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Nancy Grace

New Developments in Tot`s Hot Car Death

Aired June 25, 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. Police investigating the tragic death of a 22-month-old toddler boy, Cooper, seemingly left alone

for hours in a baking hot car by his father. Tonight, police say Daddy`s story riddled with inconsistencies, this after Daddy breaks down in tears

when he finds his son dead in the boiling hot car, screaming in grief when he sees the baby boy. Was the tot who dies after Daddy forgets him in the

boiling hot car actually murdered?

Bombshell tonight. As we go to air, new details emerge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the new details, Harris apparently went back out to his SUV during his lunch break, laid something inside the driver`s

side of the vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... saying, What have I done, loudly. Obviously was a bit dramatic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Search warrants at Harris`s office at Home Depot corporate disputes what he told investigators at the scene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And just recently, we report about a staff at a local Kentucky Fried Chicken allegedly kicking out a 3-year-old little girl, the victim of

a savage pitbull attack. But did they actually kick the child out, claiming her face scared the other diners away? Well, in the last hours,

is the whole thing a big hoax?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`d have to leave, Victoria`s face was disturbing the other customers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But wait. Kentucky Fried Chicken did an investigation of their own to look at the validity of the family`s claim

and found no evidence to support their story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And to Michigan, a desperate father going door to door, begging for help to find his little boy after seemingly nobody will help

the dad. Tonight, we turn the case over to you, our viewers. In the last hours, we learn Daddy`s poly inconclusive and Mommy refuses a polygraph?

Could that be?

Good evening, everyone. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.

Bombshell tonight. Police investigating the tragic death of a 22- month-old little toddler boy, Cooper, seemingly left alone for hours in a baking hot car by his father. Tonight, police say Daddy`s story is riddled

with inconsistencies, this after Daddy breaks down in tears when he finds his son dead in a boiling hot car, screaming in grief when he sees the baby

boy, literally doubled over with grief. The tot who dies after Daddy forgets him in the boiling hot car -- was he actually murdered? As we go

to air, new details emerging.

To Ninette Sosa, reporter with 106.7. Ninette, we are learning that - - several things. I`m looking at a brand-new criminal warrant, where the charges have been changed, they`ve been altered, but this warrant suggests

that the father went out to the car at lunchtime from Home Depot, out to see his SUV, put something in on the driver`s side, slams the door and goes

back in. What, he didn`t notice the baby`s in the car at lunchtime?

And also, in the last hours, very disturbing reports of a computer search as to whether animals -- about the death of animals in hot cars on

Daddy`s computer!

First of all, Ninette Sosa, let`s address the issue of the father going to the car at lunchtime.

NINETTE SOSA, NEWS RADIO 106.7 (via telephone): That`s information they have on surveillance camera from Home Depot. So that`s solid

information right there, where he is seen via surveillance camera going to the vehicle, entering the driver`s side and placing some item in the

vehicle.

But Nancy, even prior to that, on his way to work, this man made a pit stop at Chick-fil-A, which was about one-and-a-half miles from where he

works. So two things are new. The stop at Chick-fil-A for breakfast, you can assume breakfast, and then at lunchtime, placing something in the car.

And now there are reports also that his work computer was used to search, quote, "how long it takes for an animal to die in a car." Those

reports are still unfolding. It`s coming in now.

GRACE: To Victor Blackwell, anchor with the "NEW DAY" weekend show. So Victor, there`s been a -- let me see Victor, please. There`s been a lot

of brouhaha -- Victor joining me there on the scene -- about whether, when the father went to Chick-fil-A that morning on the way to work -- whether

he went through the drive-in. Is there surveillance video?

But if you look, Victor, very carefully at the warrant, you see that it says he came into the car and -- he came into the Chick-fil-A -- and it

reads like this, that he was observed going back to the car and putting the child into a rear-facing carseat. So clearly, a witness observed him

putting the child in the car at Chick-fil-A, which means it was not a drive-through.

Now, what else does that mean, Victor? If this is correct, that means he had the baby in the Chick-fil-A, that they saw the baby alive. Wouldn`t

that make sense, Victor?

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: It does. And even better than an eyewitness, Nancy, we`ve confirmed with Chick-fil-A corporate that

surveillance video was handed over from that location to police. So better than a person`s account of it, they have it on video, as we`re learning

from the owner of this restaurant.

One other thing. You talked about the rear-facing carseat. We also know from this criminal warrant, as you have it and you know, that this car

seat was in the center of the back seat. If you`re in the driver`s seat, you can look into your rear-view mirror and see what`s between the

headrests, and you can see that car seat right behind you without having to lean, as some people might have thought before we got this document, that

he was off to the right or off to the left. This kid was right in the center of the back seat.

GRACE: OK. Now, very important, Victor Blackwell, let`s walk through this very carefully because I know where the defense is going to head on

this. The surveillance cameras and other evidence shows that at lunchtime, OK -- I`m past Chick-fil-A. At lunchtime, he comes out of Home Depot.

He`s been inside for about three hours. It`s about 88 degrees or so outside. Inside a car, that goes up to over 100.

He comes out. He puts something in the car. We know he put it in on the driver`s side. As you just told us, Victor, the child is in a rear-

facing carseat in the middle, on the passenger`s row behind the driver`s seat. Do we know if he came in through the driver`s door or the driver`s

side passenger door, Victor?

BLACKWELL: What we understand is that he came in through the driver`s door, through that front door. But as we see this, this Hyundai Tucson,

this SUV, that it`s not a very large vehicle. And from that position at the front door, you can still see the back seat there.

One other thing. And you`ve got young children, Nancy. Twenty-two months old, at some point -- at what age are they turned around and they`re

forward-facing? This size if he`s a normal-sized child, should he still be rear-facing in a carseat?

GRACE: Typically, no, Victor. But this is what I -- here`s where I`m coming from. If he goes into the driver`s door and that carseat is facing

backwards, what he`s going to say is, yes, I went to my car. I put something in the driver`s seat. And I looked back and all I saw was the

back of the toddler seat, the carseat. I didn`t see the face because it`s pointing backwards.

That`s my point, that he can still argue he didn`t see the child`s face. But wouldn`t you see out of your peripheral vision at the very least

that the child`s sitting in the carseat? Like you said, Victor, it`s a very small car.

BLACKWELL: Quite possibly. And here`s the question I have for you. You have the J.D. Is that to what you attribute the downgrade of child

cruelty in the first degree...

GRACE: No.

BLACKWELL: ... to that of the second degree, going from malice...

GRACE: No.

BLACKWELL: ... to negligence?

GRACE: No. I hear what you`re saying, Victor. But I attribute the change in charges to the district attorney. I know the district attorney

personally, Dick Reynolds. He trained under me when I was a prosecutor for about a decade in inner-city Atlanta. He`s an excellent trial lawyer.

And the change in the charges, very simply put, it`s a felony murder case, which means a death occurred in the commission of a felony, that

felony being cruelty to child. What he`s done is lower cruelty to child from first degree, which very simply means you meant to inflict the

cruelty, to second degree, which is cruelty to a child without the mens rea, without the intent to do a bad thing.

That`s going to be much easier for the district attorney to prove. All he`s got to prove is he left the car, he left the baby in the car and

the baby died in the car. Felony child cruelty in second degree, a death occurred. It`s going to be much simpler to get a verdict, a guilty

verdict.

I want to move on. Don`t move, Victor Blackwell. Ninette Sosa joining me from 106.7 to very disturbing news that we are reporting tonight

of Internet searches on Daddy`s computer about animals dying -- the death of animals -- in hot cars. What do we know about that?

SOSA: Those details are coming in. And I have it in quotations about how long it takes for an animal to die in a car. That`s coming from

Harris`s work computer. And it`s also being reported by several media outlets. Again, that`s still being reviewed, and that`s information coming

in from police. And they`re just looking at that, which is questionable. Why would you even be searching for that while at work? So this man...

GRACE: Now, hold on. Hold on. You`re saying work computer. But did he have a work computer at home?

SOSA: That`s -- that is very possible. This is a guy that worked in the IT department. He worked in the Web area for Home Depot. Very

probable. My understanding, though, is that this is from his computer at the Home Depot office.

GRACE: Everyone, disturbing new details we are just uncovering as we go to air tonight. Did Daddy, Justin Ross Harris, who claims he

accidentally forgot his son in a hot, baking car and the child dies -- he`s just 22 months old -- did he perform computer searches, Internet searches

of death of animals in hot cars?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Everyone, breaking news tonight as we learn apparent computer Internet searches by Daddy, Justin Ross Harris, about death of animals in a

hot car.

But joining us right now exclusively, Rodney Smith, an eyewitness who sees Daddy remove the baby from the car. Mr. Smith, thank you so much for

being with us. Mr. Smith, what did you observe?

RODNEY SMITH, WITNESS (via telephone): You know, pretty much when he pulled (ph) from (ph) the right (ph) -- he parked probably three or four

feet behind our store, the actual store that we`re currently working at, when he got out the car, he just started screaming, What did I do? What

have I done? You know, he just started behaving kind of strangely to me. You know, the behavior was kind of, you know, suspicious to me.

GRACE: OK. I don`t understand. If he started screaming, What did I do, what have I done, what is suspicious about that? What did you observe

that made you suspicious?

SMITH: Well, when it all started, we was in the -- we was in the store. And one of the employees came to the side of the store and said,

Call the ambulance. I think the boy`s choking. Now, this is before (INAUDIBLE) comes out (INAUDIBLE) out of the car. And this is just as soon

as the father pulls up.

Now, when he gets out of the car, he starts running around, you know (INAUDIBLE) He -- the boy is pulled out of the car, and they put him on the

ground and they try to give him CPR, but he wasn`t reviving. But what made it seem so suspicious is the actions that he took, more like not in shock,

but you know, he was more -- it was more suspicious, you know, putting on a show more than anything.

GRACE: When you say putting on a show, what do you mean by that?

SMITH: Putting on a show. More like trying to make something seem that it`s not, or you already heard of, more than in shock. If my child

just died, or if I killed my child, there would be teardrops coming down. There would be only shock. I wouldn`t know what to do. But the first

thing you should do is try to see what`s really going on, observe the area, pretty much see if the child is still breathing. He didn`t do none of

that. You know, in these situations like this, some people, you know, (INAUDIBLE) and you got to recuperate yourself and make sure everything`s

in your situation, it goes right, because anything can happen.

GRACE: Were you there, Mr. Smith, when you saw the child -- when the child was pulled out of the car?

SMITH: Yes, ma`am. It was two gentlemen. I don`t know their name or anything like that. Two gentlemen, they were trying to give him CPR, but

the boy wasn`t reviving. He wasn`t, you know, coming back or anything like that. That boy looked like he`d been dead for quite a while.

GRACE: He did?

SMITH: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: Why do you say the boy looked like he`d been dead for quite a while?

SMITH: Well, you know, the (INAUDIBLE) you know, you can only go off what you (INAUDIBLE) And how the story is playing out now is exactly what

I thought it was. It wasn`t word for word, but (INAUDIBLE) When he pulled up, he got out the car like that, then the next step was taking the boy out

of the car and trying to revive him. The boy looked like he`d been (INAUDIBLE) I didn`t touch the boy or anything, but just the outlook of it.

The boy looked like he`d been (INAUDIBLE) like, he`s drained, dehydrated.

And pretty much, when me and the other co-workers was sitting out on the curb right in front of the child, I was telling them it looked like the

boy had been sitting there for quite a while.

GRACE: Well, were you there when the father called the wife on the phone?

SMITH: Yes. That`s when the crowd started coming. That`s after the police came. The police pulled up 10, 15 minutes right after the whole

incident occurred.

GRACE: What did he say to his wife on the phone?

SMITH: Well, when he was on the phone he said -- he was explaining what was going on, as in, you know, Our child is dead. And you know, he

was -- he was -- he was in a bit of a -- I don`t have a good word for it. But he was -- he was -- he was acting out, pretty much.

GRACE: What do you mean he was acting out?

SMITH: He was just pretty much -- I can`t -- I can`t get past anything but putting on a show because I know how I would feel. I`ve got a

child. He just turned 1 on June the 7th, so I know how I`d feel with the child. And the first thing that I would want to do is to call the police

and try to run my child to the hospital. Those are the first two things, but call the police and ambulance, 911, is the first thing.

None (ph) of those things (INAUDIBLE) what happened with this gentleman. He got out of the car, started screaming. Then he (INAUDIBLE)

taking his child out with another...

GRACE: Well...

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: ... that you heard the police say to him, You better watch what you`re saying?

SMITH: You better watch what you`re saying because I don`t know exactly what he said to make the -- to trigger the police officer to say

that. But whatever he said, they said, You need to watch what you`re saying. And shortly, probably, like, not even 20 seconds after that,

(INAUDIBLE) produced the handcuffs.

GRACE: Well, let me ask you this. Was he pulling on a tree?

SMITH: Yes, ma`am. The tree bushes. It was probably, like, two or three feet, maybe four, even, from where the boy was actually laying. He

was just going in a circle around me and two other individuals. And he was pretty much saying, What did I do? My son is dead. I can`t believe this.

You know, What did I do?

And he was pulling on the tree branches, which that`s what made me come to realize he was pretty much...

GRACE: Well, you also said he was walking in circles, and then he would get louder and louder when people would get close to him, saying,

What did I do? My child is dead. He would walk in bigger and bigger circles and pull on the tree branches?

SMITH: Yes, ma`am.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: As we go to air tonight, stunning new developments in the story of Cooper Harris, a little boy just 22 months old, who apparently

baked to death in a car.

But now we`re learning the father went out to the car at his lunch break. We`re also learning he stopped and had breakfast at a Chick-fil-A,

went in. The employees, and apparently surveillance video, see the father taking the child back out to the car, the child alive. And most

disturbingly, at this hour, Internet searches on Daddy`s work computer about the death of animals in hot cars.

Ninette Sosa, I want to go back to the issue about the death of animals in hot car computer search. Now, you said it`s his work computer.

But you also said he`s in IT, so he could have a work laptop computer, or it could be his computer inside of Home Depot. We don`t know which

computer yet, right, that he`s searching the death of animals in hot cars?

SOSA: That`s correct, we don`t. However, when this incident happened, the search that police did immediately was at his work office at

Home Depot. And then shortly after that, or five to six hours after that, is when the arrests were made.

Last night, subpoenas went out for home searches. So with deducing from that, I would go with home -- work computer, Home Depot computer where

the searches for how long it takes for an animal to die in a car because that`s when the arrest was made, from the searches from his work.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Welcome back, everyone. I`m Nancy Grace. Thank you for being with us.

In the last hours, stunning new and damning developments in the case of 22-month-old Cooper Harris, the little boy allegedly left by accident in

his father`s Hyundai SUV as Dad goes into Home Depot to work around 9:00 AM. It was around 4:00 AM (sic) he goes to the car to discover his child

dead.

Now we have breaking developments that dad went to the car at lunchtime to put something in the car. In addition to that, we are learning that on

daddy`s work computer, police have uncovered, reportedly, Internet searches about the death of animals in hot cars! Unleash the lawyers. Joining me

tonight David Benowitz, defense attorney in Washington, also with me, Peter Odom, defense attorney in Atlanta. Peter Odom, I was going with oh, this

is a tragic accident, which would go to felony murder or negligent homicide. But now daddy on his work computer has searches, Internet

searches of death of animals in a hot car?

ODOM: Well, we don`t know enough about that at this point to know whether it`s damning or not. It could be completely innocent. First of

all, if it`s a laptop --

GRACE: How can it be completely innocent?

ODOM: Nancy, we don`t know whether it was close in time before this child`s death or not. We don`t know whether it was he, whether it was in

fact the father who did those searches.

GRACE: Wait, wait, wait. Let`s just take one of your arguments at a time. No. 1, you don`t know if the search was close in time to the child`s

death. Is that one of your arguments?

ODOM: Correct. Don`t you want to know that?

GRACE: I`d like to finish my thought. And that is, you are searching on your computer the death of animals in a hot car, then your child dies in

a hot car? I don`t see what timing if it was two weeks ago --

ODOM: How about if it was two years ago? How about if it was before the birth of the child? Don`t you want to know when it was?

GRACE: I already know it was not over two years ago.

ODOM: How do you know that?

GRACE: Because if you would just simmer down --

ODOM: I`m simmered.

GRACE: He`s only worked at Home Depot for two years. So it`s on his work computer. So the search has to be less than two years old. The child

is only 22 months old. So why would daddy start searching the death of animals in a hot car after he has the baby, and then his baby dies in a hot

car? I don`t have to be a brain surgeon to figure that out.

ODOM: I will grant you this, Nancy, if it turns out -- and we really don`t know -- if it turns out it was the day before the child dies or a

couple of days, that might be damning if you could prove he was the one who did the search. But until you have that information, it doesn`t mean a

thing.

GRACE: To Victor Blackwell, "New Day Weekend" anchor, Victor, I understand you have new information about Cooper.

BLACKWELL: Yes. There was just an extended obituary published in the Tuscaloosa News. Of course, Tuscaloosa the city where his funeral will be

held on Saturday. They give some -- when you write an obituary about a 22- month-old, there aren`t many details about character and accomplishments you can write. But they write that he`d just learned the color red. When

he would see a red vehicle, he would turn to his mother or father and say "bye red car, bye red truck." And what is unfortunately so coincidental

here, they also write that he loved cars and trucks. And he loved to play with them. And he touched every person who was in his life. They also say

that the funeral this Saturday there will be a public ceremony, although the viewing prior and the subsequent burial are both private. But a public

ceremony Saturday at 1:00 in Tuscaloosa, Nancy.

GRACE: Victor Blackwell, do you have children? Yes? No?

BLACKWELL: I don`t.

GRACE: Okay. Something you just said really struck me that he loved to point out red cars. And he would say red car. There goes a red car. A

red car is going by. Bye, red car. Okay. Whoa.

Unleash the lawyers, Peter Odom, David Benowitz. Now Peter, I know you have a girl and a boy now grown. If this child loved pointing out red

cars and he`s awake when he leaves Chick-fil-a, that means every time a red car passed as this father was on the way from Chick-fil-a to work, that

little boy Cooper was saying, red car. Red car. Bye red car. His father couldn`t possibly forget he`s in the car with that going on!

ODOM: You`re really not going to make that argument in court, are you, Nancy?

GRACE: Yes, I am.

ODOM: And you know what the judge is going to say? Speculative. Objection sustained, it`s too speculative.

GRACE: I don`t even know what you`re talking about. Look around you. Are you in a courtroom? Just look. Reality check. You`re in a studio.

ODOM: I know the rules of evidence and I know the difference between speculation and fact.

GRACE: Those rules of evidence don`t apply on this show. I can talk about the truth as we know it. So Benowitz, what I`m telling you, based on

what Blackwell has just told us, you know just like all of our children have done, there goes a red car. There goes a red car. Daddy, red car.

Daddy, red car. You know that was happening in the backseat.

BENOWITZ: Or you know that the child was asleep. Because it was early in the morning. You have no idea, Nancy.

GRACE: He was just awake at Chick-fil-a.

BENOWITZ: You have no idea what you`re talking about on this issue.

GRACE: Out to the lines, Cindy in New Mexico, what`s your question?

CALLER: I actually called but you guys kind of pointed it out after I called on the line. But I was sitting in a school parking lot picking my

son up. And I constantly out of the rear-view mirror, I could see all seats. I have two back seats. I could see every person`s face in my

backseat. You know, when you`re driving, you`re constantly checking your rear-view mirror. It dawned on me. But now of course the Chick-fil-a

stuff and all that coming out, I just think it`s ridiculous.

GRACE: I do the same thing, Cindy in New Mexico. And another thing I do, Cindy, not that my husband is a bad parent. He`s a great parent. But

when he is taking the children somewhere, if he drops them off at Sunday school and I`m not ready yet, I always am like, did they get there? Did

you get them in okay? Is everything all right? Out to Ninette Sosa with 106.7, where`s mommy? Was she calling in? Have they looked at the cell

phone? Did she call him at work and go, hey, did you get Cooper to daycare okay?

SOSA: Excellent question. And what about mom? That`s what`s been so elusive in this investigation. She`s been told to not discuss with the

media anything about the case. That`s according to police. So we don`t hear much about her.

The other question, Nancy -- and again I have two grown children, but at what point did the daycare not check in with, hey, your son didn`t make

it here today? Did that ever come up?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: At this hour, literally by the minute we are getting breaking news on the death of a 22-month-old little boy, Cooper. His father claims

he accidentally left him in his Hyundai SUV when he went into work. Now we learn daddy goes out to the car at lunchtime to put something in the car.

What did he put in the car? We also learn that the child was taken into a KFC between home and work that morning, that the child came in and the

people at KFC saw him take the baby out, the baby was alive. Excuse me, Chick-fil-a. Saw him come out, the baby was alive when he put him back

into the car. So there are Chick-fil-a eyewitnesses and surveillance.

But this possibly the most disturbing. Internet searches of the death of animals in hot cars.

Back to Ninette Sosa, 106.7. You are saying that that morning he was scheduled to go to daycare. Was the daycare alerted ahead of time that the

baby was not coming? Do we know anything about that? You made an excellent point. Because when children miss school or they don`t show up

at appointments, there`s usually a phone call. Where is Cooper?

SOSA: That is a huge question, and we haven`t heard anything about that. And we know very little about the mother`s background. She comes

from a small town in Alabama, as he is also from Alabama. They got married about seven years ago. He just recently graduated from the University in

Alabama. And they are starting their life. So did all this happen under duress, finances, that it culminated to Cooper`s death? So many questions.

But we definitely do not hear anything about did the daycare reach out to apprise the mother that he is not in school or to the father, even? We

haven`t heard that angle yet. And we have not heard from the mother.

GRACE: Back to Rodney Smith, an eyewitness who sees the father take baby Cooper out of the car, hears him on the phone, and observes him

immediately after he discovers his child is dead. Again, Rodney Smith, thank you for being with us. You stated that he started going around and

around and around a tree and the circles kept getting bigger so people could hear him more easily as he started walking further and further around

that tree. Now, you described it as him saying, oh, the cameras are rolling, I`ve got to act a certain way. What did you say about that? And

why did you say it?

SMITH: Pretty much like I was saying before, I have a child myself. So I know how I would act. But you`ve got to think rational about the

whole situation. Think smart about the whole situation.

GRACE: The thing you said about him pulling on a tree. I can`t envision what you`re talking about. What exactly was he doing?

SMITH: Like if you walk close enough to a tree and you start pulling on tree branches that have nothing to do with the scene or anybody, it

starts to look suspicious. Why are you pulling on trees for? Why are we acting in these suspicious ways? And then it brings us to what really is

going on or why are you acting this way? Your son just died or whatever the case may be, why are you trying to act a certain type of way? But

there`s another sense of going a little bit too far, making it look suspicious. If my child just died and I`m the cause, first I`m going to

call 911 so they don`t think I actually did it if it was an honest mistake. You call 911.

GRACE: That brings up another point, too. Victor Blackwell joining me at the scene, "New Day Weekend" anchor. Victor, there are other reports

that said the father would be screaming and crying and then he would stop. Then he`d notice somebody walk by and then start screaming and crying

again. What do you know about that?

BLACKWELL: There were other reports --

GRACE: Go ahead.

BLACKWELL: There are also reports that not just -- he wasn`t just screaming and crying, investigators tell me that he started screaming and

cursing at the investigators after they started to ask questions. And according to the officer I spoke with, some of the answers to the first

responders just did not make sense. He became so unruly, Nancy, that they had to put him in the back of the patrol car. And that`s where they stayed

on that scene for about 90 minutes before he was brought here to the police department. So not just screaming "what I have done what have I done."

GRACE: A parent finds a child dead, I can imagine them getting unruly. Why did they have to put him in the back of the police car?

BLACKWELL: Well, from what this officer tells me is that he became uncontrollable. Not the emotion, the sadness. This was the question I

asked. Was this just a response to what happened? He said no, he started yelling and cursing at the police officers when he got frustrated about not

getting the answers or giving the answers to our questions and those answers did not make sense.

GRACE: To psychologist Caryn Stark. Caryn, what do you make of that? All the defense attorneys are going to start screaming there`s no play book

for grief. But to the point where the cops have to put you in the back of a patrol car? What does that mean, Caryn?

STARK: Well, if it`s true that he was pulling on the branches, Nancy, he was certainly exaggerating his behavior. Although I know that parents

in that situation would get hysterical.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Out to the father of the missing 12-year-old boy. Charlie. With me is his father, Charlie Bothuell. Charlie, we`re getting reports

that your son has been found in your basement. Sir? Are you --

CHARLIE BOTHUELL IV, FATHER: What?

GRACE: Yes. We`re getting reports that your son has been found alive in your basement.

BOTHUELL: What?

GRACE: Yes. If you can hand me that wire very quickly. Yes, we`re getting that right now. How could your son be alive in your basement?

BOTHUELL: Oh (EXPLETIVE DELETED). I have no idea.

GRACE: This is just a report we`re hearing out of Detroit that we`re trying to confirm.

BOTHUELL: Oh God, please.

GRACE: Everybody in New York, please get on it. Let me know when we get Charlie Langton from WWJ. Sir, did you check your basement?

BOTHUELL: I checked my basement, the FBI checked my basement, the Detroit police checked my basement. My wife checked my basement. I`ve

been down there several times. We`ve all been checking. I --

GRACE: This is what we`re hearing, the missing 12-year-old boy has been found alive and well in his father`s basement. Now, this is what I

don`t understand why you guys would have reported he`s missing, and all of our viewers have been on the lookout for him.

BOTHUELL: We`ve been on the lookout for him. We searched that entire house repeatedly, the FBI searched, the Detroit police searched. We all

searched. God, they brought dogs. Everything. Everybody has searched. What -- oh God, my son.

GRACE: Have you checked your cell phone?

BOTHUELL: My cell phone is dead. And I actually, getting down here, I left it in the car charging because it had -- it had died on me. Oh God.

GRACE: And you`re telling us that you searched your basement and your wife searched your basement?

BOTHUELL: I searched my basement, my wife searched my basement, the FBI searched my basement, the Detroit police searched my basement. We`ve

all searched my basement multiple times. I mean we -- yes. They had the dogs search. We`ve all searched the basement. The dogs searched my

basement. Oh God.

GRACE: Okay. You know what? I`m going to give you a chance to call home and see what you can find out. Charlie Langton, WWJ News, we`re

getting reports tonight that the boy has been found alive in daddy`s basement.

LANGTON: Yes, Nancy, we`re just getting word right now, and we`ve just basically confirmed that the boy has been found alive in the father`s

basement. And we`re just getting reports right now that that is true. Literally it just broke moments ago. Now why the boy -- why the father

didn`t know about that for the last 11 days, what -- if the child was afraid, if there was any other collusion amongst anyone, what the child

ate, all of those are questions that we are trying to get reports on right now. We understand that we`re sending news crews right now to the scene.

We also understand that the police chief is going to make another announcement that should be coming up a little later on. But yes, the boy

has been found alive in his father`s basement.

GRACE: Charlie Langton joining us from WWJ.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Recently we reported that after a little girl was attacked by pit bulls, mauled by multiple pit bulls, a KFC actually kicked her out

claiming that her face was scaring away other diners. Well, tonight we`re learning about claims that that was all a hoax. The KFC did nothing of the

sort. Dave Mack, syndicated talk show host, in a nutshell, why do we believe these claims were a hoax against KFC and why?

MACK: Nancy, the reason they think it`s a hoax is because the local paper got a phone call from an anonymous tipster who has a lot of insider

information who`s telling them that everything about the story is wrong, including the original location that they posted on Facebook, which

happened to be a KFC location that has been out of operation for years.

GRACE: Whoa. Alexis Weed, wait. So they`re saying they were kicked out of a Jackson, Mississippi KFC. Is Dave Mack correct, that that

location is not even there anymore?

WEED: No. The one they put on Facebook originally, that one is closed.

GRACE: OK. That would be a yes. That KFC is closed. So it couldn`t possibly have happened. Also, is it true, Alexis, that KFC is saying

they`ve reviewed all of the KFC`s in the Jackson, Mississippi area, video surveillance, and they can`t find them coming in nor can they find a

receipt that matches up to what they say they ordered?

WEED: That`s a report coming from one of the local papers saying they`ve reviewed surveillance. It`s not all of the Kentucky Fried Chickens

in the Jacksonville area. But the KFC is saying that they have conducted two separate investigations, one internally and another external

investigation, and from those two investigations, they cannot find that there is evidence supporting that this incident happened.

GRACE: Dave Mack, why? What was the motivation for them to do this? And I will point out that the GoFundMe which raised over $100,000 for this

child is offering refunds to everybody that donated. What`s the motivation? Why would they do this?

MACK: You know, Nancy, all you can imagine is a case of severe greed and thinking of taking advantage of these child`s injuries, which are

devastating, and finding a way to make it even worse, to try to just generate more money.

GRACE: You know what?

MACK: Simple greed.

GRACE: You know what, Dave Mack, I know if this is true that they did wrong. But I still want the little girl to get the money.

Everybody, let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Staff Sergeant Jason Vazquez, 24, Chicago. Army Service Medal, National Defense Service

Medal. A correctional officer back home. Loved music, basketball, the Chicago Cubs and the Bears. Parents Jose, Sr., and Lisa. Brother Jose,

Jr., sister Janice, fiancee Genevieve. Jason Vazquez. American hero.

Thank you for being with us tonight. What a night in America`s justice. Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern.

Until then, good night, friend.

END