Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Zimmerman Painting Goes for Over $100K; Boy Suspended for Hugging Teacher; Girl`s Body Found in Dumpster; Med Student Missing
Aired December 18, 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, Orlando. After 17-year-old Trayvon Martin gunned down by the captain of neighborhood watch, George Zimmerman -- he walks free. Then Zimmerman back in court when his live-in lover claims he shoves a loaded shotgun right at her face. But Zimmerman wins again, all charges dropped when the girlfriend says she, quote, "misses George."
Bombshell tonight. Zimmerman back in the news when his so-called art goes for nearly $100,000 on line. Blood money! When will it end with this guy?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: George Zimmerman, the artist?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Zimmerman`s first work of art has been listed on eBay.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: John Wayne Gacey painted clowns. To me, as an art critic, this is a clown making paintings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Offers have soared over the $100,000 mark as the number of (INAUDIBLE) photo of a smiling Zimmerman, here holding the work.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live, Duluth. Talk about justice bass-akwards! A high school boy gives his home room teacher a big hug, and he`s thrown out of school for a year and charged with sex harassment! What? Tonight, caught on tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Watch as 17-year-old Sam McNair (ph) comes up behind his teacher to give her a hug, seemingly innocent enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sam is a hugger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You never know what someone`s going through, you know? A hug might help.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was suspended for one year for sexual harassment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something so innocent can be perceived as something totally opposite.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, to Smithfield, Ohio, under investigation, the body of a 9-year-old little girl, Reann, found thrown away like trash in a dumpster. Tonight, big question. Did this 24-year-old neighbor -- was he building a snowman with the 9-year-old girl just before she disappears? And in addition to building a snowman with her, he`s the one who calls 911 to report her missing?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. Do you have an emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we have a missing person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reann was last seen at 5:30 PM playing outdoors in a shared area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was just right outside playing. Yes, we`re all out looking right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Reann`s body from a nearby dumpster overnight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He knew what she (ph) was doing. I hope -- I hope that he fries.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, to Kalamazoo, mystery surrounding the sudden disappearance of a beautiful young med student, Teleka Patrick. As we go to air, her gold Lexus found abandoned in Indiana, reports that same car driving erratically on I-94 just before her Lexus found. Tonight, where is med student Teleka Patrick?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Both in Indiana and in Michigan, police continue to search for Teleka Patrick.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sweetheart, please come home. I can`t have Christmas without you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn`t show up for work here at Borges (ph) Hospital...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... where she`s a resident in psychiatry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is your mother`s worst nightmare.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hoping that maybe somebody will recognize this picture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Also tonight, to Lafayette parish, Louisiana. We are deep in Cajun country, people. It`s bad enough to be DUI, but DUI dressed as a Christmas elf?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Santa may need a new helper. Police say a man wearing a green elf costume and a fluffy white collar was drunk. Police say 34-year-old Brandon Touche`s (ph) eyes were bloodshot, he was slurring his speech, swaying side to side, and both his breath and car reeked of alcohol. Touche has since been released after posting bond and is facing a charge of suspicion of operating a vehicle without a license.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. George Zimmerman back in the news when his so- called art goes for over $100,000 on line? Blood money! When will it end with this guy? George Zimmerman, captain of neighborhood watch, first walks free after gunning down an unarmed teen, Trayvon Martin, on the way home to his dad`s condo. Then a fight with his wife, Shellie, as they divvy up belongings. Police show up. Charges dropped. Then his live-in girlfriend claims he shoves a shotgun right in her face. Once again, charges dropped when the girlfriend says she misses George.
Tonight, he`s back in the headlines. George Zimmerman art work sells on line for over $100,000, the current bid now approaching $115,000.
To Jonathan Beaton, joining us from WDBO. When will it end with this guy?
JONATHAN BEATON, WDBO: Who knows, Nancy? And you know, there`s two main reasons most folks are saying he`s doing this. And the first of which is he`s in $2.5 million worth of debt. And maybe he`s just trying to kind of chip away at that so he can eventually not have all this hanging over his head.
The second reason, a lot of folks are saying, maybe he just likes the attention because it seems every week, there`s a new story out about George Zimmerman.
GRACE: Out to Andy Kahan, director of the Mayor`s Crime Victims Office in Houston. He coined the term "murderabilia." Andy, you know, I don`t know when it`s going to end. Remember John Wayne Gacey, the serial murderer of little boys? He liked to paint clowns, and in fact, Gacey dressed up as a clown. He sells his artwork of clowns for hundreds of thousands of dollars. Jodi Arias sells her art behind bars.
Now Zimmerman, who`s gunned down Trayvon Martin, an unarmed teen, selling one blue flag for $110,000?
ANDY KAHAN, VICTIMS` ADVOCATE, CITY OF HOUSTON (via telephone): Yes, I`ll tell you, Nancy, it`s always amazed me how notorious criminals all of a sudden turn into Rembrandts when they get locked up. But quite frankly, I have never seen a so-called high-profile individual like George Zimmerman, who (ph) claims (ph) to be, i.e. (ph), attention hound who was essentially found not guilty now attempting to use his infamy that he achieved by taking someone`s life for profit.
Is it legal? Yes. Tacky, most likely. You know, you`re looking at this new phenomena where accused, acquitted, convicted felons are now cashing in on their infamy by committing some of the most high-profile crimes. (INAUDIBLE) Zimmerman starting a new trend where you`re acquitted.
I wouldn`t be surprised if Casey Anthony was probably lurking in the shadows and is probably plotting her own artistic turn for money.
GRACE: With me, Andy Kahan, from the mayor`s crime victims` office in Houston, coined the term, "murderabilia."
Also with me tonight, spokesperson and friend of George Zimmerman, the illustrious Frank Taaffe. Taaffe, why won`t Zimmerman go away?
FRANK TAAFFE, FRIEND OF GEORGE ZIMMERMAN: Well, number one, Arias and Gacey were convicted murders. George was not. He was acquitted, OK? Number two, this painting doesn`t...
GRACE: Number one, both of them killed somebody.
TAAFFE: Number one, number two...
GRACE: And number two, so did your buddy, George Zimmerman.
TAAFFE: He was acquitted, OK?
GRACE: He killed Trayvon Martin. He still killed him.
TAAFFE: Yes, we know that. That`s a fact.
GRACE: He killed Trayvon Martin, an unarmed boy...
TAAFFE: But a jury...
GRACE: ... heading home...
TAAFFE: ... acquitted him.
GRACE: ... to his father`s house.
TAAFFE: They found him not guilty.
GRACE: Hey, that`s the jury`s problem, not mine.
TAAFFE: Gacey was found -- OK, well, this doesn`t exactly catapult him into Leonardo (ph) B. (ph) Zimmerman, OK?
GRACE: Why doesn`t he get a job? Why doesn`t he just get a job like everybody else?
TAAFFE: Well, number one, how can he? He`s a highly visible person who is sought after...
GRACE: Has he tried?
TAAFFE: ... and still has death threats against him. You know, you want to talk about Gacey? You want to talk about Arias? These are convicted -- one`s a serial killer and the other one killed people, too, OK? But George...
GRACE: Well, speaking of serial...
TAAFFE: ... has been acquitted.
GRACE: ... crimes...
TAAFFE: He was found not guilty.
GRACE: Speaking of serial crimes, let`s just take a look at his history.
Out to you, Clark Goldband. It goes back quite a way, doesn`t it? We have him in a domestic dispute with some girlfriend or some fiancee way back when. Then we`ve got him fighting with a cop -- fighting with a cop in a bar or at a party or something. Then we have -- well, why don`t you go through the record for me.
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, sure, Nancy. And I`ll tell you what -- but first I just want to answer the question you asked just a moment ago. You said to Jonathan, When does it end? I can tell you the auction ends Saturday. That`s when it ends. And it`ll be interesting to see what happens with the bid.
Now, if you take a look at the criminal history here, boy, it goes on. These are just accusations. He got pulled over not once but twice for speeding after getting out of jail, Nancy. He got into a domestic altercation with soon to be his ex-wife, Shellie. This was also after he was out of jail. Again, no charges filed there. And now this domestic violence dispute situation, again charges dropped.
So George Zimmerman certainly encountering law enforcement quite a bit, but no charges filed.
GRACE: Back out to Jonathan Beaton, joining me from WDBO. The artwork looks like a blue flag to me, but now there are accusations it`s actually just traced over a stock photo of the flag?
BEATON: Absolutely right, Nancy. A lot of people are now just saying Zimmerman was pretty much lazy with this and it really wasn`t even that original. I saw where one New York art critic called it a travesty. So a lot of people are alleging tonight that he didn`t seem to put much time into this, a painting that`s now going for, like you said, around $110,000, $115,000.
GRACE: OK, what about it, Taaffe. Your man Zimmerman...
TAAFFE: Listen...
GRACE: ... won`t even draw his own American flag? I mean, my children, they`re 6 years old, can take out a red, white and blue crayon and draw a flag. Your guy traces...
TAAFFE: Listen, he is...
GRACE: ... a photo and then sells it on line? Actually, that`s exactly what Jodi Arias did. She traces photos, she colors them in...
TAAFFE: Can I answer it?
GRACE: ... and then she sells them to the lovelorn.
TAAFFE: Right.
GRACE: Yes?
TAAFFE: OK, number one, this -- no one`s looking for artistic value, OK? Like I said, this is not going to be hanging in the Louvre in Paris. Number two, have you been on eBay?
GRACE: Did you say "the lurve"?
TAAFFE: Have you seen the Trayvon Martin...
GRACE: Did you actually just say "the lurve"? Are you referring...
TAAFFE: No, I said the Louvre.
GRACE: ... to the Louvre?
TAAFFE: Louvre. Right.
GRACE: OK, he`s referring to a renowned museum, an art museum...
TAAFFE: Right.
GRACE: ... in France. Please go ahead.
TAAFFE: Listen...
(CROSSTALK)
TAAFFE: Have you been on eBay and saw the Trayvon Martin stuff for sale? There`s a handful of George stuff...
GRACE: Oh! Are you telling me Trayvon Martin...
TAAFFE: ... and 47 items...
GRACE: ... is somehow making a profit?
TAAFFE: ... T-shirts and everything. This man -- this man has every...
GRACE: No, answer me, Taaffe!
TAAFFE: ... right to earn a living!
GRACE: Answer me, Taaffe! Answer me!
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... Trayvon Martin is somehow making a profit off his own murder?
TAAFFE: Yes. Have you been -- have you been to the Trayvon...
GRACE: He`s dead!
TAAFFE: ... Martin Foundation?
GRACE: The boy is dead!
TAAFFE: Have you seen...
GRACE: He`s not making any money!
TAAFFE: Have you seen what the Martin family just bought in Dade County?
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... all the dead boy`s fault!
TAAFFE: A half a million dollar home.
GRACE: Oh, I knew somehow, he was involved in this. So -- I don`t even know what that says.
(CROSSTALK)
TAAFFE: This is a scoreboard. Taaffe 2, Nancy 0.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Mary in Virginia. Hi, Mary. What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I have a comment. But first, Nancy, I want to congratulate you that you`re going to be on for the next several years, and we`re so happy to hear that.
GRACE: You know what? Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. It`s tough sometimes. It really is.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I can imagine.
GRACE: But I am grateful that we can highlight cases just like this, Mary. Thank you. What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, my comment is that I think it`s deplorable that Zimmerman can take a symbol, an American symbol like that and sell it like that on eBay for that kind of money. What does that say for our society? That he`s making money because he`s notorious over his killing of a young teen. And he is an attention seeker. I think everything he`s doing is to gain more and more attention. And I think it`s horrible that he`s going to make that kind of money from that.
GRACE: Agree 200 percent, Mary. Now, if he donates all his money to a victims` rights group, then I might think a little more of him.
Out to you, Angela. Hi, Angela. What`s your question, dear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I don`t understand why he`s talking about the young man that got killed and the family making money off of him. And the family, you know, they`re not making any money off of the (INAUDIBLE) because Zimmerman is making money because he killed somebody. And I really don`t understand. You know, who cares if the courts found him, you know, not guilty or whatever about killing somebody. The fact is, he did kill a man. He killed a human being. And he should not be making money off of the -- you know, something that he did that was wrong.
GRACE: Blood money, Angela, the words I think you`re searching for.
You know what, Taaffe? She`s right. You keep yelling about...
TAAFFE: George has made zero...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... but the reality is, is Trayvon Martin didn`t kill anybody. Your man did.
TAAFFE: Yes, but he was found not guilty.
GRACE: Don`t care!
TAAFFE: And he was acquitted.
GRACE: Doesn`t matter!
TAAFFE: Acquitted.
GRACE: Doesn`t matter!
TAAFFE: It does matter!
(CROSSTALK)
TAAFFE: He made zero.
GRACE: Jonathan Beaton, look at this print. Look at it. He actually traced over a stock photo, and I guess painted it blue. Is there a photo that goes along with this?
BEATON: There are, Nancy. There`s one that shows a smiling George Zimmerman holding the photo, the one that some are saying has been traced. But I`m no art expert. I can`t say whether it`s traced or not. But yes, there is one where it shows him with that big smile we`ve seen in a couple other photos, actually, in the past.
GRACE: Whoa! $110,000 George Zimmerman is going to get for tracing over a stock photo of the American flag. You know what? He doesn`t look too traumatized to me, smiling in that picture. $110,000, and the bidding is going up.
When we come back, a high school boy gives his home room teacher a big hug, and the boy is thrown out of school for a year and charged with sex harassment? What? That`s bass-ackwards! Tonight, caught on tape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A high school boy gives his home room teacher a big hug. There it is, caught on tape. He is thrown out of school for a year and charged with sex harassment? That is bass-ackwards! We are talking your calls.
Victoria Taft, talk show host, what happened?
VICTORIA TAFT, TALK SHOW HOST: Sam Buccaneer (ph), 17-year-old kid, was in the school office. And in front of God and everybody and a surveillance camera, which is in the office, he came from behind and hugged one of his favorite teachers. And therein lies the rub, literally and figuratively. Now the teacher`s come back on Sam and said that he sexually harassed her. And now here`s a kid who could just have his all of his college plans blown up by a teacher who thinks that he was sexually harassing her.
GRACE: He`s not only a star football player, but a star lacrosse player, as well. Those college dreams may be down the tubes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Why is this boy, a high school boy, getting kicked out of school, ruining his college dreams? He`s a star soccer and football player -- claims of sex harassment over this? He hugs his home room teacher? I don`t get it.
What about it, Peter Odom?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I`m looking at the video, Nancy, and what I`m seeing is she`s literally pushing him off as if she is being assaulted. Now, you know, I want to know...
GRACE: (INAUDIBLE) lost your mind?
PETER ODOM: I want to know her side of the story. Is anyone talking to her?
GRACE: That was the whole, entire incident.
PETER ODOM: Well, is there a history...
GRACE: Eleanor Odom, help me out!
PETER ODOM: Is there a history to it?
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Well, you know, Nancy, at best -- at best, if it`s an offensive touching to the teacher, it could be simple battery. But this does not look to be sexual harassment. There`s no sexual activity. He didn`t touch her private areas. He didn`t, you know, put his mouth anywhere it wasn`t supposed to be. It was a simple hug...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... he kissed her on the neck. That`s what she claims, that he reached over and kissed her on the neck.
And look, you know, Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers" joining me out of LA, I don`t see sex harassment here. I see a student hugging a teacher.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Yes, but what we cannot see on this videotape is whether or not he was sexually excited. And perhaps this was a form of sexual expression.
I think what concerns me, though, is that when a boy is 16, 17, 18, this is the age at which the adults should be socializing...
GRACE: Put her up!
MARSHALL: ... the young man...
GRACE: Put her up!
MARSHALL: ... to behave...
GRACE: He`s wearing a backpack! He`s wearing a backpack. He`s coming either in or out of school.
MARSHALL: Nancy...
GRACE: It`s a quick hug. Did I just hear you, or am I losing my hearing, too? Did you just say, Was he sexually excited? You`re kidding me, right?
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: He`s got on an overcoat and a backpack. He`s trying to leave. And it`s with an older teacher? Ew!
MARSHALL: But he may have...
GRACE: Come on! All I can think of...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... my 70-year-old 1st grade teacher! Stop!
MARSHALL: But Nancy, boys are so testosterone-driven at this age, and we don`t...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... saying that this is sex harassment?
MARSHALL: I am not saying that. From a mental health perspective...
GRACE: I think you are.
MARSHALL: ... boys this age need to be socialized to behave appropriately sexually...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You know what? This was a simple hug. I think you`re all crazy.
MARSHALL: OK.
GRACE: I think the school is crazy. And I think he should turn around and sue them for potentially ruining his dreams of college -- star football, star soccer player -- excuse me, lacrosse player, great grades, thrown out of school for a year? No way!
When we come back, everybody, the body of a 9-year-old little girl, Reann, found thrown away like trash in a dumpster. But was her 24-year-old neighbor building a snowman with the 9-year-old girl just before she disappears? And in addition to building a snowman with her just before she goes missing, coincidentally, he`s the one who calls 911 to report her missing?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Live tonight to Smithville, Ohio. Under investigation, the body of a 9-year-old little girl found thrown away like trash in a dumpster. Tonight, the big question, did this man, 24-year-old neighbor Gerard Metzger (ph) -- was he building a snowman with a 9-year-old girl just before she disappears? And in addition to building that snowman, he`s the one who calls 911 to report the girl missing?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. Do you have an emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we have a missing person (INAUDIBLE) in Smithville, Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say the 9-year-old was playing outside with a friend but didn`t return home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope nobody has to go through this.
911 OPERATOR: She`s been gone for two hours?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. She was just right outside playing.
911 OPERATOR: OK, and you`ve checked with all of her friends, her neighbors, and nobody`s seen her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we`re all out looking right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the man knows what he was doing. He`s 24 years old.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Discovered the body of a small child in a trash dumpster near the child`s home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She didn`t deserve to be in a trash can either, because she`s far from trash.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This little 9-year-old girl`s body found away like she`s trash. Coincidentally, just before she`s reported missing, she`s building a snowman with a 24-year-old neighbor. Phil Trexler, reporter with the Akron Beacon Journal, that 24-year-old neighbor, a single white male, just so happens to report her missing as well. Now, how would he have known she`s missing?
TREXLER: Well, that`s a question that investigators are looking to answer there, Nancy. There is evidence that he was with Reann. They were outside with some other children building a snowman. It was what kids in Ohio do in this time of year. All of a sudden, you know, she turns up missing, the family`s alarmed. Authorities go to social media. They`re putting out all sorts of messages, and alerts to people, trying to locate little Reann, and then there is that gruesome discovery that`s made several hours later.
GRACE: Tell me this. Everyone, we are live and taking your calls, Smithville, Ohio. This man, a 24-year-old single white male neighbor, Jared Metsker. Building a snowman with a 9-year-old little girl, a second grader, just before she goes missing, and then coincidentally, he`s the one that makes that 911 call to say she`s missing? So Phil, what is his connection with this little girl? Why would a 24-year-old single male, unconnected, unrelated to the 9-year-old girl, be out playing with her, building a snowman?
TREXLER: Apparently, this Metsker guy, he`s lived in the community for several years. As odd as it sounds, he has in fact in the past, played with kids. Some of them half of his age. It was something they`ve done in the past. There was like a tent, little play area he had set up with little kids to play in.
GRACE: Wait, wait, wait. What did you say? He set up a play area to lure children to play there?
TREXLER: He set up with blankets and some sort of fashion like tents, like you do in your house. You would do, you play, set up little tents, to play with your children. But this guy does it outside in this community and plays with other kids. Some of them half your age.
GRACE: Does this guy have a job? What`s his story?
TREXLER: You know, they`re saying he has some sort of mental deficiency. They haven`t gone into great detail. Some have speculated he`s autistic.
GRACE: Whoa, he`s got a what?
TREXLER: They`ve got a mental deficiency. They haven`t expanded--
GRACE: I asked you did he have a job? That was my question.
TREXLER: He lives there with his mother and certainly doesn`t seem as though he`s doing a whole lot, except for playing outside with kids half his age.
GRACE: Tell me this. Phil Trexler, we are talking about a missing 9- year-old girl, a second grader. Reann Murphy. Was she sexually assaulted?
TREXLER: My sources are telling me that`s something that`s being investigated as part of the protocol for the autopsy. There is some evidence that`s been collected. It`s been analyzed, and there have been slides that have been gathered and collected, and those are going to be analyzed for DNA, so it is something they`re looking at, in terms of a possible motive, that there was some sort of sexual assault prior to her death.
GRACE: You said slides have been taken? Hold on. Hold on. Do I have Bill Manion yet? Out to Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner joining me out of Philadelphia. Dr. Manion, they have already taken slides, obviously, to see if there is sperm. They`re looking for DNA in that sperm. You can look, at a pediatric pelvic exam and immediately know if the child has had sex before or has been molested before. The fact they are now taking slides suggests to me that she was molested.
DR. BILL MANION, MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, yes, that`s correct. Also, as any part of a routine autopsy, we will take slides, oral, anal, vaginal, and we will look for DNA and also submit samples for DNA analysis. We look for sperm on the slides and submit the swabs for DNA analysis. That`s correct.
GRACE: Everyone, you are seeing a shot of a 9-year-old little girl. Second grader Reann Murphy goes missing. Liz, let me know when you cue up that 911 call. I want to play that back.
Unleash the lawyers. Eleanor Odom, death penalty qualified, sex crimes prosecutor, also death penalty qualified. With me, also, Peter Odom, defense attorney out of the Atlanta jurisdiction. To both of you, take a listen to this 911 call.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911. Do you have an emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we have a missing person at -- in Smithville, Ohio.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s the address?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody`s out searching for her and we can`t find her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s the address? Is there a lot number?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the person? She lives above the trailer, above the garage thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So is there an apartment or an address? Lot number? Any idea what she was wearing or anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t know how far I can take my mom`s wireless phone away from the house, so I`m going to--
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is your name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Jared. I had a knock at my door and basically --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What`s your last name, Jared?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Metsker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Peter Odom, what a coincidence. He`s playing, building snow mans with her -- snowmen with her, then he`s the one that notices she`s missing, but he`s with her.
P. ODOM: Certainly, it`s suspicious that he`s the last one to be seen with her. The police are going to look at that very carefully. That`s the first area they`re going to investigate. The fact he`s the one that called 911. He already knew they were looking for her, so that really doesn`t tell you anything.
GRACE: But he`s the one that calls 911. How do I know people were actually looking for her?
P. ODOM: Only by what`s said in the phone call.
GRACE: What is what he says on 911. I don`t know that. Everybody is looking for her. He`s just covering his tracks by calling 911.
E. ODOM: And also, haven`t we seen this before, Nancy, where somebody who is suspected of actually doing the killing, where they`re trying to be the hero and rush in and try to help and find the person and actually participate in some of the searches themselves, so I can see where he`s going with that, where he`s trying to remove himself from any responsibility for the crime and insert himself as the hero-like figure.
GRACE: To Justin Freiman. Justin, do you know if there`s a death penalty in that jurisdiction?
FREIMAN: (inaudible), Nancy?
GRACE: What about it, Phil Trexler? Do you know if there`s death penalty in that jurisdiction?
TREXLER: Absolutely, in Ohio, there is a death penalty still in affect when there is an aggravating circumstances such as a kidnapping, such as a rape. Prosecutors can in fact bring a death penalty specification.
GRACE: Everyone, tonight, a hero needs your help. A guide dog turns hero, saves his blind master on deadly subway tracks. Black lab Orlando jumps on the rails to cover Cecil`s body. There, between the rails, the train zooming by over them. Guide dog Orlando and Williams live. It`s a miracle, but tonight, Williams set to lose his seeing eye dog, Orlando, because he cannot afford to keep him. If you can help, please go to the campaign on gofundme.com.
When we come back, mysteries surrounding the sudden disappearance of a beautiful med student, Teleka Patrick. As we go to air tonight, her gold Lexus found abandoned in Indiana.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now, live to Kalamazoo. Mysteries surrounding the sudden disappearance of a beautiful med student, Teleka Patrick. As we go to air, her gold Lexus found abandoned in Indiana. Reports that same car spotted driving erratically on I-94 just before her Lexus was found abandoned. Tonight, where is med student, Teleka Patrick?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last sign of her was when her car was found empty 40 feet off of Interstate 94 in Indiana.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is she? Where, where? To me, it`s more frustrating. It`s scarier that they found the car and didn`t find her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One person left the vehicle and walked straight back to the highway, the 40 feet and after that, the track is lost.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible), because we always talk on Sundays.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Search for missing Teleka Patrick.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We pray that you`re safe and we want you to come home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Everyone, we are taking your calls. Where is Teleka Patrick? She had just finished her school. She was actually in her residency. This beautiful young girl set to become a doctor. With me right now, two very special guests. Her mother and father joining us tonight out of Kalamazoo, Mattahais and Irene Patrick. To both of you, thank you so much for being with us. What happened when Teleka went missing? I`ll start with you, Mrs. Patrick.
IRENE PATRICK, MOTHER: It was on the 6th of September. No, December. That I was called from the hospital personnel, and they informed me that at 7:00, that Friday morning, she did not return. She did not turn up for work.
GRACE: Hold on right there, Mrs. Patrick. To you, Mr. Patrick. Had she ever failed to show up for work before?
MATTAHAIS PATRICK, FATHER: No, that was out of character. Where she`s concerned. She`s always deliberate about what she`s doing. She`s on time. And this is the first I ever heard of that type of behavior.
GRACE: Look at this girl. Did you see that little video of her? She`s absolutely stunning. Full of verve, full of life. Just crackling with intelligence. This girl has finished med school. She`s in her residency, when suddenly, her gold Lexus spotted driving erratically on the interstate. That car found abandoned. But where is Teleka? Tonight her parents joining us in a plea for help. There`s a $10,000 reward and help to find Teleka. Out to you, John McNeill, news director, WKZO. What do you know, John?
JOHN MCNEILL, WKZO: We know that we know a little more than you do, only that the police know more than anybody does, and they`re not disclosing all the information we had. I got a source this afternoon to admit there are things in this case that they know, and that they`re withholding because they`re relevant to the case and they do not want to release them because it may jeopardize their investigation.
GRACE: To Justin Freiman, joining us. What more can you tell us, Justin? I want to find this girl.
FREIMAN: Nancy, I can tell you that her car was found in a ditch 100 miles away from where she started her journey. A whole state away. And they used dogs to try to search for her. The dogs led from the ditch where the car was about 40 feet to the road, and then the scent stops, so the thinking is that she got into a car with somebody at some point.
GRACE: Everyone, you are looking at Teleka Patrick. She made it through med school. She`s in her residency. Now, she goes missing. She`s set to become a doctor. With me, her parents, joining us tonight. Mattahais and Irene Patrick. To you, Mrs. Patrick. Again, thank you for being with us. How often do you talk to her? How often do you communicate with her?
I. PATRICK: At least once a week because of the nature of her program. We have special time where we talk, and that`s on Sundays.
GRACE: You know, what can you tell me, Justin Freiman, about her looking for a hotel room?
FREIMAN: That`s right, Nancy. According to police, she went to the local Radisson hotel around 7:30 in the evening to get a room. Wasn`t able to get a room there, and actually had a hotel employee drive her back to her car in a hotel shuttle. Her car was at the university at the hospital there, where she had been working.
GRACE: Now, that is extremely odd. She had her own place, did she not, Mr. Patrick? Why would she need a hotel room?
M. PATRICK: That`s the question that we`re trying to find out. Because --
GRACE: I don`t believe it.
M. PATRICK: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Go ahead, sir.
M. PATRICK: She was heading west on I-94. Which was, which didn`t look good to me, because if she was going west and going to anywhere, she would have called us, called us as her parents and told us where she was going, and to whom she was going to.
GRACE: Everyone, tonight, her parents are begging for your help. And we join them in that plea. Tip line, 269-383-8748. The more I investigate this case, the more questions arise. Teleka Patrick is missing. Dr. Teleka Patrick.
Everyone, we spotlight brave women in 2013. Tonight, we feature the great actress, Evan Rachel Wood. After a lot of scenes deleted from her latest movie, "Charlie Countryman," Wood goes to Twitter to protest the Motion Picture Association of America and double standards concerning women in film.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVAN RACHEL WOOD, ACTRESS: You know, it`s not on the verge of pornography at all. It`s love making. These are two people who are in love. And again, if you`re going to show two people making love, show two people making love. We`re not doing anything risky. We`re doing something that`s very honest, you know, and if that involves nudity and kissing and touching, that is what sex is, and that is what we portray. And we did it very honestly, and I think it`s in a very tender, beautiful, way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: When we come back, we go deep in Cajun country. It`s bad enough to be DUI, but DUI dressed as a Christmas elf?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Tonight, live to Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, deep, deep, deep in Cajun country. It`s bad enough to be DUI, but DUI dressed as a Christmas elf?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Louisiana police were in for a shock when they pulled over a car going 20 miles over the speed limit and say they found a man in an elf costume driving a car, stinking of booze. Police say 34- year-old Brandon Touche`s (ph) eyes were bloodshot. He was slurring his speech, swaying side to side, and both his breath and car reeked of alcohol. Touche, wearing a green elf`s costume with a fluffy white collar, was transported to the police station after a field sobriety test.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Michelle Southern, assistant news director of Louisiana Radio Network, Michelle, thanks for being with us. A neon green elf outfit with a fluffy white collar, drunk as a skunk?
MICHELLE SOUTHERN, LOUISIANA RADIO NETWORK: Yes, to be exact it was the costume of Buddy the Elf, from the Will Ferrell movie "Elf." It was I guess a very festive time of the year. Must have been on his way home from a Christmas party.
GRACE: How bad was the blood alcohol level? Did they get his blood alcohol, Michelle?
SOUTHERN: Yes, they did. It was 0.124. And in the state of Louisiana, 0.08 is the official legal limit.
GRACE: Woo-hoo, unleash the lawyers. Peter and Eleanor. Okay, Peter, he was quite the stinker, was he not, nearly twice? Double the legal limit for booze.
P. ODOM: Prancer offered him a ride in the sleigh, he should have taken it. He had a designated -- he had eight choices of designated drivers and he didn`t take it.
GRACE: I`m going to spare you this one, Eleanor. Out to you, Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Dealbreakers," a drunk Christmas elf. Help me out, Bethany.
MARSHALL: Well, I think he got a little carried away in the elf costume. Have you seen the movie "Bad Santa?" This is definitely bad elf. I mean, seriously, I think with the frivolity of Christmas, all the socializing, the holiday parties, it`s easy for people who have alcoholism to get carried away, to deny, to engage in all the things that alcoholics do. Denial of serious possible negative consequences.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Not only is he drunk, Bethany, drunk behind the wheel, he looks surly as well. He`s a surly elf.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Santa may need a new helper. Police say a man wearing a green elf costume and a fluffy white collar was drunk when police pulled his car over early Sunday morning. After noticing 34-year-old Brandon Touche`s (ph) car and breath stunk of booze, and witnessing Touche`s bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and failure to keep his balance, police conducted a field sobriety test, and later took the elf --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: There you see the surly elf, Brandon Touche, age 34, dressed in an elf costume when pulled over for speeding. You know, it would be funny, but what if he had plowed through a family out Christmas shopping or even pedestrians? You know, Eleanor, it`s one thing to be drunk. It`s bad enough to be drunk behind the wheel. But drunk behind the wheel in an elf outfit?
E. ODOM: Well, that certainly is good evidence for the state (inaudible) and will be easier for the state to prosecute. But let`s not forget, Nancy, it`s DUI. Heck, I`ve prosecuted cases where the person driving was naked. It doesn`t take away from the fact that they`re behind the wheel and they have been drinking.
GRACE: Do you happen to have the mug shot you`d like to share on that, El? OK, I don`t know how he went from drunk elf to drunk naked driver. Long story short, he`s behind bars right now trying to make bond. Hey, buddy, you give elves a bad name.
Let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Specialist Jared Plunk, Just 27, Stillwater, Oklahoma. Army Achievement Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon. He left Oklahoma State University to enlist. Mother, Glenda, stepfather, Gerald, two brothers, two sisters, widow, Lindsay, two sons. Jared Plunk, American hero.
A special good night tonight from friends David, Damien and super fan Jeremiah. Aren`t they handsome? Celebrating his birthday. Everybody, this Christmas season, we support the Murphy Harpst Home for Abused Children. Go to nancygrace.com for a holiday package, including our signature handcuff necklace, travel mugs, murder mystery books, you name it. Our money goes to Murphy Harpst Home for children that have been abused, beaten, starved, mistreated and homeless.
Dr. Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
