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Nancy Grace
Alabama Girl Missing in PJs; Schenecker Manipulated Dead Daughter`s Mouth Into Smile; Case Against "Real Housewife" Teresa Giudice Thrown Out of Court; Joran van der Sloot to Wed Behind Bars; Kindergarten Teacher Attacks 6-Year-Old
Aired May 14, 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, urgent live to Tuscaloosa. A little girl, a star gifted student who plays the viola in the symphony, asleep in her own bed in her PJs when Mommy hears the door open, jumps up to investigate, little Jovana gone.
At this hour, we believe she has been abducted by this man, a man with a rap sheet including outstanding warrants for rape and sodomy. Tonight, he is on the run with this girl, traveling in a white Mitsubishi Eclipse. Tonight, help us bring this girl home.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 13-year-old Alabama girl has been missing, and authorities afraid she may be with a 24-year-old man who has outstanding warrants for sexual offenses. Now police are asking for the public`s help in locating the missing girl.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, a million-dollar mansion, Tampa, a little girl at her computer doing homework dead, the little brother, still buckled in the minivan, dead. Mommy, in a bloody housecoat lounging by a luxury pool in the back yard, says she shoots her children dead in the mouth because they, quote, "talked back" to her. Tonight, damning testimony pours from the witness stand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The defendant was gambling away thousands of dollars.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After shooting Calyx, she tried to manipulate the mouth so that it would look like a smile.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you made a decision whether you will testify or not?
JULIE SCHENECKER, DEFENDANT: I have, and I won`t, your honor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, "Real Housewife" turned real convict, Teresa Giudice and her husband busted when feds hone in on their lavish lifestyle, a $5 million mansion, a $30,000 to $50,000 birthday party for their little girl. Then they`re caught red-handed lying to feds to get even more money. In the last hours, a stunning turn, a case involving "Real Housewife" Teresa Giudice thrown out of court!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Teresa and Joe Giudice have finally gotten good news from a court.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am paying attention. Obviously, there has to be something else.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lawsuit filed by a business partner against Teresa and Joe Giudice was tossed out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, Natalee Holloway prime murder suspect Joran Van Der Sloot pleads guilty to the murder of another young girl he meets in a resort casino. After beating her to a pulp, breaking her neck, he kicks back with a cup of coffee and a Danish just inches from her dead body. Well, tonight, to top it all off, we get word Joran Van Der Sloot set to wed behind prison walls to a woman five months pregnant with Van Der Sloot`s child. How did that happen?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Late-breaking development to the Joran Van Der Sloot case.
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Man was suspected in Natalee Holloway`s disappearance but never charged.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): Did you kill Stephany Tatiana?
JORAN VAN DER SLOOT, CONVICTED OF MURDER: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That was from Pan Americana TV.
And live to Ohio. Every day, we leave our children at kindergarten, thinking of two plus two and nursery rhymes, but not at Riverdale elementary. Tonight, caught on tape, a female kindergarten teacher attacks a 6-year-old child. Why isn`t she behind bars?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Riverdale school kindergartener walks down the hallway to go to the bathroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see where she grabs ahold of his face, she slams him up against the wall.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Nelsons (ph) say Ian (ph) had a bruise to the back of his head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She is suspended for 10 days without pay. The Nelsons want her terminated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s scared of her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Urgent, live to Tuscaloosa, a little girl who is a star gifted student, who plays the viola in a symphony, asleep in her own bed in her PJs when Mommy hears the front door open, jumps up to investigate, Jovana gone.
At this hour, we believe the little girl abducted by this man, a man with a rap sheet including outstanding warrants for rape and sodomy. They are believed to be traveling in a white Mitsubishi Eclipse. Tonight, where is Jovana?
Joining me, Stephen Dethrage with "The Birmingham News" there in Tuscaloosa. Stephen, the mom hears the door open. It`s every mom`s worst nightmare. This little girl is a gifted student. What can you tell me about the little girl? When you say gifted, a star student, plays the viola -- tell me.
STEPHEN DETHRAGE, "BIRMINGHAM NEWS" (via telephone): That`s right. The last day she was seen, she had just wrapped up a day of shopping with her mother. And as you said, her mom woke up, heard the door open and saw her on the road, barefoot in pajamas, rounding a corner in the road. And by the time her mom was able to get in the car and try and track her down, she had already disappeared.
GRACE: Take a look at this little girl, Jovana Hill. She has just turned 13. We believe the suspect, Everado Ramirez, 24, in a white Mitsubishi Eclipse, has the girl. He has abducted the little girl. And a few of the things on his rap sheet include, outstanding warrants for rape and sodomy.
Clark Goldband, What more can you tell me about the night she goes missing?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Sure, Nancy. You heard the reporter just a moment ago allude to shopping. Why was she shopping? I`ll tell you. This girl is such a good student and so well behaved, she won an all- expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. Her mom says they were shopping for clothes earlier that day. Even more concerning, those clothes left behind, as well as almost $100 cash, Nancy. The girl simply vanishes.
GRACE: Well, I mean, Clark, of course, she has just turned 13.
GOLDBAND: Yes.
GRACE: The girl, of course, did not choose to be abducted by this guy. I mean, why would her money and her little new clothes for her trip she won to Washington be taken with her?
GOLDBAND: Well, you know...
GRACE: This is the guy, he`s got outstanding warrants for sodomy and statutory rape.
Unleash the lawyers. With me, Eleanor Odom, death penalty-qualified sex crimes prosecutor. When you see statutory rape, El, you know what that means. He has already got -- he`s already got outstanding warrants for sex or rape with a child. That`s what statutory rape means.
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Exactly, a minor, who cannot consent to this activity. That`s very concerning. It looks like a pattern of behavior that he`s already established, Nancy. That is his MO, obviously, getting underage girls.
GRACE: Hold on just one moment. Out to the lines. Kelly, Kentucky. Hi, Kelly. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hey, Nancy. How`re you doing?
GRACE: I`m great.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have -- great. I have a question for you. I would like to know, did Jovana know this young man before she was abducted? Did she know him from Facebook?
GRACE: I`ll tell you what I`ve learned. I`ve learned -- and Clark, correct me if I`m wrong -- she had a babysitter...
GOLDBAND: Yes.
GRACE: ... who knew this guy, who knew Everado Ramirez. And somehow, this guy, apparently dropping the babysitter off -- I don`t know how, maybe at the mall -- had spotted the little girl. And that`s the way it happens so often. He sets his sights on this little girl. And when he gets a chance, he gets her.
The mom hearing the door open, jumps up just in time to investigate, to find her girl missing. They`re going a mile a minute right now, a mile a minute, away from her mother, Laura Hill.
With me right now, Jovana`s mother, Laura Hill. Ms. Hill, thank you for being with us.
LAURA HILL, JOVANA`S MOTHER (via telephone): Thank you so much.
GRACE: Ms. Hill, what are police telling you tonight about the whereabouts of your little girl?
HILL: Well, not much. As far as we know, no new leads that, you know, point to her whereabouts. At this point in time, they could be anywhere.
GRACE: Did she have a cell phone?
HILL: She didn`t have an active cell phone.
GRACE: Everybody, you are seeing shots right now of Jovana Hill, just turned 13, playing her viola. She is a star student, a gifted student in the gifted program. This little girl missing in the dead of night in her pajamas, last seen leaving her home in Tuscaloosa. Tip line 205-752-7867.
Laura, your girl is gifted. Tell me about the trip she won to Washington. How did that happen?
HILL: She won it through her school. She was nominated for being, you know, such an excellent role model, a leader, having excellent grades. And it`s an all-expense-paid trip at the end of this month. So it`s something that she was really excited about, had already purchased a new digital camera, clothes. You know, it`s an honor.
GRACE: It`s a huge, huge honor. I`m just wondering, this guy that we know that she`s with, Everado Ramirez, Ms. Hill -- everyone, with me is the mother of Jovana Hill, now missing. Does he have ties to your knowledge -- have police told you he`s got in any other state? Where could he be headed?
HILL: Apparently, he has family and friends in numerous different states across the U.S., and he also has family still in Mexico.
GRACE: With me also tonight, Peter Odom, defense attorney. Peter, of course, the first thing you do is check toll bridges. You check where people may be photographed. We don`t even know which way he went, Peter. I mean, he could be going north, south, east, west on the interstate with this girl.
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, it`s strange because there`s really no such thing as privacy anymore. When we drive our cars on the roads, we`re videotaped.
GRACE: Exactly.
PETER ODOM: When we use our debit cards, when we use our cell phones, we can be located. It just mystifies me that this person can`t be located.
GRACE: You know, you just said something really interesting. Michael Christian, do we know whether he has tried to use a credit card or a debit card or his cell phone?
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): If police know that, Nancy, they are not revealing that information. All we know is that authorities fear that this couple, this guy with this little girl, are on their way toward Mexico.
GRACE: With me, the mother of Jovana Hill, now missing, we believe to be in a white Mitsubishi Eclipse. Ms. Hill, have police told you whether this guy has a cell phone, whether he`s tried to use an ATM? Has your daughter tried to contact you in any way?
HILL: No, the police have not, you know, led me to believe any of that. And Jovana has not attempted to make any contact with anyone.
GRACE: Well, I don`t think that she`s able to. Ms. Hill, how did this guy know Jovana`s babysitter?
HILL: It is the ex-babysitter`s brother-in-law that lived at the same residence. This is a babysitter that was we used for two-and-a-half years.
GRACE: So the -- this is the ex-babysitter`s brother-in-law. I get it. Now, I`m trying to figure out, how did he ever see Jovana? How did he get her in his sights?
Everyone, please take a look at this shot, Everado Ramirez, 24, wanted already on sodomy and statutory rape of a child. Right now, we believe with him, this star student in the gifted program, Jovana Hill, just turned 13. Please, help us. Tip line 205-752-STOP.
Everybody, when we come back, Mommy, in a bloody housecoat lounging by the pool, says she shoots her children in the mouth because they talked back. Tonight, damning evidence from the witness stand.
Also, three children injured after an inflatable bouncy house blows away, dumping them out in midair?
And caught on tape. A female kindergarten teacher attacks a 6-year-old child. Why isn`t this brute behind bars?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A million-dollar mansion, Tampa, a little girl at her computer doing homework dead, the little brother, still buckled into the minivan, dead. Mommy, in a bloody housecoat lounging by a luxury pool, says she shoots her children dead in the mouth because they, quote, "talked back" to her.
Tonight, damning testimony pouring from the witness stand.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 100 percent certain that she has a problem with -- had a problem with alcohol abuse and the pain medications.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re taking them according to the doctor`s prescription?
SCHENECKER: Yes, I am, your honor, the entire time I`ve been in jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Killing your children is not a delusion, that`s an action.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is your decision not to testify, is that correct, ma`am?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Correct, your honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. One of the most stunning things we`ve heard in the last hours is from Julie Schenecker herself, who says that after -- I can hardly even say it -- after she shoots her daughter, Calyx, that she actually tried to manipulate the girl`s mouth, her little girl`s mouth, who she shot in the head -- she tried to manipulate the girl`s mouth into a smile in death. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Despite the reasons that you were there to interview her on what has happened January 27th, 2011, that was her -- that was what she told you as far as what she saw her role as a mother for her children, correct?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In fact, even after shooting Calyx, didn`t she tell you that she tried manipulate her mouth so that it would look like a smile?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She said that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And she indicated to you that she put Calyx in her bed and kissed her and hugged her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And after shooting Beau, she couldn`t get him out of the van, and so she had to leave him there. But she put a blanket around him and kissed him, too, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That`s what she reported. And my understanding is that`s how he was found, with a blanket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Alexis Weed at the courthouse. You know, it`s almost more than I can take in that she -- after shooting Calyx, her little girl, that she tried to manipulate her mouth into a smile and dragged her to the bed. How did the jury react when they hear this?
ALEXIS WEED, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Stunning, Nancy. The way it was put is that, you`re right, it was manipulated into a smile. And this was part of a line of questioning where the expert witness was saying that Schenecker put her children -- put her -- put them under covers to protect them, kissed them, hugged them. This is all after the killing -- that she went up to Calyx`s bedroom and manipulated her mouth so that it would be there, laying there in a smile.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She had developed a plan whereby she would kill one child first and then the next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are under the influence of some medications, is that correct?
SCHENECKER: Yes, your honor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The children were dead and Ms. Schenecker was there in the house. It`s my opinion that Ms. Schenecker was not experiencing any delusions at or around the time of the murders.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Back to Alexis Weed, standing by with Steve Helling, writer with "People" magazine. They`re there at the courthouse. Alexis, you just described testimony where we hear the mom, Julie Schenecker, tried to manipulate her daughter`s mouth into a smile after death.
Now, it`s very common for killers to try to cover up, to put blankets over, to arrange dead bodies. That does not mean insanity, especially when coupled with the fact that we know she did this so her husband would come home from work and find his children shot dead.
In fact, isn`t it true, Alexis, that after she shoots them, she texts her husband, Parker Schenecker, to say, Hurry home, we`re waiting on you?
WEED: Right. She actually sends an e-mail to him. And now, he`s overseas at this time, coming back, on his way back from Afghanistan. She sends an e-mail. And it`s believed that this e-mail is within minutes, hours of when these children were killed. But she sends it saying that, We`re just waiting for you at home. Come home soon. We`re here. We`re waiting for you.
GRACE: So Steve Helling, writer with "People" magazine, also joining us at the courthouse -- here you`re seeing a shot of Beau and Calyx, both of them A students. Beau had soccer that day, Calyx at her computer doing homework.
Steve Helling, also, she elects not to take the stand. Ideas?
STEVE HELLING, "PEOPLE" MAGAZINE: Well, I don`t know what she could have possibly gotten on the stand and said that would convince that jury, you know, that she`s not guilty. I don`t think that there`s -- it makes sense that she didn`t speak because what could she possibly have to say, with all this damning evidence that just keeps coming out? You know, there`s really no defense for it. And if she`d taken the stand, it would have been a disaster for her defense.
GRACE: It could...
HELLING: So I totally understand why she decided not to.
GRACE: It would have been a massacre on cross-exam. With me, Matt Zarrell. Matt, how does gambling play into this scenario?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, the last defense witness revealed a shocking development, which was just hours before the killing, that Julie Schenecker went to the local Hard Rock Casino to go gambling.
GRACE: Whoa! What? What? What?
HELLING: Yes, that just hours before shooting both of her kids in the head and face, she decided to go gamble.
GRACE: OK. Peter Odom, defense attorney, Atlanta. What about your insanity defense here? She goes and fabricates a lie to buy a weapon days in advance, saying she was afraid of a home invasion in her multi-million- dollar home, with the pool in the back yard. She shakes their hand before she leaves. She`s all happy.
She tricks her husband. She tricks the car pool that day so they don`t find out her children are dead. Now he finds out she goes for a jaunt gambling at a local casino before killing her children? Your insanity defense just went right out the door, Peter Odom.
PETER ODOM: Well, Nancy, I don`t think it -- I mean, you`re giving the prosecution`s closing argument. And if you buy that, then, you know, the jury buys that, they`ll find that she`s not insane.
GRACE: They didn`t make that up?
PETER ODOM: But here`s the definitely`s closing...
GRACE: It`s the facts. She`s caught on casino video!
PETER ODOM: Here are other facts that aren`t made up.
GRACE: OK, what?
PETER ODOM: There`s a documented history of mental illness.
GRACE: Whoa! Whoa-wa! Depression and alcoholism...
PETER ODOM: Mental illness...
GRACE: ... and bipolar.
PETER ODOM: Depression is...
GRACE: That is not insanity.
PETER ODOM: Not in and of itself, but that is in the DSM-IV, Nancy, as you know, as a mental illness. Depression is. We know that she...
GRACE: But that`s not the defense.
PETER ODOM: ... acted in ways -- if I could finish that sentence?
GRACE: The defense is insanity.
PETER ODOM: She acted in ways that no sane person would act in, manipulating the body...
GRACE: That`s not true!
PETER ODOM: ... going to -- and frankly...
GRACE: That`s not true!
PETER ODOM: ... I think that the gambling supports her defense. No sane person would do that.
GRACE: And how is that?
PETER ODOM: Because no sane person...
GRACE: OK, just because it is an oddity does not equal the insanity defense.
Caryn Stark, please, could you school Peter Odom? I know he knows what insanity is because he`s presented insanity cases before. It means you don`t know the difference between right and wrong at the time of the incident.
CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: And that`s the legal definition of insanity, Nancy. So is there mental illness here? Yes, there is. But did she know the difference between right and wrong? Clearly, she planned, she knew it, she gambled...
GRACE: You know, the thing is, Alexis Weed, yes, Caryn Stark is right and Peter Odom is right, to an extent. She did have depression. She had had bipolar in the past. But isn`t it true, Alexis Weed, that she had just done a stint in rehab for alcohol and drugs, voluntary use of alcohol and prescription drugs, and they cut her loose at the end of her stint, and said, You`re fine. You`re doing well. Peace be with you, and let her go? Nothing about psychopathy, nothing about schizophrenia, nothing like that, depression. Half of America is on Xanax! That is not an insanity defense!
WEED: Well, Nancy, that`s about two months before, is when she`s released from her alcohol rehab, so it`s close in time to when the killings took place. It`s close in time.
GRACE: Everybody, when we come back, a stunning turn in the case of "Real Housewife" Teresa Giudice, that case thrown out of court!
Also, three children injured when a bouncy house blows away, dumping them out in midair.
And caught on tape, a female kindergarten teacher attacks a 6-year-old little child! Why isn`t this brute behind bars?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Real housewife turned real convict. Teresa Giudice and her husband busted when Feds hone in on their lavish lifestyle, including a $5 million mansion, a $50,000 birthday party for their little girl. You heard me right: $50,000 birthday party. Then they are caught red handed, lying to the Feds to get even more money.
In the last hours, a stunning turn, a case involving real housewife Teresa Giudice thrown out of court.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REPORTER: Teresa and Joe Giudice just dodged a legal bullet, a lawsuit filed by a business partner against Teresa and Joe Giudice.
TERESA GUIDICE, "REAL HOUSEWIFE OF NEW JERSEY": This is our Sea-doo, which the girls love to be on.
REPORTER: The lawsuit claiming Joe Giudice forged his signature and that he was owed $260,000 was tossed out by a judge.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: OK, everybody. You all know Teresa Giudice, real housewife of New Jersey, and all her legal woes. According to police, caught lying on federal documents to suck even more money from the public into their bank account. You are seeing video of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" from Bravo right now.
Let`s take a look at Teresa Giudice. She and her family must be dancing tonight. Because a case against them has been thrown out of court in a bizarre turn.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GIUDICE: I am paying attention. Obviously, there has to be something else. It is just not name changed and arrested. There has to be something else.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You are stripping?
(CROSSTALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prostitution, whore. You are (expletive deleted) engaged 19 times? You (expletive deleted) stupid bitch!
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: That is video of the "Real Housewives of New Jersey" from Bravo, presented from Bravo. Alexis Tereszcuk, senior reporter radaronline.com.
OK, they have been sucking money out of taxpayers for some time now, accused of lying on documents to get loans, on top of all the money they spent in their lavish lifestyle. Let`s take a look inside Teresa Giudice`s home. Tonight we find out a case against the family thrown out of court. What happened Alexis? Give it to me in a nutshell.
ALEXIS TERESZCUK, RADARONLINE.COM: A former business partner of the couple sued them, filed a lawsuit, saying that he was not given the $260,000 he was owed by the Giudices, and in fact that Joe forged his name on documents, which he has pleaded guilty to in another case. But in this one, it turns out that a judge was not on his side. And amazingly enough totally supports the Giudices, and ruled in their favor.
GRACE: OK, I`m a little stunned. With me attorneys for both sides. William Michelson, the attorney for the man who sues the Giudices and Michael Demarco, civil attorney for Joe and Teresa Giudice.
First to you, William, if he pled guilty, if Giudice pled guilty, to forging the man`s name on documents, then why was the case thrown out of court?
WILLIAM MICHELSON, ATTORNEY (via-telephone): He lets Teresa out because Teresa personally said, "I never had anything to do with this. I never forged anybody`s signature." Nobody ever questioned it. It was basically Joe Giudice that had done this.
GRACE: Well, let me ask you this, Justin Freiman, so if Joe Giudice forges the guy`s name in order to get thousands of dollars, they say $260,000 -- that`s a quarter of a million. Didn`t -- I mean, is the allegation that Teresa Giudice knew about it, or benefited from that money? Is that why she was included?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, PRODUCER, "NANCY GRACE" (via-telephone): Originally, that was so. And a judge decided that she did not have involvement, and they removed her from that case.
GRACE: So, Michael Demarco, civil lawyer joining me out of New Jersey. You are representing Joe and Teresa Giudice, so this is basically cutting Teresa loose on this particular case. Right?
MICHAEL DEMARCO, CIVIL ATTORNEY FOR THE GIUDICES (via-telephone): Well, Nancy, both Teresa and Joe have been cut loose from this case.
GRACE: Explain that to me.
DEMARCO: Sure. As you know, Nancy, in the civil arena in order to prevail in a case, you have to prove not only that there`s culpable conduct but also that there were damages that flowed from that conduct. We asserted from the beginning of the case, and ultimately the court agreed with us, that there were no damages flowing from any alleged conduct as Mr. Masterpoll (ph) was paid in full any amount --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: OK, hold on. Let me translate what you just said, Michael. Michael Demarco, you`re saying -- you`re representing the Giudices -- that even if he did forge the document, to which he pled guilty, there were no damages. Nobody is out any money.
DEMARCO: That`s correct, Nancy.
GRACE: So this is strictly on the damage aspect of the suit.
OK, everybody, there you hear it from Michael Demarco and William Michelson. That`s the case in a nutshell, big legal victory for the Giudices tonight; the real housewives seemingly prevail.
When we come back, Natalee Holloway prime murder suspect, Joran van der Sloot set to wed behind prison walls to a woman five months pregnant with van der Sloot`s child. How did that happen?
Also, three children injured after a bouncy house blows away, dumping the children out in midair.
And caught on tape, a female kindergarten teacher attacks a 6-year-old little child. Why isn`t she behind bars?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Natalee Holloway prime murder suspect, Joran van der Sloot pleads guilty to the murder of another young girl he meets at a resort casino after beating her to a pulp and breaking her neck, he kicks back with a cup of coffee and danish just inches from the dead body.
To top it all off tonight, we get word Joran van der Sloot set to wed behind prison walls. He`s marrying a woman five months pregnant, with van der Sloot`s child. How did that happen?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REPORTER: Late breaking development to the Joran van der Sloot case.
REPORTER: Confessed killer.
REPOTER: Dumped Natalee`s body`s.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I have time to think this further?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know he knows.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I lost control of my actions.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Justice will come.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want justice.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We want justice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: To Jean Casarez, who has been in the prison where van der Sloot was housed, Jean Casarez -- he`s getting married behind bars. This must make the parents of his two murder victims Natalee Holloway and Stephany Tatiana just furious. How is it that Joran van der Sloot has managed to have conjugal visits behind bars, get a woman pregnant, and now they are marrying?
JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Nancy, when I was in Castro Castro, the prison environment, the prison rules and regulations, they are so different. Their philosophy, you keep the crime outside. You build a new life literally right at this point inside.
And so, there are conjugal visits; they can have that. Families can bring in homemade food. They wear their street clothes in the prison. Of course, I happened to see some knives come out of those street clothes as they are walking around in there. But it`s just a totally different environment. So this is -- this is not unexpected.
GRACE: With me is Jossy Mansur, director of Diario.
Thanks for being with us. What`s the reaction to Joran van der Sloot not only marrying behind bars after murdering two young women, one American, Natalee Holloway, but the woman is pregnant as well?
JOSSY MANSUR, DIRECTOR, DIAGRIO: Well, the reaction in general has bee of astonishment. Something like this is unheard of over here. You cannot do that. The rules and regulations in Peru are quite different from any other places I know of. And they do permit conjugal visitations. So that`s how it happened. In the prison he was in before that in (inaudible), this lady used to work there and sold some food or things or whatever.
GRACE: Right, in and out of the jail. So I wonder how that went down. Clark Goldband, what more do we know?
GOLDBAND: Well, Nancy, you talked about some of the things that are a little bit different where van der Sloot is. Get this, according to reports, Nancy, his current fiancee is bringing him home-cooked meals behind bars twice a week. She`s also moved closer to the jail, so she can be close to her future husband. And Nancy, it doesn`t stop there; take a look at this.
She says he van der Sloot is enjoying prison arts and crafts classes. We spoke to van der Sloot`s current attorney, Nancy, just a few moments ago. And he tells us that van der Sloot is working to make himself a better person.
GRACE: Van der Sloot working to make himself a better person. Let`s think back to when Natalee Holloway on her senior trip, star student in Birmingham, goes to Aruba. She is never seen alive again by her parents. Jean Casarez, Natalee`s mother must be -- mother and father must be beside themselves.
CASAREZ: No, I think question. I mean, absolutely this is the ultimate. Because to go to prison means you don`t lead life. And he is leading life. I mean, he`s leading life to the fullest. He`s getting a degree in international business, Nancy.
And here`s something, too, legally, I don`t know the answer, but she`s a Peruvian citizen that he is marrying. What ramifications could come to that when it comes to extradition, which the U.S. and Peruvian government have said can happen?
GRACE: You know, Jean, it`s my understanding that van der Sloot claims he had a vision from behind bars. What is it, about the real killer?
CASAREZ: I think it`s just a vision of above. And I don`t think it was really described what that vision was, but it was something holy in nature, and something spiritual in nature.
And -- and, you know, Nancy, when I was in Peru in July 2010, that`s when he met this bride to be. I was there when he met her. She went there visiting another inmate, was introduced inside the prison, Castro Castro. And he was in solitary confinement at that point.
GRACE: You know, it is my understanding, Clark, that some of van der Sloot`s friends will actually be allowed to come to the jail to the wedding ceremony.
GOLDBAND: That`s true, Nancy. According to reports there will be friends. There will be witnesses, about half a dozen people, but according to authorities, there will be no wedding reception.
GRACE: Out to the lawyers, Eleanor and Peter.
Eleanor, it doesn`t sound very much like jail.
ELEANOR ODOM: No. That doesn`t sound like any kind of prison that we are familiar with. It almost sounds like camp, you know, where they are doing pretty much what they want, eating, you know, decent food, and having these conjugal visits. It`s pretty amazing.
GRACE: Conjugal visits and weddings behind bars, Peter, where his friends will be allowed to come to the wedding ceremony.
PETER ODOM: Yeah.
GRACE: I mean, it sounds to me like, in that particular prison, that it`s a black market scenario, where you can get whatever you want if you could pay for it.
PETER ODOM: I mean, we knew that from Jean`s coverage of this case back a couple years ago, when she went to Peru and visited him. They just -- they just have a whole different philosophy of incarceration, much less harsh than ours.
GRACE: When we come back caught on tape a female kindergarten teacher attached a 6-year-old child. Why isn`t she behind bars?
And later, three children in a bouncy house, when it blows away, dumping them out in midair.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now live to Ohio. Every day we leave our children at kindergarten school. We think of two plus two and nursery rhymes, but not at Riverdale Elementary.
Tonight, caught on tape, a female kindergarten teacher attacking a 6-year- old little child. Why isn`t this teacher behind bars?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANTHONY NELSON, SON ABUSED AT SCHOOL: This is outrageous.
AUTUMN NELSON, SON ABUSED AT SCHOOL: I watched that in the kitchen and I just started crying.
REPORTER: Anthony and Autumn Nelson are still stunned about what happened to her 6-year-old son, Ian.
ANTHONY NELSON: I see where she grabs a hold of his face. She slams him up against the wall.
REPORTER: The Nelsons want her terminated.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: I agree.
Melissa Neeley, anchor with WLW joining me in Cincinnati. Melissa, what happened?
MELISSA NEELEY, REPORTER (via-telephone): Nancy, it was terrible. In the school surveillance video, you can see little 6-year-old Ian come out of the restroom, and that`s when his teacher confronts him. She looks to be scolding him, grabs him, picks him up, shoves him into the wall, then grabs his face, pulls him up by his face, then yanks him up by his shirt.
His feet barely touching the floor, throwing his head back towards the wall. And then she dragged him back into the bathroom out of the view of the cameras, and from that point it`s unclear what happened. But Nancy, clearly in the video, you can see the small child is being physically handled in an abusive way.
GRACE: I`m just sick. I am sick about it. Anthony Nelson, the father, is with us.
Anthony, thank you for being with us. Did Ian tell you what happened when the teacher dragged him into the bathroom?
ANTHONY NELSON, FATHER OF ATTACKED CHILD (via-telephone): We actually asked him what happened and he seems -- I mean, he`s six. He`s kind of to the point where he`s trying to block it out I think. I mean, he says, "I don`t remember. I don`t know. I don`t remember."
We showed him the video, you know, whenever it was on the news, and he walked away. He didn`t want to see it. He turned his head. He -- you know, he`s really trying to block it out. That`s why it really worries me what`s going to happen.
GRACE: Anthony, why is it, if this woman, or anyone had walked up to you or me and grabbed us like she and put us against the wall, then grabbing the student by the face and lifting him up, physically dragging him in the bathroom, she would be charged with at least assault. Why hasn`t this woman been charged with a crime?
ANTHONY NELSON: Well, we have contacted the sheriffs department in Hancock County, and they are pursuing an investigation at this point. And I believe they were putting it on to the, excuse me, the prosecutor`s office. As far as I know, the officer said that he is going to put it down as assault, not child abuse or anything along those lines. So we`re hoping that something can come out of this.
GRACE: Is she coming back into the classroom?
ANTHONY NELSON: She was only suspended for ten days with no pay. So she got the rest of the school year off.
GRACE: Everyone, with me is Ian`s father, but I want to tell you about tonight`s case alert.
Three children playing in a backyard bouncy house, heavy winds send their bouncy airborne there in South Glens Falls. A 10-year-old little girl, two little boys age 5 and 6, broken bones, shoulders, head injuries. They fall out midair one by one, one even landing on a parked car.
The bouncy house maker, Little Tikes, says they`re investigating.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AUTUMN NELSON, MOTHER OF ATTACKED CHILD: Even going to the school next year, the year after, he`ll still have to see her if she`s present in the building. That`s probably going to scare him.
REPORTER: The teacher grabs Ian and pins him up against the wall, then grabs him by face. It doesn`t end there. She picks him up by his shirt, and his head flops back.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRACE: To Melissa Neeley, anchor with WLW, who this woman?
NEELEY: Well, apparently the school claims that she`s a highly recommended teacher, and apparently she had had some trouble, or Ian had had some trouble in her class before. And from my understanding, his parents requested that he change classes, but they refused that request and said that she was highly recommended.
GRACE: With me, Anthony Nelson. This is Ian`s dad. Anthony, had she picked on him before or hit him before?
ANTHONY NELSON: Not that we knew of. Basically, the reason why we recommended to ask for another class is we moved in this school district in November. He started school in a different school district, and he loved school, loved school, loved getting up early in the morning, getting himself ready, and waiting to go to school. He would tell me how he loved his teacher.
And then we went to this school. And within two weeks, he was telling us how he hated school; he hated his teacher.
GRACE: Oh, that is a huge red flag.
ANTHONY NELSON: He didn`t want to get up.
GRACE: That`s a huge red flag. Everyone, you`re seeing this video just as we are seeing it. And can you imagine if you found out this was happening to your child? Look how much bigger she is than that little 6- year-old boy. He can`t weigh over 50 pounds. Slinging him around, throwing him against the wall, picking him up by his face, then dragging him off to the bathroom.
And this teacher is allowed to come back into the classroom. What about that? All of this is happening at Riverdale Schools.
Everyone, let`s stop and remember American hero Army Corporal Peter Courcy, 22, Frisco, Texas. A family and military vet, purple heart, National Defense Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, loved hockey and the Dallas Cowboys. Parents Chris and Mary, brother, Luke, widow, Mara, son, Ben. Peter Courcy, American hero.
I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp eastern, and until then, good night, friend.
END
