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Nancy Grace
Did the Schoolgirl Punch the Cop First?. Aired 8-9:00p ET
Aired October 28, 2015 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us. Bombshell tonight, live, Spring Valley High,
Columbia. Brutal video shows a girl, a schoolgirl, slammed to the floor, attacked by the school`s resource officer. It`s law enforcement. The
bully with the badge caught on video!
Bombshell tonight, a stunning twist in the story, sources telling us there is an undisclosed third video that shows the girl student throw a
punch at the cop first. If that is true, I stand prepared to retract my argument that the cop was wrong. Assault on police will not be tolerated!
But as to that secret third tape -- does it exist?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 16-year-old female high school student being forcefully ripped from her chair, handcuffed and removed from class.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a violation off our policy, so Ben Fields was terminated from the Richland County Sheriff`s Department.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, we know how dangerous Halloween trick-or-treating can be for children. Chilling proof caught on video, a man luring six
little children into his house before trapping them inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trick-or-treat!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, kids, we actually have candy downstairs. You guys want candy?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is the candy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no candy. There`s no candy at all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, a mom allegedly throws her newborn baby girl out a 7th story window alive. Neighbors find the newborn baby with umbilical
cord still attached, the baby dead from the blunt trauma from the fall. We now learn the 33-year-old woman, who once worked at the Department of
Children Protection, hid the last stages of her pregnancy. She hid it from family, friends, including the baby`s father, insisting she had miscarried.
Sources say immediately after she throws the baby to her death, reports Mommy immediately goes onto her computer, logs on to look for a new job.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Baby born and murdered within minutes or seconds.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s plenty of people out here that want kids. There could have been anywhere you could have brung her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no name. She didn`t live long enough to have one.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Hello. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell right now, live to Spring Valley High, Columbia, brutal video showing a schoolgirl slammed to the floor, attacked by the school
resource officer. The bully with the badge caught on video.
But now a stunning twist to the story. Sources claim there is an undisclosed third video that shows the girl student throw a punch at the
cop first. Now, if this is true, I stand prepared to retract my argument the cop was wrong. Assaults on police will not be tolerated! But as to
that secret third videotape -- does it exist?
Joining me on the scene, Martin Savidge, CNN correspondent. Also with me on the scene, Gary David, morning show host on WVOC. Gentlemen, we have
slow-mo`d the tape.
Liz, is it ready? I`d like to see it before we launch into a discussion. Take it from the top. Oh, OK. Wait a minute. We got to back
it up. We`ve got to back that up somehow because I want to see it from -- well, there`s one punch, but she`s fighting back. That doesn`t mean she`s
the instigator.
Liz, I want to finish this tape. Then I want to -- there`s the student flipped over, all right, now grabs arm. We were first told she had
no injuries. Now we know she is in a cast on her arm, OK, and a bruise to the head. OK, I did not see her hit him first. Liz, don`t kill me. I
want to see it one more time.
Hold on, Marty and Gary. I want to see it again. Student flipped over, we really -- OK, I did not see her throw a punch. I`m still not
seeing her throwing a punch.
But what I am seeing, Martin Savidge, is him putting her in a chokehold. I mean, I`m using the vernacular, the layperson, the street
name of "chokehold." I mean, he`s got his hand across her throat.
[20:05:03]Didn`t we just learn with Eric Garner in New York, don`t do a chokehold? Didn`t we just learn that, Marty?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We did. And in fact, the sheriff says -- that`s the boss of this officer here. The sheriff says he was
sickened when he saw that video, and he has determined that this goes against the procedure.
Although interestingly enough, Nancy, it isn`t the arm around the neck that apparently disturbed him more, it is the fact that he threw her across
the room, literally taking his hands off of her and tossing her across the room. He says that is a violation, a gross violation, of police procedure.
GRACE: Good gravy! Hold on, Marty, it`s not you. I`m looking at the video again. I have the same reaction every single time. Look at this,
picking her up, and now this is what Marty`s talking about, throwing her. OK, was that necessary?
Now, you see that man standing there in the corner? He`s got on a shirt, a tie, and it looks like an ID around his neck.
Gary David joining me, in addition to CNN correspondent Martin Savidge, Gary, morning show host, WVOC. Gary, here`s my question.
Everybody`s talking about a third tape showing that this girl hit first. If there is a third tape that reportedly police have, why are they holding
it back? Does it exist? I mean, if she punches him first, that`s a whole `nother ball of wax for me.
GARY DAVID, WVOC (via telephone): Nancy, we have seen a third tape. Matter of fact, saw it about noon yesterday. Now, whether or not -- there
were three different angles, and what`s not really clear, again, is if it was a punch that was thrown by the girl or just a reaction to her because
the physical contact is made first by the former deputy in this case now, Ben Fields, so it`s really hard to tell if it`s just a reaction to the
physicality of the event or if she...
GRACE: Well, wait a minute. Gary -- Gary David! Gary David, I don`t mean when she throws her arm up because I can see that. I may be looking
at the tape you`re talking about. What I`m talking about is, does she throw a punch at the cop first?
Just so you know, I`ve got right here in front of me two other lawsuits regarding this cop, all right -- two other lawsuits, all right?
I`m going to get to that in a minute.
Hold on, Gary David and Martin Savidge. Also with me, Candace Trunzo. But right now, I`ve got a special guest joining me. It`s Niya Kenny. She
was in the room when this happened. She got arrested, people, arrested!
And remember, we`re not talking about people out on the street selling crack with a gun down their pants. We`re not talking about anybody with a
knife. Nobody has a gun, OK? We`re talking about a schoolgirl in school, and all she had was a cell phone -- a cell phone!
Niya Kenny is with me, along with her lawyer, Simone Martin. Niya, thank you for being with us.
NIYA KENNY, ARRESTED AT SCHOOL: Thank you for having me.
GRACE: Niya, could you tell me exactly what you observed? And the first question I have is, did you see the girl -- that`s what I`m calling
her, I`m not using her name -- did you see her hit the cop first?
KENNY: No, ma`am, not at all. He made contact first.
GRACE: OK, tell me what happened. I want to hear this from you.
KENNY: Well, she was actually in the classroom because she was using the cell phone, and she refused...
GRACE: OK, whoa-whoa-whoa. Right there, Miss Niya, hold on. I keep hearing that she was distracting the class and that she was causing a
problem in the class. Look, I taught school before I got in law school. I know that one student can distract a whole class. But what was she doing?
What exactly was she doing to cause all this?
KENNY: She just would not give up her cell phone and wouldn`t leave the class. When you don`t give up your cell phone, our teacher makes you
leave his class. And she was not distracting anybody. She was not talking. She didn`t say a word the entire time, nothing. She said nothing
at all.
GRACE: So she wasn`t talking on her cell phone, right?
KENNY: Not at all.
GRACE: Are you sure?
KENNY: I`m positive.
GRACE: Because, I mean, even if she were talking on her cell phone, I could see her being forced out of the classroom. But so she just had her
cell phone on and was looking at it?
KENNY: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: Well, I would have asked her to leave the classroom, too, having taught school. But this is crazy, what happened. OK, so the
teacher catches her on the cell phone or looking at the cell phone. Then what happens, Niya?
[20:10:00]KENNY: Then he asked her to leave, and she refuses. And when she refuses, he went and got our administrator, and that`s the man
that you see in the video with the white shirt and the tie and the ID. And when she refused to leave with him, then that`s when our administrator
calls Ben Fields. And that`s when...
GRACE: Now, I have heard, Niya, that instead of being called Deputy Fields, one of his nicknames is "Deputy Slam," for slamming people, and
that when he walked in the room, somebody said, Uh-oh. Everybody get your cell phone. Something`s about to happen. Is that true, Niya?
KENNY: It was me.
GRACE: It was you?
KENNY: Yes, ma`am, it was me.
GRACE: So when he walks in, what happens?
KENNY: So when he walks in, he goes up to her, and he`s, like, Who is she? And everybody looks at her. And he`s, like, Are you going to leave
with me? And she just kind of looks at him, like, No, I`m not going. So he moves a desk from in front of her, and then he takes her laptop off her
desk. And then that`s when he just walks up to her and he grabs her arm, and that`s when everything starts.
GRACE: So he took her laptop off her desk first, is that right?
KENNY: Yes, ma`am. Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: What was everybody doing -- was she screaming?
KENNY: She was not making a sound, not at all.
GRACE: I just don`t understand this. Have you been in contact with her since this incident?
KENNY: I have talked to her.
GRACE: What did she say?
KENNY: She -- like I said, she`s a very quiet girl, and even me and her talking alone on the phone, she doesn`t really say anything, just a few
yeses and no`s and thank yous. You know, I`m asking, How are you? She`s, I`m OK, and you know, just really short answers.
SIMONE MARTIN, NIYA`S ATTORNEY: Nancy, if I may, Niya didn`t even know the victim`s name prior to this incident. That`s how quiet the girl
was. They had been in class for months, and Niya did not even know her name.
GRACE: What we are learning is that -- first reports were that there were no injuries. Now we find out the girl has got a cast on her arm and
bruises to her head. I mean, really? Couldn`t this cop and the administrator, the grown man standing in the corner -- couldn`t they have
picked the desk up? I mean, if she`s misbehaving and she`s not following the teacher`s orders, fine, take her out of class. But really?
Look at this! If somebody had done this to John David or Lucy, my children -- oh, oh, no! Oh, I would be lying on the front of that
schoolhouse screaming on the steps!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:16:44]GRACE: Now we learn that an alleged third tape has emerged showing this schoolgirl attacking the police officer first. I don`t see
it. I don`t know from what other angle they could be talking about. But if I find out that she attacked the cop first, it`s a whole `nother can of
worms. But that is not what I am seeing.
And with me, Simone Martin, who was in the room at the school when this occurred. Her lawyer -- excuse me, Niya Kenny and her lawyer, Simone
Martin. Niya and Simone, thank you so much for being with us.
Niya, you were stating that this girl was so quiet, you were in class with her for several months before you even knew her name?
KENNY: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: At first, we were told that she had not been injured, but now I understand she`s actually wearing a cast and has a bruise to the head?
KENNY: Yes, ma`am.
MARTIN: That is true.
GRACE: Niya, you also -- and correct me if I`m wrong -- were you arrested over this?
KENNY: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: What happened to you and why?
KENNY: Originally, they told me that I was interfering with the arrest because I was being verbal about the -- you know, the situation that
was going on.
GRACE: Because I`m looking at the video, and I don`t see you interfering with the police officer at all. Good gravy! Every time I see
him pick her up and throw her like that -- what was going through your mind, Niya, when you were seeing all this?
KENNY: What is -- is this really -- what was going through my mind -- Are y`all going to let this happen? Are we really going to sit here and
let this happen to her right now? Like, this is a 16-year-old girl. Are we -- so nobody`s not going to do anything.
GRACE: What did you do?
KENNY: I just started -- that`s what I was saying. I was just, like, Are we -- is nobody going to help her? What`s going on? I`m just -- and
they`re yelling at me, telling me to be quiet, trying to take my phone because I`m trying to record and scream at the same time, and I`m crying.
And eventually, I get arrested and taken to the detention center.
GRACE: OK, who was telling you not to record it?
KENNY: The man that you see in the video in the white shirt.
GRACE: The so-called administrator?
KENNY: The administrator.
GRACE: (INAUDIBLE) I don`t like that at all! With Niya is her lawyer, Simone Martin. Simone, I don`t like whoever that administrator is
saying, Don`t video this. Since when is something going on in a public school that you`re not supposed to video that you want to keep secret? I
don`t like the sound of that one bit.
MARTIN: Nor do I. I think the entire incident is just unacceptable.
GRACE: Awful!
MARTIN: It`s hard to believe it even happened. It is outrageous. I mean, it`s unbelievable and sick. It really is.
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: And I commend Niya for her bravery because she actually...
GRACE: You know what?
MARTIN: ... was the only one to stand up in such a scary or horrific situation.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I agree. I agree. She was one of the only ones, if not the only one, to stand up in the middle of it and say, This is wrong. It`s
easy for all the legal pundits to sit back and go, Oh, look at that. But she stood up in the middle of it and said, This is wrong.
[20:20:17]You know, Candace Trunzo, senior news editor, Dailymail.com, who was that administrator standing by? He`s got that walkie-talkie on his
hip. Why is he just standing there, doing nothing?
CANDACE TRUNZO, DAILYMAIL.COM (via telephone): Well, he was the vice principal, Nancy. He was called in by the teacher after the 16-year-old
student was disruptive. She was being disrespectful, so the teacher said. She wouldn`t put her cell phone down. She was texting. The teacher asked
her to leave the class. She wouldn`t leave the class.
She called in this vice principal. He asked her to leave the class, and she wouldn`t, and that`s when Ben Fields was called into the classroom.
GRACE: With me, Martin Savidge, CNN correspondent, and Gary David, WVOC. You`re seeing exclusive photos obtained by Dailymail.com reportedly
of Deputy Ben Fields leaving home just before he`s fired, all right?
Martin Savidge, if every single thing Candace Trunzo just reported is true -- and hear me, I used to prosecute crimes in inner-city Atlanta that
occurred in public schools. I`ve had 13, 12-year-olds with knives, guns, crack, heroin, meth, you name it.
But if everything she said is true, if she was on her cell phone, if she was texting, to be slammed down on your face, to be picked up and
thrown across the room?
I want to get to the bottom of this. Is there another video? That`s what I want to know. Is there any chance this girl was the instigator?
That`s what I want to know, Marty.
SAVIDGE: There are three videos that we have been told of, and there is no video that shows her, meaning the student, initially throwing some
kind of punch. You saw the video where she may be struggling after the officer has already laid hands onto her, whether it`s really a full blow or
whether it`s just an attempt to strike.
But there is not a video that shows her lashing out before the officer puts his hands on her that we are aware of. There are three that have come
forward. And in fact, the sheriff who was in charge of that officer said he is grateful to those students for making those recordings, and he
encourages any citizen anywhere in his county, when they see an officer doing anything they think might be disagreeable, to record it. It should
be done, he says. People can police the police.
GRACE: Martin, I am so proud that that sheriff did that because you don`t want this hanging over the students. And they`ve got to have police
officers in the room, police officers in their school that are going to physically attack you. This girl, Niya Kenny stood up. That sheriff is
doing the right thing.
Martin, you don`t have any idea the flood of e-mails and calls we got that this girl attacked the police officer first. I don`t see it, Martin!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:27:22]GRACE: We learn tonight that there is a so-called third tape showing this schoolgirl -- no, it can`t possibly because I just saw
him approach her, and she did not instigate this. Reports the third secret tape shows the girl hit the cop first.
With me, a young lady who was in the room, Niya Kenny, who spoke out about what was happening and ended up getting arrested, and her lawyer,
Simone Martin.
Niya, the cop has been fired. Do you think that`s enough?
KENNY: I think it`s enough. I think it is. We just didn`t want him around students anymore. And you know, who needs to be protecting people
like that?
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Robin Ficker, Maryland, Alex Sanchez, New York. You know, it`s amazing to me that this young lady, Niya Kenny, says
firing him is enough because if that man did not have on a uniform, I would be prosecuting him for battery or worse, all right? And both of you know
it`s true.
All right, first to you, Sanchez. I think he should be prosecuted. He can`t hide behind that badge, not on my watch! No, I`d have him
prosecuted!
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know, you listen to the reports on television, you know, people would end up believing this guy has
committed a series of major felonies.
GRACE: I don`t think that.
SANCHEZ: He may not even have committed a misdemeanor, if the initial reports are true that there were no injuries. Maybe he committed an
infraction. Maybe he overreacted.
But let me tell you something. The defense has a lot of arguments on behalf of this officer. This girl -- like it or not, the fact is this.
She violated the rules of the school by speaking in that class or using a text phone in that class...
GRACE: Yes, she did. She certainly did.
SANCHEZ: She refused to abide by the rules and regulations...
GRACE: Yes, she did.
SANCHEZ: ... by abiding by the teacher`s instructions to give up that phone or to get up. Then they brought in...
GRACE: What`s your point?
SANCHEZ: ... the big guns, and they had a principal come in there. She refused to listen to him, and then she refused to listen to the police
officer!
GRACE: OK, hold on, Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: How many acts of defiance did she engage in?
GRACE: Hold on. I hear you. Ficker, if every single thing Sanchez said is true -- except we now know she`s got a cast on her arm. If every
single thing he says is true, she still does not deserve to be picked up and thrown across the room. Between that cop and that so-called
administrator, they could have easily picked up that whole desk and walked out the door with it, all right? They could have easily done that.
Throwing her across the room is wrong! And I`m telling you guys, look, I devoted my whole life to crime and justice and law enforcement. I
don`t like it when a cop does something wrong. It hurts me because I feel like all those years were for what?
Now the criminal justice system is wrong, but he`s wrong. He should be prosecuted for at least simple battery, Ficker.
FICKER: This case shows that there is no Ferguson effect in South Carolina. Cops are not afraid to make necessary arrests because somebody
might be videotaping. They had the administrator, they had the teacher. What`s the teacher supposed to do when the police are looking at -- when
the girls are looking at their cell phones instead of paying attention to the teacher? If I had my cell phone on now on your show, you would kick me
out.
GRACE: Yes, that`s absolutely true. But I would not stand by, as irritating as I might think you are, I would not stand by and allow someone
to physically harm you. This is not some thug out on the street, this is a girl, a young girl, Matthew Horace, FJC security, former cop. Help me out,
Matthew.
HORACE: Nancy, this is not the first time a juvenile has been arrested or the first time the use of force has been escalated on a
juvenile, a 16 or 17-year-old.
GRACE: I can`t hear you. You said this is not the first time there`s been an arrest on a 16-year-old. Yes, you`re preaching to the choir now.
Of course. I`ve been in on those prosecutions. But when there is a crime, sure, fine.
HORACE: The police were called there, Nancy.
GRACE: This isn`t a crime.
HORACE: The school called the police because they wanted a police action.
GRACE: Well, you know what? This is not a crime. Being on your cell phone in class, sure, you can get suspended, you can get taken out of
class. But slammed on the floor like that, absolutely not, Matthew Horace.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:36:00]
GRACE: Live to Bradenton, Florida. A missing fifth grade girl, Janiya Thomas, found dead in a freezer. Did family members know 11-year-
old Janiya abused and dead? And if they did, why aren`t they in jail now? As we go to air, we obtained nearly 30 pages of shocking details. A CPS --
Child Protective Services -- investigation of Janiya`s mother goes back 11 years. 11 years of abuse she heaps on those children. I am not letting up
on this. But the schools and child services do nothing! And now Janiya is dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five children and a dozen abuse complaints on file.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Suspected of regularly abusing not only daughter Janiya but Janiya`s siblings as well, including choking, slapping, beating
and spanking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A news director at the Answer, Roger Schulman, give me one good reason they shouldn`t fire everybody at that school. What is it,
Manatee County and CPS --
ROGER SCHULMAN, THE ANSWER: Manatee County schools.
GRACE: Because I`m telling you, we`re not giving up on this girl, all right? I am not giving up. I am not even getting tired. I am just
getting started on Janiya. Because let me tell you what we learned, Roger. We learned this mother has been investigated by Child Protective Services
for 11 years, beating her children with an electrical cord, choking one girl, beating them because she didn`t feel like taking care of them. 11
years. They would take the children out of the home, put the children back in the home. They went to the school and talked to the teachers about
Janiya`s siblings, and the school is like, okay, we`ll keep an eye on that. Well, they didn`t and Janiya is dead. Explain to me, Roger, what`s going
on in Manatee County?
SCHULMAN: Well, I read over these things, and I rarely become physically ill, but I nearly vomited after reading some of this stuff. One
of the girls smelled so bad, she was so badly taken care of, the school had to give her deodorant so the other kids wouldn`t make fun of her. This is
typical of these children. I think the school did the best they could, but they seem powerless to intervene in this situation. So did the
investigative services.
GRACE: Roger, Roger, Roger. It is the law. It is the law that when a teacher suspects child abuse, they must report it to the police, okay?
The thought that these children actually smelled because they were not getting bathed, that is the tip of the iceberg what this mother was doing
to these children. And CPS knew, and the schools knew there was a problem! and now it`s on our show that the girl is in a freezer, Roger? you said
when you read the reports, it almost made you sick. You know what it reminded me of? when I would prosecute crimes on children and I would be
trying to leave the courthouse, I would have to pull off the road and cry and cry about what was happening to children. Tell them, Roger. Tell them
what you read in these documents.
[20:40:00]
SCHULMAN: The house was so foul that the children would get one meal at night. The house is a nasty house, there are roaches all over, trash,
rats, garbage piled up, dishes not washed, and maggots. This has been going on forever.
GRACE: Mike Klaas, president and founder of the Klaas Kids Foundation. Another child slips through DFAX, CPS` hand. Another one
slips through their fingers, and now we have got a child dead. And this mother, Mark Klaas, still refusing to tell police what happened to Janiya.
Still, Mark.
KLAAS: It goes beyond the squalor, it goes beyond the institutional indifference. This woman is an out-and-out sadist, and she was allowed to
practice her sadism on these children for their entire lives, and nobody did anything about it. But this isn`t the first time something like this
has happened in Florida. Just a few years ago, there was abuse of a little girl named Renya Wilson (ph). Almost exactly the same thing happened.
They passed a new law, but did that help? Does anyone care about this child? Unfortunately not.
GRACE: 11 years of complaints and investigations amount to a hill of beans. Dr. Tiffany Sanders, psychologist, we also learned that in one of
the cases, an M.D., a doctor, said, this is child abuse. This is physical abuse. And they still leave the child in the home! I think everybody
involved in the case needs to be prosecuted, including Child Protective Services.
SANDERS: Absolutely, Nancy. It`s an injustice to this young girl that mandated reporters didn`t do more to protect her and that CPS didn`t
remove the children despite years and years of substantiated abuse. These kids could have been put in foster care, they could have been given to
loved ones. What the CPS did instead was leave this child vulnerable to death, and to find her in a freezer? What mother does that? Not you, nor
any mother I know of.
GRACE: Dr. Bill Manion, I`m listening to Tiffany Sanders, Bill Manion, forensic pathologist. An M.D. actually examined one of the little
boys with welts all over his behind and legs, and said, this is child abuse. You know, how would a doctor be able to look at that and say the
legal phrase, this is child abuse?
MANION: Oftentimes the bruises will be of different ages, so it`s not just one beating, but it`s a beating that`s gone on and on for days and
days. And if the severity is too much compared to what you see with other children, then you have to call it child abuse, and most doctors have --
are under state law where they have to report. Otherwise they could lose their license. And once that is reported, in most states I`m familiar
with, then the youth and family services gets involved to see what the heck is going on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:47:40]
GRACE: We know how dangerous Halloween trick-or-treating can be for children. Chilling proof caught on video. A man luring six little
children into his house before trapping them inside.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHILDREN: Trick-or-treat!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, kids, you can go over here. I`m going to go get the candy downstairs but just come in real quick. Actually, you are
staying in here. There`s no candy for tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean, no candy?
CHILDREN: Trick-or-treat!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kids, we actually have candy downstairs.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is the candy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no candy. There`s no candy at all. You guys are here now.
[ SCREAMS ]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Halloween can present a whole host of problems for children trick-or-treating. Chilling video of a man luring children into his home
at trick-or-treat time. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, we`re at the first house, so go ahead, go get some candy. Come right back, quick.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay.
CHILDREN: Trick-or-treat!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ooh, kids, we actually have candy downstairs. You guys want candy?
Right over there, down there. You guys want Snickers?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is the candy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no candy. There is no candy at all. You guys are here now.
[ SCREAMS ]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Not only that, but another video. You can tell children over and over and over, but look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, before you get out, be careful when you get out, please watch the cars coming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, mommy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What else? What are you going to say when you go up there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. And trick-or-treat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have fun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bye, mom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Be polite.
(CROSSTALK)
[20:50:00]
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, um, yes, kids you can go over here. I`m going to go get the candy downstairs but just come in real quick. Don`t move or
anything. Don`t go crazy in the house. Actually you`re staying here. There`s no candy for tonight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean no candy?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Youtube star Coby Persin. Coby, you`re one of the reasons I go to every single house with the children. It will be over
mommy`s cold dead body before they get into a house without me going with them. They`re not going into a house, period. Coby, why did you make
these videos? Explain.
COBY PERSIN, YOUTUBE STAR: Basically what happened when I was a kid also, like when we were 12, 13 years old, my parents used to let me go
trick-or-treating alone. I know a lot of parents let their kids. A lot of people knock on my door, and there`s just kids and no parents around. So
clearly it happens, and it just shows how easy we can lure your child in. We`re not trying to scare you, but it`s just showing the risks of trick-or-
treating without your kids there -- without your parents there.
GRACE: Marc Klaas with me. Friend of the show. Coby, thank you for being with us. Marc, I went trick-or-treating with my brother and sister.
Alone. That was a long time ago. Thanks have changed, Marc Klaas.
KLAAS: We have a lot more awareness now than we used to have. I don`t know if it`s any more dangerous to go trick-or-treating now. In
fact, we have some tools that can make it safer. We know who the registered sex offenders are living in our neighborhoods. We can give our
children a GPS-enabled app or a GPS-enabled phone so that we can track their whereabouts in live time. We know that children under 12 need to be
accompanied by an adult, so if we just use common sense, we can make this a very fun and safe experience.
GRACE: You know, Marc, I hear you about all the safety and precaution measures, but, you know, Coby Persin, and Marc knows better than any of us,
his daughter was kidnapped and killed, Polly, right. That`s where he`s coming from. I`m telling you when you`re in a situation where the kidnap
is happening, how are you going to get to your phone and hit a safety app? Please? Really. The answer is, as Marc Klaas said, go with your children.
Go with them. Would you agree, Coby?
PERSIN: Yes, don`t sit at home. You know, this is -- I know a lot of parents sit at home and let their kids go. Go with your children. Go up
to the door with them. Don`t let any chance of anything that could happen, you know? Make sure you`re with them. That`s all I can say, you know,
just be aware.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:57:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHILDREN: Trick-or-treat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, kids. Um, we actually have candy downstairs.
You guys want candy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where`s the candy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is no candy. There`s no candy at all. You guys are here now. [ screaming ]
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are seeing chilling video of a man luring children into his home with the promise of Halloween candy. Even after their parents tell
them no, no, no, no. Children can`t digest what you`re telling them, and the consequences can be dire. Take a look at this video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you serious? What were you thinking? (inaudible) give you a piece of candy? You could have been killed.
There`s a bunch of crazy people out there. You know better. I`ve been teaching you for your whole life not to talk to strangers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Coby Persin is with us. Youtube star. Coby, you can log on and Google Coby Persin Halloween and this will come up. You went from a
Youtube star, somewhat of a prankster, to making projects like this happen. Your first one of children getting kidnapped was shocking to me. And
meaningful. And this, too, and I want to thank you for what you`re doing. Everybody, log on and look at this and see what we can learn.
Let`s remember American hero, Army Sergeant Charles Matheny IV, Stanwood, Washington. Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Family of military vets.
Loved war movies. Parents Charles III and Deedee. Sister, Karen. Brother, Paul. Charles Matheny IV. American hero. Thanks to our guests,
but especially to you for being with us and inviting us into your home. Nancy Grace signing off. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern,
and until then, good night, friend.
END
