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Nancy Grace
Mom Has Beer and Breastfeeds; Pit Bull Attacks 4-year-old; How Drugs Affect You; Two Missing Children; Mom Jailed For Beer While Breastfeeding
Aired March 27, 2014 - 00:20 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. Not one, but two missing children gone. Bombshell tonight. Eight-year-old Relisha with a family friend baby-sitting her -- she`s gone, now police insist she is in grave danger. Tonight, grainy new surveillance video emerges, and we learn one of the reasons Relisha was never reported missing from school.
And a teen co-ed nursing student vanishes, last seen on campus. Tonight, where is Bahia?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This search is connected to the missing case of this 8- year-old girl, Relisha Rudd.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A teenage nursing student missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heavy police presence here at Kenilworth (ph) Park in northeast D.C. The Amber Alert has been extended to Atlanta, Georgia.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nineteen-year-old...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, live, Conway Arkansas. A waitress at a local pizza parlor calls police when she spots a mom breastfeeding and having a beer. Believe it or not, Mommy booked, printed and thrown behind bars!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TASHA ADAMS, ARRESTED FOR BEER WHILE BREASTFEEDING: I had a beer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She picked up her drink and took a drink of it while her baby was breastfeeding.
ADAMS: And then I had another one later on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conners says she watched Adams consume drink after drink even after managers were notified what was going on.
ADAMS: I`ll say it until the day I die. I was sober enough to breastfeed my kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s from ABC "GMA."
And now to Cajun country, Louisiana. A gorgeous little girl snuggling with Mommy, watching TV. Out of nowhere, she`s attacked by the family pet and killed as Mommy struggles to get the beast off the baby. We learn tonight the crime scene so horrific, even seasoned veteran police officers need counseling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Another savage pit bull attack, this time in Louisiana.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The scene from what I understand was pretty horrific.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Demia Dayron`s (ph) death inside this Houma (ph) apartment complex has sent shock waves through the community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dog, described by authorities as a 130-pound monster...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, ravaged by drugs, the shocking, devastating physical toll of drug addiction tonight caught on tape. We obtain hard evidence of the stunning and devastating effects of drugs!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sherry, age 49, over a 12-year period, note the changes.
GRACE: Take a look at these before and after shots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In just six years, the change on this man is dramatic.
GRACE: Methamphetamine ruining your life, your body, your mind, your heart, your soul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is video from Rehabs.com.
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Not one but two missing children gone, 8-year-old Relisha with a family friend baby-sitting her. Tonight, police say this little 8-year-old girl, completely defenseless, is in grave danger. Grainy new surveillance video emerges tonight. Take a look at this. We believe this is her kidnapper, a 51-year-old man the family trusted. And also tonight, we find out why the school never reported her missing.
And a co-ed nursing student vanishes, last seen on campus. Where is nursing student Bahia?
Straight out to Michael Filippelli, news director at WCBM. Michael, thank you for being with us. I want to talk about first 8-year-old Relisha. Is it true -- she was missing from school. Let`s see her school, Justin. She was missing from school for several weeks, and nobody ever said a word. I`m hearing tonight it`s because her kidnapper, Karl Tatum, age 51, posed as her doctor. Is that true, Michael?
MICHAEL FILIPPELLI, WCBM (via telephone): That is true, unfortunately, Nancy. School officials who thought Relisha was in the care of a quote, unquote, "Dr. Tatum" -- they reached out to Tatum on March 10th to tell him that he would have to provide documentation to demonstrate the medical reason for Relisha`s continued absence and -- according to a person that was familiar with the case -- and after 10 unexcused absences, the school was required by law to call the city`s child welfare agency, a rule meant to encourage better attendance and to ensure when truancy is due to neglect or abuse, social workers intervene.
Relisha reached that threshold on March 13th, and that day, a school social worker referred Relisha to the child welfare agency, noting that her grandmother insisted she was ill and in the care of Tatum.
GRACE: Well, and another disturbing fact we learn tonight is her kidnapper -- and there`s no doubt about it, is Karl Tatum, a 51-year-old janitor, has this little girl. He was trusted by the family. His wife has been found dead -- dead, murdered in a Red Roof Inn.
OK, I`m hearing in my ear we`re going straight to a police presser on Relisha.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`ve determined that 8-year-old Relisha was last seen on March 1st, 2014, with Mr. Khalil Tatum within the District of Columbia. Relisha was in the company of Mr. Tatum with the permission of her mother.
On March 2nd, we know that Mr. Tatum purchased, among other items, a carton of black 42-gallon self-tie contractor trash bags within the District of Columbia. Not long after that purchase, Mr. Tatum was in the area of the Aquatic Gardens for a period of time.
Relisha has not been seen by anyone since March 1st, yet Mr. Tatum continued to go to work and was seen in multiple locations throughout the District of Columbia between March 2nd and March 20th. Relisha was not with Mr. Tatum in any of those sightings.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight back to Michael Filippelli, joining us from WCBM. Michael, I want to run that grainy surveillance video again that we have gotten of Karl Tatum walking along a hotel hallway with the little girl. This is not the Red Roof Inn where his wife was found dead. OK, this is nothing but bad. He`s taking this little girl into a hotel room.
Michael Filippelli, what hotel is that?
FILIPPELLI: Well, you know, with the news today that she was last seen March 1st and that he was seen buying the contractor bags and he spent considerable time in the park since then, and that`s why the search is going on at Kenilworth Park in the garden area.
GRACE: What hotel was that? That`s my question, Michael. What hotel? Where did we get that surveillance video? What hotel is that?
FILIPPELLI: That`s the Red Roof Inn.
GRACE: The same Red Roof Inn as where his wife was found murdered?
FILIPPELLI: Oh, no. It`s -- it`s -- they didn`t really say where it was - - where it was from. But...
GRACE: OK, I`m hearing in my hear, and correct me if I`m wrong, this is a shot in the Holiday Inn Express. Justin, is that what you`re telling me? OK, so there you see Karl Tatum, age 51, with this 8-year-old little girl that he`s kidnapped in a Holiday Inn Express. People watching may think he`s her grandfather. He`s not. He has kidnapped her. All along the interstate at this hour, there are Amber Alerts going out.
Marc Klaas, what can you tell me?
MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION (via telephone): Well, I can tell you that this man is no family friend. He`s a wanted murderer and a pedophile who very well may have murdered this young girl. It`s imperative that anybody who has seen this individual or who has any idea where either of them may be immediately contact the authorities, so that if she is alive, they can still rescue her before more damage is done.
GRACE: Joining me right now, special guest Relisha`s grandfather, George Turner is with us. Mr. Turner, we have been reporting on Relisha`s disappearance and praying for this child since I first read about this on line. What are police telling you tonight, Mr. Turner?
GEORGE TURNER, RELISHA`S GRANDFATHER (via telephone): Well, so far -- excuse me -- so far, we haven`t heard nothing from the police.
GRACE: Well, I wonder why?
TURNER: I don`t know. We`re getting all our information from the news on TV.
GRACE: Did this guy, Karl Tatum, ever bring Relisha to school or pick her up from school?
TURNER: To the best of my knowledge, no, he hasn`t.
GRACE: Well, I understand why Relisha`s mother thought she could trust this guy. They knew him. Other people knew him very well. Relisha was apparently playing with his little granddaughter. They were friends. This is way, way, way off the road here. Do you feel, Mr. Turner, that they are closing in on him?
TURNER: I`m hoping that they are and that there`s nothing wrong with my granddaughter.
GRACE: That`s our prayer, as well.
To Petula Dvorak, columnist with "The Washington Post." What have you learned since we last spoke, Petula?
PETULA DVORAK, "WASHINGTON POST" (via telephone): Well, as we know, the police are classifying it as, you know, lots of possibilities, but a recovery operation. And I have to tell you, Nancy, my heart broke this morning. As soon as I dropped my kids off at school, I saw two helicopters up in the sky right around Kenilworth, and I was going to e-mail my newsroom right away thinking maybe this is it. And I thought, No, no, no. And sure enough, that was -- that was part of that recovery operation.
He was seen, as Chief Lanier (ph) had said, buying black garbage bags. And we haven`t seen her since then, so there is an alert out there. She`s on bus pads (ph), she`s on billboards. People have been putting her face up on social media. And there has been absolutely no sign of her since the last half day of school that she had two weeks ago.
GRACE: OK, everybody, let`s go back to that police presser. Let`s find out what we can.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shortly after the homicide of Mr. Tatum`s wife in Prince Georges County on March 20th, 2014, we have not had any additional confirmed sightings of Mr. Tatum. While we have committed a significant amount of resources for searching the area of the Aquatic Gardens for Relisha, other detectives and agents continue to follow up on other leads simultaneously.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Very quickly, Michael Filippelli, WCBM, also, the nursing student, Bahia. Tell me the circumstances of her disappearance. And the tip line for her, 636-949-0809.
FILIPPELLI: Well, the last time she was -- her mother saw her daughter was early that last Wednesday morning. She said she was happy. She said she was playful. She said she left that morning, and she was playing with her sister while she was waiting for the bus.
But one of her classmates said she looked sick and nervous, and she kept looking at the door before she went missing that day. Her car was found in the school`s parking lot. There are no surveillance videos focused on that parking lot where her car was. And her belongings were inside, and a note that read, "Good-bye."
GRACE: OK, everyone, tip line for Bahia, 636-949-0809. And very quickly, show me Relisha one more time please, Justin. Guys, this is an 8-year-old little girl. She`s been taken by a 51-year-old man whose wife has been found murdered. Please, please help us bring this child home to her family. Tip line for Relisha, 202-727-9099. There is a $70,000 reward to help find this little girl.
All you mothers and fathers, grandfathers, grandmothers that hear our voices tonight, please take a look at Relisha. It is now a matter of life and death. All of you truckers that are listening tonight on Sirius and XM, be on the lookout for that Amber Alert. Let`s bring this child home.
Everyone, when we come back, a waitress at a local pizza parlor calls police when she spots a mom breastfeeding and having a beer, a lite beer. Believe it or not, this mother booked, printed and thrown behind bars. Here`s what she tells "GMA."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAMS: And they said, Ma`am, we got a report that you were drinking alcohol while breastfeeding. And I said, OK. I didn`t know that was illegal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And then later, ravaged by drugs, shocking, devastating physical toll of drug addiction. Tonight, caught on tape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Live, Conway, Arkansas, a waitress at a local pizza parlor calls police when she spots a mom breastfeeding and having a beer. Believe it or not, they grab the mom, book her, print her and throw her behind bars.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At times during the meal, she was nursing her daughter. At other times, she was drinking two bottles of lite beer over the course of an hour-and-a-half.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, let me just give you the context. She`s got the baby. The baby can`t be away from her because she`s still nursing. She`s leaving a funeral with her parents. They stop to get something to eat, and she has - - she orders two lite beers over the course of about two hours.
To Rick Couri, managing editor, KRMG Tulsa. Rick, do I have the facts right?
RICK COURI, KRMG (via telephone): That is pretty correct. She just left a funeral for the best friend of her father. And they were in Conway, Arkansas. Now, they`re from a little burg Totseck (ph), Arkansas -- and yes, that`s a real place -- where there`s a dry country. They had stopped. She decided to have a couple of beers, and that`s when the entire fracas began.
GRACE: OK, let me make sure I understand this, Rick Couri, KRMG. She`s not shooting up cocaine, she`s not smoking pot, she`s not guzzling down oxycodone. She had a lite beer. Do I have that right?
COURI: That`s what -- now, that`s what she says. Now, the waitress that actually called the police on her, named Jackie Conners, said when she came in, she saw her having what she termed mixed drinks or heavy drinks. She said she thought they were Long Island iced teas, and Conners said that she actually saw the bartender make those.
Now, Tasha Adams said she doesn`t have any idea what she`s talking about. She`s never had those before. The other thing is when the police did come, they never saw her consume any alcohol of any kind nor did they see her breastfeed. They simply talked to her and then arrested her.
GRACE: OK, let me unleash lawyers, Alex Sanchez, Renee Sandler (ph) out of D.C. Also with me, special guest Leigh Anne O`Connor, spokeswoman and leader for breastfeeding support organization La Leche League.
OK, Leigh Anne, first to you. I`m having a little problem trying to figure out how one beer, a lite beer, maybe possibly two over the course of two hours, hurts a mom breastfeeding. I don`t understand what`s wrong with that.
LEIGH ANNE O`CONNOR, LA LECHE LEAGUE: There is nothing wrong with that. What`s interesting is, it takes about an hour for the alcohol to get into the milk, and it -- it`s such a tiny percentage. Breastfeeding and drinking alcohol in moderation is not contra-indicated.
GRACE: Well, you know -- you know, when I was in the hospital, about to die, we were still trying to breastfeed. OK, Sanchez.
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, listen, I don`t see how this type of behavior...
GRACE: They let me breastfeed, and I was taking lasix for pulmonary edema!
SANCHEZ: I don`t see how this type of behavior should be encouraged under any circumstances. First of all, when you`re drinking alcohol...
GRACE: They threw her in jail, Sanchez!
SANCHEZ: Let me tell you something. When you`re drinking alcohol, your balance...
GRACE: Have you ever breastfed?
SANCHEZ: Your balance is affected. Your memory`s affected.
GRACE: I`m going to take that as a no.
SANCHEZ: Your judgment`s affected, right? Your reaction time is affected. Why...
GRACE: Well, why does she need...
SANCHEZ: Out of all...
GRACE: Why does she need hair-trigger responses? She`s sitting there with her mother and father having a pizza!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Over the course of a long meal, mom of three Tasha Adams was breastfeeding her baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were two or three drinks in front of her already when I got there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An off-duty waitress calls the cops. Why? She believed the baby was in danger.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Well, according to what the police say, this mom had two lite beers over the course of two hours. And you know, I never did that when I was breastfeeding, but what is this, Nazi Germany? She can`t have one lite beer? This mom was thrown in jail, people, over one lite beer, maybe two!
OK, back to Alex Sanchez and Leigh Anne O`Connor with La Leche League. OK, Alex, you were saying something about what, her reflexes would be slowed down?
SANCHEZ: Listen...
GRACE: She`s with her mother and daddy and nursing a baby. What is she going to do?
SANCHEZ: Nancy...
GRACE: She`s not a Ninja hit woman!
SANCHEZ: Nancy...
GRACE: What?
SANCHEZ: ... we don`t allow somebody to drink beer when they`re driving a car. Why? Because it affects your reaction. It affects your memory.
GRACE: OK.
SANCHEZ: It affects your balance. If you`re holding a child, is that the time you need to drink beer? Does that make any sense?
GRACE: Put him up!
SANCHEZ: Out of all of the hours in a day, why did she have to do it at that point?
GRACE: So you`re worried...
SANCHEZ: So it later. Do it before.
GRACE: ... about her hair trigger responses there in the pizza parlor.
SANCHEZ: I am. You know, children -- children are precious, Nancy, and I don`t want to see anything...
GRACE: OK. I agree with that.
SANCHEZ: ... to occur which could cause them any type of damage. And I know you agree with me on that.
GRACE: OK, now, you`re the same one that`s for legalization of pot, and you fight with me about that.
SANCHEZ: Well, I got news for you...
GRACE: But you now want the mom thrown behind bars because she had a lite beer. I`m not down with that.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... worried about the welfare of the baby, why would you take the baby away from her mother? What kind of trauma is that?
GRACE: I just don`t understand throwing the mother in jail.
Reggie Koch is joining us, attorney for Tasha Adams. Reggie, all right, let`s settle this once and for all. Was it a beer, was it two lite beers or was it a Long Island iced tea, which I just -- I don`t know what that is. It`s just got a lot of alcohol in it.
REGGIE KOCH, ATTORNEY FOR TASHA ADAMS (via telephone): It depends on who you ask. If you ask Ms. Conners, it was a whole bunch of alcohol and she was drunk. But if you ask my client, all the people sitting at the table with her, her actual server that night, they will say that she had a couple of beers over a couple of hours.
And if you talk to the police officers, who, by the way, are trained to determine and detect if people are under the influence of alcohol, they didn`t say anything in their report whatsoever...
GRACE: Right.
KOCH: ... about any problems with her. They didn`t see her drinking, they just said that she admitted that she had breastfed while drinking, you know -- after having couple of beers. And remember that the beer you`re drinking now, like Leigh Anne said -- the beer you`re drinking now won`t matter for another 45 minutes or so. So it`s really just the one beer that`s in play.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s a lady here breastfeeding while she`s drinking. And (INAUDIBLE) endangerment of a child because, it`s, like, a newborn breastfeeding while she`s drinking alcohol. I mean, everyone`s at the table drinking. (INAUDIBLE) with this baby.
911 OPERATOR: And you are sure she`s drinking?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, she`s taking sips of drinks right now, and her baby is on the boob, like (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADAMS: I had a beer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She picked up her drink and took a drink of it while her baby was breastfeeding.
ADAMS: And then I had another one later on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Conners says she watched Adams consume drink after drink even after managers were not6ified what was going on.
ADAMS: I`ll say it until the day I die. I was sober enough to breastfeed my kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, let me put this in context. This mother was with her mother and father and her infant child, who is still breastfeeding. They had been to a funeral, stopped on the way back home. They were getting pizza after leaving a very upsetting funeral. And she orders, we think, two light beers over the course of two hours.
Listen to me. The police come, they throw the mother in jail. They take the breastfeeding mother and throw her in jail. You know, we don`t even have enough jail space -- let me tell you, I prosecuted 10 years, for murders and rapists and child molesters and they put a breastfeeding mother in jail.
OK, unleash the lawyers. Rene Sandler, Washington, Alex Sanchez, New York, and joining me special guest Leann O`Connor, spokesperson for La Leche, also with me, Reggie Koch, attorney for the mom. Tasha Adams -- you know, before -- let me just say something about La Leche, they want what`s best for the baby.
Can I tell you I had blood clots in my lungs and pulmonary edema? My heart and lungs were swimming in fluid, I was dying, La Leche, every couple of hours -- hi, is this a good time? I mean, they are all about breastfeeding the baby and the baby being healthy. All right? I was dying and they were trying to get me to breastfeed the baby, which I did. Don`t get mad at me, La Leche.
OK. Let me ask --
LEANN O`CONNOR, SPOKESPERSON FOR LA LECHE: No. La Leche definitely doesn`t get mad.
(LAUGHTER)
GRACE: So long story short, Sanchez, what do you want him to do, the woman is sitting there, she`s got a light beer, for all I know it was on ice just to top it all off. What do you want them to do? They throw her in jail, they take the baby off of her breast and throw her in jail.
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, look, that may have been overkill. But where do you draw the line? Two beers, three?
GRACE: No. You`re the one --
SANCHEZ: What about four?
GRACE: You`re the one saying that this is OK.
SANCHEZ: Wait, wait, is five OK?
GRACE: That`s not what I asked you.
SANCHEZ: What about six? At some point are we --
GRACE: That is not what I asked you.
SANCHEZ: Wait. Are we going to turn the bartenders into the police to say, wait a minute, you know, you are drinking too many beers. Why can`t a person breastfeeding understand that you`re putting a child at risk, not merely for drinking but because you can drop the baby.
GRACE: OK. Let`s get --
SANCHEZ: Or you can hurt the baby in some other way.
GRACE: Let`s get to the truth of the matter.
With me is Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner, forensic pathologist.
Dr. Manion, OK, tell me the truth. You don`t have to be on one side or the other, just tell me what you really think. Was this baby damaged by the mom having a light beer?
DR. BILL MANION, M.D., MEDICAL EXAMINER, BURLINGTON COUNTY, NJ: No, the baby was not. I don`t believe so.
GRACE: Because I know they say that whatever you eat goes straight to the baby. But I mean, she didn`t drink her entire pregnancy. She ordered two light beers at a pizza place and she gets fingerprinted for Pete`s sake.
Hey, let me ask you this, Reggie Koch, your her lawyer, for Tasha Adams, does she -- I mean, I know -- does she have -- did she get fingerprinted? Does she have a record?
REGGIE KOCH, ATTORNEY FOR TASHA ADAMS, MOM JAILED FOR DRINKING BEER WHILE BREASTFEEDING: Well, she was arrested. I don`t know if she`s actually fingerprinted.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Oh, dear lord.
KOCH: This is a misdemeanor charge.
GRACE: So she`s got an arrest record. She has an arrest record.
KOCH: You know, Alex is worried about -- where we draw the line, what about smoking? What about mothers that have a diet of cheeseburgers and donuts, they`re not putting them in jail. And as you know, from your experience, Nancy, in the hospital, even if you have bad things in your system, even if you have prescription drugs --
GRACE: I had drugs in my system, Lasix.
KOCH: They still encourage you to breastfeed.
GRACE: You know, what about it, Alex? What about that?
SANCHEZ: Listen, I encourage women or anybody to maintain their health for the health of the child. But it`s not just about whether or not the breast is producing alcohol.
GRACE: No, I want you to answer the question.
SANCHEZ: In the milk.
GRACE: (INAUDIBLE) question.
SANCHEZ: The child is in danger because the person that is drinking alcohol has compromised judgment and their balance is compromised. Their reaction time is compromised.
GRACE: OK. What about if a mom decides to go --
SANCHEZ: Why does she have to breastfeed then?
GRACE: What about if a pregnant mom decides to bungee jump on vacation? Is she going to jail, too? Is she right in there with breastfeeding?
SANCHEZ: Listen, maybe she --
GRACE: What about that? That`s bad judgment.
SANCHEZ: Listen, maybe she should have been told -- listen.
GRACE: What if she goes wild water rafting.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: What if she goes hiking?
RENE SANDLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Come on.
SANCHEZ: You know, don`t make it ridiculous, Nancy.
GRACE: OK. No, I`m not. You are.
SANCHEZ: You are.
GRACE: OK. Rene Sandler, let`s hear your opinion.
SANDLER: Absolutely the mother should not have had anything to drink. No alcohol. And if you think --
GRACE: Can I ask you a question? Do you have children?
SANDLER: I have twins just like you. And if you think --
GRACE: Did you breastfeed?
SANDLER: On national television, do you want me to answer that? It`s irrelevant.
GRACE: Yes.
SANDLER: Yes.
GRACE: OK. I`m going to take that as a no, but I did. And I don`t blame this lady for having a beer, people.
SANDLER: Nancy, come on.
GRACE: OK. Bethany -- no, I am coming on because this lady actually got taken to jail.
SANDLER: And she should have.
GRACE: OK, Bethany Marshall, you`re the shrink.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her baby was taken away from her.
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST, AUTHOR OF "DEALBREAKERS": You know, Nancy, Nancy, this may not rise to the level of child abuse, but when you breastfeed a child that`s the time when you bond with the child and if you are tipsy or high and you`re not sober, how can all of those bonding activities take place?
GRACE: Over one beer?
MARSHALL: Nancy, Nancy, even one beer as you are breastfeeding.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I was on Lasix.
MARSHALL: Look. Look --
GRACE: Drugs. I`m on drugs --
(CROSSTALK)
MARSHALL: OK, what does it say about the mother that --
GRACE: Bethany, I`m stunned. You want to go back to Nazi Germany.
MARSHALL: Well, I do think that --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: This is totally misogynist.
MARSHALL: Child endangerment is a vastly under reported crime and because of that, I don`t think we should vilify the waitress. All she was required to do was to be a good citizen and report suspicion of child abuse. She wasn`t -- she wasn`t required to evaluate it, just to report the suspicion.
GRACE: Everybody, when we come back, a gorgeous 4-year-old little girl snuggling with mommy watching TV, and out of nowhere she is attacked by the family pet.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the officers entered the residence to survey the situation, the dog attacked the officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And then later, ravaged by drugs, the shocking, devastating physical toll of addiction. Tonight, caught on tape.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now to Cajun country, Louisiana, a gorgeous 4-year-old little girl snuggling with mommy, watching TV, where out of nowhere she is attacked by the family pet and killed as mommy struggles to get the beast off the baby. We learn tonight the crime scene so horrific even seasoned veteran police officers need counseling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A beautiful little 4-year-old little girl dies after being attacked while watching television in her own home.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What they called a monster, a 130-pound pit bull named Niko rampaging through the apartment.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dog was shot initially inside of the residence.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: The pit bull was so aggressive that police who responded to the scene had to shoot it a dozen times before they were able to bring it down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good gravy, they had to shoot the dog a dozen times?
Michelle Southern, assistant news director, Louisiana Radio Network.
Michelle, I had no idea the dog was that wild. Was that out of his mind. What happened, Michelle?
MICHELLE SOUTHERN, ASSISTANT NEWS DIRECTOR, LOUISIANA RADIO NETWORK: Well apparently the dog had just snapped for some reason. They have no idea why. Completely just started attacking the child, then attacked the mother when the mother fought the dog off the child. And you know, as you said, was so out of control even when police got there, they had to shoot it 12 times.
GRACE: Oh, dear lord in heaven.
SOUTHERN: Before the threat was eliminated.
GRACE: Joining me right now two very special guests, Chief Todd Duplantis, the chief of the police department. Also with me, Gray Stafford, Dr. Grey Stafford, the director of conservation at the Wildlife World Zoo, author of "Animal Trainer." Joining me out of Phoenix.
First of all, to you, Chief, I understand that the mommy was just cuddling with the little girl, like I do every single night, the three of us get together, we watch "Curious George" or "Wildcats" and then we go to bed and that`s what they were doing when out of nowhere here comes this family pet, he`s a beast, he`s a devil dog.
CHIEF TODD M. DUPLANTIS, HOUMA POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes, that`s what it appears in the initial investigation. Like I said, we are still currently investigating this. We are in the infant stages right now. But you`re absolutely right. It appears that the 4-year-old child was inside the living room, apparently sitting there watching TV and for some odd reason this pit bull, very large pit bull, I might add, attacked the 4-year-old child inside of the living room.
The mother was actually able to fight the pit bull off of the child and was able to barricade herself inside of the bedroom and call 911.
GRACE: Oh, you know, Chief, I can hardly stand it. In all of your years, Chief Duplantis, have you ever seen anything like this?
DUPLANTIS: No, ma`am, I haven`t. I mean I`ve heard of stories of, you know, various type of animals turning on their owners and what have you. I mean we hear this. But -- and, you know, I`ve been in this department 30 years and this is the -- one of the most horrific incidents that I`ve been aware of, yes.
GRACE: I want to go to Dr. Grey Stafford, author of "Animal Trainer," director, conservation, Wildlife World Zoo just out of Phoenix.
Gray, I am just sick about this. Now let me tell you something, Grey, you and I communicated recently on a case where a pit bull was on a leash in the backyard, an 18-foot leash with no fence, and a tot got back there and he mauled the tot to death. And animal rights people -- and I do story protecting animals all of the time. But they were mad at the boy because they claim the little boy tried to take his bone. In this case there was no provocation whatsoever. The little girl is just watching TV.
GREY STAFFORD, PH.D., DIRECTOR OF CONSERVATION AT WILDLIFE WORLD ZOO: You know, Nancy, unfortunately this is a very common occurrence. And we see these things and I`ve heard you say several times, you know, it came out of nowhere. Unfortunately, behavior doesn`t come out of nowhere. It actually simmers and unfortunately because of a lot of traditional training which relies on punishment. We often punish some of the warning signs that might alert us that there is a problem brewing with our animals.
GRACE: Like what? Like what? Don`t -- try not to talk like a Ph.D. I`m just a lawyer.
STAFFORD: OK. Well --
GRACE: Just tell me --
STAFFORD: If we see a dog that is growling or possessive of its toy or maybe the space on the couch or even mom while they are watching TV, a lot of times traditional trainers will say well you have to correct that dog and tell it no. The problem is that the dog is telling us through its behavior, through these more mild forms of aggression that there is a problem brewing. And rather than punish those precursor warning signs we ought to be trying to redirecting the animal back on to some successful path.
GRACE: Well, I just see that here there was absolutely no provocation whatsoever. This child had been cuddling with mommy, watching TV before bedtime when out of nowhere the family pet, he`s a beast, he`s a brute, tears a child to death.
And Chief Duplantis, I was reading more about it last night and it said that some of the most seasoned police officers actually needed counseling after they saw this scene. Is that true?
DUPLANTIS: Yes, ma`am, it is. The officers, when they entered the residence, as I said, the scene inside the residence where the attack took place was very disturbing for some of the seasoned officers that seen it. And they are actually going through counseling. I have a few of them that we are running through some counseling to assess them.
GRACE: Everybody, I was reading about it last night. They are trying to get funeral expenses to pay for the child`s funeral. I went online to gofundme.com/7tmy5k.
Unleash the lawyers. Alex Sanchez and Rene Sandler, author of "The Code."
OK, Rene, I guess you`re defending the devil dog?
SANDLER: Yes, I am. It is the deed, not the breed, Nancy.
GRACE: So the breastfeeding mommy needs to go to jail.
SANDLER: Yes.
GRACE: But the killer dog, that`s OK?
SANDLER: It`s not -- listen, this breed specific legislation that is not working, that has been enacted even in my home state of Maryland, even the American Kennel Club says isn`t working. So it is the deed, not the breed. It is racial profiling for dogs is what this is about.
GRACE: Whoa. OK. You just said racial profiling about a dog?
SANDLER: That`s what it`s akin to.
GRACE: Well, I`ll just throw it to you.
SANDLER: That`s what it`s akin to.
GRACE: Rene, I`ve never seen a Chihuahua or a King Charles Cavalier kill somebody. So we are talking about profiling.
SANDLER: Nancy.
GRACE: You know what, you need to go back home and read the stats on pit bulls and Rottweiler. Those are devil dogs.
SANDLER: The number one biter is a Chihuahua. The number one biting dog is a Chihuahua.
GRACE: Yes? Well, you know what, he might nip your pinking but he`s not going to kill you.
Michelle Southern, Louisiana Radio Network. I understand there was another dog in the home that has been removed?
SOUTHERN: Yes, and that is with their -- why they are citing run of the reasons that maybe Niko snapped, is that he was a male dog and that the other dog was a female.
GRACE: You know what, Michelle --
SOUTHERN: And he --
GRACE: I just don`t know how many times children are going to have to be murdered by pit bulls and Rottweiler before we wake up and see what is going on.
Everybody, when we come back, ravaged by drugs, the shocking, devastating physical toll of drug addiction. Tonight it is actually caught on tape.
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GRACE: Ravaged by drugs, the shocking, devastating physical toll of drug addiction. Tonight actually caught on tape. Hard evidence of the stunning, devastating effects of drugs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Michael, these pictures taken over a decade.
GRACE: We`re going to be showing you photos of what happens to addicts.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Wayne. Arrested for possession of heroin and cocaine. These pictures span three years. Cynthia changed over eight years.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: They`re cooking up. That is at rehabs.com. You can see the full video and more faces of drug arrests there. We`re going to keep this going while we talk about this. Take a look at this. It`s so hard for me to take in.
Brad Lamm, addiction specialist and founder of Breathe Life Healing Centers. I`m just so distraught. These age progressions are over just like three to four years. The people look like they age 30 years. Why?
BRAD LAMM, CERTIFIED INTERVENTIONIST, AUTHOR OF "HOW TO HELP THE ONE YOU LOVE": Well, it really, Nancy, looks like special effects makeup, doesn`t it? But that`s the road map for so many people who are addicted. It just takes you down mind, body and spirit. And you see it in their faces, you see it in their eyes, and you see the progression of the disease on them, don`t you?
GRACE: I really do. I really do.
Bethany Marshall, psychoanalyst and author of "Dealbreakers." Weigh in. I mean, can`t they see what it`s doing to them?
MARSHALL: Nancy, they can`t see themselves. And besides we`re just seeing their faces. What about their teeth? What about their organs? What about their mental states? What about the propensity towards psychosis, which is the inability to distinguish reality from nonreality. Unfortunately, with this continued type of drug abuse, it erodes the part of the brain that is responsible for impulse control, judgment, neuroreceptor sites are damaged so the person craves increasing amount of drugs.
All of their relationships and their lives are eroded so they lose their support systems, they have decreasing levels of financial security and because of that, their stress level rises, then they need more drugs.
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GRACE: The absolutely devastating effects of drugs. Take a look at this. Hard evidence about what drugs do to you. How serious it is, Clark?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER, COVERING STORY: Well, Nancy, these stats are shocking. We`re learning that there`s over 1.6 million arrests in the United States just for suspected drug problems. And if you take a look behind me, guys, you can see some of the progressions of some of these people that were arrested.
We`re talking a 10-year span here. Take a look at this person Linda back in 2002, you can see what happens on her face 10 years later, 2014.
We have some others we can advance to. And it`s just really shocking the dangers of drug abuse. People were actually surveyed on this Web site, Nancy, on rehabs.com. And the average age people assumed was about 15 to 20 years later. Some of these pictures just three to five years later, Nancy.
GRACE: You know, back to you, Brad Lamm, I want to continue with the photographic evidence.
Brad, why are all of the scratches and sores on their faces?
LAMM: Well, one of the side effects from meth use is what you call just picking. And so you have a feeling like something is on you like the feeling that insects are on you, so it causes people to pick and scratch, and then it just becomes one of the physical tolls of addiction.
You know, seven out of 10 people struggling with addiction, Nancy, will never get meaningful help. They will just struggle and deteriorate and wither and die like these we`re seeing in these pictures.
GRACE: But, you know, Dr. Manion, I don`t understand why it destroys your body this way. Explain.
MANION: Well, first of all, you lose your appetite. So you`re not getting proper nutrition. You`re not getting vitamins. So it`s kind of a forced malnutrition. It`s like being in a concentration camp. You`re not getting any nutrients, you`re not getting any vitamins. And look how shallow their faces look, how hollow their cheeks are from losing all the fat in their face.
GRACE: So it takes away your appetite. And could you explain again, Dr. Manion, why all the sores appear on people`s faces? These are true photos, mug shots over time of drug addicts. And it`s off rehabs.com. It emphasizes all of these people are innocent until proven guilty. Of course they are.
And I`m not talking about their guilt about being a drug addict tonight. I`m talking about how to save their lives. At this one moment, I`m not concerned about them going to jail. I`m concerned about them being saved. I don`t understand how to do it, Brad Lamm.
LAMM: The potential that people can get better and fall into really meaningful lives post addiction and after treatment is such an awesome upside, it`s my hope that more and more families will help their loved ones get into treatment.
GRACE: Everyone, that is from rehabs.com. Let`s stop and remember American hero Army Specialist Jared Stanker, 22, Ever Green Park, Illinois. National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon. Loved war movies. Parents Kevin and Susan, sister Jordan.
Jared Stanker, American hero. Drew up next, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp eastern, and until then, good night, friend.
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