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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Woman Sues County Over Cavity Search in Parking Lot; Teen Cheerleader Newborn Murder Developments; Gruesome Discovery in Search for Missing Girl; Mystery Disappearance of Newlywed Mom; Beautiful Tribute for the Fallen. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired August 15, 2017 - 20:00   ET

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

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[20:00:00] ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HLN HOST (voice-over): The devil`s in the details and maybe the dashcam.

CHARNESHIA CORLEY, SUING HARRIS COUNTY OVER STRIP SEARCH: It`s humiliating.

BANFIELD: A woman stripped naked roadside. Officers pin down her legs and violate her private parts.

CORLEY: Then she tells me to pull my pants down.

BANFIELD: She says the search was more than 10 minutes long.

CORLEY: Threw me down on the ground by my car. She tells me, Open your legs.

BANFIELD: The officers indicted. The woman charged. Now suddenly, everyone`s off the hook.

CORLEY: I feel like they sexually assaulted me.

BANFIELD: But she`s still suing, claiming civil rights and decency.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you have any comment about the charges, aggravated murder?

BANFIELD: She`s accused of killing, burning and burying a brand-new baby girl in her own back yard.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In her mind, this was not something that was going to be accepted.

BANFIELD: A former high school cheerleader silent in court, her family in tow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An 18-year-old that doesn`t have any type of criminal record.

BANFIELD: It happened just two days after senior prom. Now her college future could instead be prison.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) call 911 (INAUDIBLE)

BANFIELD: Unimaginable sight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) she was laying on the ground.

BANFIELD: A newborn baby abandoned for hours, covered in ants and fighting to live.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s got a lot of strength, too. (INAUDIBLE) she was -- she was fighting.

BANFIELD: How police tracked down the woman who gave birth and the man they believe is the father.

A teenage girl goes missing in the Ozarks.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody that`s tried to dispose of evidence.

BANFIELD: And on her mom`s wedding day, a pile of burned bones turns up not far from home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We was picking up red flags from the very beginning.

BANFIELD: Why investigators say nothing seemed right from the start.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Foot slipped off the -- you know, off the brake.

BANFIELD: From straight out of the blue, a car falls from the sky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) it was over.

BANFIELD: A woman plunges seven stories from a parking garage and lives to tell the tale.

Back from her honeymoon just one day.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We just need her home. We need her home with her kids.

BANFIELD: And the new bride suddenly vanishes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We know that she would have never left her kids.

BANFIELD: Her car abandoned, her phone nearby.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s really no leads, nothing to go on.

BANFIELD: What happened to Heather (ph) with the million-dollar smile?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BANFIELD: Hi, everybody. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.

I`m about to show you something on television that should not be on television. I know that sounds very strange. But it really shouldn`t be

anywhere public. It should be something happening in a sterile environment, like a hospital with a doctor or a nurse present.

But the problem is there`s this woman named Charneshia Corley, and three sheriff`s deputies in Harris County, Texas, just outside of Houston -- they

stopped her apparently for running a stop sign. But then Charneshia says an officer said he smelled marijuana coming from her car. And a female

deputy then ordered her to pull her pants down. This is not a joke. She was told to pull her pants down there in the parking lot.

Apparently, they wanted to do a visual search. Charneshia says she did not like that very much and protested, and then this is what happened next.

Take a look. That`s the dashcam, and that`s Charneshia being thrown to the ground on the camera.

What ended up happening next is a confusing and lengthy bizarre series of events, and I have to fuzz out a lot of it. But that effectively in the

bottom right-hand corner of your screen is Charneshia naked from the waist down as her pants are being pulled off her -- naked, completely. When I

say that, no underwear.

And then if you can imagine for a moment, her knees are being spread apart and her ankles as she lies on her stomach are being bent up so that her

feet touch her bottom. Just imagine yourself in that position right now.

This is apparently the search for marijuana. The officers say they ultimately did find a small amount. No one is saying exactly where.

But there are a couple of things I want to point out here. That`s a male officer standing there in the foreground of the picture. And that male

officer was watching for quite some time as Charneshia`s heels were bent up to touch her butt, her naked butt, and her knees were spread apart.

Eventually, the officer turns away and doesn`t look anymore, I guess, you know, defending her honor in the smallest of ways.

[20:05:06]Ten minutes, ten minutes Charneshia would be on the pavement, on her belly, naked from the waist down in a public parking lot. She`s

handcuffed. And her knees would be continued to spread.

Something else that stood out. That hand that`s gloved right there, Charneshia says that`s likely the hand that was inserted into her vagina in

this cavity search. Yes, it`s gloved, but it`s also resting comfortably on the filthy parking lot.

So once again, just imagine lying in that parking lot surrounded by officers, one of them a male, you`re naked as a jaybird, they`re poking and

prodding your body, hands everywhere. This goes on for more than 10 minutes, likely seemed like an eternity.

So what do you think would have happened here? Who would have been in trouble in this scenario? .02 ounces of marijuana found in or on, I can`t

tell you in or on Charneshia. But the deputies were indicted by a grand jury.

That did not last because a second grand jury was called, and ultimately, that second grand jury got some additional evidence no one will tell us

about. And the charges against those deputies were dropped. Now, the prosecutors also decided to charge Charneshia, and then ultimately, they

dropped those charges against Charneshia.

Just days ago, more then two years after this incident, that second grand jury has decided not to reindict the deputies, and the prosecutors have

dismissed the case.

So I guess you could say I`m just as confused as you are. I watched the whole video. It looked pretty disgusting to me. I cannot imagine what

that would feel like, on your belly in a filthy parking lot, where anybody could see what`s happening, naked from the waist down as your knees are

spread apart and your heels are bent up so that they meet your butt. For 10 minutes she was held in that position, pants pulled off her as she`s

handcuffed.

Al Rucker`s the host of "The Al Rucker Show." He joins me from Houston. Al, where am I wrong in this? Because all of this seems so wrong, I feel

like I must be wrong. Am I wrong?

AL RUCKER, RADIO SHOW HOST (via telephone): No. Thank you for having me, Ashleigh. I don`t believe you`re wrong. After I reviewed the video and

heard the young lady`s statement, you`re not wrong anywhere. I believe the officers were completely wrong.

And as you stated at the beginning, this is a search that should have been done in a hospital, or some sort like that. Having the lady pretty much

hog-tied on the pavement is unacceptable.

BANFIELD: You`re on a radio show, and that`s when you get some of the most sort of salty kinds of callers. Are people angry about this? Like, are

people in Houston aghast that this can happen in a public parking lot?

RUCKER: They`re very angry about it. Some of the people I`ve talked to who are aware of the story, it`s just -- for a city this size and this type

of magnitude, how we take pride in, you know, who we are in Houston, I just can`t imagine it happening here in Houston. My wife can be driving around

and someone pulls up to the side and believe they smell marijuana, and then she can go through the same thing. It`s very humiliating.

BANFIELD: I`m going to talk about that marijuana in a minute because I think that`s an interesting part of this. Legally speaking, it`s a unique

part of this, maybe not a critical part of this, believe it or not. But I want you to hear from Charneshia Corley because she in her own words has

described what this was like for her as she was 10 minutes on her belly, almost hog-tied, and as she says, with fingers being inserted into her,

again, in a parking lot. Here she is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARNESHIA CORLEY: I don`t know if they were discriminating against me or what, but it was embarrassing, degrading. I felt alone. I felt helpless,

like I couldn`t do anything, you know? You have two female officers on top of you. I felt like they raped me, you know?

If you`re a young lady in my situation, handcuffed on the ground, two women on top of you, one of them sticking their fingers in you while they`re both

holding your legs apart, how would you feel, you know? I think any woman in my situation would feel helpless. They would honestly feel like I feel,

like I`ve been sexually assaulted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Sam Cammack is Charneshia Corley`s attorney. He joins me live from Houston, as well. Sam, thanks for being with me. You were seated

beside Charneshia during that interview. I want to ask you a couple of questions because technically speaking, this is all very hard to process.

Originally, the two officers that performed that search were indicted. And then all of a sudden, there`s some new secret evidence and a brand-new

convening of a grand jury and they`re not indicted and their original indictments go away. And originally, Charneshia`s charged, and then she`s

not. What happened here legally?

[20:10:18]SAM CAMMACK, ATTORNEY FOR CHARNESHIA CORLEY: Well, to be clear, Charneshia`s charges were immediately dismissed once the chief prosecutor

that worked under the previous district attorney`s office and their administration had reviewed the video and spoke with the officers. She

just believed the officers were not credible. And in her own words, she said that when she watched the video, that it was shocking, and appalling.

So they immediately dismissed the cases over a year ago against Ms. Corley.

But a lawfully convened grand jury indicted the officers because one of the officers also turned state`s evidence against the other two officers.

Actually, the officer that stuck her fingers inside of Ms. Corley at the end is the officer that turned state`s evidence against the other two

officers.

It`s undeniable that these officers put their fingers inside of Ms. Corley. As a matter of fact, in the internal affairs investigation report, one of

the officers had stated that she believed that it was inside. She was certain -- in her own words, she was certain that it was inside her vaginal

cavity.

And basically, a year later, in between, we filed a federal civil lawsuit, suing our county. A new administration took over at the district

attorney`s office. The case was set for trial, three times, I believe. At the last trial sitting in May, the state announced a ready (ph). The

defense lawyer filed a motion for continuance or requested a continuance. It was continued to August 4th. On August 4th, it was set for trial. The

district attorney`s office -- a representative of the district attorney`s office went and dismissed the cases against the officers.

BANFIELD: Sam, that`s all very in the weeds and technical for a lot of our viewers. I mean, I`m not even a lawyer, and I`m sort of trying to keep up

with the technical that you`re talking about.

But there is something critical here. There`s something called a U.S. Constitution and a 4th Amendment right, you know, against unlawful search

and seizure. And I would say someone going up a huhu (ph) is pretty unlawfl in terms of a search without a warrant. You can do it. You can

get a warrant and you can ask to have a cavity search like this, but has to be done in a sterile environment like a hospital.

So here`s where I don`t -- there`s a disconnect here. As I understand it, the officers are saying she was putting up resistance, and they charged her

for resisting. But yet they actually say the words that, We deny that we penetrated her without consent. So what was it? Was it a resistance or

was it consent if they put their fingers inside of her?

CAMMACK: Well, first of all, let me explain something. Ms. Corley was pulled over for running a stop sign. Ms. Corley gave them consent to

search the vehicle. When they searched the vehicle, they didn`t find anything. As a matter of fact, on the audio, you can hear the officer

telling the passenger, Oh, she doesn`t want to be searched, but she`s going to be searched. If we have to put our hands on her, she`s going to be

searched.

Well, they didn`t find anything in the vehicle, so they had two choices. One was to arrest her for the traffic stop, or two, let her go. And in

this situation, they didn`t let her go. So they didn`t suspect that there was marijuana inside of Ms. Corley. They just decided to throw Ms. Corley

to the ground, take her clothes off, strip her naked and stick their hands inside of her to see if they could find something.

BANFIELD: OK.

CAMMACK: They had no probable cause.

BANFIELD: I know you don`t like this question. I know you don`t like this question, and I understand why you don`t like this question. There is this

notion in the legal community of something called fruit of the poisonous tree. If you search in the wrong way in this country and you break the

rules, you can`t use what you found. It`s called fruit of the poisonous tree.

And I understand that you would look at this that anything they found inside her would be irrelevant. But it still begs the question. Did they

find marijuana inside of her?

CAMMACK: They claim -- I don`t want to revictimize Ms. Corley. And no disrespect to you, Ashleigh, but I don`t want to revictimize her. But I

will tell you this. They`re claiming they found marijuana, .02 grams, like you said earlier, inside of Ms. Corley, which obviously supports the fact

that they stuck their fingers in her. Well, .02 grams of marijuana would be about half the size of a skittle (ph).

BANFIELD: I mean, that`s pretty astounding. One quick question. In the second grand jury -- and this is just all so incredibly mysterious that

these two officers were indicted, and then a second grand jury comes along, and none of the officials will tell us what this new secret evidence was

that they presented to the second grand jury, but the second grand jury decided to make it all go away.

[20:15:06]You have a civil suit against the Harris County sheriff. Does that mean this new and secret evidence is going to have to be presented in

order to defend them against your lawsuit? Or will we never know what that new and secret evidence was that let those officers go?

CAMMACK: I`ll tell you what the new evidence was, OK? Here`s what the new evidence was. And they had this evidence all along. They`ve had it since

September of last year.

So Ms. Corley started having stomach cramps close to 14 weeks after this incident occurred. She went to the hospital, and they determined that she

had a tubal pregnancy and they did surgery on her. And one of the doctors at the hospital said that she was only five weeks pregnant at that time.

However, another doctor, which we have the documentation, said that Ms. Corley was from 0 to 14 weeks pregnant, which would have put her two weeks

pregnant at the time of the rape.

And so the district attorney`s office said, Well, she told the grand jury at the first grand jury proceeding that she was pregnant, and that came

out, I guess according to the other doctor, that it wasn`t true, that she was only five weeks pregnant.

But that`s my whole point. This has nothing to do with the criminal behavior of the police officers, absolutely nothing. It`s ludicrous.

BANFIELD: And -- and I`m going to -- it`s awfully confusing, that whole point that you just made, but you did use the word rape. And that brings

me to the most critical question here. Why are you suing for assault and battery, 4th Amendment violation, intentional infliction of emotional

distress and offensive physical contact and no sexual assault? Why is there no sex assault in any of the language in your lawsuit.

CAMMACK: Well, we just filed a civil lawsuit in the southern district, and seeking obviously monetary damages. And by the way, the newly elected

district attorney`s office didn`t get involved in the case until after the suit was filed. The previous administration had no conversations with the

county attorney. But the new administration has had several conversations with the county attorney who represents the county in our lawsuit.

BANFIELD: OK, stand by for a second, Sam. I want to...

CAMMACK: And so we...

BANFIELD: Sorry. Go ahead.

CAMMACK: Just basically, Ashleigh, is the fact that this civil rights violation under section 1983 -- that violation stands. Whatever our

allegations are in the federal civil lawsuit, that`s what we`re standing by. And so we don`t have to particularly allege sexual assault. And we

allege that her civil rights were violated, and we`re moving forward on that.

BANFIELD: OK, joining me now, Darrin Porcher is a retired NYPD lieutenant and criminal justice expert. And former prosecutor Randy Zelin is seated

beside him, as well.

First to you, Darrin. You train officers. Have you ever seen anything like this? Have you ever had to deal with anything like this? Is this as

astounding to you as it is to me, the layperson in your business?

DARRIN PORCHER, RETIRED NYPD LIEUTENANT: Absolutely it`s astounding. I was a lieutenant in the NYPD`s internal affairs bureau. And on many

occasions, I`ve disciplined officers for this type of action. Granted, it is an aberration, but I can`t see a cogent argument that the officers can

introduce in connection with conducting a strip search on the side of a highway. There are specific guidelines...

BANFIELD: Oh, by the way, not a strip search, a full cavity search. A strip search is bend over...

PORCHER: Strip search plus.

BANFIELD: ... cough, and we`ll look.

PORCHER: A cavity search.

BANFIELD: Can I just say that, by the way? I learned this, that the search that you get in a prison, which is, you know, everybody`s sort of

Hollywood`s notion of what a strip search is -- the strip search you get in a prison is bend over naked, hold your ankles and cough.

PORCHER: Cough.

BANFIELD: And they look, they don`t poke. This went beyond that, Randy. Is there any justification you can see for this at all?

RANDY ZELIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: Disciplinary, internal affairs, no. Criminal? I think that`s a completely different discussion. You brought

up the issue of sexual assault. It`s not a sexual assault because that statute requires it`s got to be done for someone`s sexual gratification.

So that goes out the window.

The interesting thing, though, and the counterintuitive thing is that the prosecutor actually did her a favor by dismissing the case. Why? Because

if these two officers or three officers had been charged criminally, the civil case gets put on hold in order to preserve their 5th Amendment

privilege. There`s no longer a 5th Amendment issue...

BANFIELD: They have to testify.

ZELIN: ... which means the civil suit can now go forward and they have to testify.

BANFIELD: They have to testify. I mean, it is -- it is super- fascinating stuff. I mean, just seeing the look on your face I think was enough for me

to understand, yes, there`s nothing that I`m not getting here. This is just plain and simple wrong.

PORCHER: It`s ludicrous, to say the least.

BANFIELD: Ludicrous, to say the least. Thank you to all of you.

Skylar Richardson -- do you know that name? Because there`s a really good chance you`re going to know it well. This is the former cheerleader, in

the white. She is charged with murdering her brand-new baby daughter, brand-new, hours old. And not just that, going ahead and burning that

baby`s remains, burying the baby`s remains.

[20:20:10]Here she is seated in court with her family today. I don`t know, you tell me. Does she look anxious? Does she look worried? It could be

because today, she found out she`s going to have to go to trial.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: In Texas, a Houston mother showed up for court today facing a judge on the charge of child abandonment. Child abandonment -- I know

you`ve heard it. It`s one of those legal terms that can mean so many things, right, like, you know, going to the bar while your 5 and 7-year-old

are left home alone.

This case is not that. This mom is charged with the unthinkable, giving birth at midnight on her kitchen floor and then marching down the stairs of

her apartment building to street level, where she`s accused of just dumping that living, breathing newborn into the bushes, leaving the baby for dead.

[20:25:10]That baby did not die. That baby cried and cried and cried, possibly for upwards of five hours. Somebody heard the cries, stopped, and

then rolled tape on what he saw. And what that tape shows is devastating because it is the reality of what it is like when people abandon their

babies in this way. So I will warn you,it is not easy to see.

This little baby was naked, no diaper, no cotton blanket, just naked on the ground, umbilical cord still attached. She was crawling with ants. She

was covered in bug bites. Probable cause statement said she was lying partially in the grass and partially on the concrete sidewalk.

It was a neighbor who ultimately called the police about this. The police say they simply showed up, and then followed the trail of blood right back

up those stairs and straight to the apartment of 21-year-old Sydney Wotasic (ph). Police say Sydney told them she never checked on that baby after

leaving her outside.

CNN affiliate KTRK also reports that she says she had no idea she was pregnant, and allegedly neither did the dad. The investigators say they

believe that she was trying to hide the pregnancy from her boyfriend.

The infant was treated for ant bites and a blood infection that`s believed to have developed because the umbilical cord was just lying there on the

ground and still attached to her. If convicted, Ms. Wotasic (ph) is facing 2 to 20, 2 to 20 years in prison.

It`s really hard to digest that kind of cruelty when it comes to little tiny baby, whose toughest job is just to lean how to breathe. But the

people of Carlisle, Ohio, not far from Cincinnati are coping with the same kind of thing tonight. Only this story involves a very unlikely cast of

players and a crime that was much more serious, more deadly.

A former high school cheerleader destined to head off for her freshman year in college in just a few weeks instead is cooling her heels at home in an

ankle monitor. That is, when she`s not making a court appearance like she did today.

That is Brooke Skylar Richardson`s ankle with the monitor on it because she`s charged with killing and then burning and then burying her brand-new

baby just two days after her senior prom. She stared straight ahead walking down that court hallway.

The charges that she`s facing, extraordinary, aggravated murder, involuntary manslaughter, abuse of a corpse. And during her short time in

this Ohio courtroom with her family, we learned a couple of new and interesting developments about the former cheerleader. We know that

Skylar, as she`s known -- Skylar`s trial is now set for November. And we also found out that prosecutors just might have a lead on who the father is

of that baby that she`s accused of killing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID FORNSHELL, PROSECUTING ATTORNEY, WARREN COUNTY, OHIO: We`ve collected DNA, a DNA sample. Anecdotally, we think we know who the father

is. But we want to make sure before we say definitively that we know who the father is, that the DNA matches up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Prosecutors have said they believe that the baby was killed because Skylar and her mother were obsessed with appearances and how it

might look to the outside world if she were pregnant, or God forbid, a teen mom. As for the defense, they still maintain Skylar at just 18 years old

is innocent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHARLES RITTGER, SKYLAR RICHARDSON`S ATTORNEY: I can tell you that Brooke Skylar Richardson did not kill her baby. And I will have more to come as

we receive the discovery, which is what the prosecutor claims supports his indictment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Stefano Dipietrantonio is a reporter for CNN affiliate WXIX, and he joins me live now from Cincinnati. All right, Stef, trial is going to

be November 6th, as I understand. But there`s a gag order. And all I can think of when I hear gag order is that this is the kind of story that is

sensational and thus gets a lot of headlines and thus is dangerous for anybody who may end up serving on a jury. Is that the thought here?

STEFANO DIPIETRANTONIO, WXIX: That`s exactly what`s happening. Of course, the judge wants to ensure that both sides have a fair case here. But ever

since we broke this story on July 14th, it was a Friday, this thing started exploding on social media. Then the following Thursday -- it wasn`t bad

enough that they carried the corpse of a baby out of the back yard of their house on that Friday.

[20:30:00] But within just a few days, they were back with dozens of bright orange buckets, like the kinds you get at Home Depot, and collecting

samples out of the family fire pit on the side of the house, in several parts of the yard, that`s when I think the gravity really set in for this

neighborhood, that there`s so much more happening here that we don`t know.

But it`s been exploding on social media for the last few weeks. I think that is what is going to be one of the big players in this case, there`s so

much out there, that can`t be suppressed because it`s been out there for weeks now.

Also, one of the key factors in this case is, the prosecution right now, unless we hear more from the forensic anthropologist that`s looking at all

the DNA samples they collected from the yard, but right now, it`s going to be incumbent upon them to try and prove medically how this baby girl, who

was full term, by the way, 38 to 40 weeks we`re told, how this baby girl died.

It cannot medically be proven right now how the child died because of the condition the corpse was in. I did ask the Warren County coroner in an

interview we aired, was the baby intact when we saw the chief investigator carrying it out of the grave? And he said, well, I can tell you the sex of

that baby, it was fully intact.

I said, no, I heard other things. Were the baby`s arms and legs and other parts attached? Was it fully intact? He didn`t say yes or no. But his

answer was, why would we have a forensic anthropologist on the case right now? I think there`s a lot coming in the court that we don`t know.

BANFIELD: That`s just so sad. We were just talking about this brand-new little baby, again, the hardest job is just to learn to breathe. Hold your

thoughts for a minute there, Stef. I want to bring in Michelle DuPre, a forensic pathologist and a medical examiner. She joins me from Columbia,

South Carolina.

Dr. DuPre, they have said that they know, that the authorities know this baby was alive for a few hours. Can you help me sort through how on earth

they could have that information, because you just heard Stef telling us the condition of that baby, buried for two months and burned. How could

they know that?

MICHELLE DUPRE, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST AND MEDICAL EXAMINER: There would be a couple of things to look at, Ashleigh. One of them is, the body might not

be totally decomposed. There may be still some internal organs left.

We would do microscopic examination of those, in particular the lung tissue, and that would certainly tell us if the baby ever breathed before.

And then there are a few other tests we might also be able to do, just looking at the body for injuries and things of that nature.

BANFIELD: You can tell if the baby breathed just by getting a sample of the decomposed organ? Honestly?

DUPRE: If it`s not too badly decomposed, looking at the lung tissue, yes. Because as you know, when a baby takes a breath, the lungs expand. Once

those lungs have expanded, they do not collapse again. So if there is enough viable lung tissue, and there may be, we may be able to tell that

microscopically.

BANFIELD: OK. Just quickly, Stef, I only have about 10 seconds left. What`s the story on the father? Are they going to tell us who the father is? Do

they actually know? Did he know?

DIPIETRANTONIO: That was news to us today, in fact. We have heard that -- and this is all just what we have heard from people who know the family,

they have said that the current boyfriend is not the father of this baby girl. But we are not sure if it`s between one or two others who it may be

at this time. We`re still trying to dig in and find that out for ourselves.

BANFIELD: That`s difficult. Stefano, thank you. Michelle, thank you as well.

I want to take you to Missouri right now where an autistic girl who loves animals goes missing. And unidentified remains are then found. Recent

discovery has the community searching for answers.

[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: A 16-year-old vanishes in the Ozarks of Missouri, and added to the concern, that 16-year-old Savannah Leckie is autistic. Her mom says she

was in her bed at 11:00 p.m. when she checked on her, but the very next day, Savannah was gone. The mom says she and a friend searched their

property, could not find her daughter. Says she got the sheriffs involved, too.

Nearly three weeks later, Ozark County toiled away enough to get a warrant to search the land. And what they found did not bode well for Savannah nor

her family. Burned skeletal remains, pieces of clothing, all located about a quarter mile away from the house. And they say they had a hard time

getting mom to cooperate with them, too.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DARRIN REED, SHERIFF, OZARK COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT: We`re getting very little cooperation out of the landowners or the

[20:40:00] biological mother of the missing child. And we`ve had to obtain search warrant to get on the property. Somebody has gone to great lengths

to dispose of this body. And I have no idea how much this person has suffered. And justice is going to be brought. If this is Savannah Leckie

that we found out here, and justice, you know, will be served.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: And while the investigators are still working hard to firm up the actual I.D., they are also trying to pin down what happened to Savannah.

How she may have died, if it is actually her. Linda Russell is a reporter for CNN affiliate KYTV. She joins me from Springfield, Missouri. So, Linda,

how close are they to making an I.D. on this case? She`s been gone since July 20th. What are the odds here?

LINDA RUSSELL, KYTV REPORTER (via telephone): Well, the sheriffs told me earlier today that it will likely be the end of this week or early next

week. They still do not have a positive identification on the body. So right now they cannot say whether or not it`s Savannah`s remains.

BANFIELD: On the very day, Linda, that they found these burned remains not that far from the home, is it true that Savannah`s mom just happened to get

married?

RUSSELL (via telephone): We had viewers, Facebook comments, tipping us off to the fact that that may have happened. We started calling surrounding

counties, because the county that they live in had no record of a marriage license. Actually, my photographer, Robin and I, split up the county.

She called Powell County, Missouri. We found a marriage license. It happened the day the remains were found. And they had actually -- yes,

Rebecca Ruud and her boyfriend had actually got married on that day.

BANFIELD: And you mentioned Rebecca, that mom, she has not been charged nor has that boyfriend been charged. Boyfriend is not Savannah`s dad.

RUSSELL (via telephone): Right.

BANFIELD: This is a good time to bring in Sheriff Darrin Reed from Ozark County Sheriff Department. He joins me live now from Gainesville, Missouri.

He is the man you just saw saying justice will be served. So, sheriff, for justice to be served, are you about to make an arrest anytime soon? Do you

have a lot of leads that you`re not telling us about at this point?

REED (via telephone): Well, Ashleigh, we`ve got a lot of pieces to the puzzle that we`ve got to put together. I`d say that we`re probably getting

pretty close to identifying the remains that we recovered. And as soon as those remains are recovered and the DNA analysis comes back, then we can

move forward.

BANFIELD: Moving forward, I see, there`s two different processes here. There`s the medical process to find out if in fact that`s Savannah and then

there is the collection of evidence to try to mount a case against someone or someone`s, so to speak. The reports out there are so grisly.

You can see the lower third graphics on our screen, bones, meat grinder, lye and lard, all recovered from the home of Savannah`s mother. Is all of

that true, sheriff? Lye was recovered? And if so, in what kind of amounts? Normal amounts or abnormal amounts?

REED (via telephone): You know, the one thing that I can tell you, Ashleigh, is that we know that something was used to cremate these bones.

And whether that was lye or some other type of accelerant, we`re uncertain, until we get our reports back from the lab.

The anthropologist is looking at the bones at the University of Columbia. And he is pretty confident that some type of accelerant has been put on the

bones because the calcium is not there.

BANFIELD: And sheriff, I just have to ask you, seeing the word meat grinder, it`s so -- it has such a chilling effect on someone who`s

watching. Lots of people have meat grinders. Is there anything to this particular meat grinder as to why it was seized?

REED (via telephone): You know, Ashleigh, the meat grinder is really not a big issue with me because when you`re on a crime scene, you take as much

evidence as you think might possibly be a motive or a tool that`s been used.

BANFIELD: Yes.

REED (via telephone): And unfortunately, those things are listed on the inventories list with your probable cause statement for your search

warrant, that becomes public record. Then people start assuming that, you know, this person --

BANFIELD: They can assume the worst. I understand. Yes, they casn assume the worst, which is why I wanted to get it straight from you. Sheriff,

thank you so much.

REED (via telephone): We really don`t know.

BANFIELD: Well, we`re going to keep on this. We`d love it if you could keep us apprised as well because that little girl,

[20:45:00] Savannah Leckie, is adorable. And it is just a tragedy she`s missing. God, I hope that those are not her bones. Sheriff, thank you.

Linda Russell, thank you as well.

A beautiful newlywed mom with a million-dollar smile disappears the day after her honeymoon. Where is Heather Davison and why would her car be

found abandoned 100 miles from her home?

[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: First thing you notice about Heather Davison is her million- dollar smile. We all want it. But you can`t get this lucky. Ask any orthodontist. They`re going to tell you, you can`t buy this smile.

Heather was just born with it. And it`s a shame no one is seeing it right now. What`s more concerning is why. Just one day after returning from her

honeymoon, Heather vanished.

She was last seen Saturday morning, and then talked with a family member on the phone that afternoon. But somehow, Heather`s car was found abandoned

more than 100 miles from where she lives. All her belongings were still inside.

But her phone was in a curious spot, 400 feet away from the car. Now, Heather`s family and friends are searching for any clues, any answers as to

where this mother with the million-dollar smile could be.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMIE POOL, COUSIN OF HEATHER DAVISON: They found the car that she was driving. They found her phone about 400 feet from the car. We know that she

would have never left her kids. As of right now, there`s really no leads, nothing to go on. We just need her home. We need her home with her kids.

They need her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: Craig Fronek is a freelance reporter. He joins me now from Medford, Oregon. Craig, something curious that stands out in this case is

that police are saying that there`s evidence that suggests she was not abducted and evidence that suggests she traveled that 100 miles of her own

free will. I`m not sure how to make sense of that. Do you know more?

CRAIG FRONEK, FREELANCE REPORTER (via telephone): Ashleigh, thanks for having me. The car was found along Highway 101. Her purse is inside. The

vehicle has not been -- the vehicle is locked. It wasn`t robbed. There`s no problem there.

And yes, the phone was found 400 feet from her car. I got to say hats off to you and your production crew and anyone listening right now, they need

to be on the lookout for this young lady, 37-year-old Heather Anderson Mounce Davison, freshly married, short brown hair. She`s 5`3", dark hair,

brown eyes, about 140 pounds.

And this is an ongoing investigation. No leads. She seemed like maybe she might have gone for a walk near the ocean. But this happened Saturday

night. Within 36 hours of Monday morning, we`re on it, nationally. This is excellent.

BANFIELD: Yes. Well, I`ll add to that. Look, you can`t miss her smile. But if you happen to miss her smile, there are the tattoos. On her left wrist,

she`s got an infinity sign. And then on her right foot, perhaps as an ode to her two children, she`s got a pair of pink footprints, and a little pair

of blue footprints. Again, that`s on her right foot.

So, Craig, the obvious questions, and this is what police do all the time, fair or not, they look to the husband, they look to the family. She`s not

only got a new husband, but she has an ex-husband as well. What do we know about those two men?

FRONEK (via telephone): I don`t. Denton Davison and looks like they work together and he`s got to be distraught. They`re blending families. She has

two teenage kids. He`s got three children. They`re making a family of seven. You know, it just doesn`t add up right now. So we need everyone`s

help.

BANFIELD: Real quickly, Randy Zelin, when it looks like the evidence shows she may have gone of her own free will, do they give the kind of resources

to finding someone like this, that they would otherwise if they didn`t think that?

RANDY ZELIN, FORMER PROSECUTOR: I would certainly hope so. I mean, got to find the criminality or not. They`ve got a lot of resources to figure out

where she is, hopefully.

BANFIELD: Well, look at that smile. As Craig said, you can`t miss it. And if you know it or you see it, call the police.

A beautiful tribute to a fallen police officer.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer Down (INAUDIBLE).

BANFIELD: We`re going to remember Clinton, Missouri officer, Gary Michael, straight ahead.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Last week, Missouri officer, Gary Michael, was shot during a routine traffic stop, and he died. And that death has inspired one of his

friends, a fellow officer, to honor his fallen brother with a very personal tribute. Deputy Chase Curl knew Gary Michael from their early days in law

enforcement and he wrote this song, "Officer Down."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Officer Down (INAUDIBLE).

BANFIELD: Very human toll. Deputy Curl and Officer Gary Michael were cadets together at the police academy. He said he broke down when he heard the

news of the shooting over his police radio. This coming Saturday that Officer Gary Michael -- or at least last Saturday rather that he was laid

to rest.

Randy, so often you hear the news, you hear the headline, officer down, you see some of the pomp and circumstance, but you don`t see that personal

effect on the work friends.

ZELIN: It is so moving. And we lose sight of the fact that police officers, they`re human beings also.

BANFIELD: They`re human being too

[21:00:00] and you can see it in that song. Thanks so much for being here. Thank you, everyone, as well for being here. We`ll see you tomorrow night

at 8 o`clock for PRIMETIME JUSTICE. "FORENSIC FILES" is up next.

END