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Nancy Grace
Victim`s Father Wants to Meet "Loud Music" Shooter
Aired February 20, 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, murder in Jacksonville. A 45-year-old software engineer guns down a youth when they argue over the kid`s loud music at the gas station. After shooting the youth three times, he speeds off, never even bothering to dial 911.
We obtain stunning 911 calls and secret surveillance video. The jury hands down a verdict, but that verdict bringing down a hail of explosive outrage.
Bombshell tonight. The case takes a bizarre twist as the murder victim teen boy Jordan Davis`s father to confront his killer, Michael Dunn, behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my God! Somebody`s shooting!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A mistrial for the most severe charge of first degree murder.
MICHAEL DUNN, CHARGED WITH MURDER: (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I`m the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) victim here.
RON DAVIS, VICTIM`S FATHER: I want to look him eyeball to eyeball. We have to make him say that you killed Jordan, and it was unlawful.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s Jordan Davis`s father, Ron, on "Nightline."
And live to the heartland. At this hour, we are waiting on another police update, a little girl snatched from the front yard, Springfield, Missouri, broad daylight. We go live for the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She got close enough to the truck for him to grab her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The man grabbed her and pulled her in the truck and sped off really fast.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And pull her in like a rag doll.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was the football coach. He was (INAUDIBLE) quiet. It`s just extremely sad to know that he would do something like that to a 10-year-old little girl.
END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live, she says, quote, "I didn`t have time to get scared." Tonight, caught on camera, a mom home alone with her little daughter opens fire with an assault rifle on home invaders. We have the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The three teenage punks caught here on surveillance video. They picked the wrong home to rob. She didn`t have time to feel fear, only to react.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I let them know I had a gun when I shot off the first round.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, suburban Olean (ph). Can you believe this McDonald`s worker, a single mom of two, thrown out on the street after McDonald`s fires her? And why? Because she picks up the tab for hungry first responders after fighting a ferocious fire. That`s not a "Happy Meal"!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fast foot firing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During her morning shift as a manager at McDonald`s, Olean firefighters ordered 25 breakfast sandwiches and hash browns.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She picked up the tab.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just because I appreciate everything that they do.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heather Levea (ph) saw a way to help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She bought food for firefighters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heather was fired.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Murder in Jacksonville. A 45-year-old software engineer guns down a youth when they argue over the kid`s loud music at a gas station. The case takes a bizarre twist as the murder victim teen boy Jordan Davis`s father to confront the killer, Michael Dunn, behind bars.
Straight out to Noam Laden, WABC. Noam, what does Jordan`s father hope to gain by confronting Michael Dunn? That`s going to lead to no good at all!
NOAM LADEN, WABC (via telephone): Well, he wants -- you know, he wants -- he wants Michael Dunn to put him on the prison guest list, and then he wants to get behind those prison bars with Michael Dunn and look at him mano-a-mano and ask him, Why did you shoot my son?
GRACE: Out to Ben Ferguson, radio host, joining me tonight. Ben Ferguson, why shouldn`t he have that right? Why shouldn`t he get to confront the killer?
BEN FERGUSON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Because it`s behind bars and not in the court. I mean, I`ve been a victim of...
GRACE: So?
FERGUSON: ... a gun crime, and when I saw the guy that shot at me in the court, I didn`t want to look at him, I wanted to rip his head off.
GRACE: Well, that`s you.
FERGUSON: And so you`re asking for...
GRACE: Well, that`s you.
FERGUSON: ... a disaster here. But that`s a disaster waiting to happen. I mean, I don`t think Dunn`s going to put him on the guest list, first of all. But second of all, what are you going to accomplish in that situation? Do you think he`s going to say, I`m sorry, or you think he`s going to tell you the story that`s going to change your mind?
GRACE: I don`t know what he`s going to do. But Jordan Davis`s father has the right to confront his son`s killer. I knew that`s what...
FERGUSON: Does he have the right or...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... resort to violence...
FERGUSON: Wait! Wait, wait, wait!
GRACE: ... doesn`t mean he`s going to. What?
FERGUSON: Do you really think it`s a good idea to put those two guys in a cage match situation so he can confront him? Because you know nothing good`s going rMDNM_to come from this. You know it`s going to be...
GRACE: Can I tell you something?
FERGUSON: ... two men that are going to be...
GRACE: When I say nothing good...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... is going to come of it, it`s only because I don`t think Michael Dunn gets it that he gunned down an unarmed youth for no reason whatsoever!
FERGUSON: Well, you don`t know what happened...
GRACE: And I don`t think that...
FERGUSON: ... before the first shot was fired.
GRACE: ... Jordan Davis`s father is going to change his mind. That`s what I mean. But I certainly don`t think Jordan Davis`s father is going to attack Michael Dunn behind bars the way you`re suggesting.
FERGUSON: I`m saying...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Nobody said cage fight!
FERGUSON: No, no, no. Let me make this clear. I wouldn`t blame him if he did attack him. If you`re a father and you lose your son...
GRACE: Well, that`s what you`re saying now.
FERGUSON: ... of course there`s going to be anger. I know. I`m saying that now because if you lose a kid, that you don`t know what you`re going to do in that situation, which is the reason why it should never happen. I understand why he`s angry. His son was killed.
GRACE: That`s why...
FERGUSON: If my son is killed...
GRACE: ... you have jail visits!
FERGUSON: ... I would be there not having a conversation!
GRACE: That`s why they have jail visitors, so you get to talk to the inmate. And maybe somebody could talk a little sense into Michael Dunn.
But here`s the kicker. Whatever Dunn says behind bars, remember, he can still be retried on that murder one charge -- if you think we don`t know what you`re saying bars, take a listen to this!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CASEY ANTHONY, ACCUSED OF MURDER: Can someone let me -- come on!
CINDY ANTHONY, CASEY`S MOTHER: Casey, hold on, sweetheart. Settle down.
CASEY ANTHONY: Nobody`s letting me speak. You want me to talk, then give me three seconds to...
CINDY ANTHONY: All right, I`ll...
CASEY ANTHONY: ... say something!
CINDY ANTHONY: Go, sweetheart.
I was in Lake County two days ago.
CASEY ANTHONY: OK.
CINDY ANTHONY: Is there anything there?
CASEY ANTHONY: Mom! I`m sorry. I love you guys. I miss you.
CINDY ANTHONY: All right, sweetheart. Here`s Dad.
CASEY ANTHONY: No, I`m going to hang up and just walk away right now because...
CINDY ANTHONY: Please don`t.
CASEY ANTHONY: ... I`m frustrated and I`m angry. And I don`t want to be angry. This is the first time I`ve truly, truly been angry this entire time. But I`m so beyond frustrated with all of this that I can`t even swallow right now, it hurts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Yes, forget about her dead 2-year-old child. She`s angry because she thinks her mom`s not letting her get a word in. All right, that was tot mom, Casey Anthony. Remember, behind bars, very often you are videoed, your phone calls are recorded. So when he goes to confront his son`s killer, there`s going to be a record of that.
What about this? Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MISTY CROSLIN, MISSING CHILD`S BABY-SITTER: It`s OK, though, because I will prove to the world that I didn`t have nothing to do with it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.
CROSLIN: And when it`s (INAUDIBLE) everybody can kiss my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) I`m going get on TV and I`m going to tell them all to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s right. I don`t blame you at all. I mean, they need to give you a nationwide apology.
CROSLIN: They`re not going to put me down no more. I`m tired of it. I`m standing up for myself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That`s what you need to do, right there. Let them know that.
CROSLIN: I am because I don`t care what they think about me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Yes, that`s just what you need to do, Misty Croslin. She`s doing 25 years behind bars right now, thanks largely because of her jailhouse conversations.
Unleash the lawyers. Joining me tonight, Peter Odom, defense attorney, Atlanta, Mo Ivory, attorney and radio personality. With me, Eleanor Odom, felony prosecutor. John Phillips is with us, attorney for the family of Jordan Davis. And of course, we`re going to be with Ben Ferguson also joining us.
Mr. Phillips, thank you so much for being with us.
JOHN PHILLIPS, ATTORNEY FOR JORDAN DAVIS FAMILY: Thank you.
GRACE: Why is it -- and I understand it. For our viewers` sake, why is it Jordan`s dad wants to confront Michael Dunn behind bars?
PHILLIPS: I was at that interview, and it was taken a little bit out of context. But he just wants to get into Michael Dunn`s head. He just wants to hear from Michael Dunn.
GRACE: That`s going to be scary, John.
PHILLIPS: I agree. I agree. And frankly...
GRACE: You know it`s just going to hurt him more because Dunn`s not going to say anything that`s going to make him feel any better (INAUDIBLE) worst.
PHILLIPS: I know. But he`s just trying to understand if this man has a heart whatsoever because from every witness we`ve talked to, he just seemed like a pretty evil person. But you know, as far as him being able to address Michael Dunn, he`ll be able to address Michael Dunn in the sentencing hearing.
And so there`s other times when he`s going to be able to address Dunn. It`s not so much about that as I think he was just trying to express to the reporter that he really wanted to see if he could understand why Michael Dunn victimized his boy like he did.
GRACE: You know what? You know what? I`m glad you said why, John Phillips, because in all the years I was prosecuting felonies, largely homicides, I would sit over and look at the defendant on the other side of the room and think, Why? Why would you leave such a wake of pain behind you? After about seven years, I finally quit hitting my head up against a cement wall and went, Why ask why? It doesn`t matter why they did it. Plus, I`ll never know why they did it.
And here, take a look at this. These jailhouse confrontations usually don`t work out the way you plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... chilling video inside Castro Castro prison, Natalee`s mother sneaks in behind prison walls to confront Joran Van Der Sloot for the murder of her girl, Natalee, and it`s all caught on secret tape. Tonight...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Yes, that got nowhere. So Ben Ferguson, you`re saying that it doesn`t make sense to you for him to confront Michael Dunn behind bars, because to me, it makes all the sense in the world.
FERGUSON: It doesn`t because you`re not going to get what you want out of it. And the other thing is...
GRACE: How do you know?
FERGUSON: ... you have a chance to confront -- well, being realistic, do you honestly believe that Dunn...
GRACE: Have you ever lost a son to violence?
FERGUSON: ... is going to have some sort of epiphany -- again, I`m talking about Dunn here.
GRACE: No.
FERGUSON: Do you really think that he`s going to say anything that`s going to be anything meaningful in this situation? Of course not!
GRACE: Do I...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... that that is his decision to make, not yours or anybody else`s! Just because you don`t think it`s a good idea...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You`re not in his shoes!
FERGUSON: Let me say this. That is exactly why we have in a court case setting the ability for those that have been wronged to approach and say...
GRACE: Well, guess what?
FERGUSON: ... what this person has done...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: That didn`t work!
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: They didn`t come back with a verdict on Jordan`s count!
FERGUSON: Well, do you think...
GRACE: You know...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Hold on, Ferguson!
FERGUSON: ... say, Did you murder my son?
GRACE: Just hold on, Ferguson. I`m going to go back to John Phillips, Mo Ivory, Eleanor and Peter.
You know, John Phillips, it`s not for any of us to say what`s right or wrong. And I guarantee -- this is what I think -- when he tries to go talk to Dunn, Dunn won`t -- Dunn doesn`t even have the backbone to talk to a man, a full-grown man. Remember, he was picking on a pack of kids.
PHILLIPS: Correct.
GRACE: Remember?
PHILLIPS: Dunn was too much of a coward to call 911. He`s not going to accept Ron Davis`s call, that`s for sure. So you know, it is a hopeless cause. But you know, until you walk 454 days in Ron Davis`s shoes, it`s hard to see what he really -- what he really wanted to achieve with that comment.
GRACE: And you know another thing, Mo Ivory? All the naysayers like Ben Ferguson who`s trying to tell Jordan Davis`s father what he should do or shouldn`t do -- what do they know?
MO IVORY, RADIO PERSONALITY, ATTORNEY: No, you`re absolutely right, Nancy. And I think that whatever this grieving parent needs to do to begin to move forward, to find some comfort anywhere -- and if talking to Michael Dunn will bring him a sense of -- maybe for himself. He`s a Christian man. He wants to forgive this man. He could be going in that spirit. He could be wanting to say something to him that will be helpful to the stages of grief. If that is the case, then I think that he deserves to do whatever he wants.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: At this hour, the teen boy shot dead Jordan Davis`s father to confront his killer behind bars, Michael Dunn. Well, so far, if you take - - if you don`t know a horse, look at his track record. Let`s take a listen to what jailhouse phone records show Dunn has already said. Here he compares himself to a rape victim.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL DUNN, CHARGED WITH MURDER: I was the one that was being preyed upon, and I fought back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
DUNN: And then, you know, it`s not quite the same, but it made me think of, like, the old TV shows and movies where -- like, how the police used to think when a chick got raped, they`re, like, Oh, it`s her fault because of the way she was dressed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
DUNN: You know, I`m, like -- so it`s my fault because I asked them to turn their music down.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right.
DUNN: Like, I got attacked and I fought back because I didn`t want to be a victim, and now I`m in trouble.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
DUNN: Like, I refused to be a victim, and now I`m incarcerated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I`ve never heard such a crock in my life! Ben Ferguson, he is comparing himself to a rape victim. How`s that? I don`t get it.
FERGUSON: Yes, I mean, all the more reason why this whole meeting behind bars should never happen because...
GRACE: Just answer the question, Ferguson.
FERGUSON: You have got a guy that`s...
GRACE: Don`t deflect.
FERGUSON: He`s crazy. It`s obvious.
GRACE: You`re not going to redirect me --
(CROSSTALK)
FERGUSON: He`s obviously crazy!
GRACE: ... compare yourself to a rape victim?
FERGUSON: Yes. I`m saying I think he`s crazy to compare himself to that. I think anyone watching this guy and listening to that knows he`s obviously not all there mentally.
GRACE: Rape victim.
FERGUSON: He`s a little bit of a nutjob.
GRACE: Rape victim.
FERGUSON: Yes, it`s stupid!
GRACE: Yes, well, you know what...
(CROSSTALK)
FERGUSON: ... you don`t have this meeting!
GRACE: ... a very responsible job and had a life. He is not insane, if that`s where you`re heading.
Peter Odom, he`s comparing himself to a rape victim. I`ve got a problem with that.
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I have a problem with it, too, Nancy. But here`s the thing. Ben Ferguson has it right, and here`s how I`d put it.
GRACE: Oh, Lord!
PETER ODOM: Unless Dunn is in a place where he`s going to say, I`m guilty, I did it, or unless Ron Davis is in a place where he`s going to forgive, there`s no reason to have this meeting. Now, maybe in 10 years, there will be, but right now, there`s no reason for it. It`s stupid. And it`s a security risk.
GRACE: Eleanor Odom, let me ask you this. Eleanor, how many times have you and I been at the jail, been at the prison to talk to people behind bars? You have heard people just like Michael Dunn yakking away behind bars. Remember, he`s looking at a retrial on murder one for the shooting death of an unarmed youth, Jordan Davis. So I hope he does talk.
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Well, I hope he does, Nancy. But remember, you`ve got something real important here, and John mentioned this earlier, the victims` bill of rights. So even if Dunn says, No, I don`t want this guy visiting me in jail, the father can still come to court and confront him in the courtroom and say exactly how this awful crime has affected his life.
GRACE: I agree, Eleanor. But John Phillips, everybody -- John Phillips is the lawyer representing Jordan Davis`s family. John, it`s not the same in court because you can`t have a face-to-face conversation. That`s not going to happen, you know? It`s not going to happen. Do you think there`s any way he can get answers out of Dunn? I don`t. I think Dunn will lie to him just like he lied up on the stand.
PHILLIPS: I don`t. But you got to look at the context of that quote was right after Lucy (ph), Jordan`s mother, said that she had forgiven him and she prays for Michael Dunn, and Ron was, like, I haven`t. I won`t. But you know, I really do want to hear right out of the horse`s mouth what in the world he was thinking and tell him about my son. And he will get a chance to tell Michael Dunn about his son at the victim impact statement.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DUNN: On TV, they always talk about motive, like, you got to have motive or you got to show motive. Well, like, what`s my (EXPLETIVE DELETED) motive?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Exactly.
DUNN: I don`t -- I mean, you know, so I was trying to tell the police, it`s, like, I don`t -- I wouldn`t do this at this point in my life. What`s the matter? What`s going on in your life? It`s perfect.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) Exactly.
DUNN: I don`t have anything going on in...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining us right now is a very dear friend of Jordan Davis, who lost his life gasping for air, choking on his own blood in the parking lot of a gas station, a boy unarmed. With me is Lloyd Haynes. Lloyd, thank you for being with us.
LLOYD HAYNES, FRIEND OF JORDAN DAVIS (via telephone): How are you doing today?
GRACE: Lloyd, I know that -- I`m well. Thank you. I know that you are a very, very dear friend of Jordan Davis`s. When did you learn and how did you learn that Jordan had been shot to death?
HAYNES: Honestly, it was that same night. I got a phone call around 12:30, and it was from Leland. He called me. He told me that Jordan had been shot. And I knew right away that you could just hear in someone`s voice that it was surreal, it was something that you need to take seriously.
I went right in the house and I woke my dad up, and we went straight off to the hospital. About 30 minutes later, I got a phone call from my girlfriend`s mom and she said, I just need to speak to your dad. And all my dad told me was, I don`t think it`s the best time to go to the hospital.
And from there on, it was -- it was heart-breaking. It was like -- it was like losing a best friend. It was like losing a little brother.
GRACE: You know, Lloyd, you and Jordan were such dear friends. When you hear him described as a thug wielding a shotgun, do you know that to be false?
HAYNES: I know that to be false. I mean, you couldn`t even describe him as that. You couldn`t -- there was no way to describe him in those words.
GRACE: Lloyd Haynes is with us -- we are taking your calls -- Lloyd, a dear friend of Jordan Davis`s.
Out to Chris in California. Hi, Chris. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, actually, (INAUDIBLE) thank you for what you do. And I have more of a statement than a question, Nancy.
GRACE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is that Mr. Davis has got to have the most spiritual internal self-worth to even want to go in and face in a jail cell Mr. Dunn, who has got to be the biggest bigot I`ve ever seen on television in my life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now live to the heartland. At this hour, we are waiting on a police update -- a little girl snatched from the front yard, Springfield, Missouri, broad daylight. We go live for the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have, in fact, discovered a young female body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did fight against him and struggle with him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess the man grabbed her and pulled her in the truck and sped off really fast.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a high degree of confidence that it is our victim, Hailey Owens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Kelly Lamb, host of "Kelly Lamb at Noon: The Woman."
Kelly, I`m now learning that the child -- this little fourth grade girl who had been out walking in her neighborhood in somebody`s front yard, that this guy comes up, he kept going around and around the neighborhood until he`s trying to engage with her and she ignores him until finally she answers him and he`s trying to get directions. He gets her, yanks her into the car, his truck, and speeds off.
There are people chasing -- chasing the truck. They see what is happening. Can you imagine your child being dragged into somebody else`s car and you can see it driving off with your child in it? And you`re chasing and running for all you`re worth. And the car gets away? And you`re child gets away, and everybody is standing around and there is nothing to be done?
With us tonight is one of those people that chased this guy for all they were worth, trying to save Hailey.
Kelly Lamb, is it true that this guy allegedly takes a fourth grade girl and her body is found, her hands are tied and she`s shot once in the back of the head. Is it true?
KELLEY LAMM, HOST, KELLEY LAMM AT NOON 1380 THE WOMAN: Yes. It is absolutely true. And it has shaken all of us and our hearts go out. We can`t even imagine it in the hours of what she must have went through before it ended. And the thing that I don`t understand is, if he knew he was being chased, and he still went home and he -- this man is someone who was a teacher in the school and a coach.
And he -- the tracks were all there and led to him and it`s almost -- what we`re going to end up finding out is almost even scarier.
GRACE: There you see the home where this child, a fourth grade little girl`s body was found. The scene being processed still at this hour.
I`m just sick. This is broad daylight in literally a tree-lined street neighborhood.
Show that picture, Liz. This is what I can`t get my head around. People are out in the yards. She`s playing in her front yard, and this guy, according to witnesses, comes up, grabs her, puts her in his truck, they chase the truck. Somebody jumps in a car and chases, trying to get the girl back.
With me right now, special guest from Springfield, Ricky Riggins, who witnessed the kidnap of a fourth grade little girl Hailey Owens. He chased after Michael Wood, he chased as hard as he could to try to save the little girl.
Ricky, thank you for being with us.
RICKY RIGGINS, WITNESSED GIRL`S ABDUCTION, CHASED AFTER SUSPECT: No problem.
GRACE: Ricky, what did you observe?
RIGGINS: Well, I was coming home from work. It is probably like 10 until 5:00. I noticed Hailey sitting on a fire hydrant. She was playing with sticks and other things, you know, it seemed normal to me. But what stood out to me is that she was by herself. And the kids up and down my street they pair together. So she was by herself, from what I understand she was walking home from a friend`s house.
I pulled in my driveway, and I sit in my car and I watch her for probably about three minutes. And I looked away for maybe three seconds to look at my phone and that is when it all happened. I didn`t see the guy grab her. I didn`t see the guy at all. I seen the back end of his truck and that is when I got in my car to try to get her back. Because as soon as I realized that she was gone, I was trying to get her back. So I chased him for probably about two miles.
GRACE: How did he manage to lose you?
RIGGINS: Heavy traffic. It was 5:00 traffic. Everybody was getting off work. And he was going super fast. Over 60. And we`re on a 30 mile-per- hour road that I couldn`t pass on.
GRACE: With me, everyone, Ricky Riggins, from Springfield who tried his best to catch this guy who takes little Hailey.
Hailey`s body was found and what sources tell us are his home.
And another thing, Kelley Lamm, doesn`t he have a drug conviction? What is he doing teaching in a school that goes K-8?
LAMM: Absolutely. It`s crazy, isn`t it, to think that he`s in a school? He has prior convictions. And to think that he has prior convictions yet he has a bachelor`s degree, he`s working in a school, it`s just -- and just looking at the picture of him, the oddness of him, and then what is scary is you`re talking about the blackouts that he used to have when he is in trouble. Is he going to come back now and say that he doesn`t remember anything, he had a blackout?
GRACE: He`s going to claim he had a blackout. I see it coming. Also at this hour, we are getting more details about what really happened.
Matt Zarrell joining us.
Matt, what do we know tonight?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, authorities found Hailey`s body in Wood`s basement. It was folded into two garbage bags and stuffed inside a plastic storage container. Also found inside the basement was a 22 caliber spent shell casing and a lot of bleach. The floor was soaked in it. The basement wreaked of it. And when the cops went to question him he said he never had any contact with her.
GRACE: Whoa, wait, wait. Matt Zarrell, back over what was found. Tell me again, you said her body was folded in half in two garbage bags but where was the body?
ZARRELL: Yes. The body was inside a plastic storage container. Inside of the basement there were two big plastic storage containers, one stacked on top of the other. On the top storage container was papers and documents and on the bottom was Hailey`s body concealed inside two trash bags.
GRACE: Matt, what are we learning the way she was killed, a fourth grade girl? She is 10.
ZARRELL: The autopsy revealed that Hailey had a gunshot wound to the base of her skull. There were also ligature marks on Hailey`s arms, evidence that she had been tied. And officers, Nancy, found evidence of duct tape with the suspect when he was detained and I`m sure they`ll be working to match the duct tape with the ligature marks.
GRACE: You know, Matt, when you say that -- the fact that this child, a 10-year-old little girl had ligature marks on her body, she was shot once in the bottom of the back of the head, execution style. And folded over and put in a trash bag, and then this guy thinks he can wash away the evidence like it never happened?
You just heard that his basement and his floor was soaked in bleach. May he rot in hell.
Look at this guy. He is an in a band named Uncle Fudd. Here is another side of Craig Michael Wood. A 10-year-old girl in his basement, ligature marks on her body. The floor wreaking with bleach. Like he could wash away the crime.
Well I`ve got news for him. Missouri has the death penalty. Gas chamber or lethal injection, and I guarantee you, a jury is not going to believe that he had a blackout. It is not going to work.
Tonight our prayers are with little Hailey in heaven tonight and with her family.
When we come back, caught on camera, a mother home alone with her little girl opens fire on home invaders with an assault rifle. We have the video.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Is this mother actually facing criminal charges? She says, quote, "I didn`t have time to get scared."
Tonight caught on camera a mother home alone with her little daughter opens fire on home invaders with an assault rifle.
We have the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: This surveillance video of three teenage thugs shows what can happen when burglars pick the wrong victim to mess with. They break down the door and race in only to find the mom, inside, locked, loaded, and about to pull the trigger of this rifle.
The brave mother in the home was defending her two young children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She did nothing at all wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I agree. She did absolutely nothing wrong. But is there a chance these four young thugs are going to turn around and seek criminal action against this mother?
Out to George Hunter, crime reporter.
George, thank you for being with us. How did the mom know that these guys were trying to break into the home?
GEORGE HUNTER, CRIME REPORTER, DETROIT NEWS: Well, there had been a previous attempt to break in and so her husband had bought her the gun. And, you know, she heard them kicking in the door, she tried to warn them. She said, hey, I`ve got a gun in here. Apparently they didn`t believe her. And, you know, don`t mess with a mom who`s trying to protect her kids because, you know, you saw what happened here.
She opened fire on them and they -- you can see in the video, they took off running and, you know, one of them kind of stumbled toward the door again and she shot -- fired off another shot and he was gone.
GRACE: Good for her. If they try to seek criminal charges against this mother, I know somebody that`s going to be thrown out of office.
Joining me right now, a special guest, Chief James Cregg with the Detroit Police Department.
Chief, thank you for being with us.
Thank you, ma`am.
GRACE: Chief, how were the -- yes, sir. How were police notified about what happened?
CHIEF JAMES CRAIG, DETROIT POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, of course, we got an emergency call for service and I have to tell you, let me just first say, this mother is a hero. She did what needed to happen. And, you know, if you watch the video, you can see where -- after she fired the first shot, after they got inside the hoses, what happens? The suspect comes back.
He is intent on getting into that location. She fires two more shots. She is a hero. She is protecting her family.
GRACE: You know what, Chief James Cregg, you are absolutely right. She is a hero. Sadly we`ve seen plenty of cases where the perpetrator ends up being claimed that they are the victim that these guys were being shot at. Aggravated assault, an assault rifle used by mommy, but I say she is the hero.
I agree with Chief James Cregg joining us from Detroit and taking your calls.
With me right now columnist from "Breitbart News" weapons and military expert, ARW Hawkins.
Thanks for being with us. What do you make of the fact that she unloads on these guys with an assault rifle?
AWR HAWKINS, COLUMNIST, BREITBART NEWS: Well, I mean, she used that weapon the way it`s made to be used. I believe it`s -- I agree with the police chief, she is a hero and I also think it`s a beautiful image because you have a mother using a, quote-unquote, assault rifle against a group of thugs who are armed with what turned out to be a replica of a gun but she didn`t know that, so she uses an assault rifle to level the playing field when they come in with a handgun to protect her kids.
I think it`s a beautiful picture of how America is supposed to work.
GRACE: Well, that`s what I call mommy power.
With me, AWR Hawkins, joining us from Breitbart. What can you tell me about the thugs that were trying to break in mommy`s home? She`s there with her children alone and mommy unleashes with an assault rifle on them.
Did any of them get injured and why were they coming into the home anyway? What did they want?
HAWKINS: No one -- well, you know, the police haven`t said what they want. The police said they`re not sure what they wanted. The two of them were 14, one was 15. No one knows what they were after. They do know that the daughter of one of the children was a female and the daughter of the mother kept saying, momma, don`t let them get my piggy bank and don`t let them get my toys. She didn`t let it happen.
GRACE: You know what, Chief James Cregg, that is so wrong that your child -- my children, they are twins, girl and boy, 6 years old -- are hiding, saying, mommy, don`t let them get my piggy bank, when thugs like these trying to break in, I`m glad she unloaded on them and if they dare to suggest criminal charges against mommy there is a going to be a revolt.
Chief, are you with me?
CREGG: Yes, I`m with you. We lost contact. No, you are right. This mother is, like I`ve said earlier, she is a hero. These young criminals have lengthy criminal records. In fact the one who was -- the weapon had just been released for a weapons charge. Now you`ve got a mock crier.
GRACE: I can`t -- Chief, I didn`t know that. These thugs all criminal records and mommy is in there.
With me right now, Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner joining me out of Philly.
Dr. Manion, I know you`ve seen it as have I, very often people do things when they are in a pact together they won`t normally do. Here is a pact of thugs breaking in on mommy. What would that assault rifle had done -- what would it have done if she had made contact with them?
DR. BILL MANION, M.D., MEDICAL EXAMINER, BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ: Well, it has a very -- the bullets have a high velocity so they have tremendous damaging power as they go through the body. They would have suffered severe injuries and probably bled to death.
The other thing, I`m glad the bullet didn`t go across the street and hit an innocent person. That is why police try to use special bullets that limit the range that the bullets will go. They try to shoot a person and hope the bullet will stay in the person and not go through them and then hit innocent bystanders. That`s the problem with these high velocity, you know, type of guns.
GRACE: Well, Dr. Manion, I hear what you are saying, but I say that`s the problem with having a home invader breaking into your home.
Everybody, when we come back, can you believe this McDonald`s worker? She`s a single mother of two, fired by McDonald`s because she picks up the tab herself for hungry first responders after fighting a ferocious fire. That`s not a happy meal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A single mom of two is fired from her job at McDonald`s when she buys food herself for firefighters after they fight a ferocious fire.
Noam Laden, WABC, what happened?
NOAM LADEN, NEWS ANCHOR, WABC ANCHOR: Well, Heather Olivia, she`s got this heart that`s the size of a double quarter pounder with cheese. These firefighters come in after battling a blaze all morning long and they want breakfast. And so they order up and she says, you know what? You guys have been working so hard, I`m paying for your breakfast. So she slapped down $83 and paid for all their breakfast.
Then a short time later a second crew of firefighters come in and she says, wait a minute, maybe I can get McDonald`s so pay for this one. So she text messages her boss, hey, will you guys pick up the tab for the second round? And they say no, and she`s well, I`m going the pay for it anyways, so she and two co-workers put down the cash for the second crew which amounts to $70 for their breakfast.
GRACE: And then when she comes in the next day she finds out she`s been fired.
To Dr. Ramani Durvasula, our clinical psychologist, I don`t get it. Why would McDonald`s fire her over that?
RAMANI DURVASULA, PH.D., CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Because I think corporations have become so cold in our culture. I mean, for goodness sakes, billions -- billions and billions served? I think they can spare 50 bucks to feed firemen, people who are taking care of their community. I really think it speaks to what the facelessness of how these companies go.
I bet if this was a mom and pop store, this wouldn`t have happened. Good for her. Good for this young woman for taking a stand and I hope someone hires her and pays her triple her salary.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A woman fired from McDonald`s after she bought food for firefighters.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Firefighters ordered 25 breakfasts sandwiches and hashed browns. A local fire department --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Now this was the franchise owner, not corporate McDonald`s.
Out to the line, Terry. Hi, Terry, what`s your question?
TERRY, CALLER: Hi. It`s not really a question, more a statement. But here`s the deal. Do not McDonald`s under the concept of paying it forward? I mean, these are firemen from their community. I think this lady should - -
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I agree, Terry. What about paying it forward? You know, Eleanor, you and I have both prosecuted a lot of arson cases. And what firefighters go through, it`s incredible. And they go to get a Big Mac. The girl pays for it herself.
Elle, she`s the mother of twins. All right? You remember what it`s like raising Michelle and now she`s raising two, single mom, and she gets fired?
ELEANOR ODOM, FELONY PROSECUTOR, DEATH PENALTY QUALIFIED: I know, Nancy. I think she would have a good cause of action at this point against McDonald`s, certainly against the franchise owner for that.
GRACE: And again, it`s not corporate McDonald`s. It`s the franchise owner there in Olean. And the owner says when they came down on her for buying the food for the firefighters, that she said, this is freaking ridiculous, and they told her that that was a curse word. And then just like piled it on. That`s the reason she was getting fired.
Isn`t that right, Clark Goldband? I think I`ve got Clark. Noam, isn`t that correct -- there he is.
Darn, OK, Clark, you look great, but I can`t hear you.
Noam, isn`t that what the franchise owner was saying?
LADEN: Yes, you got it right. They said that she cursed at them and they said that was enough to fire her, so they gave her the boot.
GRACE: Everybody, let`s stop and remember American hero, Marine Lance Corporal Kielin Dunn. Just 19, Chesapeake, Virginia. Afghanistan Campaign medal, National Defense Service medal, loved break dancing. Parents Gary and Terry, an Army vet, sister Nicole, brother Jonathan.
Kielin Dunn. American hero.
And tonight, happy birthday, Tom Cartwright, retired lawyer that can still crack a contract and always gets a solo on Palm Sunday. Here he is with his wife Mary.
Drew up next, everyone. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
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