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Nancy Grace
Teacher Attacks 6-Year-Old Caught on Tape
Aired May 19, 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, live, 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.
Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, that kindergarten teacher gives her side. But I`ve read her side. And I still want to know, why isn`t this brute behind bars?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Riverdale school kindergartner 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 say Ian 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: And tonight, we go live in a bizarre story that doesn`t even sound real, but it is. Police say a gorgeous female pro surfer with her own line of surfwear gets a fit of uncontrollable road rage on a little old lady who was, quote, "going too slow," pro surfer Jill Hansen spotted running down the little old lady, then backing up to do it again when a bystander steps in and breaks through (ph) the surfer`s car, making her stop.
The pretty pro surfer seemingly has it all. Well, she`s got something new tonight, criminal charges of attempted murder!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m a surfer girl. I never stopped surfing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty-year-old Jill Hansen allegedly ran down an elderly woman.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She saw my car. It was the car she wanted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With her Volkswagen Passat, then taking off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She followed me. She was going to kill me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s from YouTube and ABC`s "Good Morning America."
And tonight, the makers of "Grand Theft Auto 5" say they can prove a TV reality star is not the inspiration for one of their very lucrative characters because, they say, the star`s, quote, "way fatter." Tonight, $40 million hangs in the balance. Is a video game character a dead ringer for a reality superstar?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who else do you want me to hit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karen Gravano (ph) has filed a $40 million lawsuit against Rock Star Games, claiming their character, Antonio Battino (ph), is based off her likeness. Rock Star says Gravano is too fat to be the character.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Kardashian better watch out because I`m going to put this ass on the market.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s from VH1 and Rock Star Games.
Tonight, beloved TV and movie star best known as Rhoda, Valerie Harper, battling deadly brain cancer, now battling in court, as well. Fresh off her turn on "Dancing With the Stars," Valerie Harper faces a multi-million-dollar lawsuit. Broadway producers attack her for having the nerve to get cancer, and then she let it spread to her brain. Are they out of their minds? Tonight, is there a break in the case?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actress Valerie Harper, known for her award- winning character, Rhoda, on television.
VALERIE HARPER, ACTRESS: Yes, but this isn`t a telephone. You see, you`re only two flights away. Come on up. We`ll talk in person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And her turn on "Dancing With the Stars" was facing a multi-million-dollar lawsuit for having cancer. Harper has just scored a victory.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That was ABC`s "Dancing With the Stars" and MTM Productions.
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. To Ohio. Every day, we leave our children at kindergarten -- I leave two -- 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.
Well, bombshell tonight. In the last hours, that kindergarten teacher gives us her side of the story. And even hearing it and analyzing it, I still want to know why this brute is not behind bars.
Let`s take a quick look at what she`s saying. Let`s pull up the tears (ph) of what the teacher has to say. These are her words, not mine. "The student`s been going to the bathroom and then not going, walking in and out. He thinks it`s funny. Then he has an accident and wets his pants." Well, that could be any kindergartner.
Three cooks overheard the incident in the hallway and reported it, the cooks very upset about what they saw. The teacher said, Did you go to the bathroom? I watched you go in and out. "I was hard on him, she admits, yelled at him. Tell me the truth, did you go to the bathroom? You`re not supposed to go to the bathroom unless it`s an emergency." Well, you could tell a grown-up that and it wouldn`t work.
The conversation escalated. The teacher`s voice became very low and growling at the boy. She said, I`m sick of you. I am sick of your parents. I will rip you apart. It goes on from there.
She says -- this is the teacher`s statement from the school district report -- "He`s pushing me over the top." She goes on to say, "He`s pushing the other students." She also goes on to say -- and I`m reading directly from her statement -- "I was furious. I feel like I was over the top. He`s pushing me over the top. I`m sorry, I don`t know what to do with it. I was very heated. I was very hard on him. I touched him in the middle of the chest and pushed him back."
Well, you know what? A picture says a thousand words. Look at this video. Liz, please take it in full. Look -- look at that! She is lifting him up by his face and neck, then pushing him back against the wall. Look at this!
Now, three of the school cafeteria cooks happened to be there to see this and they -- oh! They got so upset -- you`ve got to -- you`ve got to forgive me. Every time I look at this, I imagine John David or Lucy standing there, getting thrown up against that wall.
The three cafeteria cooks were so upset about what they saw and heard, they immediately went and reported it. Now, she says through her lawyers, "There`s a reason our society is a system of laws and justice, even in the area of around-the-clock video recording." They go on to talk about her accomplished 25-year career.
Now, it`s funny to me that it seems she`s blaming the camera, the recording. Now, I want to tell you I`ve got in my hand what the cooks said. Three cooks -- and I see their names, I`m not going to reveal that - - came into the principal`s office after this, very upset about what they saw and overheard in the gym hallway. They were on their break. It was 10:10 AM. They heard the teacher speaking very harshly, questioning the little boy about being in the bathroom.
Just FYI, kindergartners have to go to the bathroom all day, several times an hour. I know that. She says, I`m sick of you and your parents, and I will rip you apart. She was very angry, and the conversation escalated. Her voice was low and growling. She -- they felt she threatened him and were sure that even though they couldn`t see what was going on in the bathroom, that she put her hands on him. They decided they had heard enough, and they reported it. They were very concerned about the abuse.
Let me tell you what else I found out. And I`m going to go out to Melissa Neeley, anchor with WLW. Melissa, thanks for being with us. I understand that this child actually had bruises after this. Bruises!
MELISSA NEELEY, WLW (via telephone): Yes.
GRACE: Bruises on the little boy, Melissa!
NEELEY: Nancy, that`s right. You can tell from the video that he was attacked by this woman. He was thrown against the wall and his head was hit. He had bruises on the back of his head. I mean, you can see that this woman is obviously quite a bit bigger than this little boy and just, you know, handled him in a very aggressive way in which I think we can all agree is very inappropriate for a teacher to be doing.
GRACE: I`m reading other statements -- Melissa Neeley joining me from WLW -- and these are handwritten statements by other teachers and witnesses, to my understanding. It says the little boy poked his head in the bathroom and said he needed to go to the bathroom, and she started yelling at him, saying he was lying.
And she had -- said, This is business and bring it in the hall. She became more and more agitated. Her voice was louder, and then lower in tone. The anger showed. And he was sobbing and saying, No, no, all over and over again. She was calling him a liar who lies all the time. Several witnesses state she was going to rip the little boy apart, something about, The folder needed to be on my desk tomorrow or else. I don`t know what that means.
Several people obviously saw this and heard it, many of them afraid to speak out. Thank the Lord for these cooks in the cafeteria, who were not afraid.
So Melissa, what`s happening with this teacher? Has she been charged with assault on this child?
NEELEY: Well, right now, the sheriff`s department is looking into it as a criminal complaint. So that means she could be charged in this incident, but as (ph) the investigation is ongoing right at this time. But from the school, the principal said he was not going to fire her and that she only got the 10-day suspension. And the parents, and I think people in the community, are completely outraged at that action.
GRACE: Out to the lines. Jeannie in California. Hi, Jeannie. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi. I`d like to know why she managed to get just a 10-day leave. It`s a vacation to her.
GRACE: You know, Jeannie, I don`t understand it because what -- I mean, they can see the video. Should I believe her or my lying eyes? She even admits she hit the child -- she touched the child on the chest, that - - oh! -- that she was over the top, over the edge, and she didn`t know what to do.
And this is all because the little boy went to the bathroom! Hello! That`s what happens in kindergarten and pre-1st. You have to go to the bathroom all the time.
Another thing, Jeannie in California, that I don`t understand is why she wasn`t fired for cause. And more importantly -- I mean, I`m not a teacher. I`m not in the education system. But I am very familiar with the criminal justice system, Jeannie, and what I don`t understand is why there hasn`t been a criminal complaint. That`s what I don`t get.
Hold on, Jeannie. I want you to hear from Daniel Margolis, the attorney for the boy`s family. Daniel, thank you for being with us. What is going on with the case, Daniel?
DANIEL MARGOLIS, ATTORNEY FOR BOY`S FAMILY (via telephone): Well, in terms of the criminal investigation, that`s up to the sheriff`s office at this point. And if there`s going to be a criminal indictment, a felony indictment, that needs to be presented to the grand jury. So that might take a little bit of time.
GRACE: Well, Mr. Margolis...
MARGOLIS: We`re frustrated, as well...
GRACE: Mr. Margolis -- with me is a very well respected attorney representing this child`s family, Daniel Margolis. I presented to the grand jury for years, and typically, grand juries are held at least once or twice a week in a city like this, and it shouldn`t take that long. A grand jury presentment takes about five minutes. And if I can get the video and show it to the viewers, certainly the police can get it, don`t you think, Daniel?
MARGOLIS: Well, I don`t think there`s any question that they`re in possession of the video. And in terms of their timeline, for better or worse, they`re not including the...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Breaking news tonight. We brought you this video last week, a kindergarten teacher attacking a 6-year-old child. Keep looking. She picks him up by his face, slams him against the wall. And it doesn`t stop there, grabbing him in the chest, touching him in the chest, picking him up off the floor and yelling at the child. And in fact, three cafeteria workers were so upset, they immediately reported what they had seen.
With me tonight, Melissa Neeley, anchor, WLW, and the lawyer for the family, the little boy`s family, Daniel Margolis.
Out to the lines. Jocelyn in Ohio. Hi, Jocelyn. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. Coming from the standpoint of a mother and being really close to the school system, having elementary school kids, I have to wonder (INAUDIBLE) this is the time they caught her on tape? What is her demeanor every day? How is she treating her kids every day?
GRACE: Jocelyn, I`ve been thinking the same thing. This happened to be caught on camera. And I noticed in her legal statement she -- they actually refer to, Well, in this era of around-the-clock video recording, like that somehow that`s a bad thing. You know, I tell every baby-sitter, every nanny, you name it, Hey, I got a nannycam, got it?
Let me just tell you, Jocelyn, I`m reading now from a document that was sent to the teacher from the school, "Be advised I`m considering suspending your employment for use of inappropriate language." They didn`t do that. They gave her a 10-day suspension.
I`ll tell you what I think they`re doing, Jocelyn in Ohio. It`s the end of the school year. They think school`s going to get out in a couple days. This will be all forgotten by fall.
Guess what? It`s not going to be forgotten because I`m not going to let it be forgotten. All the incoming kindergarten teachers need to know that this brute is still walking the halls at Riverdale school. And I also think that it was a cowardly way out to just give her a suspension, a 10- day suspension.
With me, the lawyer Daniel Margolis. He represents the boy`s family. You know, I`ve been reading also this statement from the school nurse, Daniel, and I see that the brother hit him in the head with a toy telephone. All right, so we`ve got to deal with that issue. But there are also bruising spots. Bruising spots -- and you know what that is, having tried a lot of cases -- that`s finger marks. When you have two or three spots lined up, that`s these fingers and the thumb. There are spots along his arm, scratches and bruises.
What about that, Daniel? That`s clearly from this incident.
MARGOLIS: Yes, I -- I have not actually seen those, and I`m assuming that the pediatrician has. You know, the concern, though, about past incidents involving this teacher is a very good one, and I`m going to tell you right now that that`s something that we`re looking into and...
GRACE: You know what breaks my heart, Daniel, is the little boy kept crying and crying and going, I don`t know, I don`t remember. He was afraid to even answer the questions that they were asking him that day about this incident.
Unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Gary Casimir in New York, Trinity Hundredmark from Atlanta. All right, Trinity, what`s your best defense?
TRINITY HUNDREDMARK, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Nancy, we`re talking about teachers here, who have the hardest job of anybody in America, definitely harder than my job, definitely harder than your job. We have people coming into schools today and shooting people, blowing things up. I mean, yes, she had a bad day and she didn`t handle it well, Nancy, but...
GRACE: I`m making notes. Thanks, Trinity...
HUNDREDMARK: I understand.
GRACE: ... had a bad day.
HUNDREDMARK: I understand. Listen, not all bullies are in jail, clearly. And you know what? She hasn`t been charged yet.
GRACE: Had a bad day.
HUNDREDMARK: She has been suspended.
GRACE: That`s true.
HUNDREDMARK: She hasn`t -- everything is as it is, and this principal in the school knows better how to handle this than anyone. And so, Nancy...
GRACE: Well, we`ll see about that.
HUNDREDMARK: ... they`ve done what they need to do.
GRACE: The principal may do what he wants to do, and I think he`s an outright chicken, a chicken, who took the easy way out. He doesn`t want to deal with the red tape of actually firing somebody, God forbid, even when he`s got this tape in his hands.
All right, Casimir, I hear you trying to jump in. Go for it.
GARY CASIMIR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, let me tell you, Nancy, I don`t think the prosecutors here, the police are chickens. I don`t think they`re afraid of charging Barbara Williams with a crime. I think what you have here -- and as you know, as a former prosecutor, is you have to connect the dots. The picture does tell you a million words, but it doesn`t show you enough substantial injury here, and that`s probably what they`re looking at.
GRACE: Gary, do you have children?
CASIMIR: The bruises are just not enough.
GRACE: Do you have children? Whoa! Whoa! Wait! Wait! Put him up! You just gave a flagrant misstatement of the law. First of all, do you have children?
CASIMIR: Yes, I do, a beautiful daughter.
GRACE: I bet you wouldn`t like it if one was picked up by the chin and thrown against the wall. But that`s not...
CASIMIR: Make no mistake. I don`t like anything that she did here. Nothing.
GRACE: The misstatement is that there wasn`t any indicia of harm. Let me remind you that for battery and assault, for rape, for many, many, many other charges, physical damage does not have to be shown. It`s the unlawful touching that is at issue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She grabs ahold of his face, she slams him up against the wall. We thought it was just a little -- you know, a little incident that happened, and that`s what the school made it out to sound like. And then all of a sudden, we get this video today, and this is -- this is just outrageous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: There you see the child`s father speaking out. He joined us and gave his version and his thoughts. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we have contacted the sheriff`s department in Hancock County, and they are pursuing an investigation at this point. And I believe they were putting it onto 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. She was only suspended for 10 days with no pay, so she got the rest of the school year off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: So why she`s not facing criminal charges, I don`t know. If this had been an adult victim, oh, yes, there`d be criminal charges. What if somebody came up to you in the hallway, grabbed you like this and threw you against the wall? What about that? But what, it`s OK to do it to a 6- year-old little boy?
Robin in Indiana. What`s your question, Robin?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I was bringing up the fact about the -- you know, they just extended her summer vacation, but you`ve kind of covered that. But the other thing is, if you or I did that to our gift from God, they would take our children away from us in a heartbeat. But this lady can do that to -- to this child? It`s sickening.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Tonight, video game makers of Grand Theft Auto 5 say they can prove a wildly popular TV reality star is absolutely not the inspiration for one of their very lucrative characters because the reality star is, quote, "way fatter" than the avatar. Tonight, $40 million hangs in the balance. Is a video game character a dead ringer for a reality superstar?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A former star of VH1`s "Mob Wives" claims the makers of "Grand Theft Auto 5" based one of their characters off of her. But the gamemaker implies she`s too fat to be the character.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this going to work my ass? Because I need my ass to be worked.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gravano is asking a judge to give her $40 million in damages claiming the character Antonio Bettino (ph) is her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Let me just put it out there. This lady is not fat. And the video gamemakers who are making millions of dollars off all of the country`s children playing violent video games, they got a nerve to say this lady, Karen Gravano, mob wife, is fat. Look at these pictures. It`s not just the similarity of the hair, the face, even the way they stand, it`s the mannerisms. When you watch this Grand Theft Auto V for Pete`s sake, the mannerisms of the avatar, of the character, are so much like Karen Gravano, it`s off the charts. Gravano a wildly popular character, a reality star on "Mob Wives." With me senior editor In Touch Weekly Kim Serafin. Kim, it looks just like her. Am I crazy?
KIM SERAFIN, IN TOUCH WEEKLY: You know, yes, there are so many similarities. Obviously the names are different. Karen and Antonio. But obviously the fathers, the character of the father is named Sammy, same as in real life. Even just aspects of the story, the story where they have to flee the East Coast, go to the West Coast because the father is going to turn against the family, so similarities there. And then there`s even an aspect saying that the father is forbidding the daughter from appearing on a reality show. Not the same name as "Mob Wives," but there`s a similarity there, as well.
GRACE: It`s like they stole her life. Everybody, you`re seeing video of the wildly popular "Mob Wives" from VH1. But as wonderful as Kim Serafin is from In Touch Weekly, let`s hear it from the horse`s mouth. Thomas Farinella, the attorney for Karen Gravano is with us, and with us mob star, "Mob Wives" star Karen Gravano. Karen, I`m just so beside myself that they could even fix their mouths to say that this can`t be you because you`re too fat. That`s what they said. Okay, you`re not fat. You`re perfect.
KAREN GRAVANO, MOB WIVES: Thank you.
GRACE: And I know that on "Mob Wives," you kid around about your a-s- s. I promised to quit cursing. You kid around about it a lot. But, you`re -- you`re not fat. That`s ridiculous. And, I mean, they not only make a character that looks like you, an avatar, a video game, they`re making millions of dollars off this game, I might add. But they steal your life. They steal your life.
GRAVANO: Right.
GRACE: Response.
GRAVANO: You know, as far as the weight issue, I do struggle with weight. I go up and down. But the similarities in the portrait, compared to me. I mean, there`s just much more than weight. I think it`s the bone structure. The way she talks. Even the eye color. So I`m 100 percent convinced that that is me.
And then there`s the whole story. It`s just, you know, the whole story from the moment the character gets into the car and she explains her whole thing is identical to my story.
GRACE: Like what are the similarities in your story, and this, I`m just going to call it an avatar story. What are the similarities that strike you?
GRAVANO: Well, the fact that, you know, I mean it`s just basically from the moment she gets into the car and starts explaining the character, father`s name is Sammy. He cooperates against the mob. The family moves out west. There is, you know, people looking for them. The character goes back, she`s on a television show. Just, you know, even in the portrait I just -- the way she moves, the way she talks, I see so much of myself in that character. You know --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Everybody, you`re seeing Karen Gravano on the screen but you`re seeing video from Grand Theft Auto from Rockstar Games. Let`s hear from the lawyer. Thomas, what are the similarities between this avatar, the character, and your client, mob wife Karen Gravano?
THOMAS FARINELLA, ATTORNEY: Well, as stated in the pleadings that were filed, we believe that the story from start to finish is an exact replica of Karen Gravano`s life veiled in the character Antonio Bettino.
GRACE: What`s so hilarious Mike Duffy also on the story is they changed the name of the character, like what, that`s going to trick me? I mean, they rip off Karen Gravano`s life, and they put it in their game, and they`re making millions off these violent games, Mike Duffy.
DUFFY: Yes, that`s true, Nancy. But despite all the similarities that exist within this, Rockstar, the maker of the game, says that the major events in the game, being kidnapped and nearly buried alive, is not actually an element of Gravano`s life and therefore --
GRACE: Being killed and buried alive. You mean she`s not dead yet so she can`t be this character? Okay. Are you telling me, Mike, let me get this straight Mike Duffy that they`re saying the big difference between Karen Gravano and the character they created, and I say that in quotes, is that Karen Gravano hasn`t been dead -- been killed and buried alive?
DUFFY: That`s right. That`s what they`re saying. But this opens up a whole new can of worms.
GRACE: Now I thought the character survived in the game. Kim Serafin the way I`m seeing it they don`t have a leg to stand on. But fill me in. Maybe I`m missing something. What are they saying is the difference between the character and Karen Gravano?
SERAFIN: Well, they`re also saying this is a First Amendment issue, that this is artistic expression protected by free speech. They`re saying that similar instances where there have been other real-life personalities who`ve come forward to complain about characters being too similar never really had any way. So they`re saying this is all about free speech.
GRACE: Well, you know what, it`s all fine and well for them to have a creation patterned after her. But they`re making a lot of money off a creation that is really ripping off her life, and another thing I don`t like, to top it all off, is they`re now claiming they want sanctions, millions of dollars of sanctions from Karen Gravano for filing what they say is a frivolous lawsuit. That basically says, you can`t come in to court and let your case be heard or I`m going to go after you. All right. Mob Wives Karen Gravano, Thomas I`ll see you on the airwaves.
To tonight`s case alert, the search for a missing mom in Vancouver. 33-year-old Beverly Goheen vanishing April 29th on her son`s 4th birthday. Last trace, a seven-minute phone call. Tip line Battleground police, 360- 342-5200.
When we come back, did a gorgeous female pro surfer get a fit of uncontrollable road rage on a little old lady who was going too slow, running down the little old lady then backing up to do it again?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Tonight we go live in a bizarre story that doesn`t even sound real, but it is. Police say a gorgeous female pro surfer, she`s even got her own line of surf wear, gets a fit of uncontrollable road rage on a little old lady who was going, quote, too slow, pro surfer Jill Hansen (ph) spotted running down the little old lady, then backing up, and trying to do it again. When a bystander stepped in and breaks through the surfer`s car window. The pretty pro surfer seemingly has it all. Well, tonight she`s got something new. Criminal charges. Of attempted murder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m a surfer girl. I never stopped surfing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just a few hours after 30-year-old Jill Hansen allegedly ran down an elderly woman she was posting on her Facebook page that she was becoming a professional surfer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Surf Style magazine demanding that she be on the front cover of the magazine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Accused of hitting 73-year-old Elizabeth Conklin with her Volkswagen Passat, then taking off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Alexis Weed, what happened?
WEED: This 30-year-old professional surfer as she deems herself to be, she was supposedly following this 73-year-old victim, alleged victim, into the parking garage of her condominium, almost stalking her. And as soon as she gets out of her vehicle, boom, she`s hit. She flies 10 to 20 feet.
GRACE: With me right now special guest Elizabeth Conklin, who was struck in the car. Now, the pro surfer charged with attempted murder. Miss Conklin, thank you for being with us.
ELIZABETH CONKLIN, STRUCK WITH CAR: Hi.
GRACE: You know, I see the shot of you in the hospital bed, and I don`t understand what happened. What do you remember, miss Conklin?
CONKLIN: Frankly, I don`t remember anything at all. I had a concussion, and it`s like it wiped out the tape. And so, all I really know is that I drove home from a meeting, and the next thing I knew I was being put in an ambulance.
GRACE: Wow. I`m seeing you in the hospital. Did you have any idea that this woman was following you, Jill Hansen?
CONKLIN: No idea at all.
GRACE: Wow. Okay. Back to Alexis Weed. Miss Conklin, how are you doing now? What are the doctors saying?
CONKLIN: Well, I`m recovering. I`m covered with bruises, and lacerations, and I`ve had some nerve damage in my spine, which is affecting my arms. I`ve had a lot of pain in my arms. And I`m covered with bruises. The vehicular homicide people were in this morning and took a lot of pictures and things for evidence. And they`re charging her. And I guess it`s all in the hands of the court now.
GRACE: It certainly is, miss Conklin. With me the victim in this case, Elizabeth Conklin. Miss Conklin, were you outside of your BMW when you were first struck?
CONKLIN: Apparently. I don`t know. All I know is what they tell me, as I say, I don`t have a recollection of the actual events at all. But, what they told me is that I had gotten out of the car and I was heading to the elevators.
GRACE: Oh, my stars. So you were heading into your home, and had gotten out of your car, and I`m deducing that that`s when all of this happened. Everyone, we are talking about a pro surfer who has her own line of surf wear. Seemingly has it all. Michael Christian, what are police saying about how this whole thing went down?
CHRISTIAN: Well, what happened, Nancy, was Mrs. Conklin drove in to her garage, parking garage, and apparently Ms. Hansen followed. When Mrs. Conklin got out of her car, according to a witness, Ms. Hansen just literally hit the gas, plowed right into her, stopped her car, got out, took a look at miss Conklin to see what she`d done, and then put her car in reverse, as if she was going to hit her again. That`s when a very courageous bystander grabbed a crowbar, smashed the back window of miss Hansen`s car. Miss Hansen apparently was stunned by that, took off, went running away, left her car behind.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Trinity Hundredmark and Gary Casimir, also with us clinical psychologist, Ramani Durvasula. Doctor Ramani, question, what happens, you get so successful, and so famous like a pro surfer we`re talking about that you think what you could get away with anything?
DURVASULA: Yes, I mean, I think whether she was famous or not, she would have thought she could get away with anything. I think this is how she is, she`s super entitled, and her entitlement has now taken her to a place of being a dangerous person. If she does not get her way, you better get out of the way. And I think this is a really tragic example of this. But like I said, I don`t think this has anything to do with her being famous. I think she`s grandiose and she is probably more famous in her own head than she really is. This is a dangerous young woman.
GRACE: To Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner and forensic pathologist joining me out of Philly. You know, it`s amazing to me that miss Conklin survived being run over, but she doesn`t remember anything, doctor, why is that?
MANION: Well, first of all, I`m amazed she`s alive, too. Because this is on a hard surface, concrete, and she could have very easily had a skull fracture, a subdural bleed, and be dead. But she must have been lucky enough that her back absorbed most of the blow as she fell to the concrete, because she has a back injury now, probably in the cervical thoracic area affecting her arms, but she did hit her head and get a concussion. And like she said, it erases the tape. I personally have had a concussion and I can`t recall how it took place. I was playing basketball and I personally had a concussion. All I know is I woke up, you know, with the doctors around me. So, -- but I`m very happy she`s alive. And you know, the other thing, elderly people have osteoporosis, they`re very prone to fractures. And she`s just a lucky woman.
GRACE: I know, 73 years old. Attacked by a female pro surfer in a fit of road rage. When we come back, beloved TV and movie star known as Rhoda, Valerie Harper, faces a multimillion dollar lawsuit when Broadway producers attack her for having the nerve to get cancer. Tonight is there finally a break in the case?
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GRACE: Beloved TV and movie star "Rhoda" Valerie Harper battling deadly brain cancer, now battling in court as well. Fresh off her heroic turn on "Dancing with the Stars," Harper facing a multiple dollar lawsuit, her Broadway producers attack her for having the nerve to get cancer, then letting it spread to her brain. Are they out of their minds? Well tonight, is there finally a break in the case?
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Valerie Harper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Actress Valerie Harper told she only had months to live. Harper claims her contract called for her to still get paid and sued for the money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is your last chance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Kim Serafin, senior editor, In Touch Weekly. I think these Broadway producers are out of their minds for suggesting such a thing. And we all fell in love with Valerie Harper when she was Rhoda on Mary Tyler Moore. There`s Dancing with the Stars with my old partner, and she was fantastic, brave. I mean, are they crazy? is there a break in the case?
SERAFIN: Yes, there appears to be a settlement now. So this is out - - this is done now finally. She was, as you mentioned, sued for $2 million because they said that she did not disclose that she had this cancer diagnosis, which as you mentioned, is crazy. I mean, obviously she did the play for them. She did (inaudible) in 2010 and they were going to do this tour in 2012. That`s when she found out that the cancer had spread to her brain. She`s saying that she had found out this diagnosis the same time they did.
GRACE: Okay. We now learn there has been a break in the case where Valerie Harper, here is her heroic turn. She was really doing well on Dancing with the Stars, I might add. There she is with my old partner, Trista MacManus, the greatest dancer on the show. Long story short, Broadway producers sue her for millions. She`s in the middle of a cancer battle. So, Stacey Newman, $50,000. Who`s paying who? And that`s a far cry for the millions of dollars they were suing for.
NEWMAN: It is a far cry, but Valerie Harper has won this legal battle. The producers have to pay her the $50,000 so she can now pay her attorney fees in this legal showdown, Nancy.
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GRACE: Valerie Harper sued for a million. There she is as Rhoda. You know, Trinity Hundredmark, and Gary Casimir, why do people file lawsuits as ridiculous as this claiming this cancer survivor owes them millions of dollars? What about it? I want to hear your best, your best shot.
HUNDREDMARK: Nancy, you have to remember this was a counterclaim to her original suit. She originally filed a lawsuit against them for not paying the base of her contract when she couldn`t finish it out. They countersued her, which thy have every right to do, and they had a right to find out when she found out about her medical diagnosis. Was it at the time that she entered into this contract? And you can`t do it without a lawsuit.
GRACE: Gary?
CASIMIR: You ask why people do this, they do it for money. The reason is sometimes people lie about their state of health and they wanted to know, was she sick when she signed the contract?
GRACE: I hope you`re not suggesting that Valerie Harper lied about her cancer. She didn`t even realize anything was wrong until she started slurring her words and couldn`t remember her words. You know what, Gary, I`m going to get ahold of you, young man.
Let`s stop and remember American hero, Marine Lance Corporal Julian Brennan, 25, Brooklyn, Purple Heart, loved acting, singing, and triathlons. Parents Bill and Thaia (ph). Brother, James, sister, Shannon. Widow, Patina (ph). Julian Brennan. American hero.
And congratulations to our friend Rita Cosby joining WABC Radio 5:00 to 6:00 p.m. Eastern. Good luck, Rita.
Drew up next. Everybody, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
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