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Nancy Grace
Mother Stabs Three Daughters to Death; Woman Dead After Dentist Pulls 20 Teeth
Aired May 21, 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. To Torrance, California. A young dad of three outside working on the car comes inside to find his three little daughters dead, dead in bed with Mommy clutching a knife.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A mother had killed her daughter (INAUDIBLE) the children inside the residence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The horrifying crime that investigators say took place inside this small home, ages 3, 2, and 2 months.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three young children dead inside.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, Enfield, Connecticut. Even his dental assistants begged him to stop, but neighborhood dentist Dr. Patel, intend on pulled 20 teeth as his female patient sat in the dentist`s chair. Tonight, she`s dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 64-year-old mom, grandma and retired librarian goes in for a dental procedure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dr. Patel and his staff can completely rehabilitate your smile. And with sedation, dentistry pain and anxiety are things of the past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But doesn`t come out a live. She dies. Tonight, questions swirling!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That video from EnfieldFamilyDentalCare.com.
And to Oregon, pot enthusiasts, AKA, potheads, stoners, insist legalizing pot is just fine. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: 911. Police, fire, medical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi. Where can I get some marijuana?
911 OPERATOR: Excuse me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where can I buy some marijuana this morning?
911 OPERATOR: Do you realize that you called the police department?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
GRACE: I rest my case!
And then to Winooski, Vermont. ER doctors call child protective services after they notice multiple suspicious bruising on a tiny baby`s body. CPS finally drags out to the house to investigate, see the 15-month- old child sleeping, and they leave! Sixty minutes later, 911 call, the baby is dead. After CPS gives the family the passing grade, the AOK, the thumbs up, after looking at a comatose baby in the crib, once again, CPS leaves a baby to die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fifteen-month-old Peighton was a dream baby, but his life was tragically cut short.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Trauma to the neck and head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Only one hour after a DCF social worker visited the victim`s home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And now police say that Peighton was killed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, students spike their teacher`s water with deadly rat poison?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two students are now facing charges after allegedly putting rat poison in a 5th grade teacher`s drink.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s a story that parents at the school found incredible.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After the teacher drank from her water bottle, she suddenly became nauseous. Reports claim another student told the teacher that two kids had put a substance inside...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Torrance, California. A young dad of three outside working on the car comes inside to find his three little daughters dead, dead in bed with Mommy clutching a knife.
Straight out to Larry Altman, reporter with "The Daily Breeze" joining me in Torrance. Larry, what happened?
LARRY ALTMAN, "THE DAILY BREEZE" (via telephone): Well, right now, the detectives are still trying to figure that out. But at some point yesterday, the mother called her mother to say she was going crazy. And at some point, while the children`s father was across the street working on his pickup truck, she allegedly stabbed all three children. The grandmother arrived at the house, she went inside and discovered everybody covered with blood.
GRACE: Larry, I`m -- I`m overwhelmed. With me, Larry Altman from "The Daily Breeze."
Also with us tonight, special guest Ashley Madrid, the next-door neighbor of the mom accused of killing her three daughters. Ms. Madrid, thank you for being with us.
ASHLEY MADRID, NEIGHBOR (via telephone): Hi. Thank you for having me.
GRACE: Yes, ma`am. Prior to this incident -- I mean, you`ve been living beside them for some time. Prior to this incident, did the mom, Carol Coronado, ever appear insane to you?
MADRID: Never. Completely opposite of what happened yesterday. I mean, I`ve seen her running with them, playing, kissing them, very happy.
GRACE: You know -- with me is the next-door neighbor, Ashley Madrid, joining me from Torrance. How long had you lived next to them?
MADRID: I`ve lived here for 10 years. They`ve lived there for about four to five years.
GRACE: So for five years, you`ve lived next to them, and she never exhibited any signs of mental illness or insanity.
MADRID: Nothing. Nothing at all. I mean, they lived there for about two years before they even had children.
GRACE: Now, what -- and looking at the various selfies she`s taken of herself, she`s a gorgeous young lady, I believe 30 years old. Let me ask you this. What was your -- what were your communications with her? How often did you speak to her or see her?
MADRID: It would be if I`m coming home and parking my car and if she was outside with the kids, we would exchange hellos and stories, you know, about our children. I saw her at the grocery store a few times and...
GRACE: So she would actually tell her stories about her children? Like what?
MADRID: You know, how they grow so fast and (INAUDIBLE) she says she loves being a mother. We were just -- I was explaining how old my kids were and their names, and vice versa. And if we were outside, our kids would talk and play through (ph) the fence (ph) with each other.
GRACE: A mom of three, everyone, has been found in bed with her three children, all girls, dead, Mommy clutching a knife. With me, her next-door neighbor, Ashley Madrid.
Ms. Madrid, what happened the day of the killing? What do you recall?
MADRID: I wasn`t home all day. I had just got home and I picking up my -- my house. And I heard -- it sounded like, Oh, my God, a scream. So I looked outside of my window, and I didn`t see anything. I didn`t see anybody. So I continued cleaning. And then my mother-in-law came in crying and said that the children`s grandmother said they were dead, they were gone.
So I ran outside, and I asked the grandmother, you know, Are they OK? And she said, No, they`re in heaven. They`re dead. And she was on the phone calling the police. And the mother told me she had just talked to her earlier today and she said she was going crazy and that she lost it.
And the police came and they brought the father out, and he was screaming, She killed my daughters. And then, like, two minutes later, they brought her out in handcuffs. She was naked with no clothes and she had, like, a comforter wrapped around her, held by police. And I could see the blood smears all over her face and arms and legs.
And she was just stone-faced, looking at the floor, like, a blank stare. And they set her in the police car, then they transferred her to an ambulance, and they took her to the hospital. And then they took the father, as well.
GRACE: Have you spoken to the father?
MADRID: I haven`t. I haven`t spoken to him.
GRACE: All of this -- there was no warning, no signs that anything was wrong, Ms. Madrid?
MADRID: Nothing. Nothing at all. I mean, the children, I could always hear them laughing outside. And she would walk them, you know, one corner to the other corner and running and laughing and. She loved her children. From what I saw, she loved her children. And I don`t know what could have happened for this result.
GRACE: With me is Ashley Madrid, the next-door neighbor, who knows the family fairly well. Ms. Madrid, you stated that she said that day, I`m going crazy, before the killings. What brought that up? What was the context of that? Why did she say that?
MADRID: The grandmother said she called -- the daughter called her and told her she was going crazy. I don`t know what time of the day that was. I don`t know what else was said. That`s just what the grandmother told me.
GRACE: But up until that day -- and they lived next you to four or five years -- you never saw her display any mental illness, any unusual behavior? She just seemed like a normal mom of three.
MADRID: Yes. Nothing at all. Nothing weird, nothing crazy.
GRACE: How did she get on with the husband?
MADRID: I`ve never heard -- no yelling, or arguing, nothing. Nothing at all. I don`t know their personal life enough to know how they were inside of their home. But from living next door, I`ve never heard any arguments, seen any kind of fighting, nothing at all. He was always home with his children and her, involved with them. So I mean, I don`t know what...
GRACE: Tell me, Ms. Madrid, where was the dad at the time this happened?
MADRID: He was across the street working on his car. And the grandmother went in, and I heard her scream. And I believe -- I didn`t see, but I believe he ran inside, and the grandmother stayed outside calling 911.
GRACE: Everyone, we are taking your calls -- a very disturbing case. A father outside, a young father outside working on his car, goes inside to find all three of his daughters dead with Mommy in bed, Mommy clutching a knife.
Back to Larry Altman with "The Daily Breeze," joining us there in Torrance. Larry, did the mother try to take her own life?
ALTMAN: Yes. I just got off the phone a little while ago with the detective supervisor, and she did have some self-inflicted stab wounds on various parts of her body.
GRACE: Larry, I`m taking that to mean that she did not sever any major artery because she wouldn`t have lived if she had cut herself with the same weapon she used to kill the children.
ALTMAN: Right. That`s correct. They told me the wounds weren`t life-threatening.
GRACE: Matt Zarrell, what more do we know?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): ... told some of the local media that Coronado actually served in the military, but left after a short stint because of medical reasons. We`re still trying to figure out what those exact reasons are.
GRACE: Now, did you say the mom or the dad?
ZARRELL: The mom.
GRACE: Everybody, we are taking your calls. Out to Michelle in Illinois. Hi, Michelle. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was wondering, was there any kind of screening, do we know, or do we have information, where she might have had some post-partum screening? I know here, when I had my last child, this was something new implemented at my pediatrician`s office. And considering that this woman had a 2-old-month-old baby, do we know was she screened for that? Was she suffering from that?
GRACE: You know, Larry Altman, do we know? I mean, everyone just naturally assumes it must be post-partum depression. Do we have any indicia that`s true?
ALTMAN: Not yet, but the detective told me that they are going to examine her for post-partum depression, as well, mental illness, look at any medications she might be on, see if there`s...
GRACE: Right.
ALTMAN: ... some reason for this.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Joining me, Eleanor Odom, death penalty- qualified prosecutor, and Kirby Clements, defense attorney, Atlanta.
Eleanor, I -- I think this time that she`s mentally ill. And I say that because of the circumstances here. It didn`t seem like there was planning, a forethought. I mean Eleanor, we`ve seen plenty of moms kill their children, and they wait until they`re alone where nobody can come in and find them. They plan it out methodically. You don`t normally catch a mom butt-naked clutching a knife in bed with the three dead bodies.
ELEANOR ODOM, PROSECUTOR: Well, Nancy, I think we`re still learning a lot about that. You`ve got to look at her actions before and after this. Think of this. She called her mom and said, I feel like I`m going crazy. Well, that could be part of her plan saying, Hey, I`m crazy. Now I`m going to kill my kids. I`m going to get off.
But the question really is, did she know the difference between right or wrong at the time of the crime, or was she suffering under a delusional compulsion that force her to do this?
GRACE: Yes, I don`t see it. I don`t see it, compared to other moms that I`ve said, they knew what they were doing. As a matter of fact, take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you shoot Beau?
JULIE SCHENECKER, CONVICTED OF MURDER: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: With that .38?
SCHENECKER: In the side of the head.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) killed that boy...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) jerked around, you know?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I cut her arms off.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You cut her arms off?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Uh-huh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whoever has my children, I mean, please bring them home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Andrea Yates -- well, she drowned her five children in the bathtub.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lisa Ann Diaz (ph), who insists she killed her two daughters to save them from demons.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There`s not one minute that goes by that I don`t think about these boys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Live, Enfield, Connecticut. Even his dental assistants begged him to stop, but neighborhood dentist Dr. Patel intent on pulling 20 teeth as his female patient sat in the dentist`s chair. Tonight, she`s dead.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: During the procedure to extract teeth from Judy Gan, the woman reportedly becomes unresponsive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dr. Patel`s Enfield Family Dental, with state- of-the-art care.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A dental assistant allegedly begs the dentist to stop the procedure, but he continues!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have the technology to give you a smile you can be proud of.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The woman dies!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Trying to pull 20 teeth at one time? I`ve never even heard of that! Take a look at what this doctor`s own Web site says about him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everyone wants a beautiful smile, and no one has more options for making that dream a reality than the professionals at Dr. Patel`s Enfield Family Dental. With modern cosmetic dentistry and state- of-the-art care, Dr. Patel and his staff can completely rehabilitate your smile, creating a healthy mouth with teeth you can be proud of. And with sedation, dentistry pain and anxiety are things of the past.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here at Enfield Family Dental, we have the technology to give you a smile you can be proud of at any age.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dr. Patel`s Enfield Family Dental creating smiles for a lifetime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Well, I don`t know how much of a smile you`d have after they pull 20 teeth. That`s video from EnfieldFamilyDentalCare.com.
OK, Josh Kovner joining me from "Hartford Courant." Hey, Josh, thank you for being with u. I understand that even his own dental assistants were begging him to stop?
JOSH KOVNER, "HARTFORD COURANT" (via telephone): Yes, I don`t think I`ve seen an investigative file like this. They have statements where the women said, Please stop, Doctor. The oxygen is alarm was going off. One dental assistant noticed gurgling sounds. He said that was blood in her throat. He kind of distrusted his own equipment. He told them to stop talking. At one point, the dental assistant cut out from the room, called 911. The medics got there, but she`d already flat-lined.
GRACE: Oh! With me, Josh Kovner joining me from "The Hartford Courant." Everybody, even his dental assistants were begging, begging him to stop, but he wouldn`t.
Clark Goldband, what am I missing? I mean, he insists on pulling 20 teeth, even dental assistants say no, and now she`s dead.
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, Nancy, it`s not so much that he tried to pull 20 teeth, according to the state and according to the state dental association, it`s how he did it.
Take a look at some of these accusations we were able to find. Improper delegation of conscious (ph) sedation. What the state is saying here is that he told the hygienist to watch the sedation, and was going in and out. Five expired medications. That`s what investigators say they found when they searched the office.
This patient swallowing a throat pack, Nancy -- that`s two months prior. Now, a throat pack, apparently, is this big pack of something like gauze that goes in the back of the throat and soaks up all the material. Well, the patient allegedly swallowed it, had to be rushed by ambulance and had problems breathing.
Also, Nancy, authorities are saying that he deviated from the standard of care. All these claims, authorities seem to say, as soon as someone said there`s a problem, he should have stopped and called 911.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These were supposed to be the golden years for 64- year-old retired librarian mom and grandma Judy Gan. But during a dental procedure, she dies!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Dr. Patel`s Enfield Family Dental creating smiles for a lifetime.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The dentist, Dr. Patel, now facing charges.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. With me to respond to these claims -- oh, by the way, that`s video from EnfieldFamilyDentalCare.com. The dentist`s lawyer is with us. Everyone, let`s welcome Michael Kogut. He is the attorney for Dr. Patel.
Michael, thank you for being with us. What is your client`s story here? I want to hear his side.
MICHAEL KOGUT, ATTORNEY FOR DR. PATEL (via telephone): ... to speak on behalf of Dr. Patel.
GRACE: Excuse me?
KOGUT: I said let me thank you for offering this opportunity to speak on behalf of Dr. Patel.
GRACE: Yes, sir. Go right ahead.
KOGUT: Well, first of all, I`d like your viewers to know that Dr. Patel has offered condolences to the family. This patient was a long- standing patient of Dr. Patel`s. He knew the family well. He was with the husband at the hospital when she was transported to Bay State Medical Center in (INAUDIBLE) And he also offers his condolences publicly to your viewers.
It was an unfortunate medical episode. The medical examiner has yet to determine a cause of death. And you will see if you follow the story that the allegations, as well as the statements that you referenced to so boldly here, which were coerced and under duress by the department, is nothing more than a vendetta against Dr. Patel.
GRACE: You know, that`s interesting. You had me all the way to coerced and vendetta because it`s hard for me to believe that dental assistants that have been working with your client for a long period of time would just jump into a conspiracy to drag him down. These are board of health claims...
(CROSSTALK)
KOGUT: I`ve been a health care lawyer for 30 years. I`ve prosecuted health care fraud and abuse cases in Massachusetts for 10 years, and I`ve been also defense, both criminal and civil, in health cases like this, as well as before the boards.
This is one of the most (INAUDIBLE) problem the egregious travesty I`ve seen. When I say orchestrated or when I say vendetta, not by the assistant`s. It`s about the Department of Public Health and the dental commission...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So why would they all gang together to get your client?
KOGUT: We have evidence that will show the statements from those employees were coerced by the Department of Public Health investigators and given under duress. And they actually weren`t even sworn statements.
GRACE: OK, I understand your position. Michael Kogut, the attorney for Dr. Patel, claims that the statements made by the dental assistants and others were coerced and that there`s a vendetta against his client.
With me right now, dentist, well respected dentist out of Sunnyvale, California, Dr. Mark Burhenne. Mark, thanks for being with us. What do you make of this?
DR. MARK BURHENNE, DENTIST: Well, those claims are unlikely. I mean, it`s clear that -- you know, 20 teeth is not unusual, but the question is, is where was the work done? Was it done by a general dentist or was it done by an oral surgeon in an oral surgery clinic, or perhaps even in a hospital? So there were clearly some issues that were well below standard of care in this case.
GRACE: And let me ask you this. Right now, this is just board of health investigation. Do you, Doctor -- do you believe, Dr. Burhenne, that this will advance to criminal charges in light of the fact -- I mean, it`s very rare that somebody dies in the dentist`s chair.
BURHENNE: You`re right, it is very rare, thank goodness. This poor grandmother -- I know why she was there. She was there to -- to have a nice smile for her grandchildren. I do think this will probably -- it`ll be either settled out of court. There`ll be a payout by an insurance company. The malpractice insurance companies don`t like this to go too far. But there is a chance that it could go further. He could have stopped many, many times...
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now to Oregon, pot enthusiasts, aka potheads, stoners, insist legalizing pot is just fine. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where can I get some marijuana?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where can I buy some marijuana this morning?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You realize you called the police department?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I didn`t. Where can I buy some marijuana this morning?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would have no idea, sir.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I rest my case. Joining me tonight, Pat Lalama, correspondent, Investigation Discovery. Also with me, Brad Lamm, addiction specialist, founder of Breathe Life Healing Centers, and also with me, Norm Kent, president of Normal for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. He wants marijuana legalized. All right, first to you, Norm and Brad. Norm, you repeatedly tell me how it`s okay to be high. Did you just hear this guy calling 911 to buy pot? That`s a yes/no answer.
NORM KENT: Yes, I heard it, Nancy, very well.
GRACE: He`s clearly out of his head.
KENT: Well, you were a prosecutor in Georgia for a long time. You know about prosecuting stupidity. And there`s no way to stop that.
BRAD LAMM, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: It has nothing to do with stupidity. The guy is stoned and impaired. The odds that he`ll do something dumb like get behind the wheel of a car or call the police to ask them to buy pot goes up greatly when you`re stoned. So, Norm, the idea that pot is not a big deal is such old news.
GRACE: The fact that this guy is also guilty of felony stupidity. That is taken under advisement, Kent. Take a listen to this, Norm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He started (ph) it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Video showing what seems to be a baby smoking pot was uploaded to the Internet and went viral. You can see the baby inhale from what seems to be a joint as adults laughed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He ate cookies laced with marijuana. Later that night, he got out of bed and jumped over the railing of his room`s balcony. The report says marijuana was a significant factor in his death.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A Montana couple is accused of letting their 2- year-old son smoke spot not once, but five times a day. According to prosecutors, the couple says it would mellow him out. It`s a pot grow house operation that could have had explosive consequences.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You enter this grow through a door that is hidden behind a dog house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A sea of dark green, 100 marijuana plants discovered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Okay. Back to you, Norm Kent. A student jumps to his death high on pot. Children, toddlers being forced to smoke pot as adults laugh. It goes on and on and on. I got reams and reams of stories just like the one I just showed you, Norm. I want to know, which leg are you standing on to say it`s okay?
KENT: Well, there is a variety of stories you touched upon. But let`s take the last one, which was in South Florida, where people have grow houses that are illegal. If marijuana was a lawful enterprise and people could pull permits and it was regulated and supervised by county officials, those kind of facilities wouldn`t have any need to exist at all.
GRACE: Okay. Brad Lamm, instead of picking the one where the (inaudible) put a dog house and a tunnel underneath it to grow pot. Let`s talk about the one where the toddler I showed. Let`s see that video, Liz, of the toddler being forced to smoke pot while adults laugh in the background. What about that, Brad?
LAMM: So Norm is the lobbyist for pot and I`m the lobbyist for every kid that has a kid and goes off the rails because of their relationship with pot. And if you are one of those parents, treatment works. You can help your kid. Don`t stand by and make a joke out of it. It`s no laughing matter.
GRACE: We`re on the hunt for the parents of the toddler seen smoking marijuana in the video that has gone viral. Vine user ChiefSmokes (ph) uploaded the video. It`s been retweeted over 39,000 times. There`s one video where you can see a baby on a commode wearing a Mickey Mouse top.
LAMM: Doesn`t that break your heart?
GRACE: It does break my heart. And what about this story where the 19-year-old student Levi jumps to his death after eating pot cookies? What happens to Dr. Tim Gallagher, what about pot cookies with what, you have hallucinations, what?
GALLAGHER: That`s true, Nancy. Marijuana does have an affect on your mental status. It can give you paranoia. It can give you a distorted sense of time. It can exacerbate any other mental conditions that you already have. I`m not surprised to hear that the person took their own life and was positive for the drug.
GRACE: Back to Norm Kent and Brad Lamm. Norm, I specifically want to ask you not about the video that so many people apparently think is funny while the toddler is being forced to smoke pot while the adults laugh, but about the teen student that jumped to his death, nothing in his system but pot, no previous history of mental illness, no insanity, nothing. Just pot.
KENT: Nancy, as we move to regulation of marijuana and the development of --
GRACE: Don`t say we.
(CROSSTALK)
KENT: Okay, the fact of the matter is, you make a good and valid point. And everybody in America needs to know that medables have to be controlled. There are medical ingredients to that marijuana--
(CROSSTALK)
KENT: It`s the reality of the future.
LAMM: If you look at how pot is being marketed in Colorado, Nancy, do you know how it is being marketed? With cartoons and with sexy images and it is being marketed to our kids.
GRACE: That is not even allowed with cigarettes, Brad.
LAMM: There is no regulation. In fact, in Colorado, they went in and added over 3,000 words to the constitution to ensure big cannabis corporations, to ensure this kind of activity would take the state by storm.
GRACE: Everybody, we are taking your calls. I want to go to Pat Lalama with Investigation Discovery. Pat, what happened in the first story?
PAT LALAMA, INVESTIGATION DISCOVERY: Well, let`s talk about the one where we`re talking about Lucas Wilson and Camilla Samuels, where the grandmother is the one who finds the video and reports it. But here`s the thing, Nancy. What everyone is forgetting is when we have cases like this, they`re not just isolated. This woman just had another child. She had a newborn child who at 1-month-old, they found traces of methamphetamine and pot within that little baby`s system. So this isn`t just something to laugh about. It is an insidious thing. It`s not just haha, one 2-year-old we`re giving pot to mellow out. There is now another baby in danger. It is endangered by this. This is absolutely -- it`s so prolific, and people just laugh at it like it`s one specific incident.
GRACE: Let me see Brad Lamm and Norm Kent, please, Liz, if you don`t mind. Gentlemen, I think that this should give the answer to all of your arguments, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 911. Police, fire and medical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, where can I get some marijuana?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excuse me?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where can I buy some marijuana this morning?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You realize you called the police department?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I didn`t. That`s very interesting. Well, let me ask you the same question. It`s a legitimate question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Which question is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where can I buy some marijuana this morning?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would have no idea, sir.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You would have no idea? All right. Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You`re welcome.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now to (inaudible), ER doctors call Child Protective Services when they notice multiple suspicious bruising on a tiny baby`s body. Well, CPS finally drags out to the house to investigate, sees a 15- month-old child sleeping, and they just leave. 60 minutes later, 911 called, the baby is dead. CPS gave them the passing grade. The AOK, thumbs up. They were looking at a comatose baby in his crib. Once again, CPS leaves a baby to die.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: According to reports, a case worker from the Department for Children and Families visited the child`s home 66 minutes before he was pronounced dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The manner of death is homicide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could Peyton have been saved?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This is not the first time that the Department of Family and Children Services, CPS, Child Protective Services, same thing, leaves a baby to die! Take a listen. Citizens take Child Protective Services office by storm after CPS sends a 2-year-old little girl back to mommy after mommy has already broken her leg at least once. I got evidence of another broken leg tonight. 2-year-old Desiree is dead. Relatives begged CPS, don`t send her back home, don`t send her to her mother. We`ll never see her alive again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver went missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He is only 5 years old. He didn`t get to enjoy his life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The little boy`s body was wrapped in a blanket and sealed in a duffel bag.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three workers at the Department of Children and Families had been fired for negligence. Jerimiah`s mother and her boyfriend are in jail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Child Protective Services goes to the home, and they say everything is a plus. The baby`s body, look at this child. Look at her. Stored in the freezer. May they rot in hell!
Guys, it would take me this hour for the next year to recount all the time CPS leaves a baby to die. But once again, here, Pat Lalama, Investigation Discovery, many believe that CPS actually looked at the baby in the crib comatose, because the doctors at the hospital (inaudible) pneumonia or some other ailment to the hospital. They see the baby covered in bruises. And they called Child Protective Services. Hey, go look. We are worried about this baby. They go out there. They go, oh, the baby is asleep. In less than an hour, the baby is dead. Many people believe they looked at a comatose, dying child and walked out the door and said everything is fine. Check.
LALAMA: You know what the sickest part of all of this? It`s all sick, but going back to February in Vermont, where another child died, similar kind of situation where there was just no follow up, there were committees formed to investigate this very kind of problem. They haven`t even had meeting one. So now we have this scenario, where on April 2nd at the hospital they say, oh, my God, this child has a fever. This child is vomiting. Signs of, you know, some sort of cerebral problems, by the way. They do notice the bruises. They say to the mother and the boyfriend, expect a call. And then the guy comes in two days, he says he is sleeping. See you later. Now the baby is dead.
GRACE: Don`t move, Pat. I`m being joined right now out of Burlington, Vermont, by Dr. Steve Leffler, Dr. Leffler, the chief medical officer there at Fletcher Allen health care, the hospital where this little boy was treated. And it was there, to their credit, they see the bruises. They go, no, this is wrong. Dr. Leffler, you and your people did all you could to save this child, Peyton. When he came to the hospital with bruising on both sides of the neck, the parents couldn`t explain. What happened next, Dr. Leffler?
DR. STEVE LEFFLER, MD: Nancy, I can`t talk about this specific case because there is still an ongoing investigation, but typically, if the emergency provider noted an injury that wasn`t consistent with the story being told, we would notify DCS and have a discussion with them about arranging follow up.
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GRACE: Once again, Child Protective Services leaves a baby to die. Many believe they went to go visit this child`s home after the doctors see the baby covered in bruises and called CPS. Many believe they were actually looking at the baby laying comatose in the crib when they give the family the thumbs up. Well, of course, the baby`s dead in about an hour. With me out of Stow, Vermont, is Susan Barnes, Vermont attorney specializing in these type cases. She practices in the jurisdiction where Peyton, the little boy, lived. Susan Barnes, thanks for being with us. Procedurally, what should happen next and what can a doctor do when they suspect child abuse?
SUSAN BARNES, ATTORNEY: Well, in Vermont, doctors are required to report any case of suspected child abuse, just like teachers are. And what should happen, if the system is working, which apparently it wasn`t in this case, is for DCF to respond to the hospital immediately and a --
GRACE: Right.
BARNES: -- hopefully a detective would respond as well.
GRACE: I`m just stunned at the way this went down, Susan Barnes. Pat Lalama, many believe CPS went in and the baby was actually comatose at the time they were looking at it in the crib, and they just leave. They leave the baby to die.
LALAMA: Well, and also the person who did make the visit put in his notes, made notations about the neck injuries. Now, I understand that their hands are tied as to what movement can be made, but still--
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Their hands are not tied, when they`re in the home, Kirby Clements, in the home to check out the baby`s safety and they leave while the baby is lying there in all likelihood comatose from yet another beating. I think CPS needs to go to jail, Kirby Clements.
CLEMENTS: I will say in this situation right here, that`s great speculation, but No. 1, there`s no diagnosis of the child being comatose. No. 2 --
GRACE: The baby was dead in an hour.
CLEMENTS: Subsequent to that. I`m suggesting the --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: They beat it to death.
CLEMENTS: After the fact. There is nothing to suggest this worker didn`t do his job.
GRACE: That`s your defense? Okay.
CLEMENTS: The truth is a great defense, Nancy. I know it hurts, but it is a great defense.
GRACE: You know what, Sherry Blake, let`s talk about the truth. Clinical psychologist and author. Sherry Blake, the reality is that the Child Protective Service worker said everything`s fine. Leaves the home. Leaves the baby in the home. The baby is then beaten to death. Now, what`s okay with that?
BLAKE: Well, the problem is there`s nothing okay with this. This is a horrible case. It`s obvious that the baby is dead. It`s obvious there`s been a history of abuse. Somebody made a report. When they made a report, this is the case where someone, unfortunately, didn`t do their job. In terms of checking as they checked on the baby, but made a notation there were bruises and didn`t take the baby? That`s a concern. Each year, thousands of children are physically abused and some die in this country because of people`s mistakes.
GRACE: To Dr. Steve Leffler, still with us from Burlington, Vermont. Dr. Leffler, how sick at heart does it make you to think your staff saw this baby, you saw the bruises on the baby, you tried to save the baby, and the baby still was allowed to go back to that home, and tonight the baby`s dead? I can hardly stand it.
LEFFLER: Nancy, this is obviously a tragic case, and everyone feels terrible about what happened to the baby. I will say that we followed our procedure. We noted bruises, we had a conversation with DCF. We work in collaboration with them on these kinds of cases to make a decision about the best next step for investigation of these cases, and that`s how we proceeded here. But everyone here that was involved in this, and the entire hospital feels terrible about this case.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Little children in school spike their teacher`s water with deadly rat poison? To 1010 WINS reporter Carol D`Auria, Carol, what happened?
CAROL D`AURIA, 1010 WINS: It really boggles one`s mind. These are two kids, two boys, 9 years old and 12 years old, and they were in class with a teacher. Somehow they got hold of her water bottle and put what they believe to be rat poison in the water bottle. She then drank the water bottle and became nauseated, and subsequently went to a doctor and was not treated and thankfully she was not injured. Somewhere along the way, another student, unrelated to these two boys, became aware of what they did, went home, told her mother. The mother then went to the school and said, look, this is what my daughter said she saw.
GRACE: Well, I`m just overwhelmed. These children are -- one of them is 9 years old. It`s hard to think of a 9-year-old and 12-year-old poisoning their teacher with deadly rat poison. We`re going to stay on the story. With me, Carol D`Auria with 1010 WINS.
Let`s stop and remember American hero Army staff sergeant Joshua Rath, 22, Decatur, Alabama. Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Four Army Achievement Medals. Loved rock climbing and swimming and dreamed of completing college. Parents, Leroy and Darlene, two brothers, two sisters. Fiancee, Kimberly. Joshua Rath, 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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