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Nancy Grace
NH Mom Receives Letter From Missing Teen Daughter; Kentucky Mom Tries to Sell Newborn Twice
Aired December 09, 2013 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. Off the top, live to suburban Conway, New Hampshire. A schoolgirl, Abby, walking home from school vanishes without a trace. Bombshell tonight. The case cracks wide open, a letter mailed to Abby`s mother from Abby. Is this letter for real? Is Abby being held alive? Is this some sort of a cruel hoax? Tonight, where is Abby?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The letter is purported to be written by Abby to her mother.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe you`re out there somewhere, watching and listening to me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The FBI and local authorities have scoured the area.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She has somebody who is either helping her, whether that be a friend, or what we fear is a foe.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, does a suburban Kentucky mom try to pay the bill by trying to sell her newborn baby girl -- twice?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say a Kentucky mom of three tried to sell her newborn baby. Twenty-four-year-old Leeanna Brown is accused of using her baby as a bargaining chip to the tune of $5,000. When the deal with the first potential buyer fell apart, cops say Brown found another person to take her newborn baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live, Missoula, a storybook wedding, twilight garden ceremony, scads of bridesmaids decked out in pink head to toe, extravagant reception. But just eight days later, does the bride literally push the groom hundreds of feet over a cliff to a gruesome death?
Day one in the killer bride jury trial as the judge kicks out crucial evidence the bride planned to kill before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bride Jordan Graham goes on trial for murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Accused of murdering her husband a week after their wedding date, now fiercely fighting to have the charges dismissed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jordan, did you kill Cody? Did you mean to push your husband off a cliff, Jordan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jordan Graham is a calculating killer or an innocent young bride.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, to upscale Orem. He kisses his wife tenderly on the forehead, rubbing her feet as she lies dead in a hospital bed. But did the lovey hubby murder his wife of three years to cash in on a million- dollar life insurance policy?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prosecutors allege Truman (ph) had taken out $800,000 in life insurance on his wife and that was his motive for killing her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help! I really don`t know what happened!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The autopsy found that the gun`s muzzle was right up to Heidi`s (ph) head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Off the top, schoolgirl Abby walking home from school vanishes without a trace. Well, the case cracks wide open. A letter mailed to Abby`s mother from Abby? Is this letter for real? Is Abby being held alive, or is this letter some sort of a cruel hoax?
Tonight, where is Abby? Is she being held captive? Is this letter for real? Let`s start at the beginning.
Straight out to Frank Alosa, anchor with WGAN. Frank, tell me how Abby went missing.
FRANK ALOSA, WGAN (via telephone): She left high school, Kennett High School in Conway, New Hampshire. She was seen -- last seen leaving the high school, and investigators assumed she went walking home, but she hasn`t been seen or heard from since then.
They did a wide search around the community in Conway, New Hampshire, found nothing. Then this letter, as you mentioned, came forward. They verified the authenticity of it. They say it is from Abby after doing their due diligence to confirm that...
GRACE: Right. Right.
ALOSA: ... it is from her. And now that`s where we`re at. That haven`t said anything about the contents of the letter, its tone or where it was postmarked from, only that it came in and it`s the only correspondence they`ve had with the missing girl.
GRACE: OK, let`s take it one thing at a time. To Justin Freiman. Justin, I want to back up, all right? We know a letter has been received by her mother, ostensibly from Abby. I want to talk about how the girl went missing. What happened exactly?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Nancy, she left school in the afternoon, like a normal day, began walking home, and that is the last that she was seen. She vanished.
GRACE: Oh, you know, Justin, someone in New York is talking in my ear. Could you repeat that? Did she ride a school bus? Do we know if she was with anyone? Who is it that saw her walking home?
FREIMAN: According to authorities, she has been seen on video leaving school that day, and then walked home on her normal path, but was never seen again -- basically, vanished.
GRACE: You know, Justin, you mentioned video surveillance. What video surveillance?
FREIMAN: From the school itself, there is video of her, and it shows her leaving that afternoon.
GRACE: Everybody, you`re seeing a shot right now of exactly what we`re describing. This is a still taken from that video surveillance of teen girl Abby leaving school, like every other day. The problem is, she was never seen alive again. Then a stunning breakthrough in the case. We learned that a letter was sent to Abby`s mother from Abby.
Joining me right now is Abby`s mother, Zenya Hernandez. Ma`am, thank you for being with us.
ZENYA HERNANDEZ, MOTHER (via telephone): Hello, Nancy. Thank you for having me on your show.
GRACE: Thank you. Question -- do you believe this letter was from Abby?
HERNANDEZ: I can`t talk specifically about the letter. But I do. I do.
GRACE: You believe it was from Abby. Now, you say you can`t talk specifically about the letter. Could you tell me what about the letter marks you think it may have been from Abby?
HERNANDEZ: I would rather not discuss the letter at all.
GRACE: Tell me when you last saw Abby.
HERNANDEZ: I`d rather not discuss any specifics of the investigation, only...
GRACE: OK. Only what? What can you tell me?
HERNANDEZ: Only on, like, live (ph) -- I can tell you about what I felt when I received the letter from Abby.
GRACE: OK. Tell me that.
HERNANDEZ: (INAUDIBLE) the letter. I was (INAUDIBLE) by -- was devastated for a full month before that because I -- I did not know what happened to her and she vanished. And so I didn`t expect this. I received a letter, and then I realized that, well, you know -- a letter maybe from Abby, and I felt (INAUDIBLE) and like -- it was, like, Wow, you know? It was the best thing I`ve ever seen, ever.
GRACE: Out to Justin Freiman. Justin, I want to go back over her receiving this letter. Now, I understand Abby`s mother is saying police are telling her she can`t tell us the contents of the letter. But Justin, it`s been now well over a week since that letter was received. Do we have any idea whether Abby`s dead or alive?
FREIMAN: Nancy, the authorities do believe now that she is alive because of this letter that they believe was sent by the missing schoolgirl.
GRACE: Back out to Frank Alosa, anchor with WGAN. You know, there`s also an alleged sighting by a man in Brockton who may have seen Abigail in a video on line. What do we know about that?
ALOSA: Yes, Nancy, I don`t really know too much about that. That came in, I believe, after the announcement last week in the press conference that the letter was sent to Abby`s mother, Zenya. But I don`t believe that the authorities, the investigators, have confirmed or denied anything about that at this point.
GRACE: Out to the lines. To Dee in Indiana. Hi, Dee. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. Well, I guess it`s that the mother -- or that they`re kind of keeping it quiet about where -- I was going to ask where it was postmarked from to see if it was still in the state of New Hampshire. But I guess I`ll change it up.
Have they been checking the registered sex offenders? Because obviously, if he found her, you know, after school, it probably isn`t his first time. And maybe it, obviously, like, a sex offender, and they should do, like, an extensive search. Have they been checking, you know, houses, you know, the sex offenders` houses, you know, to see if...
GRACE: Out to Frank Alosa with WGAN. Frank what do we know about registered sex offenders in that area?
ALOSA: They haven`t said anything about what they`re done in terms of the investigation, only that to say that it has been very extensive and it started, basically, the day she went missing, when the mother reported her missing. They haven`t said anything specifically about sex offender investigations.
GRACE: Justin, why do you believe that -- why do police believe this may have been written by Abby? And do we have any reason to believe she`s still alive?
FREIMAN: ... tone that they say shows that it was written by the missing schoolgirl, and that makes -- leads them to believe that she could be alive, but in danger.
GRACE: Everyone, Abby last seen with black leggings and yoga pants, a gray striped multicolored sweater, black leather boots. Here she is as she`s leaving school that day. Take a look. These are her clothes. The tip line, 1-800-CALL-FBI. There`s a $20,000 reward.
Has the case been cracked wide open? Is Abby being held against her will, or is this a cruel hoax? A letter allegedly written by Abby is received by her mother.
When we come back, does a suburban Kentucky mother try to pay the bills by selling her newborn baby -- twice?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Outrage tonight. Does a suburban Kentucky mom try to pay the bills by trying to sell her newborn baby girl not once, but twice?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Kentucky mom is set to be arraigned in just hours on charges she tried to sell her newborn baby multiple times. Police say Leeanna Brown first tried to sell her baby to a woman for $5,000. When that deal fell through, Brown found another taker. Police say no documents were signed and Brown simply handed the baby over in exchange for the buyer paying Brown`s legal fees. Brown will now need more money for legal fees as she faces up to five years behind bars on charges of trying to sell or purchase a child for adoption.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Whoa! Trying to sell her baby girl to pay the bills? Straight out to Jeff D`Alessio, news editor with "The News-Enterprise," joining me from Elizabethtown, Kentucky. Jeff, thank you for being with us. So how did police find out that this mom allegedly tries to sell her baby girl not once but twice to pay her bills?
JEFF D`ALESSIO, "NEWS-ENTERPRISE" (via telephone): Nancy, it all happened at the Elizabethtown Police Department last Tuesday. The cousin who had possession of the child, who at that time was only 7 days old, was at the police station, as well as Leeanna Brown. A confrontation. A few hours later, Leeanna Brown`s in jail.
GRACE: The baby is only 7 days old. Now, it`s my understanding, Jeff D`Alessio, that the cousin -- that was the second buyer -- had already started paying on the baby, like a layaway plan. Is that right?
D`ALESSIO: A hundred dollars. That`s $100. The -- there was initially a deal involving another woman for about $5,000 to pay a variety of different legal, let`s just say, issues, and that fell through. And you know, this child was born on November 26th, and last Tuesday, there`s a situation at the police department that leads to her being in prison.
GRACE: Out to Matt Zarrell, our producer on the story. Matt, how did she publicize the sale of the baby?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, Nancy, she didn`t really have to publicize it because within 24 hours of giving birth, she had already negotiated two deals for the baby. The baby was born November 26th. November 27th, she already starts trying to sell the baby.
GRACE: OK, let`s take it from the top, Matt. Start with when she gives birth to the baby.
ZARRELL: So she gives birth to the baby November 26th. Now, it`s our understanding through police that she had made a deal to try and sell the baby for $5,000 to an unnamed person. Now, that deal fell apart. We don`t know the context of how it fell apart.
But very, very quickly after that, Brown had arranged a deal to give the baby to her cousin, Luanda Martin (ph). But as we`re learning here, Nancy, the fee was not as much because she had just started paying into it. She had only paid $100. And what happened was, a few days after the transaction, the mother said that she wanted the baby back. And that`s when everyone went to the police station.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Joining me out of LA, Areva Martin, defense attorney. Also joining me tonight, Patrick McDonough, defense attorney out of the Atlanta jurisdiction.
All right, Areva, Mommy`s trying to sell her baby. In fact, Mommy sold her baby. She gave birth. With 48 hours, she had two offers on the baby, one for $5,000.
AREVA MARTIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, I think there`s a rush to judgment on this case. We haven`t heard from this mom. We`re just hearing one side of this story.
This seems like a case, to me, of a woman in trouble, a woman in crisis who`s trying to find help for her children. And the good news here is that the child protective services have stepped in and taken all three of her kids and have placed them in a safe environment.
But I don`t think there`s enough evidence yet to start saying that this woman was trying to sell her baby. What we do know is...
GRACE: Well, that`s what the police said.
MARTIN: ... that she was seeking help -- well, that`s what police say...
GRACE: No. No, no. Police said that.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: And the cousin says...
MARTIN: Nancy...
GRACE: ... she had already paid $100 on the baby, like a car payment.
MARTIN: What we do know is the cousin says she made a payment. We haven`t heard from the mom. We haven`t heard what arrangements the mom is going to say took place between her and her cousin. And until we do, we don`t have...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Let me ask a couple of questions. Out to Jeff D`Alessio with "The News-Enterprise." Who had the baby, Jeff?
D`ALESSIO: The cousin. The cousin had the baby.
GRACE: So the mother doesn`t have the baby. The cousin has the baby. And the cousin also produces evidence she paid the mom 100 bucks, I guess down payment on the baby.
And to you, Patrick McDonough. The first taker was for 5 grand. When that fell through, the mother accepted $100 for her baby?
PATRICK MCDONOUGH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, there`s a lot of allegations here. We don`t know who the alleged first takers are. We don`t know if there really was an offer of $5,000. All we really know right now is that she left an infant child with her relative, and at some point, she might have had $100. We don`t know that it was a quid pro quo. We know that the cousin was upset and has made that allegation.
Hey, people get arrested all the time, but we`re far away from a conviction.
GRACE: Well, according to police, the day after giving birth, this Kentucky mom tries to sell her baby daughter twice -- tries to sell her baby daughter twice.
So it`s my understanding, Jeff D`Alessio, with "The News-Enterprise," they have located the original buyer who offered $5,000 and the deal fell through.
How do we know that`s what was going on? I mean, you hear the defense lawyers trying to blame the cousin of something nefarious. In my mind, the cousin saved the baby`s life.
D`ALESSIO: Well, they are all allegations. We`ll give you that. There are also two other children under the age of 2, both daughters, who are not with the mother, as well. They are also part of this equation and this complaint.
GRACE: So what is the foundation for the case then, Jeff D`Alessio? I know they`re all allegations. I know that, until she`s been proven guilty at a jury trial or pleads guilty. But what is the evidence? I hardly think that police would charge her -- and she`s behind bars tonight on claims she sold her baby and tried to sell the baby twice.
So -- what do we have as evidence, D`Alessio?
D`ALESSIO: Well, we`ve got a citation that says there`s a $100 payment that was made by Ms. Brown to -- to the courts, and that`s what Ms. Martin has -- or I`m sorry -- Ms. Brown was wanting to have paid as far as court fines and fees and such.
She was originally charged with endangering the welfare of a minor, which is in Kentucky A class a misdemeanor punishable up to 12 months in jail. Within 24 hours, the charge was upgraded to a felony, and that`s where we get the one to five years, if found guilty.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say a Kentucky mom of three tried to sell her newborn baby in order to pay court costs. Twenty-four-year-old Leeanna Brown is accused of using her baby was a bargaining chip to the tune of $5,000. When the deal with the first potential buyer fell apart, cops say Brown found another person to take her newborn baby. The price, the baby buyer told police it was for court costs. Brown now behind bars, facing a charge of trying to sell or purchase a child for adoption. She is set to be arraigned in just hours.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A Kentucky mom behind bars tonight on claims that she tried to sell her newborn baby girl. Within just 48 hours of giving birth, she had apparently already lined up two potential buyers, one of them to the tune of $5,000.
Now, back out to you, Matt Zarrell. Is there evidence, or is there suspicion she also tried to sell her other two children?
ZARRELL: Well, Nancy, there are reports that the police are looking into it, and here`s why. When the cops went to investigate, they discovered that the mother, Brown, did not have guardianship or custody of either of the two other daughters, and there was no paperwork to verify any custody exchanging hands. So right now, police are trying to determine whether she actually sold those kids, as well.
GRACE: OK, unleash the lawyers, Areva Martin, Patrick McDonough. To both of you, who keep crying that there`s no evidence, just so you know, in the supplemental police report it says that the mother comes back into the police station -- the mother, who is behind bars now -- confessing that she sold her baby, that she tried to sell it twice, and she`s angry and wants them to give the baby back, McDonough. She had seller`s remorse. She wants her baby back.
So Patrick McDonough, you`re saying there`s no evidence, there`s no evidence. The mom herself comes into the police station and complains about the deal. And she wants her babies back. Seller`s remorse!
MCDONOUGH: Maybe. You never can tell...
GRACE: No, no! It`s not maybe!
MCDONOUGH: ... the supplemental...
GRACE: It`s not maybe!
MCDONOUGH: Do they have a video...
GRACE: This is a police report!
MCDONOUGH: ... statement of her saying that? Did she actually confess to that, or is it possible that she actually had her cousin actually watching the child, and this payment was for baby-sitting? Is that possible?
GRACE: OK. That`s not what the mother says when she comes back into the police station.
MCDONOUGH: That`s summarized in a supplemental report.
GRACE: It`s written out...
MCDONOUGH: Unless you`re saying there`s a videotape or written statement, and that hasn`t been produced.
GRACE: So that`s your defense, there`s not a written statement, there`s not a video statement? Is that what you`re saying?
MCDONOUGH: I`m saying I haven`t seen the evidence yet...
GRACE: OK.
MCDONOUGH: ... because it`s in a supplemental report, that`s not even close to conclusive.
GRACE: Now, let me remind you, Mr. McDonough -- I know you`re a defense attorney, but you know, at the bottom of every police report, the officer gives an official oath, swears that this is the truth and this is what was told to him or her.
Now, she also came into the police station where there were dozens of police officers. The cousin has the baby. The cousin has proof she gave the mom the money. And now we`re wondering if she didn`t try to sell the other two children.
Areva Martin, can you hear me?
MARTIN: Yes, I can, Nancy.
GRACE: (INAUDIBLE) please.
MARTIN: And if all was needed were police reports, then we wouldn`t need jury trials. The statement by the police is not going to be dispositive without a trial. We have to take these witnesses, the police witness, the cousin, and we get a chance to cross-examine them...
GRACE: OK...
MARTIN: ... to see if they`re statements are credible.
GRACE: So now...
(CROSSTALK)
MARTIN: ... then this just (INAUDIBLE) on the basis of the police report.
GRACE: You started off saying there`s no evidence, there`s no evidence, there`s no evidence. Then I confront you with the evidence that the mom came into the police station whining about the deal, seller`s remorse -- she somehow thought she had been done wrong in the deal -- now you`re saying, Oh, well, maybe that evidence isn`t true. Maybe the police officer wrote it down incorrectly.
MARTIN: Not all of the evidence, Nancy, that will come out in a trial...
GRACE: You know, let me just clarify -- yes, I don`t even know what you`re saying about trial.
MCDONOUGH: Let me help...
GRACE: No, let me help you guys. Matt Zarrell, isn`t it true that the debt she wanted to pay off, why she was selling her baby, was because she needed to pay court costs and fines from a drug arrest? Isn`t that true, Matt Zarrell?
ZARRELL: Yes, it is, Nancy.
GRACE: When we come back, a twilight garden wedding ceremony, bridesmaids decked in pink head to toe, extravagant reception. Eight days later, does the bride literally push the groom hundreds of feet over a cliff to a gruesome death? Day one of the killer bride jury trial as the judge kicks out crucial evidence the bride planned to kill before.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A storybook wedding, a twilight garden ceremony. Scads of bridesmaids decked out in pink head to toe. Extravagant reception, but then just eight days later, did the bride literally pushed the groom hundreds of feet over a cliff to his gruesome death? It`s day one of the killer bride jury trial, and the judge has just kicked out crucial evidence that the new bride had planned to kill before.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One week after this beaming couple`s wedding, a chilling scene.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A very steep area. Very treacherous, full of rocks.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prosecutors say 22-year-old Jordan Lynn Graham pushed her new husband, Cody Lee Johnson, off this cliff in the high mountains of Montana.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Immediately after he was pushed, she didn`t call anybody. She left. She went home. Then she actually started the cover- up. She went to her stepfather`s house, created a fake e-mail account, and she is charged with murder one. It`s a very serious crime that she`s been charged with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We are taking your calls. I want to go out to Brett Larsen, investigative reporter. A lot of bombshells out of the courtroom. Everybody, it is day one of the killer bride murder trial, and the judge kicked out crucial evidence the state had intended to bring in. Evidence that this is not the bride`s first time at the rodeo. That she had actually discussed murder before. Also, we are learning that the bride had a special surprise for the groom the night of the murder. What was that? Pushing him over a cliff to his death? Brett Larsen, the judge just ruled out what?
LARSEN: The judge has said that they can`t use the evidence that she had admitted to a friend months earlier that she could have killed her parents, and they`re also not letting them admit the evidence that she has fabricated abuse in previous relationships.
GRACE: Wait a minute. Wait a minute. Fabricated abuse in previous relationships? So what, is she gearing up to say her new groom, just 25 years old, Cody Johnson, abused her?
LARSEN: Potentially, that could be part of her defense. But they`re saying, no, this can`t be evidence that she has claimed that she was abused in previous relationships, although she does claim it was an argument that led to the alleged pushing.
GRACE: Matt Zarrell, do we know what the so-called surprise was that she was going to give the groom that night, that instead of a surprise he got pushed to his death?
ZARRELL: No, Nancy. In fact, I thought it was a surprise when I saw it in documents that were just revealed, because this is the first we`re hearing about it, that Cody specifically told other people that his new bride had a surprise planned for him later that day. Within hours, he was dead.
GRACE: And Brett Larsen, I`m just learning that within a couple of hours, after she admittedly pushes her husband to his death, she is texting her friends about what her zumba class is?
LARSEN: Yes. She is texting her friends about her dance moves. Makes no mention of the fact that her husband is missing, which is the story she starts with, within a few days, saying, oh, he disappeared with some friends in a car, an unidentified car.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Areva Martin, LA. Patrick McDonough, Atlanta. So within just a couple hours after she pushes him to his death, Patrick, she is texting her friends about her zumba dance?
MCDONOUGH: Yes, there is no question that after this accident took place and he went after her and she reflexively (ph) pushed him back and he fell, she didn`t act -- react properly. She`s a young girl, had lived with her parents this entire time, and she should have gone to the authorities. But certainly it`s a leap to get to murder.
GRACE: When I was 22, I was finishing up law school and was holding down two jobs. So I don`t know what you`re saying, she is a young girl that lived with her parents. That doesn`t mean she can`t plan a murder.
MCDONOUGH: Certainly doesn`t. Also doesn`t mean she can`t be someone who was engaged in something that was a tragic accidents, and she just didn`t react appropriately. She didn`t react the way she should have. But it certainly doesn`t mean she murdered this gentleman.
GRACE: OK. Greg Cason, psychologist out of L.A. Didn`t react appropriately? She pushes him to his death. Now, she`s claiming it was an accident. I guess it`s going to morph into a self-defense claim of some sort, but tonight we`re learning that she talked about killing her parents before this.
CASON: I think if somebody actually talked about killing their parents in the past, that goes to the fact that they may be quite impulsive and have the urge to hurt somebody, so they have an anger that comes up from inside and goes -- for most of us, we can put a cap in it. But for her it turned to a rage to the fact that she may have killed her parents. So it`s conceivable that she may have actually done this act.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only two people know what happened atop this Montana cliff late that July night. One of them, Cody Johnson, is dead. And this morning, the other, his new bride, Jordan Graham, goes on trial for murder. Federal prosecutors are fighting hard to prove that 22-year- old committed first-degree murder, because she fell out of love just eight days after her wedding.
In their final pretrial filings, prosecutors wrote they planned to tell the jury Graham pushed Mr. Johnson in the back with both hands. Mr. Johnson fell face-first to his death.
The government expects to call 39 witnesses, including experts, to detail evidence found at Glacier National Park. Like a piece of cloth discovered near Johnson`s body. Authorities suspect Graham blindfolded her husband before he fell 200 feet to his death. Prosecutors also accused Graham of an elaborate cover-up to hide her crime from friends, family and law enforcement. They planned to show the jury text messages and e-mails they claim she sent herself from a fake account to throw authorities off her trail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Everyone, that`s from ABC`s "GMA." In the last hours, a jury has been selected and has been seated in the killer bride case. She claims she pushed him, but as a reaction in self-defense, in anger? The state says, no way. That, in fact, she has tried or discussed killing before. In fact, killing her own parents. The judge kicked out crucial evidence in the last hours. Evidence to the jury that would show she had planned and talked about murders before.
Straight back out to Matt Zarrell. Matt, the -- the behavior before and just after her groom is, has been found dead at the bottom of a cliff suggests premeditation. Now, what do we know about the fact that she promised a surprise to him the night that he was murdered?
ZARRELL: Yes. Now, prosecutors say that the day of Cody`s death, he told acquaintances that Graham had a surprise planned for him later that day. However, what prosecutors also say is that Graham had texted a number of friends, specifically one friend right before going to the Glacier National Park, where she said, that if you don`t hear from me, that something, quote/unquote happened. But she doesn`t go into anymore details of what will happen.
GRACE: To Dr. Vincent DiMaio, forensic pathologist joining me out of San Antonio. Dr. DiMaio, thank you for being with us.
DIMAIO: Thank you.
GRACE: Could we tell from his body -- remember, it laid there for -- for quite some time. And she knew where the body was. So she let days pass. In fact, he wasn`t even reported missing until he didn`t show up to work the following Monday, and was not reported missing by her. How long would it take for, for instance, a knockout drug or a sedative or even poison to disappear in his body?
DIMAIO: Oh, it`s not going to disappear until the body completely decomposes. So as long as you have some tissue, muscle tissue is great for analysis. So you`re talking months.
GRACE: To Brett Larsen, investigative reporter on the story. How have we learned about all of her texts and e-mails that she sent just after he`s dead?
LARSEN: Well, some friends have come forward to authorities, because they were suspicious when the husband disappeared, and they came forward to cops and they said, you know, this is what we found, and we just think something is up with her ever-changing story and the disappearance of her new husband.
GRACE: Out to Matt Zarrell. Tell me about the jury.
ZARRELL: OK. So we`ve got eight men, six women. Two alternates, and the prosecution is laying out their opening statement, including talking about specifically, Nancy, how Jordan Graham engaged in a nine-day campaign to hide her crime from friends, family, law enforcement, everyone.
GRACE: What was the cover-up, Matt?
ZARRELL: Well, the cover-up includes that on July 10th, the day after -- just a couple days after, Graham created an e-mail account and an IP address belonging to her stepfather from a fake man named Tony who sent Graham a fake email saying that Cody had gone hiking, fallen and was dead, and the search should be called off.
GRACE: And again, Matt Zarrell, exactly how was he reported missing?
ZARRELL: He was reported missing by an uncle the next day when he never (sic) failed to show up for work. And Nancy, I should mention, after Graham received that fake e-mail, she led a full search party that included Cody`s family and friends out to the park, and coincidentally, Graham was the one who found the body.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Areva Martin and Patrick McDonough. Areva, it`s one thing to kill. But, then, to go back home, to drive your car back home, leaving your husband`s body in the wild, and knowing that animals could come and tear the body apart, that he would begin to decompose and decay lying out there. That`s a whole another mind-set.
MARTIN: You know, Nancy, you said earlier, when you were 22 years old you were graduating from law school. No doubt, you are a superstar. That`s not, though, the young woman --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: No. Basically everybody else who is 22, too.
MARTIN: No, no. This is not the young woman we`re dealing with. This young woman, we`re going to hear testimony that she was socially inept and that, despite being the legal age of 22, she was like a little kid. She was like a little girl, and there are oftentimes where you have young adults, 22, 23 years old, but they have the mind of a teenager. So her actions after the accident happened, and this is a circumstantial evidence case. We cannot forget that there are no eyewitnesses. And after the accident, the altercation that happened between them, she should have done some things differently, but she didn`t.
GRACE: You mean, not lie?
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You mean don`t lie and leave your husband out in the wilderness to rot? Matt Zarrell, is it not true she held a great job, she pulled off planning and executing a storybook wedding with a dozen bridesmaids, catering, music. She even composed music herself, that she had played at the wedding, and she engaged in nearly two weeks of very sophisticated cover-up following her groom`s death?
ZARRELL: Yes, Nancy, that`s correct. She did all of that.
GRACE: Everybody, a man trying to strike down a girl in a Las Vegas mall is part of the knockout gang. Ends up getting knocked down himself. Take a look at this. A man running through the mall trying to strike down a woman, but instead, she beats him to smithereens, then gets her boyfriend involved. At the end of the day, the victim walks away -- and the perp -- oh, that`s him. He is the one writhing on the ground. So much for the knockout game.
Everybody, coming up, we go to upscale Orem. He kisses his wife tenderly on the forehead, rubbing her feet as she lies dead in a hospital bed, but did the loving hubby murder his wife of three years to cash in on a a million-dollar life insurance policy?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: He kisses his wife tenderly on the forehead, rubbing her feet as she lies dead in a hospital bed, but did the loving hubby murder his wife of three years just to cash in on a million-dollar life insurance policy?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I certify the manner of death was homicide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The medical examiner disputed the shooting was any kind of an accident. Corporal Crook (ph) testified that Truman (ph) had obviously been drinking, but says he became alarmed when Truman grabbed the handgun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Jim Kirkwood with KTKK. Jim, thank you for being with us.
I can`t quite get my head wrapped around this. He, the husband, is there in the hospital, his wife pronounced dead, and he`s kissing her tenderly on the forehead in front of an audience, of course -- nurses, and paramedics standing around -- he is rubbing her feet, anguished over the fact that she has committed suicide. Now, according to cops, Jim Kirkwood, it was an Oscar-winning performance, because they believe that he killed her for her life insurance policy.
Let me ask you this, Jim Kirkwood, what was the mode of death?
JIM KIRKWOOD, KTKK: A Sig Sauer 380 handgun, pressed firmly against her temple, above five inches above the right ear, and pressed firmly enough there were no powder burns, Nancy. This had to take some strength, obviously not suicide.
GRACE: We`re talking about 26-year-old Heidi Truman (ph). According to family and friends she was not suicidal by any stretch of the imagination. Here are shots in happier times. That is Conrad Truman, age 31, Heidi Truman, age 26. She`s found dead in their home.
I noticed something very unusual. Out to Lieutenant Craig Martinez, the PIO of the Orem Police Department. Lieutenant, thanks for being with us. Isn`t it true that blood spatter was found in several different parts of the home?
LT. CRAIG MARTINEZ, PIO, OREM PD: Yes, Nancy, that`s correct, it was ranging from the wall to some doors that we actually confiscated that night, to clothing. It was everywhere.
GRACE: Well, Lieutenant, in your -- this is at first blush, but in my mind, that totally rules out a suicide, because if she had shot herself in the head, she wouldn`t have moved from one location to the next. That`s impossible. That scenario is completely diametrically opposed to a suicide.
MARTINEZ: Yes, and that`s why we proceeded with these charges.
GRACE: You know, we are talking about 31-year-old Conrad Truman. Back to Lt. Craig Martinez, the PIO of the Orem Police Department. Is it true there was a life insurance policy that was near $1 million?
MARTINEZ: There were several. The combined total was just shy of $900,000, from what I understand.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Take a look at this 31-year-old seemingly loving husband. He kisses his wife tenderly there in the hospital on the forehead, rubbing her feet. Bemoaning the fact that she committed suicide. But now police believe that it`s actually the lovy hubby that may have killed his wife. Why? A nearly $1 million set of life insurance policies.
Back to Lt. Craig Martinez, PIO with the Orem Police Department. They had only been married for three years. Is that correct, Lieutenant?
MARTINEZ: That`s correct.
GRACE: Did they have any children?
MARTINEZ: No, they did not.
GRACE: That sounds like quite a scene at the hospital, where he`s rubbing her feet and being very distraught about her committing suicide. One question. I know you don`t want to comment on the evidence, but forensically speaking, that`s cut and dried. Do we know the angle of the trajectory path of the bullet?
MARTINEZ: We do, and when we do know -- because of the particular angle, it would have been tough for someone to shoot themselves holding the gun at that angle.
GRACE: I know what that means, Lieutenant. Lieutenant Craig Martinez, it`s got to be up to down, because if the entry point was 5 inches above the ear, she was shot like this and down, virtually impossible for her to have committed suicide.
Everybody, let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Specialist Jared Osborne, 20, Royce City, Texas. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal. He loved the beach, he loved to sing. Parents Sharon and Allen. Stepfather Gary. Three brothers, one sister. Jared Osborne, American hero.
Drew is up next, everybody. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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