang on to is Tennessee law, and the Tennessee jury instructions say the person acts knowingly to commit second-
degree murder when they are reasonably certain that what they are doing is going to cause death. And how confident would you be with the beyond a
reasonable doubt standard that you can show this jury that forcing someone to drink too much grape soda is --
GRACE: How confident would I be?
CEVALLOS: They could fall on the defense of we`re dummies. We just don`t know.
GRACE: I would be extremely confident that it`s wrong to force a 5- year-old child who probably weighs maybe 35 pounds, to drink two liters.
CEVALLOS: You are, Nancy.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You just asked me if I would be confident. You just asked me would I be confident? Yes, I would be confident to take this to a jury for
a murder one. In fact, I think this should be a death penalty case.
I`ve got Gallagher back. Thank you for rejoining us. Dr. Gallagher, the family, the father and the evil stepmother had to notice that this
child was in distress, for the child to die of acute intoxication and brain swelling. She had to show some symptoms. This child ends up on life
support because of these two forcing her to drink liter after liter of grape soda, when she has a sip of her stepmother`s drink. What would the
signs have been, Dr. Gallagher?
GALLAGHER: Well, forcing anybody to drink two liters of anything sounds wrong. But the signs would include first she would become very
nauseous, vomiting, headaches. Eventually she could develop weakness, seizure, go into a coma, even death. This is a very serious situation
which often leads to death.
GRACE: Please put up the two defense attorneys. So I let you two get it out of your system. But you --
ODOM: How were these people supposed to know that two liters --
GRACE: Cut his mike. Cut his mike.
You just heard Dr. Gallagher state that the child would be vomiting, would be seizing, would be going into a coma, and they didn`t notice the
child was vomiting? I mean, can you imagine a 5-year-old little girl? She weighs 35 pounds, vomiting up all the grape soda you`re forcing her to
drink, and you make her drink more? And you two want to tell me that that doesn`t constitute knowledge that what you`re doing is wrong?
CEVALLOS: Nancy, first, a two liter is not a water cooler`s worth of grape soda. A two liter is something we use every day. If you are dumb
enough, you may not know that that much grape soda --
GRACE: As she is vomiting?
CEVALLOS: Children vomit, Nancy. Children vomit. They may not have made the connection --
GRACE: So you make her keep drinking it? I think the defense lawyers need to hear from a shrink. Ramani, when you see your child seizing and
vomiting and you keep making it drink grape soda?
DURVASULA: You know, what`s shocking about what the attorney said is stupidity is apparently a defense. I really have to wonder, I`m thinking
back to what the mom said, about the fact the stepmother might have been jealous. I just think the stepmother was extraordinarily controlling, and
we know that a 5-year-old child is not something that can be controlled. And it`s the result of it. It is such a tragedy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Bio dad and stepmommy force this child to drink over two liters of grape soda until she`s dead. To Jeff Bobo, reporter with the
Kings 4 (inaudible) News. Jeff, did you ever learn, did they ever reveal why they did it? Why they forced her to do this?
BOBO: Well, just as you said, it was a punishment for taking the stepmother`s soda, and I think that a couple of your previous callers said
it was ignorance or stupidity. There was no intent possibly --
GRACE: What do you mean, there was no intent? Intent means you mean to do the act. Did they not mean for her to drink the soda?
BOBO: In Tennessee, it`s first degree murder, because in Tennessee, if you cause the death of a child during the course of child abuse, it`s
first degree murder in Tennessee.
GRACE: Jeff, you`re an excellent reporter, I think possibly you need to go to law school, too. Could you explain that to me one more time about
the law?
BOBO: It`s called a Scotty-Trexler (ph) law. If a child dies during the course of child abuse, in Tennessee, it`s first degree murder,
mandatory life without parole.
GRACE: Okay. I --
BOBO: That case from 1987, the Scotty Trexler (ph) murder occurred in the same county, one town away from little Alexa Linboom`s murder.
GRACE: So that really leaves no defense. These two absolutely guilty.
Let`s stop, everyone, and remember American hero, Army Staff Sergeant Robert Mogensen. 26, (inaudible) Louisiana. Bronze Star, Purple Heart,
parents Lexi and William. Brother, Matthew. Widow, Tanya. Three children. Robert Mogensen, American hero. Drew up next. I`ll see you
tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
END
