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Nancy Grace
Father Gets Foster Daughter to Murder Wife
Aired June 17, 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, Willoughby Hills, Ohio. Bombshell tonight. A 43-year-old father of three falls, quote, "in
love" with his foster daughter he and his wife take in. Then Daddy persuades the girl to murder Mommy!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sabrina Zunich claims she was seduced by her own stepfather and then convinced to kill his wife.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`s the one who murdered her foster mother, 41- year-old Lisa Knoefel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The husband allegedly receives over three quarters of a million dollars in life insurance proceeds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And we go live to the Tampa area, Valrico. At this hour, police believe a registered sex offender on the run with a missing Florida
girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daughter missing from Valrico.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It angers me that someone could just feel that they can take my daughter, a grown man can just take my daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cell phone records show Ashley (ph) had been texting and calling 41-year-old Steven Myers (ph) from Plant City, a
registered sex offender.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And to Osceola, Indiana. A young mom of three gets nauseous. She vomits out the minivan window. Mommy ends up dead after the DUI driver
slams her head into a tree!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A young mom of three was killed after being struck on the head while she was vomiting out of a moving vehicle. Cops say as
one passenger called for help, the driver, Papa, fled the scene, along with another passenger. According to authorities, appeared to be intoxicated
and had marijuana in his pocket.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live to Muskegon, sisters caught on tape hiring a hitman to gun down the one sister`s husband. Motive, money, $300,000 life
insurance. We have the video. In the last hours, hitman sisters in court.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. To Willoughby Hills, Ohio. A 43-year-old father of three falls, quote, "in love" with his foster daughter that he and his
wife take in, then persuades the girl to murder Mommy. Murder? That`s a euphemism! To stab Mommy 178 times while he, Daddy, is out of town at
work.
Straight out to Phil Trexler, reporter with "The Akron Beacon- Journal." Phil Trexler, whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Back it up. Let`s just start at the beginning. I`ll get to the 178 stabs to Mommy as she lay
sleeping in just a moment. Let`s start at the beginning.
So this man already has two children in the home, a 3-year-old girl he has with the mom, Lisa Knoefel, and her child from another marriage.
They`re all living together. They take in this other young girl, a foster girl. Suddenly, this girl -- she`s a young girl -- he starts having sex
with her on a camping trip, and the next thing you know, talking about life insurance, three quarters of a million dollars, Phil? The next thing,
Mommy`s dead? OK. What did I miss?
PHIL TREXLER, "AKRON BEACON-JOURNAL" (via telephone): Well, you`re not missing anything. You got it all there. We got -- you know, in this
case, we have coercion, we have incestuous infidelity, we have greed. And it all leads up to one of the most heinous, violent killings that you can
think of. You know, the loving mother in such a cold and calculating way, you know, it`s left so many lives that have been forever altered because of
the actions of this guy.
GRACE: You know, Phil Trexler, "Akron Beacon-Journal," for her to already have two children and then have the heart big enough to take in a
foster child, to take in a foster child that had been kicked out, basically, of her own home -- her family didn`t want her. Her grandmom
didn`t want her. She had nowhere to go. They take the girl in.
And then suddenly, it`s my understanding, Phil, that the family -- there`s a family camping trip. On this family camping trip, Kevin Knoefel
had sex with the girl, the little foster girl?
TREXLER: And it`s just almost like a, you know, predator, in a sense there, to prey on a young girl like that, who`s obviously emotionally
harmed already coming into the home, and to do that and to coerce her not only to have sex but ultimately, to coerce her into killing his wife.
GRACE: Well, you know, another thing about this -- so that they go on this trip. The whole family is camping. And you know what? It`s very
difficult for me to believe the mom didn`t know what`s going on because they`re on a camping trip out at a state park. He starts having sex with
the girl. This is incest. This is absolutely statutory rape.
And then suddenly, he starts talking to her about the life insurance policy. And Clark, doesn`t he tell the girl that she`s going to be the
mommy to the 3-year-old? I mean, you got a foster girl that`s been kicked around. All she wants is to be loved. She wants to have a stable home.
What does this guy tell her? This -- what is he, 43-year-old Kevin Knoefel.
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Yes, Nancy, there`s a series of allegations that transpire, including this girl telling
at least one person, if not more, that she hears her foster mom is worth more dead than alive.
In fact, according to authorities, these life insurance policies total over three quarters of a million dollars, Nancy! And authorities also
claim that after this foster wife, foster mom, has died, this husband files a claim just hours after the fact to start cashing in on that insurance
money!
GRACE: What did he do with the money, Clark?
GOLDBAND: Well, Nancy, authorities say he purchased a car, traded in a motor home, even started adding a fence to his house! Authorities also
allege he purchased a second home in the state of Florida.
GRACE: Now, isn`t it true, Clark, that he told the little foster girl that they adopted that that was going to be her new home and that he and
she would raise the 3-year-old little girl and she could be the mommy to the 3-year-old little girl?
GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy. And if you do believe this child, that may have been one of the main motivating factors for this crime. It`s the life
she always wanted. She was shipped from home to home, finally found a foster family, and she was looking forward to raising a 3-year-old child as
her own -- finally, people to love.
GRACE: Out to special guest joining us tonight, Detective Ron Parmertor joining us. Detective, thank you so much for being with us --
Willoughby Hills Police Department lead detective on this case. Detective, when I tried homicide cases, that would be my first witness, or to start
with a bang, my last witness to tie all the pieces together, the lead detective on the case. Thank you for being with us.
DET. RON PARMERTOR, WILLOUGHBY HILLS POLICE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): Thank you, Nancy.
GRACE: Tell me how this guy, this trucker, the 43-year-old father, convinces the foster child to kill Mommy. How did that happen?
PARMERTOR: I think, just as your co-host just said, that, you know, he talked about the insurance money. He talked about bringing her --
bringing the child in and living a white picket fence life.
GRACE: Tell me this. Where was the father at the time the mommy was stabbed to death by the foster girl?
PARMERTOR: He was out of state somewhere in Michigan at work.
GRACE: OK. Detective, how did it go that evening? Was the mom asleep? What happened?
PARMERTOR: Yes, the mother was asleep. The foster daughter came downstairs, went into the bedroom. Utilizing the light on her cell phone,
she walked to the side of the bed and began to stab the mother.
GRACE: Oh! And it`s my understanding that Lisa Knoefel, the mommy, woke up. She tried to fight back. How do we know that, Detective?
PARMERTOR: We know this from the evidence that was (INAUDIBLE) at the scene. There were blood smears on the wall. There was a lamp knocked
over. There was obviously a struggle in the bedroom before, you know, she finally deceased there in the bedroom, on the floor.
GRACE: With me is Detective Ron Parmertor, the lead detective on this case. Detective, how many text messages did the foster girl send the
father, the father that is having sex with her, the night that the mommy is murdered?
PARMERTOR: Seventy-eight text messages between 7:12 PM and 12:48 AM.
GRACE: Wa-wait, wa-wait. Let me get that straight. Did you say seven or eight or 78?
PARMERTOR: Seventy-eight.
GRACE: Seventy-eight texts and phone calls between what time and what time?
PARMERTOR: Between 7:12 PM and 12:48 AM.
GRACE: OK. So we`re looking at about four, five hours.
Unleash the lawyers. Joining me out of New York, Alex Sanchez. Out of Atlanta, defense attorney Kirby Clements.
First to you, Alex Sanchez. So we`ve got nearly 80 phone calls and text messages in the three, four, five hours leading up to Mommy`s
stabbing. How can you with a straight face tell me that the father was not involved, that he is not the mastermind?
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, you know, now that you`ve tried and convicted him on national television, I would like you to tell the
audience why you are taking this young girl`s story at face value, that everything she`s saying is absolutely true and completely unassailable.
Please tell that to the audience!
GRACE: OK, I will. Because he`s the one that stands to gain from nearly a million dollars life insurance policy, because he`s the one that
has taken nearly 80 texts and phone calls from her leading up to the time of the killing, because he`s the one that spends the money, because -- back
me up if I`m right, Detective.
SANCHEZ: Well, wait a minute...
GRACE: I`m still speaking, Sanchez. You asked a question, now you`re going to get the answer.
Isn`t it true, Detective, that within one day of the mom being murdered, that the dad wanted all of her clothes out of the house so he
could, quote, "move on?" Not only that, isn`t it true before he sees his wife`s body, before he goes to the hospital, before he goes to the funeral
home...
I`d like to see Alex Sanchez`s face right now, if that`s possible.
Isn`t it true, Detective, that the dad wants to go see the girl lover? That`s who he wants to see first, to tell her that he`s supporting her.
His wife is dead, and he chooses to go see the foster girl first. He asks within 24 hours about the life insurance money. And he wants his wife`s
items out of the bedroom, and he refers to the scene of her murder as "the crime scene."
And that, Alex Sanchez, is the tip of the iceberg.
SANCHEZ: And that...
GRACE: Is that correct, Detective Parmertor?
PARMERTOR: That is correct.
SANCHEZ: And that, Nancy Grace, is insufficient as a matter of law. That`s all very interesting, but how does it implicate him in committing
this criminal offense? On top of that, she`s a troubled girl, came from a dysfunctional background, committed a heinous crime by stabbing this woman
183 times.
GRACE: Because I believe...
SANCHEZ: You`re going to tell me she`s worthy of being trusted?
GRACE: Well, I tell you what. I think the two of them are like two snakes in a basket. I don`t know which one`s going to bite my hand first.
Clements, what are you kicking around about? I see you shaking your head no. What? What? What?
KIRBY CLEMENTS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I agree with co-counsel here. This young girl is trouble. She`s bounced from home to home. She`s the killer.
She`s the one stabbing. This is a rage killing. And she told a friend she hated her mother and she was going to kill her.
GRACE: OK, back to Detective Ron Parmertor, the lead detective on the case, Willoughby Hills Police Department. Detective, why do you believe --
why do you, if you do -- why do you believe -- what evidence supports your belief that the father is involved? I`m on your side, just FYI. What
implicates the father?
PARMERTOR: Oh, I think there are a lot of things that implicate the father. First of all, you have the father attempting to collect life
insurance money within hours after his wife`s death.
GRACE: He`s having sex with her! He`s having sex with her, Detective!
PARMERTOR: Well, that would be one of them, also.
GRACE: What else?
PARMERTOR: We also have some phone calls that were made back and forth between the defendant and the third party.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Daddy and Mommy have two children in the home when they agree to bring in a foster daughter, one of the worst decisions Mommy ever made.
On a camping trip, Daddy began seducing and sleeping with the foster girl, claiming he`s, quote, "in love."
Joining me right now, the ex-husband of Mommy, stabbing victim, stabbed 178 times by foster daughter, according to police, Nicholas
Zanella. Mr. Zanella, thank you for being with us.
NICHOLAS ZANELLA, EX-HUSBAND OF VICTIM (via telephone): Hi, Nancy. Thank you.
GRACE: Mr. Zanella, you guys shared a child together. So her death, even though you are an ex -- I mean, clearly, you divorced for a reason --
has completely destroyed your child`s life, to have Mommy murdered. And isn`t it true your child was in the home that evening?
ZANELLA: Yes, that is correct.
GRACE: It`s my understanding there is one child hiding, the 3-year- old little girl -- the 3-year-old is hiding in the closet when police get there. Your child is there. And then you`ve got the foster girl with a
knife.
Mr. Zanella, when you last spoke to Lisa Knoefel, your ex-wife, now dead, did she describe a problem in the home? She wanted the foster child
out of the home, and why?
ZANELLA: She did want the foster child out of the home, and immediately. I spoke with her just days before this incident. And this
foster child, she said, was acting like the wife of Kevin and the daughter (sic) of her 3-year-old. And she was very frightened. So she had wanted
Sabrina...
GRACE: She was acting like the husband`s wife. And I think you mean she was acting like the 3-year-old`s mother?
ZANELLA: That`s correct. And she wanted Sabrina out of the home, but Kevin said no way was she leaving, and if Lisa wanted to leave, she could
move out.
GRACE: Whoa! OK. Whoa! So the wife says foster girl has got to leave. She clearly knew that they were having sex, that the father is
having incest with the foster child. She says the girl`s got to...
ZANELLA: I think she did suspect something...
GRACE: What did you say?
ZANELLA: I think she did suspect something at that point.
GRACE: So she says, OK, foster girl`s got to go back to foster care. And he says, If anybody`s moving out, it`s you. So he`s telling his wife
and the mother of his child she`s going to leave the home before the foster girl? Do I have that right, Nicholas?
ZANELLA: That is correct.
GRACE: What else, if anything, did she say?
ZANELLA: That`s just about what she said, and that`s enough for me to understand that there was a huge problem in that house and that she knew
something was up between them two.
And also, you know, to call half an hour after you leave the police station, to call for life insurance policies -- that`s a number one clue
right there. And also, I might add that he did leave Lisa`s ashes at the funeral home this whole time. She has not been picked up because he has
not picked her up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. And while you`re getting them up, Liz, back to Nicholas Zanella, ex-husband of the stabbing victim, young mom Lisa
Knoefel. They have a child together. Lisa had their child, a 3-year-old, with her husband, and the foster child that they take in.
Nicholas Zanella, just as we went to break, I believe I -- where are the lawyers? Can I see Kirby Clements and Alex Sanchez?
Nicholas, just as we were going to break, I believe you said something about, one, the husband made the call about life insurance about a half an
hour after he finds out his wife has been stabbed at least -- not 178 times, at least 178 times. And her ashes are still at the funeral home?
ZANELLA: That is correct.
GRACE: Could you repeat exactly what you know about that, sir?
ZANELLA: I know that he never picked up her ashes. And I have inquired about them but was told that I was not able to do anything about
it, that it was all up to him and...
GRACE: Who told you not to do anything about it? Who told you it was none of your business?
ZANELLA: I wasn`t told it was none of my business, I was told that I didn`t have the right to pick them up, even though it was my daughter`s
mother.
GRACE: Who told you that?
ZANELLA: The funeral home.
GRACE: OK. So they`re worried they`re going to get sued if they release those ashes to somebody else, even though it`s your child`s
mother`s ashes that are sitting over there in a drawer right now.
OK, Alex Sanchez, he doesn`t even wait 31 minutes. He finds out his wife has been stabbed, according to the coroner, at least 178 times. After
178 stabs, it`s kind of hard to tell on a human body how many more stab wounds there are. That`s just the number they could count, Alex Sanchez.
So he finds that out, and within 30 minutes, he`s on the phone with life insurance. You don`t have a problem with that.
SANCHEZ: I do have a problem with that. The guy may be a bum, but that`s not evidence of murder.
And by the way, Nancy, you unwittingly accused this woman of committing abuse -- - I don`t know if you realize that -- because you said
before you believed when they were on the camping trip, this woman was aware that the husband was having sex with this child. Well, if she was
aware that the husband was having sex with the child, she has an obligation to that child...
GRACE: Put him back up.
SANCHEZ: ... she has an obligation to report it to the police. And if she saw that, she would have reported it. The fact that she didn`t is
very suggestive that there was no sex between the parties, it simply didn`t happen because she would have reported it as a responsible social worker
and foster mother.
GRACE: I think -- I think that what she probably did, Kirby Clements, is ask her husband, Hey, what`s going on with you two? That`s what I
think. I think that would be step one. Sadly, she was stabbed nearly 200 times, and she never got a chance to find out the truth, Kirby. But when
you and Sanchez are suggesting the father is not part of this and it`s just the foster daughter dreams up the whole thing on her own?
To special guest Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner joining us out of Philadelphia. Dr. Manion, why can`t they determine exactly how many stab
wounds there are? They are saying at least 178.
DR. BILL MANION, MEDICAL EXAMINER (via telephone): Well, you reach a point where there`s so much mutilation and damage going on that it`s just
physically impossible to prove each wound. A person would have to lose 40 to 50 percent of their blood volume before they would become unconscious.
So I`m not surprised there was a struggle here, and I`m sure she has many defensive wounds on her hands and forearms as she tried to fight off the
knife.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: And now to Osseola, Indiana, a young mom of three gets nauseous, she vomits out the minivan window. Ends up dead after the DIU
driver slams her into a phone pole.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
24-year-old mom Amanda Ezra was on her way home with friends when police say the driver, Kyle Papa, realized he was going the wrong way and
turned sharply around a cul de sac. Cops say Amanda had struck a (inaudible) holding a utility pole, which forced her head to jerk back into
the side of the minivan she was in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: 24-year-old Amanda Ezra practically beheaded in this incident. Take a look at this woman, a young mother of three, gets nauseous as she`s
driving along in the passenger seat. The driver, DUI in her minivan, swings around, crashes, practically beheading the young mom as she`s got
her head out the window vomiting. Straight out to Noam Laden, WABC. What happened?
LADEN: My mom always told me nothing good happens at 4:00 in the morning. That`s the case here. Amanda Ezra is in this minivan. At the
wheel is a 23-year-old. His name is Kyle Papa. He`s drunk, he`s high on weed. They`re driving through this cul de sac. He realizes he`s in the
wrong place. And he starts to turn around. While he`s turning around, Amanda is sick. She`s in the passenger seat next to him. And she leans
out the window to start throwing up. And as she does that, he`s making this turn onto the sidewalk through a telephone pole.
GRACE: Wait. Onto the sidewalk? Hold on. Cheryl McCollum is joining me now, former state director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, now
cold case investigator, Research Institute. Cheryl, so the mom is sitting in the passenger seat, a mother of three. She gets nauseous, she lets down
the minivan, people do it all the time, they get nauseous in a car. She`s going to throw up out the window. This guy, DUI, at that moment swerves,
slams into a phone pole. She`s practically beheaded hitting the wire to the phone pole. What do you think?
MCCOLLOM: This case is so horrifying, Nancy. Again, a drunk driver that has no concept of the depth perception of the object in front of him
is going to swerve to a point. He is so close to a utility pole he nearly beheads his passenger.
GRACE: You know, Cheryl, how many times has a drunk driver driven drunk when they`ve been caught only once?
MCCOLLOM: Oh, at least 20. That`s conservative. This guy smoking weed too, Nancy, he`s only making it that much worse.
GRACE: We`re talking about Kyle Papa, the driver of the minivan. We knew he had been drinking, had no idea. His blood-alcohol was a .163. Not
only that, did he tell anybody he had been smoking weed right before he crashed this minivan? Mommy`s sick, she`s nauseous, she`s vomiting out the
window. He does an extreme turn, crashes, practically beheading mommy.
And I want to clear something up. Alex Sanchez, Kirby Clements. He claims that he wasn`t driving. The first thing he does is try to leave the
scene, Alex Sanchez. He says that he didn`t want to be around the other passengers that had been drinking. But the preliminary breathalyzer is
.163, Sanchez.
SANCHEZ: You know, look, he may have some responsibility here for leaving the scene of the accident.
GRACE: Some responsibility.
SANCHEZ: But from what I understand, he was injured and allegedly went to get some type of medical treatment for himself.
GRACE: Put him up. What do you mean he was injured and left the scene? He wasn`t going to the hospital.
SANCHEZ: What troubles me is you`re trying to blame this fellow exclusively.
GRACE: Yes. Yes, I am.
SANCHEZ: This woman, who on earth sticks their head out of a window and vomits in a moving car? You say pull the car over, I`m sick. She does
bear some responsibility for this negligent act.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: -- many times people have gotten nauseous. I remember when I was pregnant. I threw up out the window of the car many many times.
SANCHEZ: I`m sure you stopped the car.
GRACE: We were covering a trial. A couple of times I did, but a couple of times I wasn`t driving. And I`ve got witnesses here on the set.
Clark is with me. Man, I was so nauseous. Nobody knew I was pregnant. And we were in L.A. covering, what, the Robert Blake trial? We were
covering a trial. Yes, Paris Hilton in jail. Remember? She was claustrophobic? And sick all the time. And a couple of times I let the
window down and threw up. It was either that or in the car with everybody in the car. Those were the two choices. So you`re trying to blame her?
Why am I even having this conversation? It`s not her fault.
SANCHEZ: I`m glad you didn`t get hurt. But if you stick your head out of a window and something hits your head, you do bear some
responsibility. Let`s face it.
GRACE: Cheryl McCollum, Clements, go ahead.
CLEMENTS: It`s an accident. She`s hanging her head out the window. How far out the window does she have her head? So she ends up getting
caught. By the way, he was navigating to make that u turn. He wasn`t out of control. If you say he was a driver.
GRACE: He slammed into a phone pole? I don`t even know what you`re saying.
CLEMENTS: She stuck her head out of the window.
GRACE: Put him up. What do you mean he was navigating? He navigated the front of the car into a phone pole.
CLEMENTS: Because this woman stuck her head out the window.
GRACE: Are you saying he meant to do that? He meant to crash into a phone pole?
CLEMENTS: No, this is a tragic accident. And also, I want to point out this, he has said he wasn`t the driver. We have another guy in the car
that flees. So you`re going to have to prove this man was the driver as well. Because two people left the scene that day.
GRACE: All right. Back to Cheryl McCollum. Cheryl, don`t you hate when defense attorneys always say, drunk driving crashes were just
accidents? Because was it an accident they ordered the third, the fourth, the fifth drink? Was it an accident they got their keys and started the
car up and put it in drive? Was that an accident, Cheryl?
MCCOLLOM: It wasn`t an accident when he stopped and illegally bought marijuana and subsequently used it. And you`re navigating -- what--
GRACE: I don`t know why he even said that.
MCCOLLOM: Someone is vomiting out of the window, wouldn`t you stop? He didn`t stop.
GRACE: He just made that whole thing up. He was navigating --
MCCOLLOM: We can prove he was a driver because mommy is beheaded in her seat belt in the passenger seat.
GRACE: And to you, Dr. Bill Manion, medical examiner and forensic pathologist, joining us out of Philly, Dr. Manion, wasn`t that blood-
alcohol taken four hours later?
MANION: That`s correct.
GRACE: What does that mean?
MANION: The average person metabolizes .015 milligrams of alcohol per hour. So he was probably more like .22, .23. That`s almost three times
the legal limit of intoxication at the time of the accident.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You`re his wife, how do you want this to go? I mean, do you want it to be quick? You want me to shoot him? What do you
want to do? I`ll do whatever you want.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Not up here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s going to be cremated.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the fastest way is--
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yeah, but if I go out there, I get a gallon of milk, you know, I`d rather see him shot in the chest.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I shoot him in the chest, it`s going to take longer. If I shoot him in the head, it`s done like that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that what you want me to do? The reason I`m asking you is because when all is said and done, you`re going to have to
take care of this, you`re going to have to deal with the funeral arrangements and stuff like that. So chest or head, what would you rather
me do?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whatever is easier.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Whatever is easier? He`s going to be cremated, anyway? She`s saying if I go out for a gallon of milk, I`d rather come home to find him
shot in the chest. As opposed to what, alive watching TV? Waiting for the gallon of milk? Everybody, you are overhearing secret surveillance video.
The vehicle was wired. Two sisters hiring a hitman to kill one of their husbands to get the 300 grand insurance policy. But that`s the tip of the
iceberg. Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What time works for you guys?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I put my grandson to bed at 9.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 9. And you want me to just kind of watch the house, you`ll leave the garage open, if he comes out, I`ll just get him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what time he`s going to be home?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Anywhere between 4 and 6.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Does he carry a gun or anything like that? I don`t have to worry about a shootout?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We talked last night and I kind of thought we could make it look like a break in. Is there a door or something you guys
can leave unlocked for me so I don`t have to do (inaudible) anything open? And I can make it look like (inaudible).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What she was thinking was the garage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The garage? Like the garage door all the way open, the big door, or the garage side door?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The side door, because when you pull in there is a big door and the side door is right there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s going to be there by himself tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we`ll all be home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re all going to be up there because we don`t have nowhere to go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So you want me to do it with you guys in there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the garage?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, you want me to wait until he comes out to the garage and get him out there?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I got my grandson in the house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got the rings or whatever? We talked about 5 grand, you guys cool with that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was going to bring --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After today, we`re never going to see each other again, Ok? I`ll just get my money from Dean, Ok? So when you get paid out
or whatever you`re going to get, you just give it to him and he`ll know how to get in touch with me, OK? But after we leave here, I mean, I`m getting
rid of my phone, I`m getting -- we`re never going to be in touch again. So once we leave this van, I mean, it`s done, I`m considering this is going to
happen, OK? You guys are cool with that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: So the two sisters, Diane Hart and Vickie Brill, want to have Hart`s husband murdered. You`re seeing Brill doing all the talking. But
let me ask you, James Gimmel, news director at WJRW, where`s Hart? Is she in the car too?
JAMES GIMMEL, WJRW: Yes, she is. You`ve got the audio in the background there of Hart, Diane Hart. And Vickie Brill is in the video
offering that undercover Michigan state police officer, Nancy, 5 grand in jewelry to shoot Gene Hart in his garage.
GRACE: So it started off with rings. Are those the rings he`s talking about, James Gimmel from WJRW? She`s giving him a downpayment in
rings? What, the wedding band?
GIMMEL: The whole nine yards, apparently. This all the day after Diane filed for divorce. Yes, indeed, she`s offering the rings as
collateral. And the divorce filing to end 17 years of marriage, all this taking place outside a convenience store there in Norton Shores.
GRACE: I`m guessing she wanted to collect the life insurance policy before the divorce so she could get the money. Sadly, I`m starting to
understand her reasoning, James.
GIMMEL: Well, apparently they all lived in the same home, Nancy. And three was a crowd.
GRACE: Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You want this ring back? I`ll just hang onto it until I get paid. I don`t have to sell them. Whatever. Do you want them
back?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I told the girls they could have them when I die.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I get my 5 grand, you can get them back, okay? Any questions?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: [ inaudible ].
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After I leave, it`s on. My phone`s gone, this is happening.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: [ inaudible ].
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well then, if you guys are all set, then I`m all set.
You guys want to hop in real quick?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. Are you an undercover cop?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I look like an undercover cop?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You never (EXPLETIVE DELETED) know nowadays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining me right now, D.J. Hilson, the Muskegon County prosecutor. Thank you so much for being with us. This is an incredible
case. You think that when you go to your sister and go, hey, I want to murder my husband, that your sister would talk you out of it. Not go yes,
yes, yes, do it the day before you file for divorce. How did you get wise to these two and their murder plot?
DJ HILSON, MUSKEGON COUNTY PROSECUTOR: Well, we were fortunate that we had another sibling of theirs, a brother who`s actually on parole, who
they`d approached first, who decided that it was wiser to notify the victim and say, hey, listen, this is what`s going on. And then the victim turned
around and notified police. That`s how police got involved.
GRACE: The part, D.J., where they say, oh, yes, don`t worry about if you shoot him in the head. He`s going to be cremated, anyway. Don`t worry
about the open casket. Because we`re going to have him cremated. So that`s not really a concern. What`s another interesting fact, with me is
the county prosecutor, D.J. Hilson, is that they were going to have the murder go down in the garage with the child in the home!
HILSON: Yes. I mean, that`s really disturbing. It just goes to show just the lack of care. And really didn`t have any concern at all for what
was going to happen and who else might get hurt. To me that was outrageous.
GRACE: Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You guys want to hop in real quick?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
Are you an undercover cop?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do I look like an undercover cop?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You never (EXPLETIVE DELETED) know nowadays.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Live to the Tampa area, at this hour, police believe a registered sex offender on the run with a missing Florida girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Today is find Ashley day and every day will be find Ashley day.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ashley is Roger Lyon`s daughter, missing from Valrico. The Lions are especially worried because cell phone records show
Ashley has been texting and calling 41-year-old Steven Myers from Plant City, a registered sex offender.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It angers me that someone could just feel that they can take my daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They could still be local, but there`s rumor the two maybe headed for Georgia or Texas.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A registered sex offender, there he is, look at his face. Registered sex offender, we believe tonight, on the run, with a Florida
girl, Ashley Lyon.
I want to take a look at him. He is going to be driving, we believe, that he is is en route to Georgia, but we`re not sure which way he`s
headed, possibly straight up the interstate north from Florida. Probably in an `89 purple Ford Ranger, pickup truck, with flames painted on the
front and side. You can`t miss it. It`s a purple pickup with flames painted on the side. Florida tag, CSJM45. Florida tag, CSJM45.
With me, the parents of the missing girl, Ashley Lyon, Michelle and Roger Lyon. Thank you for being with us. Michelle, how does your daughter
know this guy? How did he get into her life?
MICHELLE LYON, MOTHER: My daughter had met him -- he`s the father of two of her friends that she always hung out with.
GRACE: To Roger Lyon, do you have any doubt in your mind that your girl is with this sex offender?
ROGER LYON, FATHER: To be honest, I am absolutely positive that they are together, just based on some of my background investigating and things
that we`ve come to know and find out through law enforcement authorities.
GRACE: Everyone, please take a look at this man and this Florida girl. We believe at this hour, this registered sex offender on the run
with a missing Valrico girl, Ashley Lyon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Straight out to Tampa reporter, Roger Schulman, where were they last seen, Roger?
SCHULMAN: They were actually seen walking down the road. Actually, she was seen alone with a backpack. They didn`t see them together. But
she apparently left her bedroom between 2:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon. They found the screen was outside, the window was open, she was gone, and
her medicine was not with her.
GRACE: Oh, no, she doesn`t have her medicine. With me, her parents Michelle and Roger Lyon. So, this is the father or the friend of one of
her friends. Have you heard anything from police, Michelle, about them being spotted?
M. LYON: No. They haven`t said anything about that. I mean, we just found out about the arrest warrant that they put out today for him.
GRACE: Everyone, please, take a look at this man, registered sex offender, Steven Patrick Myers. Purple truck, flames drawn on the side.
He has with him a Florida girl, Ashley Lyon. Please, help bring her home. There is a reward. Tip line, 1-800-873-8477.
Everyone, let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Sergeant First Class, Gary Vasquez, 33, Round Lake, Illinois. Two Bronze Stars, two Army
Achievement Medals, two Army Commendation Medals. Loved rafting and his dogs. Parents, Frank and Margaret, brother, Barry, sister, Keely, widow,
Sarah. Gary Vasquez, American hero.
Thank you so much for being with us tonight. Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern, and until then, good night, friend.
END
