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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield
Baby Stuffed in Trash Bag For Three Days; Courageous K-9; Just Found; The Hunt; Fallen Officer Honored. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired August 17, 2017 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, HOST (voice-over): The voice on the 911 call sounded so desperate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Please help me!
BANFIELD: His wife dead in the pool. The neighbor describes the scene.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He keeps coming out of his house, screaming, Call 911, help, help, help.
BANFIELD: But evidence at the sprawling mansion tells a very different story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Long killed his wife inside their home and placed her fully clothed body in their back yard swimming pool.
BANFIELD: If she was floating dead for hours, what about his alibi?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretended to discover her body in the pool and advised first responders that she drowned.
BANFIELD: Did the man who seemed to have it all want to get rid of his wife?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re broken without her, just trying to keep it together.
BANFIELD: New evidence in the case tonight.
They thought it was an animal stuck in a trash bag.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I picked her up. I took her in the bathroom.
BANFIELD: Boy, were they wrong.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was hardly breathing and her eyes weren`t even open.
BANFIELD: A little baby girl, bagged up and left for dead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just spoke to her, Come on, baby. Come on, baby.
BANFIELD: Why police say this teenager is in a world of trouble tonight.
The missing mom with the million-dollar smile.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would have never left her kids.
BANFIELD: She disappeared the day after her honeymoon.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They did find the car that she was driving. They found her phone about 400 feet from the car.
BANFIELD: The hunt for Heather (ph) leads her family to a cliff.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An altitude of about 280 feet.
BANFIELD: Tonight, the miracle rescue.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was recovered with just minor injuries.
BANFIELD: And the questions that remain. How on earth did Heather get there?
On "The Hunt" with John Walsh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re dealing with a guy who into demonic or evil stuff.
BANFIELD: A priest accused of sex crimes and murdering his lover.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you don`t hear from me tomorrow, let the police know.
BANFIELD: All the while hiding behind a mysterious religion.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When he made that model reference, I said, OK, he knows our victim.
BANFIELD: Now you can help track him down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get on the ground! (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: And it`s man`s best friend versus man`s worst enemy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get it, get it, get it, get it!
BANFIELD: A K-9 goes to work.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get it, get it, get it, get it!
BANFIELD: And bags himself a bad guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get it! (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BANFIELD: Good evening. I`m Ashleigh Banfield. This is PRIMETIME JUSTICE.
There is something very naughty about snooping, and yet we all kind of do it. We take a peek when we`re not supposed to, open a cupboard at a
friend`s house, maybe gaze over while somebody`s texting. And admit it, you feel a little guilty doing it.
So when I take you on a tour inside of Michelle and Norman Long`s mega- mansion in New Jersey, it is understandable that you`re going to feel a little guilty, but you may feel something else, too -- creepy because
Michelle died there this summer.
She was found floating face down in a spectacular back yard oasis. Just feast your eyes on this home. When her husband told police a few things
that did not add up, it landed him in an expensive murder rap. And tonight, we`re learning more about what police found at this unbelievable
estate when they got there.
We do not often get the chance to do this at a murder scene, actually take a tour inside. But tonight, you can snoop because police combed through
every little detail, and it took them quite a while because, as you can imagine by the pictures, this house is huge.
And when it comes to the details in this murder investigation, the size and the layout of this house is a clue. So as you walk through it, pay close
attention. Here`s the front hallway into this beautiful updated gourmet kitchen. If you take a left, you go into what you think is the family
room. It`s also quite lovely and spacious, but go into the next room, and it`s actually what they call the family room right there through that
vaulted ceiling, another massive family room.
Spare no expense on this place. It has absolutely everything. Not only does it have all of this living space, but it also has a formal and
beautiful living room. It has a special office. Note no computer on that desk, but there was one in this house. And a very fancy and formal dining
room with some very expensive furnishings and trimmings, as well.
If you go upstairs, the master bedroom is sort of one like you`ve never seen before. You go in, take a tour around, and it is very, very pretty,
very expensive furniture again.
[20:05:06]But go down this hallway and imagine this. It is yet another room to the master bedroom, maybe a closet. Maybe it`s a little in
disarray, shoes all over the floor, some jars on a shelf. And then the master bathroom just as you turn the corner around to the left. Enter into
the master bathroom. Once again, it shows you the level of riches put into this home. What a home.
If you go outside, then you really start to get the detail. It`s like a resort with an informal area for seating and then a formal area with a
formal constructed umbrella top over there. Scan a little farther down, and there`s actually another formal constructed area for a barbecue and
firepit. Scan around and you can see several umbrella seatings.
This is just that little permanent structure for having a -- I don`t know, an evening spring or summer dinner. Barbecue`s on the side, firepit, a
pool and a formal pool house, as well. Spare no expense on this place. Spare no expense.
You would think with a house like this, no one would ever want to leave, right? Wrong. The investigators say some computer forensics show that
Michelle may have just been searching for somewhere else to go, somewhere else she could move right before she died of blunt force trauma and right
before she was thrown face down into that pool.
And there`s tape of when this happened, too. On June 17th, the caller to 911 said his neighbor was screaming for help and it sounded sort of like
that wife was having a heart attack. Here`s some of the call, and the panicked voice that you hear in the background is indeed this man, Norman
Long.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Thank you very much.
911 OPERATOR: No, no, no, don`t hang up. Stay on the phone with me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won`t hang up. Keep pushing. Compressions.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help me! Please help me! Help me! Help me! (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: Police are on their way. Ambulance is on their way. Hey, buddy (ph).
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Norm told the police that he had just stepped out to get some takeout dinner -- in fact, dinner for two at Applebee`s -- but that he came
home to find his wife dead. And his timeline did not pass the smell test.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our investigation determined that Mr. Long killed his wife inside their home and placed her fully-clothed body in their back yard
swimming pool.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: OK. I`m going to get to all of those details, the evidence, the timeline, all of it. I`m going to start with Bert Baron. He`s the morning
show host for WCTC radio in Brunswick, New Jersey. Bert, he appeared in court yesterday. How did that go?
BERT BARON, WCTC RADIO HOST (via telephone): Not a very good start to the court appearance, Ashleigh, about a 90-minute or so delay because Norman
Long became very combative and as getting physical with his handlers. In fact, the had to be physically restrained and almost forcibly brought into
the courtroom yesterday.
Once they got him inside, very emotionless, didn`t speak, just sort of stood there and just kind of look around and took everything in, the
defense saying that he should be released, there`s no evidence against him, the prosecutors telling the judge that he should be detained while the
proceedings go on. And the judge agreed with the prosecutor and he will remain in custody for the time being.
BANFIELD: Ah, Bert, but the custody right now is not just your average jail cell. He`s getting assessed, isn`t he, at a psychiatric facility.
BARON: That`s correct. He hasn`t spent any time in prison just yet. He is being detained at the Anne Klein (ph) psychiatric facility, and he`s
been there since he was arrested and is continuing to remain under observation there.
BANFIELD: A few more details that are coming out now. We`re learning that he`s actually had some prior contacts with the law? What are they?
BARON: Yes, since 1982, Ashleigh, about four incidents involving law enforcement. And two of those incidents have been described, according to
court documents, as some sort of simple assault. Now, we don`t know for sure if Michelle Long was the other party in these simple assaults, but
this is not the first time that Norman Long has been involved with law enforcement and has a little bit of a record in his history.
BANFIELD: So pop up the timeline here because I think this is really critical, Bert, in terms of trying to get to the bottom of what he says
happened and what they actually found. 5:21 PM, that is the last communication from Michelle via a text message. 6:11 PM, the last activity
on the home computer. And lo and behold, the police find out that whomever, presumably Michelle, was looking for homes.
[20:10:12]6:30 to 7:00 PM, somewhere in that half hour window, Norm says he leaves the home. Surveillance cameras actually show him driving by a car
wash, and then strangely turning back towards the home. 7:15 PM, Norm is at Applebee`s and he`s there waiting for his takeout presumably between
7:15 and 7:37 PM. Ten minutes later, 7:47 PM, surveillance cameras show Norm driving by that car wash again towards home.
8:02 to 9:11 PM is that frantic phone call to 911 where we can overhear Norm in that frantic state, as he says, discovering his wife face down in
the pool. What else was the evidence? Remind me really quickly about the real synopsis on that, Bert, the other evidence they found in the home that
was uh-oh for this husband?
BARON: Yes, it`s really mounting. There were paper towels, blood-soaked paper towels that were found in a kitchen trash receptacle. There was a
bottle of floor cleaner that looks like it was just of thrown into a nearby dishwasher as a way to just kind of hide that there.
And it goes even further than that, Ashleigh. Based upon the medical examiner`s report on Michelle Long, wounds consistent with a struggle on
her hands, on her arms, sort of defensive wounds that show that there definitely was a struggle involved here.
And you couple that with the blunt force trauma that was already on Michelle, and this is a laundry list of charges, and evidence is really
beginning to add up against Norman Long. And according to the court documents, tomorrow will be his 52nd birthday. And I think it`s going to
be anything but a happy birthday for him.
BANFIELD: OK. I want to play this 911 portion of the call where it seems as though there might be some CPR going on in the background. I think it`s
somewhat telling because now we have a timeline. And we have another detail, as well, which I`ll tell you right after you hear the call. Take a
look.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. (INAUDIBLE) send an ambulance.
911 OPERATOR: What do they need an ambulance for?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is it CPR? You need CPR help? He needs -- somebody had a heart attack.
911 OPERATOR: OK. All right. Stay on the phone with me. Don`t hang up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. I think it`s the wife had a heart attack. Oh, my God. They`re coming, they`re coming, they`re coming! They`re
coming. Keep pushing! Just keep pushing. Compressions, compressions. Compressions. Compressions. Yes, just keep pressing.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
BANFIELD: That`s pretty harrowing stuff when you think they`re trying to rescue somebody, but the detail that sort of makes that all very curious is
that it`s now been discovered that investigators think that she`d been dead in that pool for two hours. CPR on a dead woman.
I want to bring in Joseph Scott Morgan. He`s a certified death investigator and a professor of forensics at Jacksonville State University.
So Doctor, how can they tell that she`d been dead two hours floating face down in that pool?
JOSEPH SCOTT MORGAN, CERTIFIED DEATH INVESTIGATOR: Hi, Ashleigh. Thanks for having me this evening. One of the problems with this, unlike what we
refer to as a dry death, in an environment like an aquatic environment like this, the body is going to assume the ambient environmental temperature.
So this is going to throw your timeline off.
The only way they could really make this determination is to try to ascertain what her core body temperature was. And since I don`t have
access specifically to that information, I can only assume that this was taken at the scene.
And what that means is that they would have had to have done a probative event (ph) into her internal organs at the scene. And this would be
coupled with also the measure of an ambient environmental temperature and do a measurement.
Additionally, if rigor mortis had begun to set in at this period of time, that`s another indicator. This generally takes roughly about an hour to an
hour-and-a-half before you begin to see in it the small muscles.
And libor mortis, which is the pooling of blood, is kind of an interesting presentation in an aquatic environment. So they have a lot to overcome
with this from that particular slice of evidentiary pie.
But Ashleigh, after looking at this thing, I am absolutely floored by this litany of injuries this woman has sustained. We talked about defensive
injuries just a moment ago. but she has a crushed larynx. If people at home will feel their Adam`s apple -- this was actually crushed. That`s
almost like consistent with a C-clamp on the neck.
[20:15:00]And the anterior forward portion of her spine has got significant hemorrhage, which means she may have been punched in the throat or her
Adam`s apple had been crushed like this. In addition, she`s got a very nasty injury to the back of her head and some other associated injuries, as
well. She was really, really brutalized.
BANFIELD: I mean, it is astounding because you would think that that would be a very messy scene, wherever it happened. And of course, they`re saying
that...
MORGAN: Yes.
BANFIELD: ... in the kitchen, there`s evidence that appears to be blood that was cleaned up. There are those towels in the garbage can, paper
towels that had blood on them, and then of course, that bottle of hardwood floor cleaner found in the dishwasher. And then one of the investigators
told us on the program just the last 48 hours that she did suffer some kind of strangulation.
Hard to believe that kind of a violent scene potentially playing out in that halcyon, beautiful, ritzy environment. If you`ve seen those pictures,
Professor, it`s just astounding.
If I can, I want to bring in Joey Tacopina right now, a defense attorney who has covered his fair share of bizarre murder cases with twists and
turns, and this is no different than some of those. I mean, some of them, they`re just made for Hollywood. I think this is no different.
There`s another detail we learned, Joe, and that is that the family dog -- presumably, the family dog, a little dog, was also found at the bottom of
the pool.
I don`t know how much that might play into it, but I can tell you this, that Norman long was said to have blurted out to those investigators, I
want to kill myself. I want to kill myself. Hence, he`s now being assessed in a facility, in a psychiatric facility.
Is that helpful to him as he goes through this process?
JOE TACOPINA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, those words in and of itself, "I want to kill myself," can be a reaction to many different things. It could be a
reaction to, I can`t believe I killed my wife and I got caught, or could be a reaction to, I lost my loved one, I lost my best friend and my dog, and I
don`t want to live anymore. So you know, that can swing both ways. I don`t think that -- those words uttered in and of itself mean anything from
a evidentiary standpoint.
BANFIELD: But all that other stuff?
TACOPINA: All that other stuff is incredibly damning. So one of two things happened here, Ashleigh. And I will tell you the notion that she
was found in a pool means someone put her there because one thing is clear, she didn`t drown, OK? And I don`t know if that`s why whoever put her there
was trying to make it look like happened, but because of the nature of the injuries, she didn`t drown. And because of the hidden...
BANFIELD: Evidence, yes.
TACOPINA: ... hardwood floor cleaner in the dishwasher...
BANFIELD: Paper towels.
TACOPINA: ... the blood-soaked paper towels, the defensive wounds, the brutality that this woman suffered -- someone killed her, OK? One of two
things happened. He killed her, OK, and is trying to cover it up with all these...
BANFIELD: Yes. And if you`re his defense attorney, you`re saying an intruder?
TACOPINA: It`s the only other option, right, I mean, unless -- it`s not suicide. We can rule suicide out, right? So -- so...
BANFIELD: I just think the timeline is weird because he says he left sometime between 6:30 and 7:00 PM, but and at 8:00 o`clock, only one hour
later on that outside window, she`s dead, and the forensics say for two hours.
TACOPINA: Well, and here`s the problem. No signs of forced entry. Nothing taken from the house. The house looked to be in perfect order.
Someone -- most people who murder someone in a house or intruders...
BANFIELD: They don`t clean up.
TACOPINA: ... don`t clean up after themselves.
BANFIELD: They don`t clean up.
TACOPINA: They don`t clean the floor (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: Look at this house. I mean, this -- I hate to say it because we shouldn`t feel as though crimes don`t happen to rich people, but they do
make us look a second time.
TACOPINA: Yes.
BANFIELD: We don`t expect to see these kinds of scenes play -- and that`s why they become Hollywood thrillers. It`s why they become subjects of
Michael Crichton books. It`s why they become sort of the outliers. You just don`t see master bedrooms with anterooms that have anterooms. You
don`t see family rooms that have specialized ante-family rooms, as well. You just don`t see these kinds of environments and imagine that people are
unhappy.
And guess what, folks? If there`s one headline, takeout for two may not have been for two and they may not have been happy.
Joey, I`m going to ask you to stay, if you will. Bert Baron and Joseph Scott Morgan, thank you very much.
A woman hearing noises coming from the back yard of the neighbor`s home, and she thought it might be an animal stuck inside that plastic bag. It
was not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I see her now. It`s a human. They`re like, what? I said, It`s a baby. They`re like, It`s a baby?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Yes, a baby, an 8-month-old baby girl abandoned in a back yard. And it is a miracle that this baby survived because the baby was there for
three days in that bag. Why police think her teenage mother may have left her there to die.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:23:34]BANFIELD: Doctors say the human body can survive three weeks without food, seven days without water. When it comes to breathing, you`ve
got only about six minutes to live without air. So it stands to reason that a little tiny baby would be far more delicate than that.
Not in Elmira, New York, where a tiny little girl survived three whole days in a trash bag tossed out behind a home. Two sisters, Karen and Kayla
Fields, made the discovery they thought might have be an animal that got caught in that trash bag. Far from it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLA SEALS, NEIGHBOR: I ran up, and I see the little legs were dangling out the bag. So I said, You guys, it`s a baby. They looking like, It`s a
baby? I said, yes, it`s a baby.
So I ran up. I picked her up. I tore the bag that she was in (INAUDIBLE) the garbage and I throw everything in the garbage and tie the top. Well,
her head was in the bottom of the bag and her legs were hanging out the front of the bag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You hear this kind of story a lot. Usually, it`s a new mother panicking over a newborn and then discarding the newborn in some reckless
way. But this baby was 8 months old, and she`d been stuck head first into the bottom of a garbage bag. And police can only figure that by some grace
of God, she was able to survive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN SEALS, NEIGHBOR: All I want to do is cry for her. I could just feel her heart. And what that little girl went through is wrong! You feel what
I`m saying? (INAUDIBLE) but damn! That little girl don`t deserve that at all. And all we just -- all -- everybody just in this town pray for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:25:18]BANFIELD: Baby`s mother is a 17-year-old named Harriette Hoyt, and being a teenager has not stopped her from being charged as an adult
with very serious charges, including attempted second degree murder. Her baby made it through this ordeal and was taken to a hospital for treatment.
Want to check in with Brooke Taylor. She`s a reporter with CNN affiliate WETM in Elmira, New York. How is that baby doing, Brooke?
BROOKE TAYLOR, WETM-TV CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Yes, definitely such a sad story that`s shaken up our town now. I`m told that the baby is doing
well, is in great condition and actually was released from the hospital in Rochester last Friday. So the baby is doing great. Everyone here is
calling the baby a miracle baby. And the police I`ve spoken to said if the baby wasn`t found right then and there, she only had about 20 to 30 minutes
to live.
BANFIELD: Oh, are you kidding, 20 to 30 minutes?
TAYLOR: Yes, just 20 to 30 minutes. So it`s really a miracle those neighbors were able to find that plastic bag and hear those noises right
then and right there.
BANFIELD: Where is this Harriette Hoyt right now? What is her story? What possibly could be her story?
TAYLOR: Right. So I actually was at her preliminary hearing, which was waived, and the next step is being taken to the grand jury. And she is in
jail right now until her next appearance before the grand jury, which right now we`re unsure of when that will be.
At the preliminary hearing, I was able to speak to her attorney. And her attorney told me that there is more to the story he hopes will eventually
come out. Now, there`s no really say (ph) to when we`ll be hearing that other part of the story, but that is what he`s saying as of now. And we`re
just sort of waiting right now when this grand jury will take place and (INAUDIBLE)
BANFIELD: Brooke, any whisper about drugs? I mean, look, everyone wants to know how the hell could anyone do this. You know, you hear about it
with newborns, and there`s -- it`s unacceptable, but you at least can get inside the head of a terrified young mother who`s just given birth and is
in a panic. This is an 8-month-old baby. This is an 8-month-old child!
So is it a drug issue? Is there some other crime involved? I mean, give me anything, you know?
TAYLOR: Right. We haven`t heard anything with drug-related, but we have heard a lot of postpartum depression. And her attorney kept reiterating to
me this is a 17-year-old girl. So I think as of right now, the attorney made it seem as if his client is 17 years old, and I think her age may have
had to do with this.
BANFIELD: OK. Well, that makes sense. That`s starting to at least give me something. But I don`t know if it`s enough, and I sure as heck don`t
know if it`s going to be enough for a jury. A 17, maybe even 16 when she gave birth because this baby is 8 months old, suffering from postpartum. I
get it.
But I also to play for you, if I can, Kayla Seals, one of the girls who discovered -- one of the sisters who discovered the baby because she is
going to tell you in critical detail the condition that she found this baby in. And if you are the least bit squeamish, if you`re uncomfortable, this
is not the time for you to listen. Turn your volume down. But here is how Kayla found this 8-month-old baby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAYLA SEALS: Girl, she was a mess. Like, I can`t even sleep. 24 hours, I can`t even sleep! I ripped the bag open. Darling (ph), I ripped that bag
open. She was in feces, darling (ph), in feces -- feces, pee, flies were on her. She had maggots on her neck, itching, just crawling at her. She
had scars on her chest down. Her legs was burnt. Her arms was burnt. She couldn`t breathe, baby. She was trying to gasp for air, you know what I
mean, darling (ph), gasp for air.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: Want to bring in Sergeant William Solt. He`s the public information officer for the Elmira, New York, Police Department. Sergeant,
I understand that you deal with a lot of difficult things in your line of work, as do we. This is the kind of thing that really stands out to me. I
can only imagine it has been tough for you and your deputies dealing with this.
SGT. WILLIAM SOLT, ELMIRA POLICE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): That would be a very accurate statement.
BANFIELD: So how did you find Harriette Hoyt? What led you to her?
SOLT: So you know, the call first came out, and everyone kind of, like. second guesses if they really heard what they heard. So immediately, the
officers respond to the scene. Numerous investigators respond to the scene. Chemung County Child Protective Services responded to the scene and
to the hospital and it was all hands on deck. Every investigator that was available, every officer that was available.
We started talking to neighbors to try to gather any piece of information that we could. By speaking with different people and getting various
descriptions, we were able to piece together who may live at a certain residence in the area where the child was found and started asking more
specific questions about the people, acquaintances of those people or who may have been in the area in the recent past.
And just got down to other investigators and started chasing down leads, making phone calls. The New York State Police assisted us with the
investigation. The Chemung County Sheriff`s Office offered their assistance in whatever way they could help. We started making phone calls. Social
media was of assistance to us in this matter. And we were able to find out who resides at the house and --
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, PRIMETIME JUSTICE SHOW HOST: Ultimately. Yes, when you found Harriette, 17 years old, Harriette Hoyt, what about her parents? Do
you have any contact with anybody who might be an influence on her? Does she have parents? Are they a part of this picture?
SCOTT (via telephone): They are part of the investigation. They have been identified. They were interviewed and brought in and spoken to. So they are
part of the equation. I don`t want to get into too much detail. So again, they are part of the investigation and part of the case, you know, they are
obviously directly involved.
BANFIELD: Understand.
SCOTT (via telephone): The grandparents.
BANFIELD: Makes sense. So hold on a second. I want to bring in Joe Tacopina in on this as well. That was interesting to hear, the nugget that we just
learned about postpartum depression possibly being part of this, but when you hear Kayla Seals say that this child was covered in maggots and was
itching, she was crawling, she was scarred, she was burned, she was covered in feces.
JOE TACOPINA, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, and left there for three days. I mean, postpartum depression --
BANFIELD: Nearly dead.
TACOPINA: -- is a real thing. This may be the case here you also have a (INAUDIBLE) poster for why teenagers should not have children, OK? But that
being said, if this has to go to a jury, there`s no resolution here, even if there`s a real mental defect.
BANFIELD: Postpartum is not going to be much help here.
TACOPINA: Jurors don`t want to hear that because there`s other ways to handle it than stuffing -- I mean, cold-bloodedly into a plastic bag an 8-
month-old who you had eight months with as a bond. I mean, there`s really nothing to say.
BANFIELD: We will watch this one, that`s for sure. Joey, thank you. Thank you very much to Brooke Taylor (ph) and Sergeant William Scott as well.
Just north of Tampa, Florida, if you want action, I got action. A K-9 officer is being called a hero. The video is nothing short of dramatic.
Shep (ph) is the name of the dog you`re watching, the officer you`re watching. His handler and Shep (ph) are chasing down a suspect who
allegedly fled a traffic stop. Shep (ph) runs a lot faster than his partner.
Look at that. Shep (ph) fearlessly took down this guy. Catches up with that suspect. Tackles him in seconds. Even putting him in a hold until that
partner could get there and actually get the cuffs on that alleged perpetrator. Talk about man`s best friend, right? Or at least that guy`s
worst enemy. But way the go, Shep (ph). It`s always good to see when they do the job and they come out OK.
Do you remember the missing woman I told you about, Heather, with the million dollar smile, just a couple days ago? Heather Davison. You can`t
miss that smile. Just radiant. She vanished one day after coming back from her honeymoon. It turns out she was in big trouble. And she needed help.
You might never guess where the coastguard found her and rescued her.
Plus, he is accused of killing a young woman who came to him for spiritual guidance. And now this priest? This priest is charged with murder and you
can actually play a part in helping investigators find him.
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: There are some things that just stick with you. A scary movie, great restaurant, and a million dollar smile. And that might just be why
Heather Davison was seared into our minds. Heather disappeared on Saturday just one day after returning from her honeymoon and that million dollar
smile of hers went dark.
Seemed the mother of two just vanished, but not without a trace. Her car was found 100 miles away. Her purse was still inside. Her phone was 400
feet from the car. Very strange. And still yet no sign of that smile, no sign of Heather.
But tonight we have some breaking news on the story and some inspiration for anyone looking for a missing loved one. Heather`s husband spotted her
way down an Oregon cliff side but way up from the crashing waves of the Pacific Coast. That`s a coastguard right there rescuer because the
coastguard had to be called out for what turned out to be a pretty dramatic rescue. Video proving it.
Here`s Heather`s rescuer as he`s lifting her by basket, it would seem almost. I`m not sure if it`s a basket. Hard to say. Might just be holding
on to her, lifting her into the chopper. Another rescuer in the chopper reaches out, pulls them both on board. Mission complete. And there she is
seemingly no worse for the wear. Moments later, Heather is back on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHAD PERDUE, LIEUTENANT, U.S. COAST GUARD: They just had strong winds lieutenant for the rescue, and they hoisted her off the cliff base from an
altitude of about 280 feet.
[20:40:00] She was recovered with just minor injuries, just bruises.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: As Heather was brought to safety, witnesses were pretty stunned by the scene, and it turns the out Heather may have
braved the elements on that cliff side for upwards of four days.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JARED SMITH, WITNESS: As soon as we could see that, you know, as soon as she was on the end of the rope and in the air, we could tell that she was
alive and certainly alert and moving. One wouldn`t think that someone could live in that really harsh terrain for four days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: I want to bring in Petty Officer Tyler Stacey, an aviation survival technician with the U.S. Coast Guard in North Bend, Oregon. And
also the guy unrecognizably on that rescue line. Petty Officer Stacy, first of all, thank you for your service, thank you for your incredible bravery,
thank you for making that rescue. What was that like?
TYLER STACEY, PETTY OFFICER, U.S. COAST GUARD (via telephone): Hi, thank you very much for having me. It was a pretty crazy rescue. First of all,
just because it was my first rescue being a coast guard. It was pretty complex. Just the way that the survivor was positioned on the cliff.
It was very challenging for the Fire Department and for other rescue assets to even get down to her. So, when we established communications with the
Fire Department, they quickly told us that we were the only rescue asset available and that we need to act quickly.
BANFIELD: Well, congratulations on your first rescue. And lo and behold you end up on national TV on this one.
STACEY (via telephone): Yes, it is, thank you.
BANFIELD: Officer, there are so many questions we have. I know there are some you just can`t answer, but I`m going to get to the ones that you can.
When you got to her on that cliff side, what was your first observation of her?
STACEY (via telephone): She looked very frightened. You know, as one can only guess. Someone being on a cliff for how many days, it`s very
frightening. But when I got to her, it was clear to see that she needed to get out of there very quickly due to the environment, the helicopter was
having a heck of a time trying to stay stable.
You know, a 280-foot hoist, that`s pretty high. And, you know, when I got to her, the environment itself was a lot different than what it looked like
from up above. So, we were both, you know, hearts were beating very fast. I knew that she wanted to get out of there.
BANFIELD: Yes, I can imagine. I`m also seeing really heavy winds, huge waves. I can imagine that being on a dangling line is not the easiest thing
to do even for a professional like you. Had she fallen to the position that she ended up in?
STACEY (via telephone): I honestly don`t know. We just got a report of a missing person that we were supposed to be flying on scene to provide some
sort of surveillance, see if we can get eyes on her. But as far as how she got in that position, I don`t know.
BANFIELD: Was she banged up? I mean, she was wearing a very small strappy sort of halter top. And I would imagine if she`d fallen down that cliff,
she`d be scratched up something fierce.
STACEY (via telephone): Yes, ma`am, she had some minor injuries. She was scraped up a little bit on her feet. She was wearing very little clothing,
I think yoga pants, you know, like you said a halter top. She wasn`t wearing any shoes. But it seemed like, you know, she had been out there for
a little while.
And when I pulled her up, I was able to assess her injuries and she had some minor scrapes, partially also because we went for a little ride on the
cliffs itself because the helicopter couldn`t stay very stable. We -- you know, that whole hillside, the whole mountainside was covered in thorns and
--
BANFIELD: Oh, ouch. I`m getting the visual. I can imagine this. Was she -- well, just so many questions. Was she crying? Was she frantic? Was she
dehydrated? Was she barely conscious after four days in the environment like that?
STACEY (via telephone): Yes, ma`am. She was definitely dehydrated. We gave her some water when we got her up to the helicopter. But as we were
hoisting, we actually took a significant decrease in altitude just due to the weather, and I hadn`t fully gotten her into the rescue device yet.
So we both fell off the side of the cliff and I actually happened to grab her and held on to her with my legs and with my arms as best as I could.
And on the way up, we actually -- you know, it looked like she may have been slipping in and out of consciousness. I couldn`t quite tell. But I
know that`s an uncomfortable position
[20:45:00] being hoisted up in the position that we were both in.
BANFIELD: Uncomfortable is the least of it. I would say terrifying as well. And I know that petty officer, you can`t answer some of the really pressing
questions. How she got there? Why she was there? Why the car was there?
I understand you were just the rescue man. But I am so glad to have the details that you gave us. And again, congratulations, sir, on your first
rescue and sort of being a national hero for this one. We really appreciate it, Tyler, thank you.
STACEY (via telephone): Thank you very much. Appreciate it. I`m glad to be here.
BANFIELD: It`s great to have men like that in the service of this country. We`re going to work on that story, too. Because there`s still some
unanswered questions. I got them just like you do. So we`re going to ask and find out.
Young woman turns to a Santeria spiritual leader for healing. It would be a decision that she would never even get to regret. Investigators say she
wound up dead. In fact, buried in this monster`s backyard. The hunt is on for accused killer Pablo Pinto Mata. The hunt literally is on next.
[20:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: In California, Pablo Pinto Mata was a Santeria priest, but he was about as far from holy as one can get. He allegedly murdered his lover,
raped a minor during a healing ritual, and molested his own stepdaughter all while hiding behind a cloak. And now he`s on the run. And this Sunday,
HLN`s "The Hunt with John Walsh" is going straight for him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): She sometimes would wake up and feel like someone is seated next to her in her bed. And no one would be there.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She just told me, he`s calling me, mom. He wants me to go back. I don`t want to go back. And if I said something, he is going to
do something to you guys. She says, you know, mom, I don`t want to live anymore.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Almost about eight months have gone by. Her belief that this presence was around her. She couldn`t take it anymore. She attempted
suicide.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She busted her mirror to cut herself.
JOHN WALSH, THE HUNT SHOW HOST: This girl was so traumatized by the ritual, the bizarre ritual, the sexual abuse, that she became depressed and
suicidal. And in the hospital, they saved her life and during that process, she told the psychiatrist and the hospital staff just what Pablo Mata had
done to her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These incidents happened in the beginning portion of 2012 and here we are in November of 2012. If there was evidence, it`s gone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BANFIELD: You might have heard the headline last week that one of the fugitives that John went after, Dino Curcio, he was captured, and he was
captured after the show featured his case.
With me now is Callahan Walsh. He is co-creator of "The Hunt" with his father, John. He is also a child advocate with the National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children. Callahan, welcome and also congratulations on that catch. That is fantastic. You must be so buoyed by that, you and
your dad.
CALLAHAN WALSH, CHILD ADVOCATE, NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING AND EXPLOITED CHILDREN: Absolutely. You know, it was the power of the public once again.
These HLN viewers made the call, 1866-the-hunt. They spotted Dino Curcio and we took him down. It was a fantastic capture.
BANFIELD: I remember your dad talking about that on "America`s Most Wanted." The number of captures and how it felt every time it happened,
that the job of the show is to do exactly what it did. So congratulations on that.
This new guy, Pablo Pinto Mata, he is monstrous. Do we think he`s here in America? And if he isn`t, does that matter? I mean, are there big, long
tendrils going out to El Salvador where he hailed from or anywhere else?
WALSH: There are. We take calls internationally to our hot line. But we do think he could be still here in the United States. This is a bad guy. You
know, when I talk about we go after the worst of the worst on "The Hunt," this is one of those guys.
He`s wanted for murder, he`s wanted for child molestation, and he`s wanted for rape. This so-called Santeria priest used his power and influence over
his followers to exploit them. He`s another guy that we really need to take down.
BANFIELD: What about what we`re looking at? Do we think he still looks like that or do they got sort of ideas that he has lost weight, gained weight,
taken the goatee off, dyed his hair?
WALSH: Once these guys go on the run, anything is a possibility. Once they find out they are on my father`s show, anything is game. We know guys who
go as far as getting plastic surgery to hide their appearance. Once we put that white hot spot light on them, there are very few places they can run.
We hope we get this capture very soon so he can`t hurt anymore people.
BANFIELD: Callahan, I am glad that you are on HLN, your program, and I am glad you are on our side. I wish you a lot on this one. Say hi to your dad.
We love him.
WALSH: I will. Thank you very much, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: All right. Talk to you soon and again best of luck. Back right after this.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BANFIELD: We like to find the silver lining in a story. And in Orlando, I can at least show you a slight silver lining. Friends and co-workers of
Lieutenant Debra Clayton gathered to celebrate the naming of a stretch of silver star road in Lieutenant Clayton`s honor. It is now going to be known
as Lieutenant Debra Clayton Memorial Highway.
You may remember, Clayton was ambushed and shot to death in a Walmart parking lot back in January. She would have turned 43 years old this week.
So there is a tribute to her because Markeith Loyd is the one who caused all of this, allegedly.
He`s charged in her murder as well as the killing of his ex-girlfriend, Sade Dixon, and her unborn child. If convicted, he could be sentenced to
death in all of this. You know, I don`t know how her family takes this, but it`s something, Joe, just something.
TACOPINA: It`s something. Nothing obviously brings her back. That`s a cliche. But this allows her name to live on forever for her grandchildren,
those grandchildren to see. I mean, this is something that gives her a legacy. That`s the best we can do.
BANFIELD: God bless because this community loved her.
TACOPINA: Absolutely.
BANFIELD: Joe, I love you. Thank you so much for being on.
TACOPINA: Thanks, Ashleigh.
BANFIELD: Come again anytime. Thanks for watching, everybody. We`ll see you right back here tomorrow night at 8:00 p.m. for "Primetime Justice."
[21:00:00] Stay tuned. "Forensic Files" starts right now.
END
