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Nancy Grace
Newborn`s Dead Body Found at Recycling Plant
Aired January 29, 2015 - 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, Eastpointe suburbs. Imagine the shock of a day worker at a local recycling plant when he
discovers the dead body of a tiny newborn set to be industrial (ph) crushed or incinerated -- a baby!
Bombshell tonight. We follow the trail left behind to discover a mother of three allegedly lets her newborn baby boy freeze to death, leaving him in
the garage immediately after birth and dumping his tiny body out with the recycling for a curbside pickup.
In the last hours, the mom, in her mid-20s, a gorgeous redhead, gives her defense, claiming, quote, "I`m homeless." Well, that`s a lie. She lives
with friends in a Gascony apartment complete with a garage, or should I say crime scene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who would dump the body of a newborn baby boy in the trash?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She delivered a full-term baby boy in this garage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That child did, in fact, live for a couple days after that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Workers at the recycling center found the child frozen.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This baby must have suffered greatly over that very short time period.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, Tampa suburbs, 33-year-old Justin Colby (ph) calls his seven-months-pregnant girlfriend and demands, Are you ready for your
abortion date? When she refuses, does he try to mow her down with his `06 Dodge Charger? Should I believe him or my lying eyes? Because he`s caught
on video! We have the video!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Caught on tape!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You see 32-year-old Crystal Nordhusen (ph) walking across...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then a white Dodge Charger swerves off the road and hits her, then slams into the pole.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities say boyfriend Justin Colby...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was allegedly trying to murder his girlfriend and unborn child!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight, Eastpointe suburbs. Imagine the shock of a day worker at a local recycling plant when he discovers the dead body of a tiny
newborn, the baby set to be industrial (ph) crushed or incinerated -- a baby!
We follow the trail left behind to discover a mother of three allegedly lets her newborn baby boy freeze to death, leaving the baby in the garage
immediately after his birth, dumping his body out with the recycling for a curbside pickup. Well, that`s convenient!
In the last hours, the mom, in her mid-20s, a gorgeous redhead, gives a defense claiming, quote, "I`m homeless." Well, that`s a lie because we
know she lives with friends in a Gascony apartment complete with a garage, or should I say crime scene? Can you imagine finding a dead baby boy on a
conveyer belt set to be sorted for incineration or industrial (ph) crushed?
Joining me right now, a special guest, Chief James Berlin, Roseville Police Department. Also with me, James Gemmell and Pat Lalama.
But first to Chief Berlin. Chief, thank you so much for being with us.
CHIEF JAMES BERLIN, ROSEVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): Thank you for having me.
GRACE: Chief, right now, I know that you can`t see the monitor, but a lot of the pictures of this mom in her mid-20s were taken -- she made a lot of
selfies and posted them after the baby dies. So this is a little window into her mindset. While her baby boy is out in the freezing garage with
temperatures down in the 20s, she`s taking selfies.
All right, Chief Berlin, what can you tell us about this case?
BERLIN: Well, we -- as you already stated, we recovered this little baby boy at a recycling center on January 14th. Our detectives worked very,
very hard since that time, and with the help of the media and the public, we were able to narrow our search down to our suspect here. We were able
to arrest her on Monday, and she has been charged with open (ph) murder and first degree child abuse for the death of her newborn infant son.
GRACE: Well, catch this. Chief, she believes that she should be let out on bond. With me, Chief Berlin. Also with me, Pat Lalama and James
Gemmell.
Pat Lalama, is it true that this mom, now in her mid-20s, has three other children? All of them have been farmed out to Department of Family and
Children`s Services. If that`s true, she keeps just giving birth. It`s like a cat. You know, they give birth to a litter of kittens, then they
just leave. You don`t do that with babies.
PAT LALAMA, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Yes, she had three previously, ages 1, 2, and 4, I believe, taken from her because county workers found the home
deplorable -- cat urine, soiled diapers. They take those three away, and she gets pregnant again, apparently decided this one wasn`t allowed to
live. Though, of course, Nancy, she denies that...
GRACE: Well, hold on...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Hold on.
LALAMA: ... doesn`t understand how the baby ended up at the recycling plant.
GRACE: Hey, Justin, wind me back to that photo of the garage. This is the inside of the home where she was living. Her defense -- and this is
certainly not a defense under the law -- is that she did this to her baby because she was homeless. But this is where she`s living. Look at that
snow. That`s the garage where she leaves the baby to die.
Is it true, James Gemmell, news director at WJRW -- is it true she gave birth to the baby -- just like her last baby, she didn`t go to the
hospital. She gives birth, puts the baby, umbilical still attached, out in this garage, and it freezes to death?
JAMES GEMMELL, WJRW (via telephone): That`s certainly what the medical reports indicate. The tests indicated that that baby was out there, and
apparently, she was feeding it for a couple of days, and then it was placed curbside, allegedly, and then taken to the recycling plant.
GRACE: Now, that`s a bone of contention I have, James Gemmell, between what she says and what I believe to be true. And we`re going to find out
from the autopsy report. The baby`s tiny body -- OK, this is heartbreaking -- at the recycling plant, the workers were so distraught over the
condition of this baby that they find, they named it baby Henry. They said it looked like a Henry to them.
And the outpouring of love is incredible. Firefighters and police are raising money for a headstone. You know, firefighters and police and
public school teachers are treated so badly with their salaries, but these people who make so little for what they do -- they`re the ones trying to
raise money for this child`s headstone, a child that never had love, that had nothing but cruelty in its life! A local funeral home is donating a
funeral and a tiny casket.
This child should be alive and well right now. This child was born alive. And here`s my bone of contention. Pat Lalama, James Gemmell repeated what
the mother said. But I don`t believe it because a baby at that stage of life -- it can`t be fed traditional food. I can`t eat food. It`s got to
be given formula or breast milk or milk so it can digest it. It can`t chew food.
I don`t think she fed this baby. I mean, show me the selfies, Justin -- show me the selfies that this woman took of herself while her baby was
freezing in 20 degree weather in a garage. These are the selfies. What -- what -- what does she think, she`s Kim Kardashian, Pat Lalama?
LALAMA: She claims that the baby wouldn`t eat, that she tried on several occasions, came out to the garage to try to feed the baby, and the baby
just wouldn`t eat. And do you know what keeps resonating in my brain? The chief who said this baby must have suffered greatly -- I can`t get that
thought out of my head.
GRACE: And with me is that chief, Chief James Berlin out of Roseville. Chief, I saw where you had stated that the more you investigated this case,
the sicker it became. Why do you say that this baby suffered so horribly?
BERLIN: Well, this child was left in a standard residential garage in the cold, in the month of December, no love, no care, no blankets. It had to
have suffered greatly. It just -- just -- that thought is -- it`s just awful. It just won`t leave my mind. It won`t leave any of our minds,
and...
GRACE: I can`t, either. I can`t get out of my head! You know, the other day, my son -- he`s 7 -- came home from school and he said, Mom, we were on
the playground, and I didn`t have gloves and my hands were so cold. And I felt like the worst mother in the world. I thought they were in his
pocket.
Imagine this baby, naked in 20-degree weather in a garage alone, a newborn, no mommy, no daddy, nothing, nothing, alone, left in a garage with no heat,
no coat, no gloves, no hat.
The reason the baby probably wouldn`t eat, Pat Lalama, is because it`s freezing to death!
LALAMA: Right. Right. Absolutely. And where`s the remorse? Where -- and guess what, Nancy? I understand that she`s not even sure who the
father is of this child...
GRACE: OK, you know what?
LALAMA: ... that the authorities believe she...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I really don`t care. Doesn`t bother me who sleeps with who. What bothers me is the way this baby was treated.
And also -- unleash the lawyers. With me, Jason Lamm, defense attorney out of Phoenix, and Danny Cevallos, defense attorney out of New York. You
know, to you, Cevallos. She had three other children. They`ve all been farmed out because she mistreated them. The last one was born like this,
umbilical cord still attached, found -- no food, horrible living conditions.
Her defense is, I was homeless. OK, that`s a lie. We`re just showing you where she was living. Not only that, there`s a picture of her with her
other baby. Could you put up her Facebook page, please? I want Cevallos and Jason Lamm just to hear this. She states, occupation, full-time mommy,
smiley face, exclamation.
Hello? Full-time mommy, DFACS took your three children away. Then you go have another one. She could have lived at home with her parents. She
wouldn`t tell anybody who her new boyfriend was. And she leaves the baby in the garage to die, Cevallos?
DANNY CEVALLOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, Nancy, first of all, your homeless argument`s probably your weakest one in a bunch of strong ones.
Homeless? I mean, she -- your description is exactly that. She`s crashing on someone`s couch. It doesn`t matter how nice that house was.
GRACE: She was living there!
CEVALLOS: Living -- what is -- what is living? She was -- it wasn`t her house. She didn`t pay rent. She was staying there. You`ve admitted that
as much on your own. The second thing, you`re calling her a mother of three...
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait!
(CROSSTALK)
CEVALLOS: Hold on. Cut her mike. Cut her mike!
GRACE: Don`t put words in my mouth! She had a place to live, a warm place with a kitchen with (INAUDIBLE) food in it.
CEVALLOS: Part two. Part two.
GRACE: The baby is starving and freezing out in the garage!
CEVALLOS: Nancy, we know that part. The part two of this is that you call her a mother of three. You know that to have your children taken away from
you by the state -- that means the courts have deemed you such a disaster that you are unfit to have those kids live with you. And if you work in
that kind of business, you know, Nancy, that these people -- there are people who simply cannot mother.
GRACE: You know, you said "you know" about eight times now. And my point is...
CEVALLOS: Hang on.
JASON LAMM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: (INAUDIBLE) Cevallos. Nancy, you`re missing the part about the court records already showing that she had mental health
problems. Ease up on infuriating the lynch mob just for a minute. Let`s acknowledge that this woman has mental health problems. You, Danny and I
are all parents. Not for one minute will we condone her actions, but the reality of this...
CEVALLOS: I am?
LAMM: Well...
CEVALLOS: Go ahead. Go ahead.
(CROSSTALK)
LAMM: The bottom line is, Danny, whether (ph) the (ph) kid or not, you`re not going to condone that action. I`m not going to condone that kind of
action. This is someone whose mentally ill. We absolutely detest what she did and we condemn it. But as a matter of guilt or innocence, there is a
very viable insanity defense, and the reality of the situation is the court records already document it, and that`s what her lawyers will be raising in
court. There is no doubt about that! It`s just not right!
CEVALLOS: Well said.
GRACE: OK, you just ate up about 2 minutes of time saying the same thing over and over again.
Let me go to Brittany Trojan, who is a long-time friend of Angela Alexie. Brittany, thank you so much for being with us.
BRITTANY TROJAN, FRIEND OF MOTHER (via telephone): Hi.
GRACE: We don`t have any indication at all that this woman, this mother of four, had a mental illness. But what I`d like to find out from you is, how
did you guys meet?
TROJAN: Well, I met Angela in 2006 from my friend Shannon, and then we became friends.
GRACE: And what can you tell me about her? Did you know that she was pregnant again?
TROJAN: No I had no idea.
GRACE: Now, you say you met through a friend. Other than the way she treated her children, it seems to me that she was pretty normal. She had a
long-term boyfriend. That`s where the other three children came from. She lived with her parents for a long time. There`s no indication whatsoever
that she has ever been in a mental facility, was going a psychiatrist, nothing like that.
TROJAN: Right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The baby boy was born in a garage at the woman`s home in Eastpointe. The body was discovered on a sorting line at a recycling
center in Roseville.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We believe she tried to -- or actually successful hid this pregnancy from most people for the majority of the term.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The woman told the people that she had had a miscarriage.
ANGELA ALEXIE, ACCUSED MOTHER: I have never had a job.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How do you pay your bills?
ALEXIE: I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don`t know?
ALEXIE: Don`t ever really pay my bills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: For those of you just joining us, the body of a tiny infant boy was thrown out with the recyclables, his body set to be industrial (ph)
incinerated or crushed with recycling trash. Tonight, we learn that his mother, who`s already had three children taken away from her by DFACS --
Department of Family and Children`s Services -- gave birth and left her baby boy out in a garage, not fed, naked, 20 degree weather in this garage,
then put it out in the trash.
The only love the child ever got was there at the recycle plant. The people that found it were so distraught, they named it baby Henry. And now
police and fire people are raising money for its tombstone. A funeral home is giving it a funeral and a coffin. Only now does it get love.
To Chief James Berlin joining us out of Roseville. I`m really angry about not only what has been done to this baby -- if this were done to an adult,
all hell would break loose. But it`s been done to a baby, so you know, it`s going to get a light plea. That`s what`s going onto happen here.
But I`m angry, Chief, because the defense lawyers claim this mom has a mental illness. Let me read to you, Chief, from the court documents that
we have. This woman actually is using drugs. Her last baby was found with marijuana and benzodiazepine in its system. And the mom tested for that,
too.
So instead of getting a job and working, she does drugs all day, all right? That`s why her parents probably don`t want her in the home. As far as a
mental illness, in her own words, she said she got depressed. She also says she was never treated, was not on any medication, had never been to a
doctor, that she said she was depressed. Now she`s lying to the court and claiming she was homeless, as if that is an excuse for murdering a baby.
Now, this is not fair to those who are legitimately homeless and those who have legitimate mental illnesses, Chief. There is nothing in the record at
all to support these arguments, Chief!
BERLIN: Well, I really can`t speak to her past. I know nothing about it. I do not know the circumstances or how other children were removed from her
care and custody. So that`s all open for further investigation, and we`ll find those answers in due time.
GRACE: To Pat Lalama, investigative reporter. What can you tell me, Pat?
LALAMA: Well, the fact of the matter -- to speak to your issue of the homeless, she`s not, for all intents and purposes, homeless. She always
had a friend`s couch to lay on. She`s got a Facebook account. She`s got a computer. She`s taking selfies. So to characterize her as some poor woman
out on the street, cold, lonely and unsupported is ridiculous. She always had a place to go.
I`ve been reading that friends have always let her be on the couch until they got tired of her, and then she went somewhere else. This is not what
we know as a traditionally homeless woman, poor woman in terrible, dire conditions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know how you know your baby is in there.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the garage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Freezing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She`d go out every couple hours, try to feed it and see if it was all right, but -- until it passed away. But during that time,
she still left it in the garage while she went back into...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: I guarantee you, when that autopsy is complete, we`re going to find that child was starved and frozen dead. And this whole lie that this mom
is fabricating that she would go out and try to feed the baby -- first of all, why would you put the baby in a freezing garage with no clothes
whatsoever, then lie and claim you`re trying to feed it? Those selfies you`re seeing were taken as her baby was dying out there in the garage.
To her friend, Brittany Trojan. What more can you tell me about Angela Alexie?
TROJAN: Well, when I`ve known her, she was always outgoing and fun and always a happy person.
GRACE: What do you mean by that?
TROJAN: Yes, I`ve never known her to be mean until this. And it`s just really heartbreaking to find out what she did to that baby.
GRACE: To James Gemmell with -- the news director at WJRW. We understand that she wants to be out on bond. I understand that one of her children --
the others that were taken away were born on drugs. What do we know about that?
GEMMELL: Well, there was one report that one of the children was found with marijuana in her system, the 1-year-old girl. The other two are a
little older, both toddlers who are boys. And because of that, that was one of the considerations. The child protective services went in there and
said there were allegedly deplorable conditions. And as a result of all that, they were taken out of the home.
GRACE: To Dr. Michael Arnall. What is that, Dr. Arnall, benzodiazepam? What is that that she`s using?
DR. MICHAEL ARNALL, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Valium. Something like Valium.
GRACE: So Dr. Bethany Marshall, she`s getting her mitts on Valium and pot. What`s amazing to me is that DFACS, family and children`s services, takes
away one child, two child, three children, but they never charge her with a crime, with neglect or abuse, so she`s free to keep doing it until she
finally kills a baby?
BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Oh, Nancy, it`s so deplorable. This woman definitely needed oversight. The sad fact is this is probably not
because of drugs or mental illness or anything like this. The fact is, she may have had the other babies because she had fleeting love relationships
with men, was impulsive, got pregnant. The relationship broke up. She lost interest in the child. And I wouldn`t be surprised if those selfies
are because she wants to -- someone to see her in a positive light. And it just didn`t fit her self-image to be pregnant. And maybe she had a
boyfriend who she hooked up with then left. She thought if she got rid of the baby she`d get the boy back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Thirty-three-year-old Justin Colby calls his seven-month pregnant girlfriend and demands, are you ready for your abortion date? When she
refuses, does he try to mow her down with his `O6 Dodge Charger?
Now let`s see, should I believe him? Or my lying eyes? Because he`s busted. He`s caught on video. We have the video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She went flying on the hood.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Authorities claim boyfriend Justin Colby told his girlfriend, seven months pregnant, are you ready for your abortion, on a
phone call. Moments later, Colby allegedly slams into the victim with his 2006 white Dodge Charger.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Backs up and then gets out of the car. Moments later he casually walks away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK. I want to see this in slow mo.
Justin, if you could run this again.
OK. Look down there. It`s in the back of the white van. OK. There he is in his -- OK. There`s the girl. There`s the seven-month pregnant
girlfriend. She`s crossing the street. Watch this. She`s got her pocketbook over her left shoulder. Surveillance camera I guess at this
home where the white van is parked.
All right. Here comes boyfriend. There -- OK. keep looking. And then he slams into the lamp pole.
Let`s see that again please. Thirty-three-year-old Justin Colby calls his girlfriend, seven months pregnant, and says, are you ready for -- OK. So
then -- stay on it. If you can, stay on it. OK. He gets out. He gets out and walks away.
Watch this one more time. Here he comes. He didn`t even slow down, people. He jumped the curb, runs her down, slams into the lamp pole or the
power pole and then he gets out. She`s lying there and just walks away. He pulls -- there he is. That`s him, walking away with his hands up in the
air like, I`m done with you. I can`t believe I ran into a power pole. He`s worried about his car. Yes. OK.
Meredyth Censullo, investigative reporter, is with us, as well as Sheriff Chris Nocco, Pasco County sheriff.
To both of yo, thank you for being with us.
Meredyth Censullo, tell me what happened.
MEREDYTH CENSULLO, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, what we understand, according to the police report, is that the victim, Crystal, was arguing
with her boyfriend, the father of the child. That`s Justin. They got into an argument at her home. She left because that argument was escalating.
And then just a few minutes later that`s when he called her. He said to her, are you ready for your abortion.
Then he got into his car and hit her. Then he just went back home, got on his motorcycle and road away.
GRACE: OK. With me right now, in addition to Sheriff Chris Nocco, is an eyewitness. Pete Rijos is with us who witnessed the whole thing.
Pete, thanks for being with us. What did you see?
PETE RIJOS, EYEWITNESS: I saw the whole thing happen. It was scary. He came down from the back street and I was walking towards my car. And I see
him speeding up. And it happened so fast. He hit her and she flew in the air. Her legs hit her face. She hit the grass. She flipped three times,
ended up on her butt. I ran to her and I told her she was OK. And I looked at her stomach and she was pregnant.
And I asked her, you know, are you pregnant, she goes yes. I called 911. And I told them what was going on. He was in the car saying the F word
that he lost control but he didn`t. He did it on purpose. And he kept saying the F word and he went back to the car. He took something out of
the car. I don`t know what it was. And he started walking back to his house. So me and my friends followed him to the house.
And the ambulance got there. She peed her pants. And they took her to the hospital right away. But she was stuck in the house. And five minutes
later he -- he left in a motorcycle. And then he turned himself in like 11:30. It was hard man. It was scary stuff to see her get hit like that.
Still lucky to be alive as well her baby. It`s crazy.
GRACE: I just can`t stop looking at this. The way -- you`re right, you`re right, Pete Rijos. He`s not losing control of the car. And watch his
actions when he gets out. He runs her down. Goes up on the curb. He doesn`t even slow down. He backs up after he runs into this lamp post or
power post. Gets out. Now watch this. He looks at the crash. He starts shaking his hands up and down like man, I can`t believe I crashed my car.
He doesn`t even go to the other side of the car to check on the mother, the expectant mother, his girlfriend. Look at this. He`s not even checking on
her. To hey with her. Then if you keep watching, he walks away. Throws his hands up in the air. Doesn`t even check on her and keeps going.
With me eyewitness Pete Rijos.
Pete, did you ask him what happened?
RIJOS: He was telling me that he was -- he forgot his medication. He lost control. And I told him you`re a liar. You did it on purpose. And that`s
why he kept going in the air. He got something out of the car.
GRACE: Look at this. He`s throwing his fists around like he`s mad.
RIJOS: Yes, he was made.
GRACE: Did he even ask --
RIJOS: He was saying -- he was saying the F word, that he lost control. And I told him you`re liar, you did it on purpose. You hit her. You meant
to hit her. She was on the grass. The way he hit her it was meant to kill her. I think what saved his was the pole. Because he hit the pole. And
the grass. If it wasn`t for that, he keeps going and runs her over.
GRACE: Here is Good Samaritan Pete Rijos joining us who goes and tries to help the lady. Seven months pregnant. Mowed down by her boyfriend.
With us Sheriff Chris Nocco. The Pasco County sheriff.
Sheriff, thanks so much for being with us. You know, the attorneys are all in a stew because he`s also charged with hurting the unborn child. I think
you`re absolutely right, Sheriff. What can you tell us about the case?
SHERIFF CHRIS NOCCO, PASCO COUNTY: You know, I think plain and simple right there. I mean, there is an unborn child that could have been killed
because of his actions and he will be held accountable for it. I don`t care what his attorneys say. They can argue all they want. It is what it
is. But the facts are, you know -- we have to remember, you know, the victim here. Detective (INAUDIBLE) has done a good job. We`re making sure
that she`s being taken care of. We`ll work on domestic violence shelters to make sure she`s safe because this guy is an absolute animal.
One thing that`s of interest is back in 2012 he actually tried to run his own brother over. His brother declined to prosecute so the case was no-
file. But this guy has a pattern of doing these things. He has a pattern of aggressiveness. He`s been in prison for child abuse. We know he`s been
using drugs. This guy is an animal, just needs to be off our streets.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Jason Lamm and Danny Cevallos.
Jason Lamm, I don`t quite understand what your defense is here.
JASON LAMM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He`s charged with attempted murder. And intent to kill.
GRACE: Yes.
LAMM: And this call, are you ready for your abortion date, that comes from the victim. And we know they`ve been fighting. So that`s what the defense
needs to test. Now, again --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I don`t even know what you`re saying. What are you -- that`s not a defense.
LAMM: Well, that`s because you`re not listening to me, but I`m kind of used to that.
GRACE: That makes it worse. Maybe that`s because you don`t make any sense. How does that --
(CROSSTALK)
LAMM: That`s fine, Nancy.
GRACE: And he calls her and says, are you ready for your abortion date. How does that help you? I asked you for a defense.
LAMM: Well, that rises it to the intent to kill. There is such a thing as assault with a deadly weapon which carries a lesser penalty. Of course the
vehicle is the weapon and you take out the intent to kill, and it`s a far more defensible case. You defend the law, you don`t defend the act itself.
GRACE: But didn`t you hear Pete Rijos?
Pete Rijos, still with us who witnessed the whole thing. I didn`t ask you this. You volunteered. You said he tried to kill her. Why did you say
that, Pete Rijos?
RIJOS: Because he didn`t lose control. He went at her with the car. And -- if he said he lost control, buddy, he had plenty of space to go by the
way. But he struck her with the car, my man. So what you`re saying is not true, man. He tried to kill her. We all saw that. And you can say
whatever you want. But he meant to kill her. That is the bottom line.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Caught on tape.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You see 32-year-old Crystal Noordhuizen walking across.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Then a white Dodge Charger floors off the road and hits her, then slams into the pole.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Authorities say boyfriend Justin Colby --
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- was allegedly trying to murder his girlfriend and unborn child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: So now we know he`s run over somebody else in his past, his brother, who didn`t press charges. But now this guy, take a look at this.
He calls his girlfriend, seven months pregnant and says, you ready for your abortion date?
Whoa. OK. Unleash the lawyers. Joining me Jason Lamm, Danny Cevallos. Also with me, Dr. Bethany Marshall and Dr. Michael Arnall, joining us out
of Denver.
All right, Dr. Arnall, what effect would that have on her having a miscarriage?
DR. MICHAEL ARNALL, BOARD CERTIFIED FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, she has big trauma to the abdomen, it could either directly hurt the child, break a
bone, cause bleeding or it could damage the placenta and the uterus, also causing bleeding which could cause either death of the child or premature
delivery.
GRACE: So how would it work, Dr. Arnall? He hits her with the car. Looks like he`s going about 35 miles an hour. I`m going to have to ask the
sheriff about that. Sheriff Chris Nocco. And she lands the way Pete Rijos describes. And how does that induce a miscarriage?
ARNALL: Well, several different ways. While I appreciate the novelty of the defense argument that he was only trying to cause an abortion, no sane
person would believe that they could induce an abortion by running someone over and not also put the risk of -- risk to life of the mother. If the
mother was injured independent of the child or the placenta, that injury to the mother could cause blood loss and subsequently cause the baby to die or
cause a miscarriage, or if that injury to the abdomen injured the placenta or uterus or baby, that could either kill the baby outright or cause
bleeding and subsequently kill the baby or cause a premature delivery.
GRACE: Got it. Also with me, Dr. Bethany Marshall.
You know, Dr. Bethany, remember when I was about seven months pregnant with the twins?
MARSHALL: Yes.
GRACE: I had to be in a wheelchair. I could barely make it to the set. Everything was about making those twins arrive.
MARSHALL: I remember.
GRACE: Can you even imagine being hit by a car at seven months? I mean, what`s going on in his mind?
MARSHALL: Well, Nancy, not only in his mind -- well, he`s an aggressive abuser. They probably argued about something really benign. He went after
her. He tried to kill her. That`s my concern.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Jason Lamm and Danny Cevallos.
All right, Cevallos, let`s hear it. What`s your defense?
DANNY CEVALLOS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, again, going back to Mr. Lamm`s argument. The bottom line is yes, they have to show intent to kill. And
yes, there`s some really bad facts for the defendant in this case. But they`re going to have to look at -- you see the front of the car. It is
damaged. But was that from the pole or is there any contact with -- what is the degree of contact --
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Wait, wait. Are you actually saying that the damage to the car proves he didn`t have contact with the victim?
CEVALLOS: No.
GRACE: I mean, Pete Rijos --
CEVALLOS: Did I say that? No.
GRACE: No, you said that`s what caused the damage to the car.
CEVALLOS: Jason, pull the -- pull the transcript. That`s not what I said. No. We need to know the extent of the contact with the victim. And we`ll
just call her a victim for now. But we need to know the extent of contact --
GRACE: Thanks.
CEVALLOS: Well, you know that word is complainant that`s why I say that. So once you know the extent of the contact then you know --
GRACE: In civil law. In civil law.
CEVALLOS: Then you know --
GRACE: Not in criminal law.
CEVALLOS: Maybe in your jurisdiction. In my jurisdiction I use the word complainant. Can I get to my point?
GRACE: I`m sure you do.
CEVALLOS: My point is that you look at the contact --
GRACE: Just make your point.
CEVALLOS: -- to determine how much she was contacted.
GRACE: OK. Yes.
CEVALLOS: Because once you argue, Nancy, that if he didn`t make contact, and I`m not saying that he didn`t. If he did, if he missed her, then this
would be a different charge. Is that right? Are you conducting an orchestra? I don`t know what you`re doing.
GRACE: No. It`s just that --
CEVALLOS: Tell me what you`re doing.
GRACE: That is called second verse same as the first. You said the same thing over and over and over.
CEVALLOS: No.
GRACE: As if you can keep saying it, it might be true.
Pete Rijos, question to you. Would you just illuminate Jason Lamm and Danny Cevallos again about what you saw happen to this victim, Crystal
Noordhuizen, when he slammed her motor down with his car? What happened?
RIJOS: Yes, he -- he hit her with a car. He didn`t deny lose control of that car. He hit her dead on. Right -- I mean, I could tell you, one of
the pole, he will run over. He hit the pole and he hit -- I mean, he hit her, she flew in the air. So that`s -- I mean, I`m not the only one.
There was about five people that saw the same thing. So, I mean, he`s going to have a tough, tough trial. Because let me tell you. He didn`t --
he hit her with the car. He meant to kill her.
Losing control? Come on, man. That`s an excuse. That`s -- he just wanted to kill her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: BOLO, be on the lookout for a Virginia girl missing after school.
Aysia Lewis last seen Monday afternoon at Christiansburg High School. In danger. She`s believed to be with this man, a 33-year-old Illinois man,
Donald Quesenberry. Tip line, Christiansburg Police, 540-382-3131.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RIJOS: She kept -- she went flying. She went flying on the hood.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Authorities claim boyfriend Justin Colby told his girlfriend, seven months pregnant, are you ready for your abortion, on a
phone call. Moments later, Colby allegedly slams into the victim with his 2006 white Dodge Charger.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Backs up and then gets out of the car. Moments later he casually walks away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: At this hour, Sheriff Chris Nocco with us. A Pasco County sheriff.
Sheriff, this is absolutely attempted murder. I don`t give a fig what Jason Lamm and Danny Cevallos have to say. Yes, they are high profile
defense attorneys. But you cannot run somebody down like this and claim you didn`t mean to kill them, Sheriff.
NOCCO: Yes, I think there`s a couple of things that have to be pointed out. You know, there was a heated argument. There`s no doubt about that.
She`s trying to get away from the scene. He gets in the vehicle, which is a deadly weapon, and he uses it as a deadly weapon to try to kill her and
the unborn child.
And I would argue also the fact that what would be the difference of trying to run somebody over or shooting them? You know, shooting them is also the
intent of trying to harm -- bodily harm or try to kill. It`s the same thing with this weapon. In this case, however, it was a vehicle, not a
gun.
GRACE: I want to thank Sheriff Chris Nocco, Pasco County, and the Good Samaritan Pete Rijos with us tonight.
Let`s stop and remember American hero, Marine Lance Corporal Luke Yepsen. Just 20, Kingwood, Texas. Purple Heart, left studies at Texas A&M to
enlist. Loved restoring cars. Parents, Sheila and Gary, brother Kyle, fiancee Sandra.
Luke Yepsen, American hero.
Drew up next. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then, good night.
END
