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Nancy Grace
Search for 6-year-old Rhode Island Boy; Country Star Attacks Impersonator; Doctor Leaves for Lunch in the Middle of Surgery; Baby Boy Found Dead Inside Duffel Bag; Baby Dead at Baggage Claim
Aired January 16, 2014 - 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, Amber Alert. We go live to Rhode Island. A 6-year-old little boy abducted in extreme danger at this hour. Bombshell tonight. The suspect reportedly mentally ill. Can you help us find 6-year-old little boy Daniel?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please get my son. All I want is my son back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say Daniel Britt may have been taken out of state and could be in danger. A nationwide Amber Alert has been issued as police are looking for a red 2004 Ford Focus with Rhode Island plates.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully, somebody will spot it and do the right thing and bring Daniel home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, country music superstar Trace Adkins on a luxury country music cruise gets stinking drunk and brutally attacks a Trace Adkins impersonator. Tonight, the country music star manages to sing his way out of jail time, heading instead to a cushy high-end rehab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRACE ADKINS, COUNTRY SINGER: Hey, I`m Trace Adkins. I`m on the road. Things are great, you know, knock on wood..
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Country music superstar Trace Adkins...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The baffling brawl that allegedly broke out on a cruise ship...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He reportedly got into a fight with this man...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... his own impersonator.
ADKINS: I don`t really have an explanation.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adkins has checked into rehab for alcohol abuse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And to Fresno, a well-respected surgeon heads to lunch. Problem? The doctor left his patient on the surgical table mid-surgery, and now that patient is brain dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His family says while the patient was on the operating table, the cardiologist, Dr. Chaudry (ph), left. By the time the doctor returned, the damage was done. The patient lived but has been in a vegetative state ever since the surgery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, we go live to San Antonio, plant workers in shock after they discover a little baby just 3 days old stuffed in a duffel bag and thrown away like trash in the dump! Tonight, we want justice for baby boy Alvie (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just in. Authorities say a newborn baby was found dead in a recycling plant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The child`s body was found in a duffel bag.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The baby is allegedly put in a duffel bag, thrown in a dumpster, taken to the recycling plant and then and only then found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Murder by strangulation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police quickly canvass the scene.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, parents beware. An airport baggage conveyer belt crushes a 5-month-old baby girl to death. Tonight, the parents accused of neglect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a late night flight for an American mother and her two young children. At baggage claim, the unthinkable happened. Her 5-month-old baby boy died on a carousel where you go to pick up oversized luggage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was crushed by the conveyor belt, and it killed him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Off the top, an Amber Alert. We go live to Rhode Island, a 6-year-old little boy abducted, police say in extreme danger, the suspect reportedly mentally ill. Can you help us find 6-year-old little boy Daniel?
Joining me right now, Rita Cosby, investigative journalist. What happened, Rita? When did the boy go missing?
RITA COSBY, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Well, the boy went missing, Nancy, first on January 3rd. That`s when the father, who`s divorced from the mother, dropped him off for visitation at the mom`s house. Then three days later, the mom calls the father and says, well, the boy is sick. He`s not going to be at school. But he doesn`t show up to school and she doesn`t call the school, which is protocol. Then the next day -- this is five days later -- the next day, on January 8th, she`s supposed to show up for a family court appearance, and she is nowhere to be seen, nor is the boy.
GRACE: To Matt Zarrell. Matt, why do we believe the suspect is mentally ill? Everybody, take a look at little boy Daniel. I`m going to give you the top line. It`s 401-444-1000. We`re looking for a red 2004 Ford Focus with Rhode Island registration 942-649. There`s a yellow bumper sticker, "Support your local farmers." Remember, red Ford Focus. We`re looking for a little boy, 6-year-old Daniel Britt. Here`s his photo. He`s only 4- feet-3, 50 pounds, blue eyes, brown hair. There is an Amber Alert. There is an immediate risk of harm.
Back to you, Matt. Weigh in. Why do we believe this woman that took the boy is mentally ill?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, just in the last hours, investigators got permission from the family court to look at the mother`s medical records and medical history. And after that, they immediately issued the Amber Alert and cited an immediate risk of harm to the child.
GRACE: Let`s take a look at Andria Britt, age 35, 5-6, 110 to 120 pounds, blue eyes. She recently died her hair blond. Why? So she could abduct little Daniel? Amber Alert issued immediately after cops view Mom`s medical records.
What are in her -- what`s in her medical records? Why is everyone so afraid for her to be alone with this child? Tonight, it is a race against the clock as we try to help find little Daniel, the little boy just 6 years old.
Straight out to the specialist, Marc Klaas joining us from -- he`s the president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation. Marc, what do we need to do?
MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Well, there are several things that need to be done. What the authorities need to do is -- they suspect that she might be going to Washington state because she has family there. So they need to saturate those suspected routes with fliers of this missing child, the mother and the suspect vehicle so that anybody that pulls into a truck stop, a convenience store, a highway motel, a service station will have an opportunity to see that and then be on the lookout for these individuals so that they can notify the authorities. That would be the best case scenario.
Also, they need to look at surveillance cameras along those routes, as well, in hopes that they might be able to spot them that way.
GRACE: Marc Klaas, I want to talk to you about those flashing neon signs that we all pass so many times. I always read them. And they give information about the Amber Alert.
Have they proven to be successful? I know truckers read them.
KLAAS: Sure. They have proven to be successful, and in fact, there`s a whole new generation of those signs that can put up very detailed information, pictures of the child, pictures of the mother, pictures of the vehicle, that should be coming along very, very soon now. And those will be saturated along highways around America, as well. But yes, there is great value in that.
GRACE: I`m hearing in my ear we are now joined by WPRO`s John DePetro. John, it`s great to talk to you tonight. Why do we suspect this woman is mentally ill, the woman that has made off with this 6-year-old boy?
JOHN DEPETRO, WPRO RADIO (via telephone): Good evening, Nancy. Well, that`s the big question. But whatever it is, it`s enough that the police got permission from the family court to examine her medical records, and it was based on that, determined that the child could be in danger. That prompted the Amber Alert. So it was the police making the case based on what is in those medical reports. That part, Nancy, at this point, we don`t know.
GRACE: You know, back out to you, Rita Cosby. For a minute, we were on the tail of a `92 gray Chevy Astro van. What happened to that? Has that been ruled out?
COSBY: No, it has not. They`re still looking for that. And also, Nancy, they`re also checking cell phone records. Marc talked about the signs and all those other things. They`re also checking her cell phone records. And they interviewed a person of interest in Massachusetts. So they`re trying to track a lot of things.
The other thing, about her mental history, the father has said -- because remember, the records are not public. But the father has publicly said there is some mental health issues in her background, and that`s what triggered not just the Amber Alert but an arrest warrant for kidnapping.
GRACE: The alleged kidnapper has taken on a drastic change in appearance. Take a look at her on the left of your screen, and what we think she looks like right now, we believe crossing the country with this 6-year-old little boy, little boy Daniel Britt, age 6, just 4feet, 3 inches. He only weighs 50 pounds, blue eyes, brown hair, loves Legos and "Star Wars." Tip line 401-444-1000.
Tonight, it is a race against the clock. The father of this boy and police believe the kidnapper is mentally ill. Very often, you`ll see a mom and a son driving by in a car, you think nothing of it. That`s what she`s counting on, that we think nothing of it. But that`s not true! Police say this little boy is in extreme danger tonight. Won`t you help us? The Amber Alert is out for little Daniel Britt.
Now, Matt, I`m just hearing in my ear -- I was with Rita on the gray Chevy Astro van, but I`m getting a wire that they`re not interested in that anymore. It`s all about the red Ford Focus.
ZARRELL: Yes, Nancy, you`re right that the search for the gray Chevy Astro van has been called off because police have made contact with the van`s owner, who is Daniel`s grandfather in Washington. The mother has a lot of family in Washington. That`s one of the places they`re focusing their search efforts. They`re continuing communicate with the grandfather, but they do not believe he`s driving the van and they have located it.
GRACE: OK, all of you listening to this program on Sirius or XM right now, you`re on the road, you`re in your car. We need you to help us find this woman, Andria Britt. She`s got a 6-year-old boy in the car with her. We think she`s driving a red Ford Focus, plate 942-649. Police have made no bones about it, they believe she is mentally ill. Her medical health records are being ordered right now. Where is Daniel?
Marc Klaas, question to you. Statistically, once children are gone X number of hours, the likelihood that they`ll be found alive diminishes.
KLAAS: Well, if they`re murdered as a result of an abduction, they will be dead -- 74 percent of them will be dead within the first three hours, 99 percent of them will be dead within the first 24 hours. But given the fact that this is the child`s biological mother, one would hope that this is not one of those types of cases.
GRACE: You know what? Marc Klaas, I agree with you. Let me see Marc Klaas. But Marc, there is a reason that she didn`t have custody. There is a reason. They`re trying to get access to her mental health records right now. There`s a reason police put up an Amber Alert, and I am scared to death for this little boy.
Everybody, take one more look at Daniel. He`s just 6 years old. That`s the age of my twins. Here`s the tip line, 401-444-1000. Please help us bring Daniel safely home to his father.
Everybody, when we come back, country music superstar Trace Adkins on a luxury country music cruise -- whatever that is -- gets stinking drunk and brutally attacks an impersonator. Tonight, the country music superstar manages to sing his way out of jail time. Instead, he`s headed to a cushy high-end rehab.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Country music superstar Trace Adkins on a luxury country music cruise -- well, he gets stinking drunk and brutally attacks a Trace Adkins impersonator. He basically attacks himself. Tonight, the country music star manages to sing his way out of jail time. Instead -- same verse -- second verse same as the first -- he`s heading to a cushy high-end rehab.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADKINS: And we should all be having fun all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Grammy nominee was headlining a country music- themed cruise.
ADKINS: This is the music business and it`s supposed to be fund.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: TMZ reporting the 6-foot-6 country star was in the ship`s bar when he heard the impersonator singing karaoke to one of his songs.
ADKINS: Just be quiet, shut up and leave me alone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to David Caplan, celebrity journalist at Gossipdavid.com. Why do celebs think that they can get stinking drunk -- I mean stinkin`!
DAVID CAPLAN, CELEBRITY JOURNALIST: They`re (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: And then brutally attack somebody. If that were you or me, honey, we`d be under the jail not. We wouldn`t be living it up at some fancy rehab. Which rehab is it, by the way? Who`s he going to run into, Lindsay Lohan?
(LAUGHTER)
CAPLAN: (INAUDIBLE) identified which rehab facility, but I can tell you, though, his previous rehab stint, he was at a facility outside Nashville called the Cumberlands. It hasn`t been confirmed if he returned there, but that place Johnny Cash went there...
GRACE: The Cumberlands?
CAPLAN: Yes.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! Don`t talk about the man in black! Don`t even go there, Caplan, all right?
CAPLAN: I`m sorry! I`m sorry!
GRACE: Don`t! Don`t start up on Johnny Cash.
Hey, Liz, see if you can get me a picture of the Cumberland. It sounds like a fancy hotel.
OK, so David Caplan -- whoa! OK! I want to go there. I`m going to take the twins there. We can rip that grass up in no time! Perfect for the twins. This looks much better than the last hotel where we stayed. Oh, yes. Oh, uh-huh. Uh-huh.
CAPLAN: Keith Urban also was there.
GRACE: Uh-huh. OK, question. Why did he attack the impersonator who was impersonating him?
CAPLAN: Well, what was going on was that -- it`s unclear why he did attack him, but clearly wasn`t happy with what this guy was singing. And he actually knew the impersonator...
GRACE: Because he wasn`t happy with what he was singing?
CAPLAN: I don`t know. But you know what? He knows this impersonator. His name is Mike Larsson (ph). He actually had met him in 2007. There are photos of them together. And they seemed pretty, you know, chatty with each other then. So it`s sort of unclear what exactly pushed him over the edge.
GRACE: Well from what I heard, blood was gushing. You`re seeing video from YouTube of Trace Adkins with the impersonator he`s now accused of brutally attacking on a luxury cruise. What is that? What`s country music cruise, David Caplan?
CAPLAN: So this was a seven-day cruise. It sets out from the port of Miami on Sunday afternoon, and it was a country-themed cruise, meaning that they had Trace headlining on the cruise. Wynona Judd was also on the cruise, as were a couple other country singers...
GRACE: I`d totally be in heaven.
(LAUGHTER)
GRACE: Except for the violent attack, other than the blood all over the floor.
Brad Lamm with me, addiction specialist, and the founder of Breathe Life Healing Centers. You can find him on line.
Brad, all right, you were an addict yourself. Why is it celebrities get passes? If you had beaten somebody bloody, you`d be in jail right now.
BRAD LAMM, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: No, you know, that`s actually not exactly true, Nancy. If I beat somebody bloody and I went to the court and said to the judge, Look, I`d rather be in rehab and treatment, rather than going to jail and costing the city money, you know, a lot of drug courts across the country would much rather have somebody in treatment than in jail.
GRACE: OK, here`s the problem with that...
LAMM: As a prosecutor, how would you do it?
GRACE: ... Brad Lamm.
LAMM: What do you think?
GRACE: Here`s the problem with your scenario. When I was a prosecutor, if it were just somebody was -- had an alcohol or a drug problem and they were a user, sure, I would absolutely bend over backward and try to get them in rehab and then in AA or Narcotics Anonymous when they got out of rehab.
LAMM: Yes.
GRACE: It would be a locked-down rehab. But if they hurt somebody in the middle of all of this, oh, oh, yes, they`re going to jail. It`s one thing to have an addiction, but when you beat somebody bloody...
LAMM: I hear you.
GRACE: ... oh, yes, honey, you`re going to go to jail.
LAMM: I hear you.
GRACE: Uh-huh.
LAMM: I hear you. I totally understand. You know, the idea, though -- I haven`t drank in 11 years, but if I started drinking, Nancy, I guarantee, as an alcoholic in recovery, it would be very unlikely that I would do smart things. I would most likely do dumb things and end up back in jail or treatment myself.
You know, it`s -- it`s like an allergy. If you`re allergic to peanuts, you have to stay away from the peanuts. And likewise, a person who`s alcoholic...
GRACE: Yes, well, you know what?
LAMM: ... you have to stay...
GRACE: When we get back, I want to hear your allergy...
LAMM: ... away from it.
GRACE: ... theory explain away all the blood on the floor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Country music superstar Trace Adkins attacks an Adkins impersonator on a luxury cruise, beats him bloody. He doesn`t even get booked. He goes to a rehab.
OK, Justin Freiman, if I recall, and I could be wrong, but you`re the country music expert -- didn`t he end up getting shot when he was drunk one time?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): That`s right, Nancy. His then wife, now ex-wife, actually shot him. And Trace Adkins himself says the shot went through both his lungs and straight through the middle of his heart. But he believes it was an accident. He did not press charges. But they did get a divorce.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Who what -- now, who shot who?
FREIMAN: His wife shot him.
GRACE: And focus on ex-wife, right? Isn`t she an ex?
FREIMAN: Well, now ex-wife, then wife, yes.
GRACE: Yes, I guess so. A little bullet came between them. But how did alcohol play into that scenario?
FREIMAN: Well, apparently he was drunk at the time, and fight was about his alcohol drinking.
GRACE: OK, David Caplan, celebrity journalist, you left that fact out. How come? Are you a Adkins fan?
CAPLAN: I`m not an Adkins fan. But you know, he`s...
GRACE: Well, I am.
CAPLAN: He...
GRACE: I am.
CAPLAN: Well, OK. So he`s on his third wife now and (ph) actually. But before he went into rehab in 2002 -- he only did a 28-day stint, and that followed, actually, a DUI that he had. The cops pulled him over in Tennessee. He refused to do a Breathalyzer. And he also had another incident right before rehab, where he was driving a tractor on his property, his farm in Tennessee, and the tractor flipped over. So he also...
GRACE: And he was drunk on a tractor?
CAPLAN: Yes, not the best combination.
GRACE: OK. Good times.
All right, Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst, author of "Dealbreakers" -- Bethany, why do celebs get away with this? It`s not that he was just drunk. He attacked somebody and beat the stew (ph) out of him!
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Because we don`t want to think celebrities can do anything wrong, and we get confused and think this is about alcoholism, but alcoholism...
GRACE: I`m not confused.
CAPLAN: ... is just the tip of the iceberg. It is a sign of deeper problems. He`s disregulated. He`s aggressive. He`s malicious. He had domestic violence incidences with his wife. He is a burden on the health care system because of all of his risky behaviors. And when we frame it as alcoholism and put him in a cushy rehab facility, we get derailed from the reality of the situation, which is that he is a menace and he breaks the law.
GRACE: Well, and here`s the other thing, Justin Freiman. You`re my fellow country music aficionado. You can`t really go to jail like Johnny Cash did for a minute and then write songs about jail time when you`re in a cushy rehab, OK? It doesn`t work like that.
FREIMAN: You`re right, Nancy, it doesn`t. And Trace Adkins -- I wouldn`t want to come face to face with him in a fight. This guy stands 6-6 and worked on an oil rig!
GRACE: Oh, yes. That`s -- I guess that`s why the ex-wife had to use a gun. OK, Trace Adkins living it up in rehab tonight.
When we come back, a very well respected surgeon heads out to lunch. Problem? He left his patient on the surgical table mid-surgery. He got hungry! That`s his defense. Well, now that patient is brain dead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now to Fresno. A highly respected surgeon, in fact, voted one of the top five in California, gets hungry and heads out to lunch. Problem? The doctor left his patient on the surgical table mid-surgery. Yes, he got up and left during the surgery to go to lunch. And now that patient is brain dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The doctor goes to lunch at a bad time. According to a lawsuit, he was in the middle of surgery -- heart surgery. His family say s while the patient was on the operating table, the cardiologist, Dr. Chaudhry, left. A physician`s assistant was left to finish the procedure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, stunning heart surgery, highly, highly delicate under any circumstances, and this doctor, according to the lawsuit, gets up and leaves to go to lunch. He says he`s got a lunch appointment and leaves the victim lying on the surgical table before they came to finish up?
Whoa. Straight out to Blake Taylor, the news director at 580 KMJ.
Blake, what happened? What`s going on in Fresno? This is one of the top five doctors in California?
BLAKE TAYLOR, NEWS DIRECTOR, 580 KMJ: Nancy, good to be with you once again. Long time no talk.
Yes, Dr. Pervez Chaudhry, over the years, a very respected heart surgeon here in Fresno, one of the busiest, most respected surgeons in all of California, in fact. We`ve done some digging, we haven`t found really any other problems other than this with his background and this is a big problem for Dr. Chaudhry.
GRACE: You mean other than the brain dead patient that he left on the surgical table to go to lunch?
Question, what did he have for lunch? Why was he in such a hurry, Blake?
TAYLOR: I didn`t see the menu, Nancy. Good question. I`m sure somebody else could dig into that for you. But that is the allegation brought on by the family of the patient. He`s now in a vegetative state and in a coma, he can breathe on his own but he can`t move and he`s immobile and in an acute care facility.
You go in for heart surgery and you end up in acute care unable to move. According to this lawsuit, this doctor, voted one of the top five doctors in California, decides he`s hungry if the middle of surgery and leaves the patient on the surgical table for the so-called team to finish up.
Matt Zarrell, why do we believe this surgeon caused him to be brain dead?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, part of the story is that the doctor left the victim with his chest cavity open on the table and then proceeded to tell a physician`s assistant who is unqualified to perform, to actually close the procedure. Then when complications arose, it took 45 minutes for the cardiologist to get back to the hospital and then try to repair the patient.
GRACE: Joining me right now as a special guest is Jeffrey Mitchell, the attorney for the patient`s family. Jeffrey Mitchell joining me out of L.A.
Jeff, thanks for being with us. Could you explain to me -- you probably know -- understand the scenario a little better than we do. What about Dr. Chaudhry leaving caused the brain damage, according to you?
JEFFREY MITCHELL, ATTORNEY FOR PATIENT`S FAMILY: Well, Nancy, you know, at this point we`re investigating this preliminarily. We still are basing what we`re going on on the state DPH report, having had these cases for 20 years --
GRACE: Whoa, what`s that? The state DPH report? What`s that? Department of Public Health?
MITCHELL: Yes, ma`am. What led to this lawsuit and the family contacting myself and my co-counsel was an anonymous caller from the operating room who tipped off the state who came in and did an investigation and fined the hospital after doing interviews.
GRACE: Ouch.
MITCHELL: That led to -- and that same individual contacted my clients who in turn contacted us.
GRACE: Wow.
MITCHELL: So the --
GRACE: And so you`ve already got one investigation under your belt that ended up with the hospital being fined. OK.
With me, Jeffrey Mitchell, attorney for patient`s family.
I now got Dr. Bill Manion with me, New Jersey medical examiner, joining me out of Philly.
Dr. Manion, what about the doctor leaving in the middle of this very delicate heart surgery so he could go to lunch. He left it up to his team to finish the surgery. What about that could cause him, the patient, to be brain dead?
DR. BILL MANION, M.D., MEDICAL EXAMINER, BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ: There must have been some complication as they were continuing to close him up. I mean, oftentimes a cardio thoracic surgeon will do the main surgery and then let his residents or fellows close, you know, finish the surgery up. So it wouldn`t be that uncommon for a doctor to leave surgery. However, you would have expected that he would had all of the main surgery that he wanted to do and then just leave his assistants to close up.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Joining me now from Chicago, Lewis Gainor, defense attorney, and out of New York, Heather Hansen, also a defense attorney.
All right, Lewis Gainor, I doubt lunch hunger is going to be a good defense. What is your defense?
LEWIS GAINOR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, why are we assuming that this even happened in the first place? They filed a lawsuit. So what? A lawsuit is just a piece of paper.
GRACE: OK, Lewis.
GAINOR: It doesn`t mean anything.
GRACE: I`m giving you the facts and you just heard Jeffrey Mitchell, that we checked is a good standing with the California bar, and says the Department of Health has already done one investigation and fined the hospital over this.
GAINOR: Well, that`s the only reason they started this investigation in the first place. An anonymous phone call?
GRACE: So?
GAINOR: You`ve got to be kidding me.
GRACE: No, because --
GAINOR: If that person knew the truth, they`d disclose their name. They`d own it.
GRACE: The victim is brain dead. Hello?
You know what? Just cut his mike.
GAINOR: There`s complications in surgery.
GRACE: Heather Hansen, we can`t argue with the fact the victim is brain dead. He was not brain dead when he went in for heart surgery. We know for a fact, according to this lawsuit, the doctor left to go eat lunch. Those are the facts. I didn`t make them up. Those are the facts we are given.
Yes, it is under investigation. But based on those facts, Heather, what is your defense?
HEATHER HANSEN, DEFENSE LAWYER: Nancy, as you`ve been saying throughout this whole case, it`s a team in the operating room. And every member of the team has their role and as Dr. Manion said, the reality is, it is not the surgeon`s role to close, the surgeon`s role is the more technical part of the operation.
So here it was completely appropriate for the surgeon to leave the people, the members of his team to do what they are better trained to do. He did the technical part, the closure is left to some other members of his team.
GRACE: You know what you need to do, Heather? You know what you need to do?
HANSEN: What`s that, Nancy?
GRACE: You need to go ahead and get your ticket to California because he`s going to need you. He needs you badly.
Everyone, this doctor was one of the top five in the state. Apparently gets hungry and leaves. In the middle of heart surgery.
Matt Zarrell, what more can you tell me?
ZARRELL: Well, Nancy, this -- as you said, this all started with an anonymous call but the doctor in the Department of Public Health Investigation admitted that he left the hospital for over 45 minutes. He said that he had left -- over 45 minutes, I should say. He left the operating room at 11:45, the patient coded at 12:45, the doctor returned to the operating room at 1:30.
GRACE: Whoa.
Everybody, when we come back, plant workers in shock tonight after they discover a little baby just three days old stuffed in a duffle bag, thrown away like trash in the dump.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now to San Antonio. Recycle plant workers in shock, and who wouldn`t be, after they discover a little baby just three days old stuffed in a duffle bag and thrown away like trash in the dump.
Tonight, I want justice for baby boy Alvi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Shocking and disturbing news out of Texas. Authorities say a three-day-old baby boy is found dead in a duffle bag.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The case of the baby that was found in the recycling plant --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Authorities say employees were sorting recyclables and trash when they came across a duffle bag. When they looked inside, the newborn baby found dead. Why?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Baby in a duffle bag found at this recycle plant.
Michael Board, reporter of WOAI, can you imagine the workers finding this? A three-day-old baby boy?
MICHAEL BOARD, REPORTER, WOAI NEWSRADIO: Everybody is happy, everybody is feeling good. Workers, they were sorting trash coming down this conveyor belt. They saw a blue duffle bag and opened it up and found what -- a dead baby boy. On that baby boy, on the child`s wrist was still the wristlet, the little bracelet they put on babies when they come out of the hospital. That was the first clue for investigators, Nancy.
GRACE: You know, Michael Board, WOAI, I`m just thinking about my twins when they were just three days old, they were still in the hospital and so was I. And they were completely helpless. They can`t even hold their little heads up.
And this little baby, three days old, found crammed into a duffle bag and it ends up at a recycle plant. I`m just beside myself.
Clark, you know more of the details. What do you know?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Yes, Nancy. Let`s explain how this went down because it just didn`t end up at the plant. Let`s take a look at what happens. The employees stands here and what happens is all of the cardboard material comes across this belt as you can see, and as it comes they pull off trash. So when they`re pulling off trash this employee sees a bag, obviously that cannot be recycled.
He waits about four minutes. He then looks in the bag and what he sees, absolutely shocking. He sees a dead three-day-old baby, he immediately calls his supervisor, they call law enforcement, all plant operations are suspended, and stopped and that`s how this investigation fires up.
GRACE: You know what, if I worked at that plant, I don`t think I could set foot in there again. The baby in a duffle bag apparently thrown into a dumpster, then that dumpster content ends up at this recycle plant. The workers there are just nauseous, just upset, besides themselves when they find a three-day-old baby boy stuffed into a duffle bag.
Clark Goldband, when was the last time or do we even know when the last time the baby was seen or known to be alive?
GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy. According to law enforcement it was the mom leaving the hospital the day before the child was found and how do they know this? They caught her on surveillance video.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Heather Hansen, Lewis Gainor.
Lewis, I`m going to go out on a limb and try you again. How come mommy didn`t report the baby missing? If she didn`t have a hand in this, why didn`t she report the baby missing?
GAINOR: Nancy, you`ve heard of postpartum depression. You understand that she could be completely insane at this time. She`s not thinking. She could be the victim of a crime. Maybe she`s the victim of incest here. I think police ought to investigate that before concluding she did it herself and she`s guilty.
GRACE: Lewis Gainor.
GAINOR: There`s a reason this happened.
GRACE: Lewis Gainor, do you have even a shred, a scintilla of evidence to suggest incest was involved? Are you just like grabbing out of the air?
GAINOR: I don`t have to. Because the defendant --
GRACE: OK, so I`m going to take that as a no.
GAINOR: -- doesn`t have to prove anything. The defendant is presumed innocent.
GRACE: Once again, Heather Hansen is going to bail you out.
GAINOR: There`s nothing there.
GRACE: All right, Hansen. What`s your defense?
HANSEN: Look, Nancy, we don`t know enough about this.
GRACE: Don`t look like that, Gainor. Don`t get a little puss. OK?
Go ahead, Hansen.
HANSEN: We don`t know whether or not the mother was under duress. We don`t know that the mother actually did it. We don`t know what the circumstances was of this baby, whether it was some sort of an accident. There is just too much up in the air right now.
GRACE: Let me ask you a question, Heather. Two plus two equals --
HANSEN: Four.
GRACE: OK. The mom leaves the hospital with a newborn baby. The baby ends up just a couple of days later stuffed in a duffle bag with the hospital bracelet still on its wrist. The mom never reports the baby missing.
OK, Marc Klaas, president and founder of KlaasKids Foundation, I can still add.
MARC KLAAS, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER, KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, listen, Nancy, Texas has a safe haven law. She could have easily taken that child to any one of a number of places, turned the baby over and walked away, no questions asked.
What she did instead, is she betrayed her child, she betrayed her duty to humanity to raise this child and for that I believe regardless of the other circumstances -- postpartum depression or whatever -- she deserves to be severely punished for this action.
GRACE: OK, Clark Goldband, Marc Klaas just brought up safe haven.
GOLDBAND: Yes.
GRACE: There is the mom we are talking about. What is he talking about? Explain.
GOLDBAND: There in Texas, Nancy, you have two full months to drop off a child at a fire station, police station, EMS station, no questions asked. And guess what, in just a six-mile radius there were nine places this mom could have dropped off the child, no questions asked.
GRACE: OK. What do we know about the safe havens?
GOLDBAND: OK. Nancy, you can drop off the child, you walk in and that is the end of it. Your hands are clean. In Texas, two full months. That`s how long you have for the child safe haven.
GRACE: Everybody, when we come back, parents beware, an airport baggage conveyor belt crushes a five-month-old baby girl to death and tonight the parents are accused of neglect.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Parents beware. An airport baggage conveyor belt crushes a 5- month-old baby girl to death. Tonight the parents accused of neglect.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The carousel for oversized luggage is a flat, black conveyor belt that moves only in one direction. For an American mother and her two young children at baggage claim, the unthinkable happened. Her 5- month-old baby died on a carousel where you claim oversized luggage like baby strollers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was told that it was a baby on the outsized luggage carousel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Rita Cosby, investigative journalist, I`m not so sure I`m buying the argument that this mother was neglectful, but I`m very concerned about this conveyor belt.
Whenever I`m in an airport, I can hardly keep the twins off the conveyor belt. And remember there`s that "Real Housewife," what was her name? What`s her name? Aviva. Aviva. You know she lost her leg -- do we have a picture of her, Liz? She lost her leg on a conveyor belt. There she is, the tall, skinny, beautiful one. There, her. She lost her leg as a child on a conveyor belt.
Rita, what happened here?
RITA COSBY, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST, AUTHOR OF "QUIET HERO": This is such a scary situation. This family flies in, late night flight, after midnight. They go to get their bags. The mom sees the stroller coming on this oversized baggage carousel. Goes to pick up the baby stroller. She had the baby with her. Drops the baby, the baby lands on the conveyor belt, which at this point had not been moving.
Suddenly the conveyor belt is activated. Either the mother hit a button by accident or the weight of the baby falling on the belt, activated it to move, then the baby suddenly goes down within seconds this happened, so fast, and then the baby is stuck in the rollers, there`s about a gap of about 10 centimeters.
GRACE: Dear Lord.
COSBY: Nancy, can you imagine? This poor mother sees this and the baby gets stuck in the rollers there.
GRACE: Now, Rita -- let me see Rita again. Rita, you`re saying the mom is holding the baby in her arms. I don`t see Rita. Holding the baby in her arms. She leans over to get the stroller off the conveyor belt or get the stroller?
COSBY: She leans over to get the stroller which is coming down. It`s oversized luggage. So it`s an oversized luggage belt. She leans over to get the stroller, drops the baby --
GRACE: OK. Now wait a minute. You said the conveyor belt was off.
COSBY: The conveyor belt had stopped at this point. So suddenly when she fell and when the baby then fell on to the --
GRACE: It started at the same time.
COSBY: Exactly.
GRACE: OK. I`m not seeing negligence. I don`t see it. And in my mind, this mom is holding her baby. She dropped the baby. I don`t see what`s negligent about that.
Bethany Marshall, weigh in.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": There are no other signs of neglect with this child. I read all the wires. The child was not malnourished, bruised, no -- court reporting against this child. The fact is this mother made a tragic mistake.
Mothers are overwhelmed. You know what it`s like to have a newborn in your arm, you`re struggling to get the luggage off the carousel. It wasn`t moving.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: At baggage claim, the unthinkable happened. Her 5- month-old baby boy died the on a carousel where you go to pick up oversized luggage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A parent`s worst nightmare. Parents beware, tonight an airport baggage conveyor belt. A 5-month-old baby girl crushed on the baggage conveyor belt, crushed to death. And tonight, her parents are accused of neglect.
Michael Christian, I don`t see it. Explain to me why they`re saying the mom was neglectful?
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, SENIOR FIELD PRODUCER, "IN SESSION": Well, there`s been an investigation into this, Nancy. And according to the report stemming from that investigation, it says that this was due to the neglect of those who were in charge of the child that the machinery involved here was fine and designed for the passage of luggage and not for the movement of people. So they are squarely putting the blame here on the mother.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, wait, Michael Christian, this is an investigation by who? The airport conveyor belt manufacturer?
CHRISTIAN: Government authorities checking into it. I think probably because of liability issues and also to see if they can hopefully avoid such a thing in the future.
GRACE: You know, Rita Cosby, investigative journalist, I think it`s a hazard. Yes, they`re convenient. I don`t see Rita. They`re convenient, but with children around, I think that they are what`s called an attractive nuisance, which is something that children love like a swimming pool or something like that, that just begs the child to jump on.
COSBY: Absolutely, kids are attracted to it, as you point out. But there was a sign that said automatic stop button and also risk of entrapment. And that`s the other thing officials are pointing out.
GRACE: Well, guess what? A 5-month-old baby can`t read.
Everybody, let`s stop and remember, American hero Army Specialist Blain Redding. Just 22. Plattsmouth, Nebraska. Two Army Commendation medals, Army Achievement medal, National Defense Service Medal. From a military family. Loved fishing with his father. Parents Theresa and Blaine, brother Logan, widow Victoria.
Blaine Redding, American hero.
And tonight happy birthday to California Friend, PR guru, Josh Sebera (ph). Drew up next on addiction.
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night. 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
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