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Crime and Justice With Ashleigh Banfield

Angelika Graswald was released from prison less than two months after her sentencing. Graswald was accused of killing her fiance when she let him die in Hudson Valley after their kayak capsize; according to police reports, the remains of 5-year-old Jordan Rodriguez that was buried in their backyard by his own mother show horrific signs of abuse like broken ribs. And Child Protective Services seemed to have just ignore the red flags during their 13 stunning -prior investigations in Jordan's home. Aired 6-6:30p ET

Aired December 21, 2017 - 19:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:00:00] RITA COSBY, HOST, HLN: And good evening, everybody. I am Rita Cosby, in for Ashleigh Banfield. Tonight it is 6 o'clock eastern and these

are your headlines.

Sarah Palin's oldest son has been released on bail after allegedly breaking into his parent's home and attacking his father because he wouldn't let him

use the truck. Twenty-eight-year-old Track Palin will now be monitored electronically and undergo a mental health evaluation.

Former Olympic ice skater Tonya Harding is speaking out as the movie "I, Tonya" releases saying in an interview with ABC that she was prematurely

convicted of injuring her rival, Nancy Kerrigan. The full interview airs in January.

And life expectancy in the U.S. is actually dropping for the second year in a row because of the opioid epidemic. Babies born in 2016 are expected to

live to 78.6 years. But top causes continue to be heart disease and cancer.

Police say a 5-year-old boy on the south side of Chicago has now been shot for the second time in his short life. He accidentally shot himself in the

hand this week. He was unintended target in a drive by shooting in January 2016. Now his dad is facing charges.

And the two inmates who escaped from a jail in Florida this weekend by chipping away at a wall are in police custody tonight. They were arrested

after a traffic stop in Oklahoma when police ran the plates of a stolen car.

And in New York, a 37-year-old woman is walking free tonight after killing her fiance. Angelika Graswald released from prison less than two months

after her sentencing. Vincent Viafore drowned underwater while the couple was kayaking and just days Graswald showed some bizarre behavior for a

grieving fiance.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANGELIKA GRASWALD, RELEASE FROM JAIL: I saw him struggling a little bit. He was trying to figure out how to paddle the waves because they were

getting crazy. And -- and then I just saw him flip.

These were kayak capsized into the bone chilling water. Graswald said she was wearing a life vest and Viafore was not. His body would not be

recovered for more than a month. Just days following her fiance's drowning, Graswald posted of her doing cart wheels on Facebook, posted numerous

selfies and sang karaoke at a bar.

A friend of the couple described her performance of Hotel California as strange. Ten days after the drowning police interrogated Graswald for

almost 12 hours. This video obtained by ABC News shows her doing yoga stretches and playing hop scotch. And then this confession.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Angelika, what is the true answer to that question?

GRASWALD: All right. I'll give you the (muted) statement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it?

GRASWALD: I wanted him dead and now he's gone.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In jail, Graswald told ABC's 20/20 she was coerced into that confession.

GRASWALD: They kept asking me the same questions it's like, 100 times. I knew that I was innocent. I just told them what they wanted to hear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Did you kill Vince?

GRASWALD: No. I loved him. I did not want to kill him. And I didn't do anything to kill him.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the prosecutor said Graswald stood to inherit $250,000 from life insurance policies and talked about what she could do

with the money after his death.

Investigators also said they found Graswald's diary. In it, she complained about her fiance's demands for rough sex and threesome and how she wished

he was dead. Weeks before her trial was going to take place, Graswald pleaded guilty to a lesser charge going from second degree murder and

second degree manslaughter to negligent homicide. Now that carries a sentence of around a year to four years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And joining me now is Jackson Wang, he's a reporter with CNN affiliate Spectrum News, Hudson Valley. Also, the editor of Coast and Kayak

magazine, John Kimantas, and defense attorney, Kirby Clements.

Let's start with Jackson Wang. Jackson, before I go to you, I want to play a little bit. This was right after she was released just a few hours ago

and she's right about by the side of her defense attorney.

This is what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD PORTALE, ANGELIKA GRASWALD'S ATTORNEY: She's grateful to breathe in the fresh air and walk in the fresh air.

[18:04:58] But you know, to be sure, reconnecting is going to be difficult, and reconstructing her life is going to be difficult. Her day-to-day, her

reality is much different today than it was 32 months ago.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: You know, Jackson Wang, when I see that, it's like boo-ho-ho, this woman just got sentenced, I mean, it was literally last month. What's going

on here?

JACKSON WANG, REPORTER, SPECTRUM NEWS HUDSON VALLEY: Well, this is a case that seemed like it would just never end. There was numerous delays.

Preconference hearings and adjournments, and essentially she was behind bars into her time because bail was set at $9 million or $3 million cash

and $9 million bond which is almost impossible for her to post, that's why she was in jail for entire time in three year -- almost three years later

she's fine here and to be able to spend Christmas outside the jail.

COSBY: You know what, I have a hard time saying that because you look at the fiance, we're seeing his picture right there, guess what, he's not

going to spend Christmas, Jackson.

Jackson, take us through what happened. Because at first she didn't even admit she did it and then she was basically cornered by the cops which she

repeatedly lied and came up with these alibis.

WANG: It was a week and a half after the drowning happened that she was arrested and at that time the body hadn't even been found. That was found

about in late May near West Point. That's when they found Viafore's body. And then that point she was already charged with second degree murder and

manslaughter.

And the Huntley hearing in June 2016 was crucial, because in that hearing Judge Robert Freehill allowed that 11-hour interrogation tape in as

evidence. At least most of it which includes the part she admitted, she confessed to tampering with the kayak that lead -- led to him drowning

there.

COSBY: Well, of course it took a long time for her to get here. I want to play a little bit. This is that 911 call. This is the whole thing where it

started off and she basically said, you know, I don't know what happened to my fiance. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRASWALD: I don't see him. My god.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you see the kayak still?

GRASWALD: No, the kayak went underwater. My boat.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We have a boat in the water already heading down to you. OK?

GRASWALD: OK. The water is very cold. I'm afraid he -- my God.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right.

GRASWALD: I can't get to him. It's very windy and the winds are coming in hand I can't paddle to him.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. Stay on the phone.

(CROSSTALK)

GRASWALD: He's getting further and further away from me. I -- he's going to drown. Hold on, baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: Help me, help me. You know, Jackson, when you hear that, this doesn't sound like a woman who is going I did this to my husband, which

later admitted to.

WANG: That was definitely a little, little worrisome to hear her say that. At the same time they were kayaking in a very, very difficult time. This is

late April in Hudson River. The water is freezing. It's probably 40 degrees. There's wind. The waters are choppy. So it's definitely not smart

of them to go out that way especially since he didn't -- he didn't have a life jacket on. Excuse me.

COSBY: Yes, but he didn't expect his wife to also pull the plug on the kayak. Let's play a little more. This is of the interrogation. And this is

where she finally kind of says she wanted him dead, that there were problems in the relationship.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You killed Vince, right?

GRASWALD: (Inaudible)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I'm asking you the question. I want you to tell me the truth.

GRASWALD: I am telling you the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And what is the answer to that question?

GRASWALD: I didn't -- I didn't want him...

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Angelika, what is the true answer to that question?

GRASWALD: All right. I'll give you the (muted) statement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is it?

GRASWALD: I wanted him dead and now he is gone. I'm OK with that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: I'm OK with that. And then further she goes into why, maybe there is a motive behind this case. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He always wanted sex.

GRASWALD: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And you to so sexual things?

GRASWALD: Well, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

GRASWALD: He wanted a threesome, everything.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

GRASWALD: And I was not ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: You know, when I hear this, John Kimantas, and I want you to join us, because you are an expert on boating and a number of things.

Ultimately, first we hear this motive. And then we hear also that she took the plug out of the kayak. You are an expert on kayaks and on water

boating. What does that mean? How long does that take? And did this guy have any chance the minute she took the plug out?

JOHN KIMANTAS, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, COAST & KAYAK MAGAZINE: Well, will you can be goofy and you can want somebody dead. But I can tell you that pulling

the drain plug out of a top of a kayak is not going to sink that kayak. There was no cause and effect there.

Essentially he was out without a spray skirt. The spray skirt is supposed to stop water from getting inside the kayak. And that's 100 times larger

than the hole for the drain.

[18:09:59] If you were to tip the whole kayak upside down, it would probably take half hour to drain the water out just that way. If he went

down quite quickly in poor conditions.

There's a -- if you are out in a kayak in any kind of condition like the Hudson River, there is a responsibility upon yourself to take proper

precautions. And Vince Viafore didn't do any of those things. In fact,...

(CROSSTALK)

COSBY: Hang on one second. Hang on. I'm a little troubled by what you are saying. But let me go to the locking clip to his kayak paddle was missing

also. So there were parts missing and ultimately she admitted to pulling the plug.

KIMANTAS: Like I say, that's irrelevant. Because there were so many other things that were done wrong. He didn't have a life vest on. He didn't have

a marina gear. He didn't do a check on kayak before he went out. He didn't check the weather reports to see what, apparently he didn't check the

weather reports, he didn't pay attention to them that he was getting out...

(CROSSTALK)

COSBY: John Kimantas, John Kimantas, he also didn't have a fiance who was watching his back who now intentionally admitted...

KIMANTAS: Well.

COSBY: Hold on a second, please, admitted to the fact that she pulled out the plug. And the other things, too. I mean, are you saying that that's not

important?

KIMANTAS: Well, you can admit to the a lot of things...

(CROSSTALK)

COSBY: You're blaming him.

KIMANTAS: ... but cause and effect. If I say that I'm going to try and kill you by taking the gas cap off your car, that's not going to lead to

the traffic accident that does you in in the end. So there is a cause and effect here.

COSBY: But you know, it might be -- it might be if somebody drops a match on your gas tank and your gas tank open. It actually might.

Let me move on.

(CROSSTALK)

KIMANTAS: Well, if you do that...

COSBY: Let me go to Jackson Wang. Hang on one second. I'm going to come back to you. But Jackson Wang, let me -- tell me what exactly she admitted

to. Walk me through. Because she ultimately did get there and said guess what, they found the cap ultimately, and that's basically what was evidence

of her intent.

WANG: Yes, and because she was the beneficiary on his life insurance policy, I think that one of the reasons -- one main of the reasons why

police charged her so quickly a week and a half after the drowning happened.

And in that tape she said she felt a sense of relief and happiness while watching him drown. And of course, police used that against her and that's

what led her to her being charged so quickly before the body was even recovered.

COSBY: Kirby Clements, defense attorney, relief and happiness, and watching him drown. And guess what? She was sentenced last month, and now

she's going have a nice little Christmas and her fiance is no longer with us. Go ahead.

KIRBY CLEMENTS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, it sounds to me based on the expert that you just had on there about kayaking, that this

was a case overcharging this case which is a good thing that she's actually home.

COSBY: Overcharging the case. She could have gotten murder and guess what?

(CROSSTALK)

CLEMENTS: No. But they couldn't fool(Ph) her.

COSBY: She got a maximum, Kirby, of four years. She is going home for Christmas. I think she got lucky. I don't think it's over charging.

CLEMENTS: No. It was absolute luck. They overcharged it. She is going home now because the prosecution blink because they knew they couldn't prove

their case. They couldn't prove her so they gave her this deal.

COSBY: Guess what? Guess what? The old capital rule kind of, prove it showed intent. And guess what? Her 911 call, boo-ho-ho, it clearly wasn't

real. It was all a lie and then ultimately came out and she got caught, Kirby. She got caught red hand with the red cap in her vehicle. But guess

what? Suddenly wasn't in there.

This woman clearly had the intent to get rid of him. It was shown. And she got home cuff-free. And now she is only, after being sentenced for one

month, walking home and having a nice Christmas.

CLEMENTS: Yes. But all I can say is the fact that she may have wanted him dead at the end, the fact that she hated the relationship they had, has no

bearing on whether she caused his death.

Taking the cap off of the canoe didn't cause this or the kayak didn't cause this man's death. But it doesn't play well to a jury to say I'm glad this

person is gone. That was horrible. But it was after 11 hour interrogation.

Let's not ignore that fact. Eleven hours in front of a seasoned detective will break anybody. In fact, you'll probably confess after 11 hours to

killing this man and you got nothing to do with it. So this is why...

(CROSSTALK)

COSBY: Well, guess what, if I'm in trouble I'm calling you, Kirby, because you are spinning me like a whole yawn right there. Get out, I'm just

telling you, and with all due respect with this expert, I bet there are other experts that can come in and say, you know what, it certainly played

a role.

And if I were in that jury, I say this woman planned to get rid of him and the whole reason was, this whole issue with sex.

Let's go back to Jackson Wang. Jackson, her whole motive was what, that she was forcing him into sex, meanwhile they were about to get married,

correct?

WANG: Yes. Let's not forget the D.A. was not completely pleased with the deal because of the fact that she is out of jail now. But he was in -- I

don't think he was completely confident that the jury was definitely going to convict her.

I mean, once it went to the jury could have gone either way. Obviously if she got convicted you could appeal, the defense attorney could appeal. But

she got acquitted, there's nothing they could do from then on. She was going to walk free. But he said that it was ultimately fair because she was

still being held accountable for his death.

COSBY: And the other issue, Kirby Clements, this woman, Angelika, she is from Latvia, so she could now be deported. And by the way, as you think

about all this taxpayers were paying for a lot of stuff for this woman during all this time. What's going to happen to her now, Kirby?

[18:15:01] CLEMENTS: In all likelihood she is going to be deported. I mean, she was convicted of a forcible felony that resulted in the death of

a human being. I believe she...

(CROSSTALK)

COSBY: So you agree she shouldn't -- you agree she shouldn't be in this country after doing this.

CLEMENTS: Well, I agree that the laws will allow her to be deported as a result of this. I'll say that. That much I can agree with. That is the law.

COSBY: And do you agree that taxpayers have had to pay a lot of money on a woman who now admits to pulling the plug and killing her husband, as a

result her husband at least led to certainly his death?

CLEMENTS: I'll admit that the taxpayers paid a lot of money for the case that probably shouldn't have been charged the way that it was charged. So

the D.A. is the one that caused al of that expense. So at best it should have come in as it went out, as a criminally negligent homicide I believe

it was. But even that is a stretch but to bring it in as murder that's the D.A.'s fault. They cost that much.

COSBY: How would you have gotten off, Kirby, how would you have gotten this woman off after she admitted? And in the middle of all this, I want to

play a little bit too, because her behavior came into play, Kirby.

And she was doing, it was cart wheels, and this was the weirdest thing, first of all, and I think back to some of these other cases where there is

this whacky stuff to the areas, remember was doing handstands during her case.

Here is this video and posted on her Facebook, you know, my fiance is missing, rah, rah, let's do cart wheels, you know. I mean, that's a bizarre

things, don't you think, and that's public because that's on her Facebook, Kirby. I mean, if I'm on a jury, I go, she doesn't look too depressed

there. That's a pretty good cart wheel. I did gymnastics by the way for a while. It's a pretty cart wheel.

CLEMENTS: It's an excellent cart wheel, but the reality is, you know, just because someone is dying doesn't mean she is supposed to live every day in

grief covered in cloth and ashes. And how I would get her off? I would have called the expert you had right here, John, and I would said, John, could -

- would she have caused this death? And the answer is no. if the man went out there fully prepared without a life reserve without the skirt...

(CROSSTALK)

COSBY: Also he deserves it, Kirby? He deserves it? Shame on you.

CLEMENTS: No, he didn't deserve to die. But he pretty much set into motion the fact that he was going to die. You know, a speeder doesn't deserve to

die, but when they crash into the wall it happens.

COSBY: Yes.

CLEMENTS: I'm sorry for you, but unfortunately...

(CROSSTALK)

COSBY: You know what? You know what, Kirby, and with all due respect, I appreciate the expert, I'm sure you know what to do. I would find five

others who would probably say something different. Thank you very much, gentlemen. Anyway, stay with us.

Everybody, straight ahead, a five-year-old boy found buried in his backyard and police say his remains shows signs of horrific abuse.

[18:20:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSBY: And this is Rita Cosby, in for Ashleigh Banfield.

Cleveland police got a call from Pakistan with a tip about a child's body in a backyard. And the man who called said his brother helped his

girlfriend bury it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The story was he said he told, him and his girlfriend told the older kids that he was staying with her sister who also a special

need kid and that way they don't question it. Do you see what I'm saying? I was like -- I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So they think that they may think that he's with her sister?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right. Exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And the troubling call led police to the home of Larissa Rodriguez family of 9 and reportedly pregnant with number 10. But when she was asked

about the whereabouts of her 5-year-old son Jordan her story just didn't add up. And now mommy is facing a murder charge.

Police tonight say the human remains show horrific signs of abuse and Child Protective Services had a stunning 13-prior investigations in that home.

And joining me now to discuss this is Sergeant Jennifer Ciaccia, she is the PIO for the Cleveland Police Department. And also joining me is Sia Nyorkor

from CNN affiliate WOIO. She is right outside the home where Jordan's remains were found. Also a vigil taking place right now.

And juvenile court judge and certified child welfare law specialist, rather, Ashley Willcott, and also defense attorney Kirby Clements.

Let me start with you, Sia, you're right out there outside the home. What is going on right now?

SIA NYORKOR, REPORTER, WOIO TV: Actually, Rita, right now, the vigil for 5-year-old Jordan Rodriguez is winding down. It started less than an hour

ago. You can see more than 100 people gathered here. They lit candles. There are pastors.

Actually, Larissa's, two of Larissa's sisters are here, Anna, and Michelle, her best friend Jenny, and they said they really just wanted to come

together to make this a more cheerful place. Because as the details come out about what happened with 5-year-old Jordan, it has caused a lot of

distress in that family and in this community.

And so they are here really trying to come together to embrace one another.

COSBY: You know, it's interesting, as you talk about this, and you mention, Sia, Anna. Anna is the sister of the mom who is now charged. And

as you talk about that, she also complained about the history that the sister had of abusing this beautiful little boy. Just when I see his

picture it breaks my heart.

NYORKOR: Absolutely. I spoke with Anna several times on Tuesday, she was out here when investigators found those human remains. And she said it, she

witnessed abuse, multiple times over the years. She said that she called police. She said that she called Child Protective Services.

But she said that the social workers would come out here, and then end up closing the case, and then just go away. So she would call again. And so,

that is why she says she feels that the system failed her nephew Jordan.

COSBY: And let's go to Sergeant Jennifer Ciaccia, if we could. Let me ask you, sergeant, about the history of this case, because we are hearing from

Sia, she was saying about the repeated calls that were out there.

[18:25:00] And now we are hearing that there were 13 investigations by Child Protective Services. What can you tell us about the history of what

was happening in this home?

JENNIFER CIACCIA, PIO, CLEVELAND POLICE DIVISION: You know, we didn't really have -- I don't have any information on any prior cases that police

were involved in. But it has been confirmed that there were multiple calls made to and investigations launched by Children Family Services.

COSBY: I know that that call from Pakistan, sergeant, sort of triggered it all. What was your reaction when you guys got that call from Pakistan?

CIACCIA: Well, I mean it's a unique way to launch a missing person's investigation. And you know, we are certainly grateful that we got the call

and that we were able to put boots on the ground and get our investigators ready to go ahead and interview the mother, and ultimately locate this

little boy so he can be properly laid to rest.

This is something that I think I would have to say that I'm always impressed with our investigators, and those from the FBI, the medical

examiner's office, Cleveland police detectives that went out there, and you know, this is hard for us too.

You know, this happened six days prior to Christmas. This isn't something we should be dealing with as a community, as a department, you know, as a

family either. And I would just say that our investigators did a great job in bringing this to a close.

COSBY: Absolutely. And it's just so heartbreaking as you point out as we see this beautiful little boy here too, sergeant.

Let me go to Ashley Willcott, because one of the things we do know, Ashley, that there are now reports that there were 13 investigations into this

home. And so much so that when Child Protective Services went over to the house, they actually saw one of her other kids, remember she has nine

others, some of them were taken away, I think also in years prior, too.

But that we saw the other kids, that one of the kids was actually eating a sandwich with cockroaches in it. When you read through this, Ashley, what's

the reaction when you see the history of what happened in this home? And I think shame on Child Protective Services.

ASHLEY WILLCOTT, CERTIFIED CHILD WELFARE LAW SPECIALIST: Well, and you have to realize, so history in on itself is not sufficient. But there are

so many red flags. You have the unsanitary deplorable conditions. You got the cockroaches in a sandwich. You've got two children of this mother, two

of the nine children are currently in the permanent custody of DCSF.

You've got a death of a child. You've got signs of abuse of that child. According to the law enforcement reports. When you see that many red flags,

absolutely you ask the question, what happened in those 13 investigations. Why did they not do anything further than close those cases?

There's -- in my opinion, there is too many each. Too many different things have happened. I do not believe that there should have been something done

earlier given the 13 investigations.

COSBY: You bet. And also I just want to put up real quick the full screen too. Because when I see this, and this is what was in the affidavit, this

is the arrest affidavit. It describes what happened to this poor beautiful little boy, again, five years old Jordan.

It's saying, the corpse exhibited multiple signs of abuse, including broken ribs, Ashley, broken ribs.

WILLCOTT: That's right.

COSBY: And now we know that when authorities came apparently upon the woman, when they actually got the information, started by that Pakistan

call, that she actually led them to his body. So she did admit that she buried him. And we know that was being told in the call.

But she knew at least where the body was put, I should say. But when you see that, this is a 5- year-old, with broken ribs, and we're hearing even

from the family that it was abuse after abuse, Ashley.

WILLCOTT: And that's what you can't imagine, right, that the suffering this child went through and the torture by the mother. The aunt says that

she's bipolar, that she's made multiple reports to DCSF about this particular child.

So it does beg the question, what happened? How could there be 13 reports? Again, there are too many red flags. History is on itself is not enough to

say OK, they are no longer parenting the child safely or the child at risk.

In this particular case, boy, you've got a whole lot of different scenarios that you have to wonder how he's fallen through the cracks. And broken

ribs, I believe that's only going to be one of the things, that's all they've reported and know of it at this point in time, but I'm going to bet

you there is more as they delve further into the investigation. Kudos to law enforcement for the work that they've done on this case.

COSBY: Yes. You bet. But I will tell you, obviously I think Child Protective Services the fact that they went to these houses, you know, to

this location, Ashley, and what did they do? They just miraculously cleaned up suddenly when authorities came over there.

They were there 13 times apparently, at least had 13 investigations. We don't know, you know, we don't know did they maybe not even show up those

times and just said, we went, signed off on it. We don't know. But they clearly dropped the ball. Don't you think it's disgusting? And now we have

a dead child.

WILLCOTT: Yes, absolutely 13 times like you said. Once maybe. Thirteen times I do not believe that a parent diagnosed this bipolar is actually

going to be able to clean up the act. Nobody has been abused. No symptoms of abuse. I don't believe that's going to happen all those times.

[18:30:01] And keep in mind not only were the conditions deplorable, by that they meant that there were specifically it was infested with rats and

cockroaches. That doesn't happen overnight. They just close their last case this year, February of this year, DCSF did. So, again, this is not

something that happens overnight to kids.

RITA COSBY, HOST, HLN: You are right. Let's go to Sergeant Jennifer Ciaccia, if we could. Sergeant, can you describe what the house looked like

when you guys arrived on scene? What the location looked like?

JENNIFER CIACCIA, SERGEANT AND PIO, CLEVELAND DIVISION OF POLICE (via telephone): No, I was not inside the home. It was reported, though, that

there were bugs, that there were roaches, and that it was pretty deplorable, which is obviously pretty sad and unsanitary.

COSBY: And is it possible that other charges will be coming towards this woman and maybe also towards others?

CIACCIA (via telephone): That's a good question. So, our officers, our detectives from the homicide unit today charged Rodriguez with murder,

murder B to be specific.

The plan would be then to review the medical examiner's office report that will be coming in, you know, in due time, as this can be a lengthy process

because they do full on medical exam.

It involves a lot of different tests and x-rays and things like that. But then once it becomes the right time, they'll do a grand jury packet and

actually present assault charges to the grand jury.

COSBY: What about someone else, too, what about the boyfriend? Because this is the brother of the boyfriend who called from Pakistan to say, hey, my

brother told me that he and his girlfriend buried little Jordan in the backyard? Could something be happening to the boyfriend?

CIACCIA (via telephone): So our homicide detectives, our detectives from one of the other bureaus have already interviewed that man, and there will

be further interviews and further investigation into his role. So I can't really tell you that he's going to have charges right now, but that's

certainly something that we are investigating.

COSBY: Absolutely. Let's go to Kirby Clements, defense attorney. When you hear this, Kirby, do you think that there could be more charges coming

against her and maybe against the boyfriend? Nothing at this time. He's in jail on an unrelated charge. But she has been charged with murder, as you

heard, murder B.

KIRBY CLEMENTS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes, I think that, well, first of all, more charges definitely going to be come, even to some some defects people

need to actually go to jail on this particular case.

COSBY: By the way, Kirby, bravo to you. I think the way that this went down with Child Protective Services, how could you miss this? This is so

disgusting, Kirby.

CLEMENTS: Absolutely. So I think there is something there. But as to this particular case, I will say that a lot of times what you see is where the

boyfriend is actually the abuser taking advantage of the girlfriend and the girlfriend protects the boyfriend.

So I'm a little disturbed by this phone call from the boyfriend who has brother in Pakistan, and given this woman's history, whether she actually

perpetrated that abuse or whether the boyfriend was there to help clean up the scene if the Protective Services came and the place wasn't looking in

order.

So I'm not all together settled on the idea that she's actually the perpetrator. Maybe she concealed the body. Maybe she helped and kept quiet

while the baby abused. But I'm not convinced at this juncture that she is actually the perpetrator and his actions are very suspect, I mean extremely

suspect.

COSBY: Yes, I mean, first of all, what you come home, and according to the brother from Pakistan, Kirby, he says, well, my brother came home and

little Jordan was already dead. Here is this beautiful little boy, and they said that he, you know, came home and little Jordan was dead.

And we quote, buried him. So to me when you hear that, you know, just go OK, let me just bury him in the backyard. I think there is a lot more to

the story that meets the eye. Kirby, thank you very much. We're going to have more with you on the next story.

Meantime, officers at the L.A. County Correctional Facility were faced with a medical emergency when they found five inmates unresponsive or

disoriented in a holding cell. One inmate wasn't breathing and showed no signs of life.

They started CPR and hit the inmate with a dose of Narcan. They worked on the 19-year-old for more than five minutes before administering another

dose of Narcan.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Leave it on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay there.

COSBY (voice over): And seconds later, he suddenly came back to life. All of this as the other four inmates were treated by other emergency

responders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: Investigators think that the five men overdosed on fentanyl that had been hidden in a body cavity.

And breaking news in Houston tonight where a missing six-week-old infant has now been found. Some good news here. And the mother that she was with,

a family friend, is now charged

[18:35:00] with that mother's murder. A lot more details right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSBY: And I'm Rita Cosby here, in for Ashleigh Banfield. Breaking news today as a six-week-old missing infant was found 25 miles away from where

her mother was brutally murdered. Police tracked down baby Shamali Flores in a Houston apartment this morning.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

ART ACEVEDO, CHIEF, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: I'm really proud to announce today that the little girl was recovered safely by members of the Houston

Police Department last night, in the middle of the night, probably a little bit after 1:00 a.m. somewhere in that area.

The baby is healthy. She was quickly transported to Texas Children's Hospital for a full check up, and we did that as a precautionary measure.

We didn't see any signs of abuse or injury, but we want to make sure that we have the health professionals check on baby Shamali. She is doing well

and she currently in the

[18:40:00] custody of CPS.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And police today arresting a woman who knew Shamali's mom, and they say she stabbed her to death so she could have her baby.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

ACEVEDO: Early in the case suggests that the suspect was friends with Carolina Flores's brother, which is how she connected with the victim, and

that she recently had a miscarriage in which she was attempting to hide from her boyfriend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And, tonight, there you see the picture, 28-year-old Erica Alvarez is charged with capital murder.

And joining me now to talk about all of this is Jeff Boney. He is the associate editor of the Houston Forward Times. Also joining me is the

Houston Police chief, Art Acevedo. CNN law enforcement and analyst, he is also a retired FBI supervisory special agent for many years, James

Gagliano. And also defense attorney Kirby Clements continues with us.

Let me start with you, chief, if I could. First of all, congratulations, great work, big break in the case because we are so worried when we heard

the story especially a little six-week-old. Time is of the essence, right?

ACEVEDO (via telephone): It sure was. And thank you very much and thank you to everyone who was praying for us. We got some breaks. We came up with the

theory. Our theory was accurate. And we have 100 percent sure we have the right suspect in custody.

COSBY: Wow! That's good to hear, 100 percent. All right. So, let's hear the break in the case. What was the lucky break that you got in the case?

ACEVEDO (via telephone): Well, first, we had the apartment complex where this occurred, this crime occurred, is predominantly Hispanic immigrants.

And they were actually put aside their fear of the police and immigration debate going on and actually cooperated with us, gave us good information,

that helped us develop our theory, our investigators develop our theory.

And then from there, we just started working like we would any other case like this, and we were able to track down the murder and the baby. So we

are fortunate. We are grateful. And this is probably the only silver lining is we got this baby back alive and well.

COSBY: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely, especially here we are heading into Christmas, chief. Chief, you know, you said that the community was helpful.

I understand Honduran decent, and as you point out, sometimes there is, you know, concern about going to authorities, I'm so glad to hear that the

community helped in this particular case.

But if you say, OK, let me find the Honduran community in Houston, that's a big area. I've been to Houston many times. What did you get? Were there

some specific lead that they saw someone suspicious around or did you go to the hospitals and check to see new babies? Was it a combination?

ACEVEDO (via telephone): Well, it was -- her neighbors actually opened the doors and talking to us and telling us what they heard, most importantly

what they didn't hear, and also some unique things about the apartment complex itself that gave us some clues as to the fact this is more than

likely someone that knew the mother, knew the deceased.

And as a result of those tidbits, we were able to move forward with the investigation. Now we have the suspect charged with capital murder and the

baby Shamali back where she belongs in good hands and good health. Now we have to put the case forward through prosecution.

COSBY: And, chief, you were saying what they didn't hear. We know that there was no sign of forced entry. Was there something else? Because we

understand that this woman, who as you say now, you say 100 percent sure, and she has now been charged, that there was a connection, that she

basically met this family when they came to the United States about five years ago.

So it was a friend. Did they see friends in the area or did you just kind of go, OK, let me look at her closest friends?

ACEVEDO (via telephone): Well, what happened was they gave us some details about the complex and about the people that came and went. And I think from

that we were able to develop some leads. And at the end of the day, you know, we also had some other investigative techniques that we used.

I'm one of those guys that try not to talk about our techniques, because unfortunately the CSI shows (INAUDIBLE) cover the tracks and it's getting

more and more difficult to get forensic evidence themselves. I'll try to talk about the specifics just to say that -- I will just say that we used -

- every asset was used in police department. Our federal partners at the FBI.

And like I said at the press conference, people like to say that we don't - - American policing doesn't care about people of color and poor people. This child was born into very humble, a very humble family, an immigrant

family, a family of color. And we didn't leave any stone unturned to bring justice to the family and little girl back to where she belongs.

COSBY: Well, bravo, chief, and thank you for your hard work. I'm such a big fan of law enforcement and appreciate so much what you do.

[18:45:00] Thank you very much, sir. Let's go to Jeff Boney. He is the associate editor with the Houston Forward Times. Jeff, one of the things

too that we understand is from these tips that we just heard from the chief, that they put together something on the complex, and I am going to

get to James on that in a moment because I got a lot of questions for him as well too on this.

But in addition to that, we also understand that at the hospital, this woman had this fabricated story, she's going to what, deliver a baby, and

then suddenly she comes home with this six-week-old? Tell us the background of this woman as we are seeing pictures of her, who has now been charged

with murder.

JEFFREY BONEY, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES (via telephone): Yes. So, 28-year-old Erica Miranda Alvarez, she actually was expecting a

baby in January. And before she had this miscarriage, she had been excited about having this baby. And according to police, she didn't tell her family

or her boyfriend about the miscarriage.

And she pretended to be at the hospital the entire time giving birth. And she actually told the family and her boyfriend that Shamali Flores was her

own baby and that she had to remain in the hospital that entire time before they finally saw her the whole time because the baby had been ill. And so

when they finally saw her, that was the first time they saw the baby, and she claimed the baby as her own.

COSBY: Unbelievable. Unbelievable. James Gagliano is here with me on the set. You hear this. It's interesting how we piece it together, right? And

obviously you first suspect somebody who wanted to have a baby, because why else take a six-week-old and kill the mother?

JAMES GAGLIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Sure. And the first place the police and FBI agents will look are to people who have intimate knowledge

of the person.

COSBY: And it sounds like they clearly did know. Because he was hinting that first we know there were no forced entry, but they must have seen

something or someone familiar to the mom.

GAGLIANO: Yes. And you could tell from the chief's response, it was muted relief, obviously we found the baby, so critical and important, a big

relief, but the mother died tragically. And to die the way that she did which was stabbing, which is a very personal and intimate crime. Again, so

many more questions here than there are answers.

Police are going to do a number of things. They're going to canvas social media. All the digital exhaust from cell phones or opening a laptop or easy

passes, all the cameras that could possibly be called for forensic evidence, any photographic evidence or video evidence.

They got a lot of work ahead of them to try to put together some type of template to this woman and find out exactly what was behind her moves for

doing this.

COSBY: Yes, they sure do. Obviously a lot of psychological problems and now deservedly charged with murder. Thanks so much.

GAGLIANO: Thanks.

COSBY: And coming up, a Texas teen accused of bludgeoning a friend with a hammer to death and dumping her body in a landfill will now be trialed as

an adult. We'll have a lot more details coming up.

[18:50:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSBY: I'm Rita Cosby here, in for Ashleigh Banfield. A Texas judge ruled a teen boy who allegedly killed a 14-year-old girl with a hammer will be

trialed as an adult. Police say 16-year-old Jordin Roache dumped Kaytlynn Cargill's body in a Dallas area landfill last summer. It was a crime that

terrified the local community.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It is a real shock, because nothing -- I've lived here a long time, and nothing like this has happened in this area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I have to go outside at night, I go with my husband instead of going by myself, just pretty much staying in after dark.

COSBY (voice over): And at the time, police took some heat for not going ahead with an amber alert when Cargill went missing.

JEFF GIBSON, BEDFORD CHIEF OF POLICE: I realize that this community has several questions as to why the Metro Police Department did not activate an

amber alert on June 19th, and the simple answer is there are specific criteria that law enforcement personnel have to follow in terms of

initiating an amber alert.

COSBY (voice over): Roache allegedly made up a fake alibi about being out of state at the time of the killing, but cellphone records got him. They

showed that Roache was one of the last people to communicate with Kaytlynn.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And now let's go back to defense attorney Kirby Clements. Kirby, they got the cellphone records, he made up a story. Where are you going to

go with this one? Because apparently, the head of the hammer that they believe killed this poor girl apparently was found in the girlfriend's

apartment of this guy, and he was there. So, go with this one.

CLEMENTS: Well, you know, this one is -- sometimes you have to go and beg for mercy, because in this situation, cellphone records are devastating, I

can just tell you that. I've handled enough cases now, I know they can put you somewhere.

If you're going to try to blame the girlfriend, she's going to become a witness against you, so that's probably not the way to go. At this stage of

the game, I think he's going to have to go with some other defense, such as, yes, I did it, but here's the reason why. I have some mental health

issues.

That's really the only way that he's going to go, because when you lie about being in town, and you're in fact in town, and you're one of the last

people to see the victim, and the hammer's found in your girlfriend's apartment, it's an uphill battle.

COSBY: Absolutely. You're in big time trouble. Thanks so much.

And we're going to switch gears. A Mississippi boy dials 911 to stop the Grinch from stealing Christmas. We're going to have that story and a lot

more, coming up. And he ends up taking the bad Santa to jail! Find out when we come back.

[18:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSBY: And I'm Rita Cosby here, in for Ashleigh Banfield. Well, we all know the story of how the Grinch stole Christmas, but five-year-old TyLon

Pittman, well, he did not. And when he saw the Grinch about to make off with all the gifts and the toys, he did what he had always been told to do,

call 911.

(START VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who am I speaking with? This is the Byram Police Department. We had a 911 hang-up from this number.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just had to tell you that I saw the Grinch. Because the Grinch going to steal Christmas, OK?

[19:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Do you have any adults there with you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My momma gone. After I grow up, I'm going to be a police. I can come if you want to. I will help you all. I'm too fast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RITA COSBY, HLN HOST: And his car landed the green guy in jail. Byron. Mississippi police brought the Grinch in and he was met and questioned by

honorary junior officer, there he is, little Tylin Pittman. Tylin says that he wants to be a police officer and he wasted no time asking the

Grinch why he would want to steal Christmas and refusing to let him out of the holding cell. He is a tough character.

Well, up next, breaking news tonight as the search continues for a missing 14-year-old girl believed to be with a convicted sex offender.

The next hour of CRIME & JUSTICE starts right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Urgent amber alert tonight for 14-year-old Nicole Hall. Police believe she is traveling with a convicted sex offender who is

violent and could be armed and dangerous.

A call from the Middle East leads police to a buried body in Cleveland.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Him and his girlfriend buried the kid in the backyard.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before five-year-old Jordan is even reported missing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was sweet. He was a premature.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now mom's facing a murder charge, as a history of abuse allegations comes back to haunt her.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He needed help, and all they did was (bleep) me on that little boy!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A newborn infant kidnapped from home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This suspect who has this child is familiar with this family and familiar with this neighborhood.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After someone stabbed her mom to death.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was in agony and I was downstairs and didn't hear anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After hours of searching, the baby has been found!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And she has been determined to be very healthy and unharmed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And tonight, cops say they know who took her and why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move, dude.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay on the ground.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A double dose of narcan for a California man.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Come on, keep going.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But he was just one of five inmates oding (ph) at the same time. How did they get drugs in a holding cell?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSBY: And good evening, everybody. I'm Rita Cosby in for Ashleigh Banfield.

Tonight, an urgent search for a 14-year-old girl who could be in grave danger. Police say Nicole Hall has been missing since Monday, and she is

believed to be in the hands of a convicted sex offender, 27-year-old Christopher Ryder, who police say is avoiding parole and could be armed and

dangerous.

Nicole was reportedly last spotted at a Super 8 motel in Lewisburg, West Virginia. And she is believed to be traveling in a silver sedan with Ryder

and with 21-year-old Charles Kraft, as they may or may not be headed to California or to Florida.

And joining me now to discuss this is Annie Moore. She's a reporter with CNN affiliate WVVA. Also, CNN law enforcement analyst and also retired FBI

supervisory special agent James Gagliano, and defense attorney Kirby Clements.

Let me start with you, Annie. What do we know about when this girl went missing?

ANNIE MOORE. REPORTER, WVVA: Rita, at this point, police have simply said it's possible she may be on the way to Florida or California. She was last

seen in Lewisburg with two suspects, Christopher Ryder and Charles Kraft. According to the Greenbrier County sheriff's department, Ryder is a

convicted sex offender facing multiple parole violations.

COSBY: Annie, I have a lot of questions for you. She was last seen -- where was she last seen? Apparently at this motel, but give us details.

Was she with these guys and who saw her there?

MOORE: Well, it's unclear if they are friends at this hour. Law enforcement is being very tight-lipped, but the two are pictured together

in a little place sent out by law enforcement. Earlier we went to Nicole Hall's home in Renic (ph). Neither her mother nor stepfather was home. At

this point, we know very little about Hall or the circumstances surrounding her disappearing.

COSBY: Let's go to the guys, if we could. Annie, describe this guy. And I'm very concerned, particularly, and clearly, police are, too, about this

Christopher Ryder. He is a convicted sex offender and he has a conviction from February of 2016 for having sex with a 13-year-old girl. You know,

again, as we look at the history of this guy, he is now 27 years old. What else do we know about him? And clearly, authorities are worried because

they believe he could be armed and clearly dangerous.

[19:05:16] MOORE: Like you said, we have been able to dig a little bit deeper into Christopher Ryder's past, learning that his sex offender status

comes from a third-degree sexual assault conviction with a 13-year-old girl. He's also facing multiple parole violations right now.

COSBY: Did anybody see anything unusual when she disappeared? Who reported her missing, Annie?

MOORE: Well, I believe it was her parents, but she was last spotted by a clerk at the Super 8 in Lewisburg, on the western part of West Virginia.

COSBY: And again, you don't know if they knew each other. Do we know if they had any relationship or have you seen if they could have come in

contact her with for something, you know? Who knows what?

MOORE: It's not clear, the relationship between this girl and these two guys. However, like I said, the two men were pictured together in the

release sent out by law enforcement.

COSBY: You know, James Gagliano, there are so many questions here. We just heard from Annie that a clerk saw her at this motel. We don't know of

her relationship with these guys, but boy, when you hear one of them has a conviction for a sex offense with a 13-year-old, we have got a beautiful

14-year-old girl who's now missing, what are you thinking?

JAMES GAGLIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Every parent's nightmare and law enforcement's nightmare as well. Just to your point, Rita, you have

got a situation where you have got a convicted sexual predator who's got violent tendencies and is a parole (INAUDIBLE), so he has nothing to lose.

You have a vague description of a vehicle and two potential locations, the reports are saying, they could be headed to, either California, 2,600 miles

away or Florida, 650 miles away. So the dragnet has got to be wide and comprehensive.

COSBY: You know, one of the things, Annie, and something that James was just hitting on about the locations, because the distances, they are such

great distances between these two, and of course, you cross state lines. We were hearing, I think Christopher Ryder, I believe, has a connection to

Florida, right? There may be some family ties there?

MOORE: Law enforcement has not been able to confirm that. All they're saying right now is either they may be headed to Florida or to California.

COSBY: Kirby Clements, defense attorney, it's very complex, especially when you're dealing with a convicted sex offender. This is very troubling,

Kirby.

KIRBY CLEMENTS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Oh, this is absolutely troubling. I will say this, that the one thing that does seem to bode well for the young

lady, at least, is that I don't think the other crime was a forcible rape case. So it seemed like he might be dating these girls or, you know,

luring them, which bodes well, but obviously, his fear of getting apprehended might cause him to be more dangerous.

COSBY: Yes. And you bring up an excellent point. In fact, James Gagliano, we don't know all the details, not that it's anything better.

It's still a 13-year-old and extreme cause for concern, and now it's a 14- year-old. Could that be a sign that maybe it's somebody who's trying to date her or something? But it's two guys that are with her.

GAGLIANO: Absolutely.

COSBY: And this certainly is not a savory character here. Come on.

GAGLIANO: Absolutely. Law enforcement has got to be hyper focused on the digital footprint. Obviously, a 14-year-old girl is going to have some

kind of digital exhaust from cell phone usage, laptop usage. The vehicle, does it have an easy pass or are they picked up crossing through any toll

plazas? Law enforcement has got to piece together all that signal intelligence and put that together also with the human intelligence by

conducting massive interviews of folks that know these people.

COSBY: What about surveillance, too, because we haven't heard anything? That is obviously is going to be key, James, when you think about

especially with a motel 8. A lot of these motels something. I don't know if a motel 8 this particular one did, but certainly they are usually in

fairly busy areas. You would think if not the hotel itself, maybe a local street. There is something where they are some sort of visible. And they

have some indications they saw them in a silver vehicle. So there must be something to indicate more than they are telling us and telling, you know,

others out there, that they have some indication of him going in a vehicle or both of them going in a vehicle.

GAGLIANO: Right. We don't have a plate so far, so we don't -- we can't rely on plate readers or things like that. What Law enforcement wants to

is put out a wide net first and then slowly bring in concentric circles when you know that they haven't gone that far. So you have to use the

timeline to say what's the furthest they could have gotten?

Now, you know there are major thoroughfares, a major arbies (ph).You have 95 and 85 running, you know, north-south. You have got the same thing

going cross country. But that's not generally how these folks are going to travel. They know that folks are looking for them. They know that law

enforcement is looking for them. So you have to make announcements and you got to reach out to all the local police departments potentially on that

route to tell them to be on the lookout. It is called the bolo, beyond the lookout for this type of vehicle, two young men and one young girl.

COSBY: And as we look at the map, here, I mean, the bolo is a long bolo, because you are looking it's a big distance, as we are seeing, 2,600 miles

in one direction, hundreds of miles in the other direction. That's a huge swath. That's a voluminous task, James.

GAGLIANO: Absolutely. But we also put out tip lines. The FBI puts out a 1-800 tip line. You know, that on the major thoroughfares and arteries,

sometimes you put up a digital billboard, an amber alert and say be on the lookout so that traveling motorists around can see that and then dial in.

There is a lot of different things law enforcement could be doing right now. We want to do is keep the pressure on. Don't let them get

comfortable and know that everybody's out looking for these two men.

[19:10:20] COSBY: Let's get into the mind-set of this guy, too, because what concerns me so much, and I'm sure you, a seasoned FBI, former FBI guy,

you hear the red flags and you hear Christopher Ryder, this guy who is a convicted sex offender. And I'm going to get to Kirby in a moment with

this, because it's 13, it's OK. You know, it is consensual or whatever. It's not OK to have sex with a 13-year-old, especially when you're an

adult. This is outrageous.

But the mind-set of somebody like that and who is now, as we are looking at a picture of him, with this 14-year-old girl, this beautiful 14-year-old

girl, what is going through his mind and how tough is that for cops, because he clearly has a track record?

GAGLIANO: Well, that's another thing that the FBI conducts. They do something called behavioral analysis, and they will look at this guy and

see what type of profile he meets. 27-year-old man, so a relatively young man. He has got one sexual violation on his record, and --

COSBY: And by the way, the conviction was in February 2016, so he would have been, you know, based on when the arrest happened, probably soon

before that, he would have been certainly in his mid-20s, and the girl was 13.

GAGLIANO: Absolutely. So, the other thing that the FBI and the local law enforcement are doing right now is talking to anybody that has any

knowledge of this guy, so people that he went to school with, family members, they are reaching out and they're doing an exhaustive search to

put together all the behavioral analysis template that you could put together to figure out what his intentions might be.

COSBY: Kirby, where do you put it together from here? What do you do?

CLEMENTS: Well, I honestly would factor in this -- they can't be traveling on cash all this time. I don't think they had that big wad of cash, so the

digital footprint looking at ATM cards, bank statements and the like, is hugely important for me, because that I think is what's going to do them

in. And obviously, they have got to eat and they have to sleep. They might sleep in a rest area, but they have got to eat at a restaurant or a

McDonald's or some other place. So I think they are going to show up on video and that's when the dragnet's going to scoop them up.

COSBY: And you know, it's very concerning. Even going back to what you were saying before, Kirby, the fact that it is a 14-year-old girl and in

the past, it was a 13-year-old girl. I want to go back to when you were saying it's a consensual thing. You think it's OK for somebody in their

20s to be having a consensual relationship with a 13-year-old girl, Kirby?

CLEMENTS: Absolutely not, and hopefully that's not what I was suggesting - -

COSBY: It sire sounded like that, like OK, it's all right. It is not so bad.

CLEMENTS: Bo. Look, as a father of a 17-year-old girl, there would be just death in the streets if that were to happen. No, what I'm saying is

that, first of all, he seems to be courting these girls and maybe he is preying on underage girls. That's his chosen market or his chosen victim,

if you will. He grooms them for his own sexual gratification as opposed to snatching someone up and kidnapping them violently and holding them

hostage. That's all I was saying --

COSBY: But if you're defending this guy, do you think that makes it any better?

CLEMENTS: No. Defending this guy is an entirely different matter, because given his age at 27, he is outside that age range where you can claim that

Romeo and Juliet kind of scenario that some laws have. He is outside of that range. He is 27 with a 13 and 14-year-old girl.

The defense is, again, sometimes you go to court and you just beg for mercy and you say, look, my client needs some sort of treatment, because clearly,

he thinks he's a 13-year-old boy when he's a 27-year-old man, and that's where you have got to go in this situation.

COSBY: And you take a look at his cohort here, who authorities believe is with him. And again, I want to put up the picture of the other guy, too,

because the other guy doesn't look like prince charming, either, Kirby, as you take a look at this guy.

CLEMENTS: Yes, that actually is a disturbing factor to this particular case, because now that you have two men involved, I want to know who that

other guy is, you know. Did they meet on a chat room about getting underage girls? This d/doesn't make any sense for one sexual predator to

scoop up an underage girl and travel across the country with another guy. That part of this story doesn't make any sense and is disturbing, actually.

More disturbing so.

COSBY: Absolutely, yes. There is certainly no romance there in any shape or form.

Annie Moore, let me go back to you, because there is a warrant out for Christopher Ryder, but not for the second guy. Can you explain that?

MOORE: Well, Ryder -- the warrant for Ryder's arrest is for his parole violation. So that's how you explain that. But right now there's amber

alerts out all across the state on the main arteries, interstate 77, 64. Everybody has got eyes looking for these three.

COSBY: What are cops doing now? James brought up some excellent points about the pinging, checking the cell phones, also checking, you know, as

different surveillance video we were talking about. What do you know that cops are doing right now? Because we assume that they know more than they

are saying, clearly, because they are pointing to the fact that there is a silver sedan. They are pointing to the fact that it's two guys.

MOORE: Exactly. They are being tight-lipped, but I can tell you there's extra patrols out. I have been on interstate 64 to Greenbrier County today

and they are everywhere. They are looking for these three.

[19:15:11] COSBY: What do we know about -- do we know anything about the relationship between the two guys at all, Annie? What are they saying in

town there? Are any folks there familiar with these two guys?

MOORE: You know, Lewisburg is a pretty big city, and we spent the day looking, trying to talk to her family, trying to talk to her friends,

trying to talk to her classmates, as well as these two individuals, and we couldn't find out anything about her character profile picking up these two

guys.

COSBY: And Annie, you did some digging on Nicole Hall just to give us a sense more of who she is. Did she ever run away from home? Does she have

any history?

MOORE: We asked that question to law enforcement, but they said they simply can't comment at this time. We did visit her town in Rennick, which

is kind of in a rural area, so she could be very far away from home.

COSBY: You know, James, when we hear all these details, too, still a lot of unanswered questions, but it seems like authorities know more. I do

think it is very disturbing that it is these two particular guys, and to find out how that connection came about.

GAGLIANO: Absolutely. And that's important. Those are, you know, doing the relationships, working the relationships and figuring out who was in

her life, who she knew, who she spoke to in chat rooms.

The most important thing right now is publicity. And that's what this show and that's what you are doing. You are exposing this. It is going to be

somebody that sees this, it is going to be somebody that sees an amber alert on the highway and somebody is going to give us the right tip.

Right now the best thing that we can do is apply pressure to these two, keep them moving. We want to smoke them out and keep them moving, not let

them get comfortable, and that's how they will make a mistake.

COSBY: Absolutely. And I want to put their pictures up again, too, if I could, because anybody if you are out there and you see these guys out

there, please make sure that you call authorities. You can see it right there.

And again, there is beautiful 14-year-old Nicole Hall, who we hope gets home safe and sound for Christmas.

And everybody, straight ahead, a five-year-old boy found buried in his backyard and police say his remains show signs of horrific abuse. That is

ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:21:26] COSBY: And this is Rita Cosby in for Ashleigh Banfield.

Cleveland police got a call from Pakistan with a tip about a child's body in a backyard. And the man who called said his brother helped his

girlfriend bury it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The story was, he said he told -- him and his girlfriend told the older kids he was staying with his sister who also had

a special needs kid, and that way, they don't question it. You see what I'm saying? And I was like.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, so, they --.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So they think that they may think that he's with his sister, right.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And that troubling call led police to the home of Larissa Rodriguez, a mother of nine and reportedly pregnant with number ten. But

when she was asked about the whereabouts of her five-year-old son, Jordan, her story just didn't add up. And now mommy is facing a murder charge.

Police tonight say the human remains show horrific signs of abuse. And child protective services had a stunning 13 prior investigations in that

home.

And joining me now to discuss this is Sergeant Jennifer Caccia. She is the PIO for the Cleveland police department. And also joining is Sia Nyorkor

from CNN affiliate WOIO: She is right outside the home where Jordan's remains were found, also a vigil taking place right now. And juvenile

court judge and certified child welfare law specialist, Ashley Willcott, and also defense attorney Kirby Clements.

Let me start with you, Sia. You are right outside the home. What is going on right now?

SIA NYORKOR, REPORTER, WOIO-TV: Actually, Rita, right now, the vigil for 5-year-old Jordan Rodriguez is winding down. It started less than an hour

ago. You can see more than 100 people gathered here. They lit candles. There are pastors. Actually, two of Larissa's sisters are here, Ana and

Michelle, her best friend, Jenny. And they said they really just wanted to come together to make this a more cheerful place, because as the details

come out about what happened with five-year-old Jordan, it has caused a lot of distress in that family and in this community. And so, they are here

really trying to come together to embrace one another.

COSBY: You know, it's interesting. As you talk about this, and you mention, Sia, Ana. Ana is the sister of the mom who is now charged. And

as you talk about that, she also complained about the history that this sister had of abusing this beautiful, little boy. Just when I see his

pictures it breaks my heart.

NYORKOR: Absolutely. I spoke with Ana several times on Tuesday. She was out here when investigators found those human remains. And she said it,

she witnessed abuse multiple times over the years. She said that she called police. She said that she called child protective services. But

she said that the social workers would come out here and then end up closing the case and just go away, so she would call again. And so that is

why she says she feels that the system failed her nephew, Jordan.

COSBY: And let's go to Sergeant Jennifer Caccia, if we could.

Let me ask you, sergeant, about the history of this case, because we were just hearing from Sia, she was saying about the repeated calls that were

out there. And now we are hearing that there were 13 investigations by child protective services. What can you tell us about the history of what

was happening in this home?

[19:25:08] SGT. JENNIFER CACCIA, PIO, CLEVELAND DIVISION OF POLICE: You know, we didn't really have -- I don't have any information on any prior

cases that police were involved in. But yes, they confirmed that there were multiple calls made to and investigations launched by children and

family services.

COSBY: I know that call from Pakistan sort of triggered it all. What was your reaction when you guys got that call from Pakistan?

CACCIA: Well, I mean, it is a unique way to launch a missing person investigation. And you know, we are certainly grateful that we got the

call and that we were able to, you know, put boots on the ground and get our investigators ready to go ahead and interview the mother and ultimately

locate this little boy so that he can be properly laid to rest.

This is something that I think I would have to say that I'm always impressed with our investigators and those from the FBI, the medical

examiner's office, Cleveland police detectives that went out there, and you know, this is hard for us, too. You know, this happened six days prior to

Christmas. This isn't something that we should be dealing with as a community, as a department, you know, as a family, either. And I would

just say that our investigators did a great job in bringing this to a close.

COSBY: Absolutely, and it's just so heartbreaking. As we point out, as we see this beautiful little boy here, too, sergeant.

Let me go to Ashley Willcott, because one of the things we do know, Ashley, is that there are now reports that there were 13 investigations into this

home. And so much so that when child protective services went over to the house, they actually saw one of the other kids -- remember, she has nine

other kids -- some of them were also taken away, I think also in years prior, too. But that we saw one of the kids and one of them actually

eating a sandwich with cockroaches in it.

When you read through this, Ashley, what's your reaction when you see the history of what happened in this home? And I think shame on child

protective services.

ASHLEY WILLCOTT, CERTIFIED CHILD WELFARE LAW SPECIALIST: Well, and you have to realize, so history in and of itself is not just sufficient, but

there are so many red flags in this case. You have the unsanitary deplorable conditions. You got cockroach in a sandwich. You have got two

children of this mother, two of the nine children are currently in the permanent custody of DCSF. You have got the death of a child. You have

got signs of abuse of that child, according to the law enforcement reports.

When you see that many red flags, absolutely, you ask the question, what happened in those 13 investigations? Why did they not do anything further

than close those cases?

There is, in my opinion, there's too much here, too many different things have happened. I do not believe that there shouldn't have been done

something earlier, given the 13 investigations.

COSBY: You bet. And also, I just want to put up real quick the full- screen, too, because when I see this, and this is what was in the affidavit. This is the arrest affidavit. It describes what happened to

this poor, beautiful little boy.

WILLCOTT: That's right.

COSBY: Again, five years old, Jordan. It's saying the corpse exhibited multiple signs of abuse, including broken ribs. Ashley, broken ribs!

WILLCOTT: That's right.

COSBY: And now we know when authorities came, apparently, upon the woman, when they actually got the information started by that Pakistan call, that

she actually led them to his body. So, she did admit that she buried him. And we know that that was being told in the call, but she knew at least

where the body was put, I should say. But when you see that, this is a five-year-old with broken ribs! And we are hearing even from the family

that it was just abuse after abuse, Ashley.

WILLCOTT: And that's what -- you can't imagine, right, the suffering this child went through and the torture by the mother. The aunt says that she

is bipolar. That she has made multiple reports to DCSF about this particular child. So it does beg the question, what happened? How could

there be 13 reports?

Again, there are too many red flags. History in and of itself is not enough to say, OK, they're no longer parenting the child safely or the

child's at risk. In this particular case, boy, you have got a whole lot of different scenarios that you have to wonder how he has fallen through the

cracks.

And broken ribs, I believe that's only one of the things. That's all they have reported and know at this point in time. But I'm going to bet you

there is more as they delve further into the investigation. Kudos to law enforcement for their work on this case.

COSBY: Yes. You bet. But I will tell you, obviously, I think child protective services, the fact that they went to these houses, you know, to

this location, Ashley. And what did they do? They just miraculously cleaned up suddenly when authorities came over? They were there 13 times,

apparently, or had 13 investigations. We don't know, you know. We don't know. Did they maybe not even show up those times and just say, oh, we

went, signed off on it? We don't know. But they clearly dropped the ball. Don't you think it's disgusting! And now we have a dead child.

WILLCOTT: Yes, absolutely, 13 times. Like you said, once, maybe. Thirteen times, I do not believe that a parent diagnosed as bipolar is

actually going to be able to clean up the act, nobody has been abused, no symptoms of abuse. I don't believe that's going to happen all those times.

And keep in mind, not only were conditions deplorable, but that they meant that there were specifically it was infested with rats and cockroaches.

That doesn't happen overnight. They just closed their last case this year, February of this year, DCSF did. So, again, this is not something that

happens overnight to kids.

RITA COSBY, HLN HOST: You're right. Let's go to Sergeant Jennifer Chach, if we could. Sergeant, can you describe what the house looked like when

you arrived on scene, what the location looked like?

JENNIFER CIACCIA, PIO, CLEVELAND DIVISION POLICE (via telephone): No. I was not inside the home. It was reported though that there were bugs, that

there were roaches and that it was pretty deplorable, which is obviously pretty sad and unsanitary.

COSBY: And is it possible that other charges will be coming towards this woman and maybe also towards others?

CIACCIA: That's a good question. So, our officers, our detectives from the homicide unit today charged Rodriguez with murder, murder B, to be

specific. The plan would be then to review the medical examiner's office report that will be coming in, you know, in due time, as this can be a

lengthy process as they do a full-on medical exam. It involves a lot of different tests and x-rays and things like that. But then once it becomes

the right time, they'll do a grand jury packet and it actually present felonious assault charges to the grand jury.

COSBY: What about someone else, too? What about the boyfriend? Because this is the brother of the boyfriend who called from Pakistan to say, hey,

my brother told me that he and his girlfriend buried little Jordan in the backyard. Could something be happening to the boyfriend?

CIACCIA: So, our homicide detectives -- our detectives from the -- from one of the other bureaus haven't already interviewed that man, and there

will be further interviews and further investigation into his role. So I can't really tell you that he's going to have charges right now, but that's

certainly something that we are investigating.

COSBY: Absolutely. Let's go to Kirby Clements, defense attorney. When you hear this, Kirby, do you think that there could be more charges coming

against her and maybe against the boyfriend? Nothing at this time. He's in jail on an unrelated charge, but she has been charged with murder, as

you heard, murder.

KIRBY CLEMENTS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. I think that -- well, first of all, more charges are definitely going to come, even to some -- I think

some DFAX people need to actually go to jail on this particular case.

COSBY: By the way, Kirby, bravo to you. I think that the way this went down with child protective services, how could you miss this? This is so

disgusting, Kirby.

CLEMENTS: Oh, absolutely. So I think there is something there. But as to this particular case, I will say that a lot of times what you see is where

the boyfriend is actually the abuser or taking advantage of the girlfriend and the girlfriend protects the boyfriend. So I'm a little disturbed by

this phone call from the boyfriend, through his brother in Pakistan, and given this woman's history, whether she actually perpetrated that abuse or

whether the boyfriend was there to help clean up the scene when the -- if the protective services came and the place was looking in order. So I'm

not altogether settled on the idea that she's actually the perpetrator. Maybe she concealed the body. Maybe she helped on that and kept quiet

while the boyfriend abused, but I'm not convinced at this juncture that she's actually the perpetrator and his actions are very suspect, I mean,

extremely suspect.

COSBY: Yes. I mean, first of all, what -- you come home, and according to the brother from Pakistan, Kirby, he says, well, my brother came home and

little Jordan was already dead. Here's this beautiful little boy, and they say that he, you know, came home and little Jordan was dead and we "buried

him". So to me, when you hear that, you know, there's a little -- you just go, OK, let me just bury him in the backyard. I think there's a lot more

to this story than meets the eye. Kirby, thank you very much. We're going to have more with you on the next story.

Meantime, officers at the L.A. County Correctional Facility were faced with a medical emergency when they found five, yes, five inmates unresponsive or

disoriented in a holding cell. One inmate wasn't breathing and showed no signs of life. They started CPR and hit the inmate with a dose of Narcan.

They worked on the 19-year-old for more than five minutes before administering another dose of Narcan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move, dude.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold on him. Hold on him.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got the I.V. in your arm. Don't move.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep it on, keep it on.

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And seconds later, he suddenly came back to life. All of this as the other four inmates were treated by other emergency responders.

Investigators think that the five men overdosed on fentanyl that had been hidden in a body cavity.

And breaking news in Houston tonight where a missing six-week-old infant has now been found. Some good news here. And the mother that she was

with, a family friend, is now charged with that mother's murder. A lot more details right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:08] COSBY: And I'm Rita Cosby here in for Ashleigh Banfield. Breaking news today as a six-week-old missing infant was found 25 miles

away from where her mother was brutally murdered. Police tracked down baby Shamali Flores in a Houston apartment this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ART ACEVEDO, CHIEF, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: I'm really proud to announce today that the little girl was recovered safely by members of the

Houston Police Department last night, in the middle of the night. Probably a little bit after 1:00 a.m., somewhere in that area. The baby's healthy.

She was quickly transported to Texas Children's Hospital for a full checkup, and we did that as a precautionary measure. We didn't see any

signs of abuse or injury but we wanted to make sure that we had the health professionals check on baby Shamali. She's doing well and she's currently

in the custody of CPS.

[19:40:03] COSBY: And police today arresting a woman who knew Shamali Lee's mom, and they say she stabbed her to death so she could have her

baby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACEVEDO: Early indications suggest that the suspect was friends with Carolina Flores Miranda, Miranda's brother which is how she connected with

our victim and then she recently had a miscarriage and what she was attempting to hide from her boyfriend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: Geez. And tonight there you see the picture, 28-year-old Erika Alvarez is charged with capital murder. And joining me now to talk about

all this is Jeff Boney. He is the associate editor of the Houston Forward Times. Also joining me is the Houston Police Chief, Art Acevedo. CNN Law

Enforcement and Analyst, he's also a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent many years, James Gagliano and also defense attorney Kirby Clements

continues with us. Let me start with you, Chief, if I could. First of all, congratulations, great work. Big break in the case, because we were

so worried when we heard this story, especially a little six-week-old. Time is of the essence, right?

ACEVEDO (via telephone): It sure was. And thank you very much and thank you to everyone that was praying for this little girl and this family.

And, you know, we caught some breaks. We came up with this theory. Our theory was accurate, and we have -- we're 100 percent sure we have the

right suspect in custody.

COSBY: Wow! That's good to hear, 100 percent. All right. So, let's hear the break in the case. What was the lucky break that you got in the case?

ACEVEDO: Well, first we had a -- an apartment complex where this occurred -- this crime occurred is predominantly Hispanic immigrants and they were

actually, put aside their fear of the police, the immigration debate going on, and actually cooperated with us, gave us good information that helped

us develop our theory, investigators develop our theory. And from there, we just started working like we would any other case like this, and we're

able to track down the murderer and the baby, so we're fortunate, we're grateful, and this is probably the only silver lining is we got this baby

back alive and well.

COSBY: Yes. Absolutely, absolutely. Especially here we are heading into Christmas, Chief. Chief, you know, you said that the community was

helpful. They're -- I understand a Honduran descent, and as you point out, sometimes there is, you know, concern about going to authorities. I'm so

glad to hear that the community helped in this particular case. But if you said, OK, let me find the Honduran community in Houston, it's a big area.

I've been to Houston many times. What did you get? Was there some specific lead that they saw someone suspicious around or did you go to the

hospitals and check to see new babies? Was it a combination?

ACEVEDO: Yes. It was -- it was her neighbors actually willing to open the doors and talking to us and letting us what they heard, most importantly

what they don't -- what they didn't hear, and also some unique things about the apartment complex itself that gave us some clues as to the fact that

this was more than likely someone that knew the mother, that knew the deceased. And as a result of those tidbits, we were able to move forward

in the investigation. Now we have a suspect charged with capital murder and baby Shamali back where she belongs, in good hands and in good health,

and now we've just got to put the case forward through prosecution.

COSBY: And Chief, you were saying what they didn't hear. We know that there was no sign of forced entry. Was there something else? Because we

understand that this woman, who as you say, now you say 100 percent sure, and she has now been charged, that there was a connection, that she

basically met this family when they came to the United States about five years ago. So, it was a friend. Did they see friends in the area, or did

you just go, OK, let me look at her closest friends?

ACEVEDO: Well, what happened was, they gave us some details about the complex and about the people that came and -- that came and went, and I

think from that, we were able to develop some leads. And at the end of the day, you know, we also had some other investigative techniques that we

used, that I'm one of those guys that tries not to talk about our techniques, because unfortunately, you know, the CSI shows have taught a

lot of criminals how to cover their tracks and it's getting more and more difficult to get forensic evidence. And so, I try not to talk about

specifics, just to say that I will just say that we used every asset of the Houston Police Department, our federal partners at the FBI, and like I said

at my press conference, people like to say that we don't -- you know, American policing don't care about people of color or poor people. This

child was born into a very humble -- a very family, an immigrant family, a family of color, and we didn't leave any stone unturned to bring justice to

the family of that little girl back to where she belongs.

COSBY: Well, bravo, Chief. And thank you for your hard work. I'm such a big fan of law enforcement and appreciate so much what you do. Thank you

very much, sir.

[19:45:01] Let's go to Jeff Boney, he is the associate editor with the Houston Forward Times. Jeff, one of the things, too, that we understand is

from these tips that we just heard from the chief, that they put together something on the complex, and I'm going to get to James on that in a moment

because I have a lot of questions for him as well too on this. But in addition to that, we also understand that at the hospital, this woman had

this fabricated story. She's going to, what, deliver a baby, and then suddenly she comes home with a six-week-old? Tell us the background of

this woman, as we're seeing pictures of her, who has now been charged with murder.

JEFF BONEY, ASSOCIATED EDITOR, HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES: Yes. So, 28-year- old Erika Miranda Alvarez, she actually was expecting a baby in January. And before she had this miscarriage, she had been excited about having this

baby. And according to the police, she didn't tell her family or her boyfriend about the miscarriage, and she pretended to be at the hospital

the entire time giving birth, and she actually told the family and her boyfriend that Shamali Flores was her own baby and that she had to remain

in the hospital that entire time before they had a (INAUDIBLE) finally saw her that whole time because the baby had been ill. And so when they

finally saw her, that was the first time week-old baby and she claimed that that's her own.

COSBY: Unbelievable. Unbelievable. James Gagliano here with me on set. You hear this. It's interesting how he pieced it together, right? And

obviously, you first suspect somebody who wanted to have a baby, because why else take a six-week-old and kill the mother?

JAMES GAGLIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes. And you could tell from the Chief's response, it was -- it was muted relief. Obviously, we found

the baby, it's so critical and important, it's a big relief but the mother died tragically. And to be died -- and to die the way that she did, which

was a stabbing, which is a very personal and intimate crime, again, so many more questions here than our answers. Police are going to do a number of

things, they're going to canvas social media, all the digital exhaust from cell phones or opening a laptop or E-Zpasses, all the cameras that could

possibly be called for forensic evidence, any photographic evidence or video evidence. They've got a lot of work ahead of them to try to put

together some type of template for this woman and find out exactly what was behind her means for doing this.

COSBY: Yes, they sure do. Obviously a lot of psychological problems and now deservedly charged with murder. Thanks so much.

GAGLIANO: Thanks.

COSBY: And coming up, a Texas teen accused of bludgeoning a friend with a hammer to death and dumping her body in a landfill will now be tried as an

adult. We're going to have a lot more details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:52:07] And I'm Rita Cosby here in Ashleigh Banfield. A Texas judge ruled a teen boy who allegedly killed a 14-year-old girl with a hammer will

be tried as an adult. Police say 16-year-old Jordan Roche dumped Kaytlynn Cargill's body in a Dallas area landfill last summer. It was a crime that

terrified the local community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a real shock because I've lived here a long time. And nothing like this has happened in this area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I have to go outside at night, I go with my husband instead of going by myself. Just pretty much staying in after

dark.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And at the time police took some heat for not going ahead with an amber alert when Cargill went missing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF GIBSON, BEDFORD CHIEF OF POLICE: I realize that this community has several questions as to why the Bedford Police Department did not activate

an amber alert on June 19th. And the simple answer is there are specific criteria that law enforcement personnel have to follow in terms of

initiating an amber alert.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: Roche allegedly made up a fake alibi about being out of state at the time of the killing, but cell phone records got him. They showed that

Roche was one of the last people to communicate with Kaytlynn. And now let's go back to defense attorney Kirby Clements. Kirby, they got the cell

phone records. He made up a story. Where are you going to go with this one? Because apparently the head of the hammer that they believe killed

this poor girl apparently was found in the apartment -- the girlfriend's apartment of this guy, and he was there. So go with this one.

CLEMENTS: Well, you know, this one is-- sometimes you have to go and beg for mercy because in this situation cell phone records are devastating. I

can just tell you that. I've handled enough cases now to know that they can put you somewhere. If you're going to try to blame the girlfriend, you

know, then she's going to become a witness against you. So that's probably not the way to go. At this stage of the game, I think he's going to have

to go with some other defense such as, you know, yes, I did it, but here's the reason why. I have some mental health issues. That's really the only

way that he's going to go because when you lie about being in town and you are in fact in town and you're the last person -- one of the last people to

see the victim then -- and the hammer's found in your girlfriend's apartment, it's an uphill battle.

COSBY: Absolutely. You're in big-time trouble. Thanks so much. And we're going to switch gears. A Mississippi boy dials 911 to stop the

Grinch from stealing Christmas. We're going to have that story and a lot more coming up. And he ends up taking the bad Santa to jail. Find out

when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:59:54] COSBY: We all know the story of how the Grinch stole Christmas, but a five-year-old TyLon Pittman did not. And when he saw the Grinch

about to make off with all the gifts and toys, he did what he always had been told to do, call 911.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who am I speaking with? This is the Byram Police Department. We had a 911 hang-up from this number.

TYLON PITTMAN, MISSISSIPPI CHILD: I just had to tell you that the -- I saw the Grinch. Because the Grinch going to steal Christmas, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Do you have any adult there with you?

[20:00:01] PITTMAN: My mom is gone. Oh, I say that after I grow up, I'm going to be a police. I can come -- I can come in if you want to, I will

help you all. I'm too -- I'm too fast.

END

[19:30:00] ASHLEY WILLCOTT, JUDGE, JUVENILE COURT: -- and keep in mind, not only were the conditions are deplorable, but that statement that they

were specifically -- it was infested with rats and cockroaches. That doesn't happen overnight. They just closed their last case this year,

February of this year, DCSF did. So, again, this is not something that happens overnight to kids.

RITA COSBY, HLN HOST: You're right. Let's go to Sergeant Jennifer Chach, if we could. Sergeant, can you describe what the house looked like when

you arrived on scene, what the location looked like?

JENNIFER CIACCIA, PIO, CLEVELAND DIVISION POLICE (via telephone): No. I was not inside the home. It was reported though that there were bugs, that

there were roaches and that it was pretty deplorable, which is obviously pretty sad and unsanitary.

COSBY: And is it possible that other charges will be coming towards this woman and maybe also towards others?

CIACCIA: That's a good question. So, our officers, our detectives from the homicide unit today charged Rodriguez with murder, murder B, to be

specific. The plan would be then to review the medical examiner's office report that will be coming in, you know, in due time, as this can be a

lengthy process as they do a full-on medical exam. It involves a lot of different tests and x-rays and things like that. But then once it becomes

the right time, they'll do a grand jury packet and it actually present felonious assault charges to the grand jury.

COSBY: What about someone else, too? What about the boyfriend? Because this is the brother of the boyfriend who called from Pakistan to say, hey,

my brother told me that he and his girlfriend buried little Jordan in the backyard. Could something be happening to the boyfriend?

CIACCIA: So, our homicide detectives -- our detectives from the -- from one of the other bureaus haven't already interviewed that man, and there

will be further interviews and further investigation into his role. So I can't really tell you that he's going to have charges right now, but that's

certainly something that we are investigating.

COSBY: Absolutely. Let's go to Kirby Clements, defense attorney. When you hear this, Kirby, do you think that there could be more charges coming

against her and maybe against the boyfriend? Nothing at this time. He's in jail on an unrelated charge, but she has been charged with murder, as

you heard, murder.

KIRBY CLEMENTS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. I think that -- well, first of all, more charges are definitely going to come, even to some -- I think

some DFAX people need to actually go to jail on this particular case.

COSBY: By the way, Kirby, bravo to you. I think that the way this went down with child protective services, how could you miss this? This is so

disgusting, Kirby.

CLEMENTS: Oh, absolutely. So I think there is something there. But as to this particular case, I will say that a lot of times what you see is where

the boyfriend is actually the abuser or taking advantage of the girlfriend and the girlfriend protects the boyfriend. So I'm a little disturbed by

this phone call from the boyfriend, through his brother in Pakistan, and given this woman's history, whether she actually perpetrated that abuse or

whether the boyfriend was there to help clean up the scene when the -- if the protective services came and the place was looking in order. So I'm

not altogether settled on the idea that she's actually the perpetrator. Maybe she concealed the body. Maybe she helped on that and kept quiet

while the boyfriend abused, but I'm not convinced at this juncture that she's actually the perpetrator and his actions are very suspect, I mean,

extremely suspect.

COSBY: Yes. I mean, first of all, what -- you come home, and according to the brother from Pakistan, Kirby, he says, well, my brother came home and

little Jordan was already dead. Here's this beautiful little boy, and they say that he, you know, came home and little Jordan was dead and we "buried

him". So to me, when you hear that, you know, there's a little -- you just go, OK, let me just bury him in the backyard. I think there's a lot more

to this story than meets the eye. Kirby, thank you very much. We're going to have more with you on the next story.

Meantime, officers at the L.A. County Correctional Facility were faced with a medical emergency when they found five, yes, five inmates unresponsive or

disoriented in a holding cell. One inmate wasn't breathing and showed no signs of life. They started CPR and hit the inmate with a dose of Narcan.

They worked on the 19-year-old for more than five minutes before administering another dose of Narcan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't move, dude.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hold on him. Hold on him.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got the I.V. in your arm. Don't move.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep it on, keep it on.

(CROSSTALK)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And seconds later, he suddenly came back to life. All of this as the other four inmates were treated by other emergency responders.

Investigators think that the five men overdosed on fentanyl that had been hidden in a body cavity.

And breaking news in Houston tonight where a missing six-week-old infant has now been found. Some good news here. And the mother that she was

with, a family friend, is now charged with that mother's murder. A lot more details right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:39:08] COSBY: And I'm Rita Cosby here in for Ashleigh Banfield. Breaking news today as a six-week-old missing infant was found 25 miles

away from where her mother was brutally murdered. Police tracked down baby Shamali Flores in a Houston apartment this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ART ACEVEDO, CHIEF, HOUSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT: I'm really proud to announce today that the little girl was recovered safely by members of the

Houston Police Department last night, in the middle of the night. Probably a little bit after 1:00 a.m., somewhere in that area. The baby's healthy.

She was quickly transported to Texas Children's Hospital for a full checkup, and we did that as a precautionary measure. We didn't see any

signs of abuse or injury but we wanted to make sure that we had the health professionals check on baby Shamali. She's doing well and she's currently

in the custody of CPS.

[19:40:03] COSBY: And police today arresting a woman who knew Shamali Lee's mom, and they say she stabbed her to death so she could have her

baby.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ACEVEDO: Early indications suggest that the suspect was friends with Carolina Flores Miranda, Miranda's brother which is how she connected with

our victim and then she recently had a miscarriage and what she was attempting to hide from her boyfriend.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: Geez. And tonight there you see the picture, 28-year-old Erika Alvarez is charged with capital murder. And joining me now to talk about

all this is Jeff Boney. He is the associate editor of the Houston Forward Times. Also joining me is the Houston Police Chief, Art Acevedo. CNN Law

Enforcement and Analyst, he's also a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent many years, James Gagliano and also defense attorney Kirby Clements

continues with us. Let me start with you, Chief, if I could. First of all, congratulations, great work. Big break in the case, because we were

so worried when we heard this story, especially a little six-week-old. Time is of the essence, right?

ACEVEDO (via telephone): It sure was. And thank you very much and thank you to everyone that was praying for this little girl and this family.

And, you know, we caught some breaks. We came up with this theory. Our theory was accurate, and we have -- we're 100 percent sure we have the

right suspect in custody.

COSBY: Wow! That's good to hear, 100 percent. All right. So, let's hear the break in the case. What was the lucky break that you got in the case?

ACEVEDO: Well, first we had a -- an apartment complex where this occurred -- this crime occurred is predominantly Hispanic immigrants and they were

actually, put aside their fear of the police, the immigration debate going on, and actually cooperated with us, gave us good information that helped

us develop our theory, investigators develop our theory. And from there, we just started working like we would any other case like this, and we're

able to track down the murderer and the baby, so we're fortunate, we're grateful, and this is probably the only silver lining is we got this baby

back alive and well.

COSBY: Yes. Absolutely, absolutely. Especially here we are heading into Christmas, Chief. Chief, you know, you said that the community was

helpful. They're -- I understand a Honduran descent, and as you point out, sometimes there is, you know, concern about going to authorities. I'm so

glad to hear that the community helped in this particular case. But if you said, OK, let me find the Honduran community in Houston, it's a big area.

I've been to Houston many times. What did you get? Was there some specific lead that they saw someone suspicious around or did you go to the

hospitals and check to see new babies? Was it a combination?

ACEVEDO: Yes. It was -- it was her neighbors actually willing to open the doors and talking to us and letting us what they heard, most importantly

what they don't -- what they didn't hear, and also some unique things about the apartment complex itself that gave us some clues as to the fact that

this was more than likely someone that knew the mother, that knew the deceased. And as a result of those tidbits, we were able to move forward

in the investigation. Now we have a suspect charged with capital murder and baby Shamali back where she belongs, in good hands and in good health,

and now we've just got to put the case forward through prosecution.

COSBY: And Chief, you were saying what they didn't hear. We know that there was no sign of forced entry. Was there something else? Because we

understand that this woman, who as you say, now you say 100 percent sure, and she has now been charged, that there was a connection, that she

basically met this family when they came to the United States about five years ago. So, it was a friend. Did they see friends in the area, or did

you just go, OK, let me look at her closest friends?

ACEVEDO: Well, what happened was, they gave us some details about the complex and about the people that came and -- that came and went, and I

think from that, we were able to develop some leads. And at the end of the day, you know, we also had some other investigative techniques that we

used, that I'm one of those guys that tries not to talk about our techniques, because unfortunately, you know, the CSI shows have taught a

lot of criminals how to cover their tracks and it's getting more and more difficult to get forensic evidence. And so, I try not to talk about

specifics, just to say that I will just say that we used every asset of the Houston Police Department, our federal partners at the FBI, and like I said

at my press conference, people like to say that we don't -- you know, American policing don't care about people of color or poor people. This

child was born into a very humble -- a very family, an immigrant family, a family of color, and we didn't leave any stone unturned to bring justice to

the family of that little girl back to where she belongs.

COSBY: Well, bravo, Chief. And thank you for your hard work. I'm such a big fan of law enforcement and appreciate so much what you do. Thank you

very much, sir.

[19:45:01] Let's go to Jeff Boney, he is the associate editor with the Houston Forward Times. Jeff, one of the things, too, that we understand is

from these tips that we just heard from the chief, that they put together something on the complex, and I'm going to get to James on that in a moment

because I have a lot of questions for him as well too on this. But in addition to that, we also understand that at the hospital, this woman had

this fabricated story. She's going to, what, deliver a baby, and then suddenly she comes home with a six-week-old? Tell us the background of

this woman, as we're seeing pictures of her, who has now been charged with murder.

JEFF BONEY, ASSOCIATED EDITOR, HOUSTON FORWARD TIMES: Yes. So, 28-year- old Erika Miranda Alvarez, she actually was expecting a baby in January. And before she had this miscarriage, she had been excited about having this

baby. And according to the police, she didn't tell her family or her boyfriend about the miscarriage, and she pretended to be at the hospital

the entire time giving birth, and she actually told the family and her boyfriend that Shamali Flores was her own baby and that she had to remain

in the hospital that entire time before they had a (INAUDIBLE) finally saw her that whole time because the baby had been ill. And so when they

finally saw her, that was the first time week-old baby and she claimed that that's her own.

COSBY: Unbelievable. Unbelievable. James Gagliano here with me on set. You hear this. It's interesting how he pieced it together, right? And

obviously, you first suspect somebody who wanted to have a baby, because why else take a six-week-old and kill the mother?

JAMES GAGLIANO, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes. And you could tell from the Chief's response, it was -- it was muted relief. Obviously, we found

the baby, it's so critical and important, it's a big relief but the mother died tragically. And to be died -- and to die the way that she did, which

was a stabbing, which is a very personal and intimate crime, again, so many more questions here than our answers. Police are going to do a number of

things, they're going to canvas social media, all the digital exhaust from cell phones or opening a laptop or E-Zpasses, all the cameras that could

possibly be called for forensic evidence, any photographic evidence or video evidence. They've got a lot of work ahead of them to try to put

together some type of template for this woman and find out exactly what was behind her means for doing this.

COSBY: Yes, they sure do. Obviously a lot of psychological problems and now deservedly charged with murder. Thanks so much.

GAGLIANO: Thanks.

COSBY: And coming up, a Texas teen accused of bludgeoning a friend with a hammer to death and dumping her body in a landfill will now be tried as an

adult. We're going to have a lot more details coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:52:07] And I'm Rita Cosby here in Ashleigh Banfield. A Texas judge ruled a teen boy who allegedly killed a 14-year-old girl with a hammer will

be tried as an adult. Police say 16-year-old Jordan Roche dumped Kaytlynn Cargill's body in a Dallas area landfill last summer. It was a crime that

terrified the local community.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a real shock because I've lived here a long time. And nothing like this has happened in this area.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I have to go outside at night, I go with my husband instead of going by myself. Just pretty much staying in after

dark.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: And at the time police took some heat for not going ahead with an amber alert when Cargill went missing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF GIBSON, BEDFORD CHIEF OF POLICE: I realize that this community has several questions as to why the Bedford Police Department did not activate

an amber alert on June 19th. And the simple answer is there are specific criteria that law enforcement personnel have to follow in terms of

initiating an amber alert.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSBY: Roche allegedly made up a fake alibi about being out of state at the time of the killing, but cell phone records got him. They showed that

Roche was one of the last people to communicate with Kaytlynn. And now let's go back to defense attorney Kirby Clements. Kirby, they got the cell

phone records. He made up a story. Where are you going to go with this one? Because apparently the head of the hammer that they believe killed

this poor girl apparently was found in the apartment -- the girlfriend's apartment of this guy, and he was there. So go with this one.

CLEMENTS: Well, you know, this one is-- sometimes you have to go and beg for mercy because in this situation cell phone records are devastating. I

can just tell you that. I've handled enough cases now to know that they can put you somewhere. If you're going to try to blame the girlfriend, you

know, then she's going to become a witness against you. So that's probably not the way to go. At this stage of the game, I think he's going to have

to go with some other defense such as, you know, yes, I did it, but here's the reason why. I have some mental health issues. That's really the only

way that he's going to go because when you lie about being in town and you are in fact in town and you're the last person -- one of the last people to

see the victim then -- and the hammer's found in your girlfriend's apartment, it's an uphill battle.

COSBY: Absolutely. You're in big-time trouble. Thanks so much. And we're going to switch gears. A Mississippi boy dials 911 to stop the

Grinch from stealing Christmas. We're going to have that story and a lot more coming up. And he ends up taking the bad Santa to jail. Find out

when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:59:54] COSBY: We all know the story of how the Grinch stole Christmas, but a five-year-old TyLon Pittman did not. And when he saw the Grinch

about to make off with all the gifts and toys, he did what he always had been told to do, call 911.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who am I speaking with? This is the Byram Police Department. We had a 911 hang-up from this number.

TYLON PITTMAN, MISSISSIPPI CHILD: I just had to tell you that the -- I saw the Grinch. Because the Grinch going to steal Christmas, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Do you have any adult there with you?

[20:00:01] PITTMAN: My mom is gone. Oh, I say that after I grow up, I'm going to be a police. I can come -- I can come in if you want to, I will

help you all. I'm too -- I'm too fast.

END