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Nancy Grace
Arkansas Realtor Vanishes After Showing House
Aired September 29, 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. Quote, "I just want my wife back," these the desperate words of a husband whose real estate wife
vanishes after she shows a vacant home to a mystery buyer. Beverly Carter shows the home. Three hours later, she never comes home. Husband Carl
finds the front door of the vacant home wide open, car and purse left behind. That night, husband Carl then receives bizarre texts from his
wife`s cell phone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You never think in a million years someone will take your mom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A real estate agent went to show a home near Little Rock, Arkansas. She has not been seen since.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) something`s (ph) wrong (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Found Beverly`s car and purse. The front door was wide open.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Live, Alfaretta (ph), a parent`s worst nightmare. Mommy and Daddy leave toddler boy 3-year-old Max at Miss Janna`s (ph) day care.
Little Max goes outdoors to play on the slide while Miss Janna stays inside making phone calls. When she looks outside, it`s only then she discovers
3-year-old little Max accidentally hangs himself on twine going down that slide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 3-year-old child`s neck got tangled up in a piece of twine on a slide, suffocating him while his day care provider was
supposed to be watching him. When Thompson (ph) came outside, it was too late. The child had already been strangled and was unconscious.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A beautiful young Virginia Tech co-ed goes to a Metallica concert with all her friends. Just before the band takes the stage, she
goes missing. In the parking lot, her purse, cell phone, battery removed. Then a partially skeletonized body found in a pasture of thick grass
confirmed to be 20-year-old Morgan. Tonight, is there finally a break in Morgan`s murder? Because in the last hours, we learn there may be a link
between the death and disappearance of Morgan and the disappearance of UVA co-ed Hannah Graham
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her name is Morgan Dana Harrington.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just in!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help us find Hannah Graham.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there a possible link (INAUDIBLE) Hannah Graham case to another missing student?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The troubled and obsessive sex affair between Jodi Arias and Travis Alexander ends when 27-year-old Arias has wild sex with Travis all
day, even photographing the sex. But just minutes after sex, Arias slashes his throat ear to ear, shoots and stabs him 29 times, leaving Travis dead
in his own shower. In the last hours, the death penalty retrial of Jodi Arias kicks off.
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. "I just want my wife back" -- those are the desperate words of husband and father whose real estate wife vanishes after
she shows a vacant home to a mystery buyer. Beverly Carter shows the home. Three hours later, she never comes home. Husband Carl goes looking. He
finds the front door of the vacant home standing wide open, his wife`s car and purse both left behind.
Then that night, husband Carl receives bizarre texts from his wife`s cell phone. And I have studied the three texts very carefully, and for
those of you who are listening, you`ll understand why husband Carl and all of his family agree these are not texts that his wife would have sent, the
mother to their three sons.
Straight out to Robyn Walensky, anchor/reporter with TheBlaze. Robyn, I want to take it from the beginning. Let`s start with the listing of this
home right here. All right, let me ask you a couple of questions. Was her name and cell number listed hanging outside the vacant house? You know how
a lot of times, the real estate people have their name, their work number and their cell number, and you call it? Is that how somebody got her info?
ROBYN WALENSKY, THEBLAZE: Well, this, Nancy, was a foreclosed home. And she had an appointment to see this guy, and she hears that he is a cash
buyer. So it was on the foreclosed sale list. And she`s been a realtor for a decade, for 10 years. This is someone who`s been at it. This was
not her first rodeo. But when you hear a cash buyer, Nancy, you know how it is. You`re revved up for the sale. And so she goes to the house to
show the man this home...
GRACE: Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa-wait! Back it up! Back it up! For foreclosed sale (INAUDIBLE) I`m thinking forensically, Robyn Walensky. How did
whoever took this wife and mother get her information? Why do I care how? Because maybe we can track him that way. Who called her cell phone? Who
called her home phone? Who called her office phone? Certainly, they have caller ID that they can check back on.
So anyway, somebody gets in touch with this wife and mother. There you see her right there, Beverly Carter. She`s got three sons. Three
hours pass. The wife doesn`t get home. Her husband, Carl, goes looking for her.
OK, take me up to the point right there. Now, Robyn, I understand she`s wearing a black sleeveless shirt and red shorts when she goes to
suddenly show this home to a guy who wants to buy it cash. Go ahead.
WALENSKY: That`s correct. She has on the outfit. It`s a warm day over there. She goes to meet the guy at 5:30. You know, the sun is still
up. The neighbors see a tall, skinny man get out of a truck. She`s in a Cadillac.
GRACE: Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Wait! Wait! Wait! Wait! Tall skinny man. Is he Asian? Is he African-American? Is he white? What do I know
about the pickup? Help me out, Robyn. What do you know?
WALENSKY: He is a white man. He`s 5-11. He weighs about 156 pounds. So he is very thin. He has a thin build, Nancy. And the neighbors do see
him pull in and they see his truck and her Cadillac. Now, on her Cadillac, it`s interesting, the license plate has her name...
GRACE: Right.
WALENSKY: ... B Carter.
GRACE: B Carter.
WALENSKY: So he knows that it`s -- right. So he knows that it`s her. And that`s the last that anyone sees of her. They only see the truck.
So...
GRACE: Let me ask you another question. Hold on. Now, this foreclosure -- because I`m not sure how it works with foreclosures, Robyn.
Do they have that lockbox on the door? Is it handled differently when you`re going through a bank? I mean, she clearly is a realtor, so she`s
got to be going through a real estate company. But to get in the home -- could he have already been in home? Did she unlock the door?
Again, Robyn, I`m thinking forensically. Did somebody leave fingerprints that I can get by getting through that front door, or was she
the one that turned the knob?
WALENSKY: Recently, Nancy, I just went and rented a house myself. And I will tell you that on all homes, whether they are foreclosed, in
foreclosure, or not, there is normally always a lockbox on the house. So she must have had the key. She works for a real estate company in her
area. And she must have keyed in and perhaps -- the normal process would be that he would be with her, and they would both go into the house at that
point. So most...
GRACE: Hold on, guys. Hey, Robyn, Robyn Walensky...
WALENSKY: Yes?
GRACE: ... anchor/reporter with TheBlaze, I`m just being joined right now by Lieutenant Carl Minden. Sir, is it Minden or Mine-den?
LT. CARL MINDEN, PULASKI COUNTY SHERIFF`S OFFICE (via telephone), It`s Minden.
GRACE: Thank you, Lieutenant -- Lieutenant Carl Minden with the Pulaski County sheriff`s office. And also with me, the son of the missing
realtor, Beverly Carter, Carl Carter, Jr., both of them joining us tonight in their attempt to bring the mom and wife home.
First to you, Lieutenant Minden. I`m very curious about these texts that husband Carl receives that night. And let me tell you right off the
top, everybody, the husband, Carl, is cooperating completely, all right? We can place where he was at 5:30 when she goes to the home. Then he goes
looking for her. Within three hours of her leaving to show the home, he`s on the phone with 911. Then gets these texts.
Lieutenant Minden, what were the nature of the texts?
MINDEN: You know, I`d like to expound on the texts some, but you know, I`m -- I`m not really at a whole lot of liberty to -- I know they`re
out there, but they weren`t released by us. But there was information from the phone that was received, and like you said, the family has cooperated
with us 100 percent during the entire investigation. And...
GRACE: OK, Lieutenant, I`ll take...
MINDEN: ... obviously -- go ahead.
GRACE: Were you going to tell me about the texts or can you not comment on them?
MINDEN: I was going to -- you know, there are things that we`re doing, you know, with the information that was received, you know, from the
husband, the texts, the different things. But at this point, I really can`t comment on them.
GRACE: OK. Well, you know what? I`m going to hold you just a moment and I`m going to go quickly to Robyn Walensky. Robyn, I understand there
was one text that said, "Yes." Then there was another text that said something like, My power is low. I`ll call you back when I get a signal,
which that doesn`t even make sense because when you`re power`s low, you`re not looking for a signal, you got to power up, all right? A signal is how
many bars you have and how good your connection is.
Then after that, she says something like, Hey, I`m out drinking with friends. OK, right there, he knew that wasn`t right. A, this woman is a
teetotaler. She doesn`t drink. That would just be like me at 10:00 o`clock at night, when I`ve already been -- you know, I`m with my twins,
I`m putting them to sleep, saying, Oh, hey, I`m out drinking. All right, right then, my whole family would call 911 because that ain`t happening.
So she (sic) gets these texts, and the husband knows something is very wrong. Is -- are those the texts that we know of, Robyn?
WALENSKY: That is correct, Nancy. The first text is very suspicious. It just says the word "Yes" on it, like you said.
GRACE: Yes.
WALENSKY: The second one, My phone`s low. The battery`s down, and I`ll call you when I get a signal. And then the third one, I`m out
drinking with friends. None of these texts, according to the husband and her three sons, are in what`s known as her voice. You know, you and I are
sending text messages to each other. We know each other. And so we understand the lingo. They say this is not the words that she would use.
GRACE: Right. Right. Let`s go out to not only Lieutenant Carl Minden with the Pulaski County sheriff`s office, but her son, Carl Carter,
Jr., is with us. Carl, Jr., thank you for being with us. We`re going to do everything we can within our power to bring your mother home.
Now, she went out to show this house around 5:30. It`s my understanding it was still daylight outside, right?
CARL CARTER, JR., MISSING WOMAN`S SON (via telephone): Yes, ma`am, and that`s a large reason why she chose that house, to go to that house
early, because there`s no power in that home. So she planned to make sure that she got there so that they could view the house while there was good
daylight because in that foreclosed home, there was no utilities.
GRACE: Carl, Jr., let me ask you this. How would somebody get your mom`s number to set up the meeting? Is it set up through the office, or
could they call her cell directly?
CARTER: They could call her cell phone directly. She`s -- in the part of the state that we live in, she`s one of the top sellers. So -- and
she does a lot of marketing. And in all of her marketing, she has her beautiful face and her cell phone number. So it`s just everywhere.
GRACE: You know, Carl, Jr., I`m just sick. My mom would work very long, long hours, and we would expect her home 6:00 or 7:00 o`clock at
night. But your father knew immediately, when three hours has passed, something was wrong. How did he know that, Carl?
CARTER: Well, you know, I`ll be honest. When he called me at about 9:00 o`clock, and he said, Son, I just -- I`ve been texting your mom. I`m
calling. She`s not answering. And you know, my first thought was, Dad, it`s not a big deal. You know, she`s showing a property. They loved the
house and she is caught up with them, like, writing the offer.
And as time slipped, you know, a little -- you know, a little past 9:00, 9:15, 9:20, then it`s, like, OK, there`s no way. There`s no scenario
that my mom would not have checked in with my dad by that time because, I mean, my goodness, they`re in bed by 9:00, 9:30, usually.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beverly Carter went missing while showing a home in Scott.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) went through every calls (ph) and everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Beverly was nowhere.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Search parties now coming that area. No signs of Carter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We feel so helpless.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just would like to have my wife back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, I`m going out on a limb. I really do not believe the husband has one thing to do with this. The moment I read that he goes out
looking for her, he`s the one that wanted to call 911, he`s been out there searching for her, I`ve just got a feeling this husband knows nothing about
what happened. And that is extremely rare in this type of case.
But I want to focus on another man. Joining me right now from KTHV CNN affiliate, Dan Grossman. Dan, thank you for being with us. Dan, what
can you tell us? You`re at the sheriff`s right now. What can you tell me about Arron M. Lewis, a skinny white male?
DAN GROSSMAN, KTHV: Well, Arron Lewis -- he`s 33 years old, and he actually lives in Jacksonville, Arkansas. It`s about a 15-minute drive
north of here in Little Rock. And he has a quite of an extensive history when it comes to the law. He has been convicted for a few crimes here in
Arkansas. But only that, also in Kansas City, Missouri, and as far as out west as Utah. His most recent conviction came in 2010. He was serving a
six-year sentence for theft of property. But because of good behavior, he was let out in August of last year. Since he`s been...
GRACE: Wait a minute! Whoa! Wait, wait, wait, wait!
GROSSMAN: ... that he has acted in accordance...
GRACE: Dan, did you just tell -- is that the one where he`s sentenced to six years and he gets out in two?
GROSSMAN: Yes. He served three of those years but was let out on parole because of good behavior just last August.
GRACE: Dan, I just showed a picture of this skinny white guy, who I happen to know drives a truck, with blood coming down his nose. Explain.
GROSSMAN: Yesterday morning, things got -- they escalated a little bit because police were called to the scene of an accident around 9:45 in
the morning. And it turned out it was Lewis`s car who was in the accident. He says, according to reports, that he was driven off the road by another
driver. But two witnesses say that he was traveling at an extremely high rate of speed, lost control of the car and ended up crashing into a barrier
on the road.
Police actually responded to that crime, and that`s when they took that picture. And he was transported to a local hospital by local
ambulance service. But what`s interesting is that, you know, he was right there under the police noses right there. And we talked to Lieutenant Carl
Minden a little bit about that, and he says they did not have an arrest warrant on him at the time, so they could not apprehend him. They could
not take him into custody.
GRACE: All right, let me get this straight...
GROSSMAN: But he left...
GRACE: Hold on. Hold on. Hold on.
GROSSMAN: ... the hospital, and they say it was...
GRACE: Dan, let me try to understand what you`re saying and digest it all. So this guy, this skinny white guy that drives a truck -- he is
driving at a high rate of speed. Sounds like he has a wreck with himself, pops up over a curb and crashes.
GROSSMAN: Yes.
GRACE: So police go to that. They get him. That`s where we get this bloody picture. They get him to the hospital. Let`s see a shot of the
hospital, Liz.
Now, it`s my understanding, Lieutenant Carl Minden, that you guys go with a citation for the traffic offense, for crashing -- like, he crashes
with himself. And you didn`t have an arrest warrant. So he`s in there getting a CAT scan, and you guys are there with the traffic arrest. That`s
all you got so far. And darned if the guy doesn`t hightail it out of the hospital, Lieutenant Minden, and escapes the police. Is that what
happened, Lieutenant?
MINDEN: Those are the partial facts. They`re somewhat misconstrued. He was a person of interest in this case. And he did -- he was involved in
an accident. It was a one-vehicle accident. He crashed his vehicle.
We did respond to the accident. We worked it. He was photographed at that point. He was transported to Baptist Hospital, which is in Little
Rock, Arkansas. The plan was to, at that point, at least have a deputy go over there and issue a citation. That would be something that we knew we
had that was tangible.
We did not have enough evidence to make a probable cause arrest at that point. We did have evidence that was pointing us towards him, but not
enough to make an arrest. And we didn`t have a warrant at that time.
When he was taken to the hospital, he was taken back for some tests, and he left the hospital. He was not under arrest. He was not under
custody. He was not under guard. He had just arrived at the hospital, and he left. That happened earlier in the morning on Sunday. The warrant was
not actually gotten for the kidnapping until probably around 4:30, 5:00 o`clock yesterday evening.
GRACE: To Carl Carter, Jr., the son of Beverly Carter, speaking with us tonight in our attempt to help find his mom. What about him made him --
if you know, Carl, made him a person of interest in your mom`s disappearance?
CARTER: I have no idea, honestly. I -- to me -- and of course, I`m a little biased, I think -- I think that he saw her marketing. I think that
he -- he was drawn to her because of her beauty. And I think that he is sick and he is twisted, and he saw a target. And I think that he planned
to do this and he planned this big scheme. I think that he understood how real estate works and that he could get her out there by saying cash deal.
I just -- I think it was all planned. And I think he`s just sick, and it was because he saw this beautiful target.
GRACE: Everyone, you are seeing shots we`re showing right now of wife and mother Beverly Carter, a mom to three sons, loving husband, Carl, out
looking for her, physically out looking for her, their son joining us tonight.
You know, Ben Levitan, I know better than to ask Lieutenant Minden because he`s playing it close to the vest, as he should, Lieutenant. Ben
Levitan, telecommunications expert, the connection between him and her could have been as simple as one of the neighbors seeing his tag number
parked out in front of that vacant house. It could have been something as simple as they had the caller ID and they know it was him that called her.
This does not mean that there is DNA, that there is blood, that there is sperm. We don`t have to go there yet.
It could be that simple of a nexus between him and her. Am I right, Levitan?
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT (via telephone): Yes, absolutely, Nancy. This should be fairly straightforward. We have two
phones to work with. We have Beverly`s phone and the suspect`s phone. And if he made that call to Beverly to set up the appointment, then we have the
phone number and we can locate him. We know where that phone call was made.
If he then took Beverly phone`s with him, and we can put those cell phones in the same cell tower location after she disappeared, that`s
circumstantial but that`s pretty strong evidence pointing to the fact that these two phones are together after Beverly has disappeared.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Tonight, to those of you that can hear our program, missing is this woman, real estate agent Beverly Carter. She was lured to show a
vacant home in foreclosure with promises of a cash deal. Neighbors in the area spot a skinny white male and a pickup truck. She goes there 5:30,
still daylight. Three hours later, her husband, Carl, becomes distraught. He goes and looks for her, finds her car there, her purse there, the door
wide open, no sign of Beverly.
Tonight, joining us, Lieutenant Carl Minden from the Pulaski County sheriff`s office, and her son, Carl Carter, Jr. Carl, you`re convinced
your mom did not send these texts. Why?
CARTER: I`m absolutely convinced she didn`t. You know, we -- we were there that night. I met -- I immediately rushed to the scene. I was there
with Dad, and we`re -- you know, it was just gut-wrenching. Where`s mom? Where`s Mom? What`s going on? Every car that drives by, we`re praying
that there`s been some mistake, and you know, here she is.
And then we get -- you know, Dad`s phone lights up and it says, you know, text from Mom. And then (INAUDIBLE) and then this signal thing and
then the drinks thing. My dad is her top priority. Let alone whenever she called him on the way home that day and she said, honey, I`m going to show
these properties and that`s how he knew where she was going to be. And I`m going to pick up dinner on my way home. It was just another day for her.
She doesn`t even have girlfriends that she would go out and drink with. She`s just not that woman. She`s a mom. She just doesn`t do that.
GRACE: Let me get this straight. She said I`m going to show this house and then I`ll pick up dinner on the way home. Did she say that?
CARTER: Yes. She did.
GRACE: You know what, this sounds like every woman I know. Leaves work, mind is on getting home, preparing supper, picking up supper because
you`re working late. Getting back to your family and your home. This is like an ordinary day in her life that has now turned anything but ordinary.
Won`t you please help us find Beverly Carter. Everyone, the tip line 501- 340-6963. Please, help us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Now a parent`s worst nightmare. Mommy and daddy leave toddler boy, 3-year-old Max at Miss Janna`s day care. He goes to play on the slide
while she stays inside making phone calls. Well, when she looks outside, it`s only then she discovered 3-year-old little Max accidentally hangs
himself on twine going down the slide.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say while the little child was outside, Thompson was inside with other children, and then used the bathroom and
even made a phone call. When Thompson went outside, she found the little child unconscious on the slide. A piece of twine had wrapped around his
neck.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Ninette Sosa, with News Radio 106.7, I understand it was more than one call, at least two calls while children are alone outside on the
playground.
SOSA: These children were unsupervised, and she was over capacity. She only has license for six children, and she had seven in her care that
day. She was inside the home with three others, and then little Max got himself tangled up on some twine and some playground equipment heading up
the slide and hanged himself. They`re calling it a horrible, terrible accident, but still --
GRACE: Wait. A horrible accident. Let`s reevaluate that. When you take on the duty to take care of a child, and then you neglect the child
and you leave the child alone and the child dies, that is what is called second-degree murder in this jurisdiction, because if you have a child
cruelty or child neglect, irrespective of malice, which means intent, you still get a murder charge. That`s what`s going on. And Justin Freiman,
isn`t it true that just three months before this, Miss Janna`s day care was cited as, let me think, was it inappropriate or not the right place for
children or unsafe for children.
FREIMAN: Nancy, it`s unsafe for children. She was also found to have too many children under her care.
GRACE: Everyone, Miss Janna herself inside on the phone when 3-year- old Max outside, his neck twisted around twine, accidentally hangs himself on a slide. Hangs himself dead. Unleash the lawyers. Joining me Randy
Kessler and Alex Sanchez, but first to Marc Klaas, president and founder of KlaasKids. Weigh in, Marc.
KLAAS: Well, there are certain things that people can do to ensure that their kids are safe at day care. They can ensure that the day care is
licensed. That staff and volunteers don`t have criminal pasts, that staffing is adequate, and that references and testimonies are available.
And then finally, I think it`s important to have open surveillance access to parents at day cares at all times. If these kinds of steps are taken,
this kind of a horrible outcome can be avoided in the future.
GRACE: Jeff Gold joining me from Phoenix. Randy Kessler, Atlanta. Alex Sanchez, New York. First to you, Sanchez. What`s your defense?
SANCHEZ: If you`re going to demand that justice be held regarding this woman, you should also be demanding the government be held
accountable, because as one of your reporters just said, three months before they determined that that playground was unsafe. How come the
government didn`t close it down at that point and demand that action be taken? They are just as guilty as she is.
GRACE: That`s a good question. No, the government didn`t let the child go outside where there was twine near the slide. Ninette Sosa,
question about what he just said. What was the repercussion of them finding it to be unsafe? Was she given an opportunity to remedy the
problem?
SOSA: She had been given an opportunity. And that actually had happened months prior, as you said. The inspectors went out, Georgia
Department of Early Care and Learning. They went out, they did cite her, they found several problems with that playground. Excessive tree limbs,
pine combs, a wooden (inaudible), nails coming out of another fence area, and they discussed what`s called a plan of improvement. But since then,
nobody had followed up until this child died.
GRACE: Jeff Gold, Randy Kessler, Alex Sanchez, what about it?
KESSLER: It`s like Ninette Sosa said. It`s a horrible accident. These things happen. They are unfortunate.
GRACE: It was a accident she was inside on the phone?
KESSLER: It was a mistake, a horrible mistake, but do we punish her and put her in jail for the rest of her life? Or do we say let`s not let
this happen again and make sure it never happens again to any other children? That`s what we should be focusing on, is prevention for the
future.
GRACE: So you think the charge of murder two, which is based on neglectful child cruelty and a death occurs, you think that`s wrong? You
think the legislature is wrong?
KESSLER: I think we have to look at her intent. There`s no way she had any intent whatsoever.
GRACE: Intent does not matter. That`s like leaving a child in a hot car by accident and it dies. The child is still dead regardless of what
you and Sanchez say.
KESSLER: Hard as it is to believe, there were circumstances, there are worse defendants than this defendant. There are people who do much
more (inaudible).
GRACE: I appreciate that, but Jeff Gold, I`m not in the business of comparing one defendant to Jeff Dahmer or Ted Bundy. Yes, there is worse
things than one death. But I guarantee you, if it was a child you knew or your own child, you wouldn`t be talking like this. This somebody`s child
that trusted Miss Janna to take care of the baby. Miss Janna is inside yakking on the phone. This baby, Max, is dead, Jeff.
GOLD: Nancy, the second-degree is overcharging. What you`ll notice from the cited violations before, none of them was about this twine. Had
three months ago they had been notified of this particular thing, then I think they would have a second-degree case. As it stands, it may be
negligence. It doesn`t rise to second-degree. We don`t know when the twine got there or how it got there. A kid could have put it there five
minutes before.
GRACE: Put him up. It doesn`t matter. She was supposed to be on the playground. If she had been there with children, she would have known the
twine was there. Cheryl Hunter, trauma recovery expert, author of "Use It." When you hear people making excuses and explaining away, and yes,
that`s their job. That`s why all three of them are very highly respected in their jurisdictions. Because they get people off. That`s how they do
it. But when you, as a crime victim, hear it, what`s your response?
HUNTER: It infuriates me. I`m flabbergasted. What about the victim? What about this precious child Max and his family that are left behind?
Who is speaking up for them? That`s what I`m most concerned about, Nancy.
GRACE: I agree. I want to go to Dr. Michele Dupre, medical examiner, forensic pathologist. Dr. Dupre, I`m not quite sure how it happened. How
a child is playing on a slide, a 3-year-old, and hangs himself with twine. How long did it take? How can you explain it medically or forensically?
DUPRE: Nancy, it appears that the twine became wrapped around his neck and cut off the circulation to his brain. The oxygen circulation.
That only takes a few seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A beautiful young Virginia Tech co-ed goes to a Metallica concert with all her friends. Just before Metallica takes the stage, she
goes missing. In the parking lot, her purse and her cell phone, the battery removed. Then a partially skeletonized body found in the pasture
of thick grass confirmed to be 20-year-old Morgan. But tonight, is there finally a break in Morgan`s murder? In the last hours, we learned there
may be a link between the death and disappearance of Morgan Harrington and the disappearance of UVA co-ed Hannah Graham.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a young lady who`s 20 years old. She`s a white female.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a person in custody. But there`s a long road ahead of us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A new forensic link for state police to pursue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Jean Casarez, CNN correspondent. Jean, Morgan Harrington seemingly disappears at a packed arena of 16,000 people. Just
before Metallica takes the stand, takes the stage. And somehow she goes missing with all of those cameras, all of those people, all of those
friends, until after exhaustive search her skeletonized body is found out in that pasture. I remember the day her remains were found. Then there
was a link to what, a 2005 rape?
CASAREZ: Exactly. Because when they found Morgan`s remains, they were able the find DNA, foreign DNA, allegedly of the person responsible
for her murder. Well, 2005, four years before, there had been a sexual assault in the Richmond area. She fled. She survived. That woman had
foreign DNA on her from that rape. That DNA matched the DNA that was found on Morgan Harrington`s remains. But whoever did it to either one of them
had still been at large.
GRACE: But now, Jean, a clear possible break in the case, because something -- we know there`s a link, a possible link, and we have been told
by sources it`s a DNA link between Morgan Harrington and missing UVA co-ed Hannah Graham. What do we know, Jean?
CASAREZ: Let`s go from the Virginia state police, what they`re saying, because they are saying the arrest of Jesse Matthew provided a
significant break in this case, Morgan Harrington`s case, with a new forensic link for state police investigators to pursue, a forensic link
they are saying between Jesse Matthew and Morgan Harrington they can now pursue.
GRACE: You know, Jean, when I first started talking about all the women, that`s what I`m talking about. Look at this, right there, hold it,
hold it. That is a sketch made by the rape victim. Take a look at Jesse L.J. Matthew Jr., age 32, a hospital orderly, now a person of interest in
Hannah Graham, UVA student`s case. You know, Jean, when I first brought up that there were several women in that area missing, everybody pooh-pooh`ed
it. But all the court watchers, the legal eagles, watching our show kept writing in and calling in about it. So what do you think is the possible
link? What do you know? Look at that, look at that, Jean.
CASAREZ: Interesting. Forensically they`re not saying what the link is, but it`s bodily fluid of some kind, of some way, that provides that
DNA, whatever it may be. And here`s something that`s fact that I think is interesting. You remember this, Nancy, about a month after Morgan
Harrington disappeared, her t-shirt that she was wearing was found in Charlottesville. I just did a search to see that distance between there
and the last place that Hannah Graham was seen with Jesse Matthew. 1.4 miles away from each other, where the shirt was found of Morgan Harrington
and last known location of Hannah Graham, allegedly with Jesse Matthew.
GRACE: Everyone, we are staying on the big break in the Morgan Harrington case. But I want you to join the investigation with us tonight.
Amber Alert for 2-year-old little Myra Lewis, snatched from the front yard, broad daylight. Go to my Facebook and Twitter right now. Share this photo
with friends. This is urgent. Help us get little Myra`s face and info out there so we can bring Myra home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: She goes to a stadium packed with 16,000 people to a Metallica concert and is never seen again. Tonight, a break in the Morgan Harrington
case, and somehow it`s connected to the missing UVA student Hannah Graham. Clark?
GOLDBAND: Nancy, her body found just ten miles away from the John Paul Jones arena in Charlottesville. And shockingly enough, authorities
say there was a brutal murder done. Nancy, this location where she was found so far away, a half mile away to the closest road. It was really
interior to where the body was found.
GRACE: Jean Casarez, what do you make of it right now? Those sketches are pretty damning.
CASAREZ: It`s interesting to look at them. It was five years ago, and, you know, this is amazing, because this young woman in 2005, she got
away. She was able to provide that sketch. The sexual assault victim. That sketch they`ve had now for all of these years, and now they`re able to
combine with someone that they have arrested. What Clark just said, we learned from Chief Longo that he believes Hannah Graham is found within the
county, that she`s not outside of the county. That`s where Morgan Harrington was found.
GRACE: You know, I recall distinctly, Marc Klaas, the circumstances under which Morgan went missing and talked to her parents repeatedly.
That`s really how we found out what was happening regarding the connection between Morgan and Hannah. What do you make of it?
KLAAS: This is a guy that nobody knows. His family says that he`s a gentle giant and easy to get along with, which is also what his co-workers
say. Yet he`s linked to sexual assault allegations dating back to Liberty College in 2002. In other words, women are in danger when they`re around
this guy.
GRACE: I would really be interested to find out if any of these women had been to the hospital. Unleash the lawyers. Jeff Gold, Randy Kessler,
Alex Sanchez. Alex, it doesn`t sound so much like a gentle giant, does it?
SANCHEZ: You know, I don`t know what he`s like personally, but what I`d like to know what evidence was there to arrest him in this case? I
haven`t heard a single bit of evidence, other than him being on a film clip.
GRACE: Kessler.
KESSLER: Same thing. Where`s the evidence, where`s the beef? You got to show us what the proof is before you can convict him of anything.
GRACE: Jeff Gold, of course you got to have proof. But what do you make of tonight`s development regarding Morgan Harrington?
GOLD: I think it`s interesting. I think that it`s something we can speculate on, but really it`s not enough, that`s just the bottom line.
GRACE: OK. We`ll see about that. Let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Sergeant First Class Todd Harris, Tucson, Arizona. Five Army
Commendation Medals, four Army Achievement Medals, loved football. Parents Sam and Diane. Daughter Mckenna, son Ty (ph). Todd Harris, American hero.
A special good night from Georgia and New Jersey friends of the show, Mariana, Maria and Rosa Maria. Aren`t they beautiful? Drew up next,
everyone. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
