Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
Jealous Wife Torches Rival. Aired 8-9:00p ET
Aired April 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. Burned alive! We go live with the shocking story of a gorgeous young university coed, 25-year-old
Dana Vulin, her life ahead of her, set on fire alive, her body consumed with flames when a jealous wife wrongly believes her husband is seeing Dana
on the side, sneaks into Dana`s home as she lay sleeping on the sofa, douses her with a gasoline type accelerant and throws the match.
Bombshell tonight. Burn victim Dana Vulin finally has a new face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities say a woman suffered burns to over 60 percent of her body.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect broke into the victim`s home, and while the victim was holding an open flame, she doused the victim with a
bottle of highly flammable liquid, setting her ablaze.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And Michigan, after we report a desperate father literally running door to door, begging for help to find his boy, a stunning turn.
We break the news to Daddy right here his boy is alive in Daddy`s basement.
The little boy`s father and stepmother in court for a key hearing on torture and abuse charges. But the father, Charles Bothuell, denies it
all, claiming his little boy, found covered in bruises and cuts, is a big liar, that the child made it all up and staged the scene.
As we go to air, we hear the gut-wrenching words of little Charlie himself as he finally reveals the torture his own father and stepmother
heaped upon him at the tender age of just 12 years old, little Charlie in his own words detailing the horrific abuse he says he suffers leading up to
his stunning discovery, hidden in his father`s own basement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Your son has been found alive in your basement.
CHARLES BOTHUELL, IV, FATHER: What?
CHARLES BOTHUELL, V: I was told to, basically, lay across the table, dining room table, and I basically (INAUDIBLE) got spanked on the butt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did she do?
CHARLES BOTHUELL, V: Sometimes, she would punch me, or I got choked once.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: In live to Stillwater. A 24-year-old waitress vanishes. Tonight, where is Abbey?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The disappearance has led family and friends of Abbey Russell to the shores of the St. Croix River.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re definitely concerned and we`re worried, and we just want her to come home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Stillwater Police Department and area agencies combed the waters per (ph) a guided (ph) tip from search dogs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Burned alive. We go live with the shocking story of a gorgeous young university coed, 25-year-old Dana, her life ahead of
her, set ablaze, her body consumed with fire when a jealous wife wrongly believes her husband is seeing Dana on the side.
The wife sneaks into Dana`s home as she lays sleeping on her sofa, douses her with a gasoline-type accelerant, then throws an open flame.
Tonight, that burn victim, Dana Vulin, finally gets a new face.
And what a journey it has been. Can you imagine waking up, asleep on your sofa, to see someone standing over you, laughing? Because that`s what
Dana says happened. The wife, a friend of hers, douses her with accelerant, then throws an open flame, consuming her body with fire.
Straight out to Chris Spargo, news reporter, Dailymail.com. Chris, what exactly happened.
CHRIS SPARGO, DAILYMAIL.COM (via telephone): So Dana Vulin, this 25- year-old living alone in her apartment, a likable, lovable girl -- no one has anything bad to say about her -- a little before 7:00 AM, she wakes up
on her couch to see this woman, Natalie Dimitrovska, dousing her in this accelerant. Then she lights her on fire and then runs away as she`s
burning alive, laughing the entire time.
GRACE: OK, wait a minute. Wait a minute, Chris. So we`ve got Dana, who is a 25-year-old university student, lying asleep in her home on her
own sofa. She`s dozed off on the sofa, and she wakes up, and this woman, Natalie Dimitrovska, is standing over her. And the wife is only, like, 29
years old, convinced Dana is having an affair with her husband.
[20:05:08]So how does the wife get into her home?
SPARGO: So she breaks into the home because she thinks this affair is happening, when the truth of the matter is Dana talked to this man maybe
once before, if even that.
GRACE: So she met him one time, one or two times. There`s certainly no affair going on.
Let`s see those photos -- doused with accelerant and then set on fire, the before and after photos absolutely shocking.
Joining me, facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Paul Nassif. Dr. Nassif, now tonight, the outrage that the wife, who set this coed on
fire alive, to burn alive, is whining that she may do time behind bars. What has this victim gone through, Dr. Nassif?
DR. PAUL NASSIF, FACIAL PLASTIC AND RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGEON: More than, you know, you and I will ever know because when you have that kind of
injury, you`ll never be better. You will always have permanent physical and mental scars. So you know, she`s been through a lot, all these
surgeries and skin grafts and wearing this compression mask. She`s went through more than most people will in her entire lifetime in this period of
time.
GRACE: And you know, Dr. Nassif, if you look at the pictures of her right now -- and these are greatly improved. We are not showing you the
photos of Dana immediately after the fire.
Joining me right now is Yvette Cade, who was set on fire. And we have the video, Yvette Cade at work when her husband -- pull that video up for
me, please, Justin. There she is at work, I believe, at a Verizon store. The husband, angry, comes in, douses her with accelerant and actually sets
Yvette on fire. And it`s all caught on video, stunning video. And it is taking her literally years to rehabilitate.
Yvette Cade, thank you for being with us so much. You know, it`s...
YVETTE CADE, SET ON FIRE BY EX-HUSBAND: Thanks for having me.
GRACE: Yes, ma`am. You know, it`s actually not uncommon that women - - it`s almost always a woman -- is set on fire. Yvette, what happened -- as we`re rolling this tape, what happened?
CADE: Yes. I was going through a bitter divorce with my ex-husband at the time. I had been separated from him for 10 months. He entered in
my store with a bottle of gasoline concealed in a Sprite bottle, and...
GRACE: Hold on just a moment. I`m trying to make out on the video -- if you could put that in full, please, so I can see what`s happening as
Yvette is telling me. Go ahead, Yvette.
CADE: Yes. When he entered in the store, I was at the fax machine assisting the young lady at my desk. I heard him say, I love you, Yvette.
And then he said hello to my co-worker.
He wasn`t supposed to be there because I had a restraining order, so I didn`t want to get into an argument with him. So I sat down calmly and
continued to work with the customer.
Well, he was saying something to me, but I didn`t want to lose my job. You know, that was my life at the time. Next thing I know, he`s dumping
the gas over my head. I didn`t know what was going on because he drank Sprite every single day.
GRACE: Right, it was in a Sprite can, as I recall.
CADE: Yes. So he chased me out the back door. I found myself set on fire outside. I ran back inside, and the rest is history. Here I am
today.
GRACE: You know, Yvette, the photos of you during your rehab -- and you joined us -- let`s see that in full, please. You joined us during all
of this, and the rehab was absolutely excruciating. When you were set on fire, Yvette, what did that feel like?
CADE: Oh, my gosh. When he threw the match at my back, I arched my back. I remember it just felt like my skin was just ripping off my back.
And it was like God stepped in, and I couldn`t feel it for a minute until I ran back in the store.
I remember being in the front showroom -- front showroom, and I guess because I was inside, it was -- it was just like something unimaginable. I
mean, when I say the heat, the intense fire that wrapped around my body was so hot. But I had my mind focused on my daughter, so it was just like the
pain went away.
[20:10:10]I went to the back sink, and the two gentlemen, they were screaming at me saying, saying, Let me help you, let me help you. But I
remained calm in a ball of fire, and they couldn`t believe it. I was trying to spray my face with the sprayer from the sink. And next thing I
know, a gentleman pulled my feet because I went into, like, shock and I couldn`t move any longer. And he pulled my feet to the ground. If he
didn`t have a towel in his hand, I would have burned alive. I would have expired.
GRACE: Well, you`re showing...
CADE: This is really hard for me -- really hard for me right now.
GRACE: Is it hard that whenever you tell the story, or when you hear about another victim that`s gone through what you went through?
CADE: My heart -- my heart is racing right now because hearing another person go through what I went through, I know exactly how hard it
is. I can`t explain to anyone. When I try to tell them that I have psychological issues, it`s like I have to prove it because I look normal on
the outside. But I`m not.
I`m damaged for life. I try to get out every day and live, but there`s some days that I just don`t want to do anything, and I`m in my bed.
My hands are like this for life. I normally hide my hands.
GRACE: You know what, Yvette? To us, you`re beautiful. You`re absolutely beautiful...
CADE: I used to question that. Like, people -- they would walk up to me and say, You`re still beautiful, and I`m, like, I`m not. But then I had
to agree.
GRACE: What would you tell this woman, Yvette? What is your advice to Dana? Show her, Justin, please, the before and after shot of Dana --
set on fire by a jealous wife.
What is your advice to her?
CADE: Until I saw this picture, I used to wonder -- I would say, Why do people keep walking up to me saying, You look good? But now I
understand looking at her. She still has all her features. She has her ears. I don`t have my ears. She`s beautiful!
It matters what`s on the inside, not the outside. I was worried about, was someone going to love me again? And I`m able to get into
relationships with an open mind, and not everybody is out to hurt me. I actually found someone that I believe that cares about me.
I know that she feels like she may not get into another relationship, but that`s not true. They`ll love you for you. They`ll accept you for the
scars that you have.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:17:43]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... a beautiful young woman when authorities say another woman broke into her home and set her on fire
because she thought the victim was dating the attacker`s estranged husband. The victim suffered horrific third-degree burns to her face, as well as
over 60 percent of her body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: After the wife becomes convinced Dana is having an affair with her husband, she gets revenge, sneaking into Dana`s home. Dana awakes from
a snooze on the sofa to find Natalie Dimitrovska standing over her, dousing her with accelerant and throwing an open flame. She goes from a happy-go-
lucky carefree coed, a beauty queen, to this.
The shock and the pain -- Chris Spargo, news reporter Dailymail.com, how did Dana actually ever even come in contact with the husband? They
absolutely were not having an affair.
SPARGO: No. They met at a party and they spoke, and Natalie just became more and more convinced that Dana was having an affair with her
husband. She actually began prank calling her house, unbeknownst to Dana. She had no idea who was doing it. someone was calling and saying, I`m
going to ruin your pretty little face.
And then she`s sleeping on her couch one day at 7:00 AM. Natalie breaks into the home. Dana wakes up. She sees her above her, dousing her
in this accelerant, this camping fuel. Then she lights her on fire and run away laughing.
GRACE: She actually saw her, Chris Spargo, laughing as she threw the flame.
Oh, my goodness. Hold on just a moment. To Dr. Paul Nassif. What is that she`s wearing on her face? What is that? And how does that help a
burn victim heal?
NASSIF: Yes, Nancy, that`s a compression garment. And what that does, it helps prevent some of the scar formation or what we call
contractures. So it keeps things pushed and stretched so that things don`t, for example, get tight and pull you down so you can actually get
stuck like that. And she has to wear that for a long time. But it`s done a great job.
GRACE: To Dr. Ann Contrucci, joining us. Dr. Contrucci, you`ve worked in the ER for years, and I have been told that burn cases -- some of
the worst pain imaginable.
[20:20:06]DR. ANN CONTRUCCI, PHYSICIAN: That`s right. That`s right, Nancy. This fact, I`ve thought about this case. One of my first patients
I ever went and picked up on transport when I was a resident was a horribly burned man. And the amount -- we couldn`t give him enough morphine to
control the pain.
And that`s what I think about with this poor woman and your last guest, who was so eloquent about what she went through. It`s horrifying.
It`s just -- it`s just horrifying.
GRACE: You know, to Dr. Paul Nassif, facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon. Dr. Nassif, she wore this compression mask for a
long time. How many surgeries does a burn patient have to have before they can get a, quote, "new face"?
NASSIF: I have to tell you (INAUDIBLE) usually don`t get a face like that. Usually, when you have this kind of burns, you don`t look that good.
So you could have 20, 30, 40 surgeries of skin grafts, and you never get to this point. And so she`s very lucky.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:25:00]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities say a woman suffered burns to over 60 percent of her body when she was turned into a human fireball by
a woman who believed the victim was seeing her estranged husband. Officials say the suspect broke into the victim`s home, and while the
victim was holding an open flame, she doused the victim with a bottle of highly flammable liquid, setting her ablaze.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: As shocking as this is, as disturbing and painful it is to hear, it`s not the first time. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doused with a flammable liquid...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was set on fire.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Burned alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who would want to do this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Incredibly, despite her suffering, Chambers whispered something to firefighters. Many believe it was the name of her
attacker.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was burned 98 percent of her body!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops say the man knocks the woman out, ties her up, and then douses her with alcohol, then allegedly sets her ablaze,
burning her alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tying her feet and hands, then setting her and her house on fire while she was alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Most of Antoin Willis`s (ph) body is covered by Band-Aids and gauze. The protect second and third-degree burns he says
were caused by his mother`s boyfriend, a man he believes tried to burn him alive.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I ran to the back door, and he was chasing me with a bottle of fluid.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nineteen-year-old Adrianna Zimmerman (ph) stumbled on to a stranger`s doorstep, crying for help as she suffered burns
to more than 60 percent of her body. Investigators say she was doused with an accelerant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Sue Moss joining us out of New York, Peter Odom out of Atlanta, Kisha Hebbon joining us out of New York, as
well.
OK, Sue Moss, do you know that when confronted with the possibility of time behind bars, the wife actually is whining and claiming self-defense?
SUSAN MOSS, VICTIMS` RIGHTS ATTORNEY: His alleged cheating brought her tears, but she deserves well more than 17 years! This victim has a
life sentence! There is not going to be a single day of her life that she can forget what happened to her, either by looking in the mirror or the
psychological trauma or the post -- the post stress that she`s facing each and every day!
This woman who did this horrific crime is lucky that she only got 17 years because the victim would have done anything to trade places and only
have 17 years of punishment! She has a lifetime of punishment! Seventeen years is not enough! This woman must be behind bars forever!
GRACE: You know, Peter Odom and Kisha Hebbon -- first to you, Peter Odom. I don`t understand how the wife, Natalie Dimitrovska, can actually
claim she shouldn`t go to jail because this is self-defense. She`s in Dana`s home, standing over her sofa with, conveniently, an accelerant in
her hand. How can that be self-defense?
PETER ODOM, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Let me be perfectly frank with you, Nancy. This woman is going to get her defense. She`s going to mount some
kind of a defense, and with an injury like this, with something so cruel, you got to come up with something. I mean, so she`s going to use self-
defense.
Now, I got to tell you, I don`t think it`s going to work in this case. It`s too premeditated. There`s too much motivation. And you know, there`s
no way that you`re going to be defending yourself by pouring liquid and setting someone ablaze. It just doesn`t stand up to reason. But that`s
the defense she`s going to go with.
GRACE: To Kisha...
ODOM: I personally would probably use a mental state defense.
GRACE: To Kisha Hebbon, defense attorney joining us out of New York. I just don`t see how she can use a self-defense claim, but that is what
she`s arguing because, Kisha, there were hundreds, hundreds of prank calls to the victim. The victim didn`t realize what was going on. Dana didn`t
understand why she was getting all these phone calls, why people were hanging up on her, threatening to ruin her "pretty face."
With all of those calls to her home, the fact that she is in the home conveniently with accelerant, that she pours it on Dana and sets her on
fire, how can she possibly say, I`m in the home, but I was attacked?
KISHA HEBBON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, as my colleague just stated, that`s probably the only possible defense, other than an insanity
defense. I do think it`s weak, but we don`t know what happened in that apartment. Yes, she had no right to be there. I`m sure she`s probably
going to try to argue she went there to confront her about this alleged affair, they may have gotten into an argument. I think that she`s just
grasping at straws at this point, but that is the only defense that`s possible in a situation like this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:33:50]
GRACE: Live to Michigan. After we report a desperate father literally running door to door begging for help to find his little boy, a
stunning turn when we break the news to daddy right here his little boy is alive in daddy`s basement. The little boy`s father and stepmother in court
for a key hearing on torture and abuse charges, but the father, Charles Bothuell, denies it all, claiming his child, his little boy found covered
in bruises and cuts is a big liar, that he, the little boy, made it all up and staged a crime scene.
But tonight as we go to air, we hear the gut-wrenching testimony of little Charlie as he reveals for the first time the torture his father and
stepmother heaped on him at just 12 years old. Little Charlie in his own words detailing horrific abuse he says he suffers leading up to his
discovery hidden in daddy`s basement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHARLIE BOTHUELL: Tried to commit suicide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do?
BOTHUELL: Tried to cut my wrists with a knife.
GRACE: Did you check your basement?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I checked my basement, the FBI checked my basement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What he called ridiculous expectations. If he didn`t finish his twice a day exercise routine, he says his father would
beat his back side. With a PVC pipe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What would you say?
BOTHUELL: Please stop and I will do everything. I was expected to do everything perfect. I was never given any leeway.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Marie Osborne, anchor with WJR, Marie, little Charlie, thank you for being with us. Little Charlie in court under oath
describing some of the torture he says his own father heaped on him. Marie, listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOTHUELL: I was told to basically lay across the table, down on the table, and basically got spanked on the butt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With what? Anything?
BOTHUELL: A wooden stick. (inaudible). And then a plastic PVC pipe.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All at the same time?
BOTHUELL: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did she do?
BOTHUELL: Sometimes she would punch me or I got choked once.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: By her or someone else?
BOTHUELL: Her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell us where you had injuries?
BOTHUELL: On my butt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you know it was injured?
BOTHUELL: Because the skin was split open.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you know that?
BOTHUELL: I could feel it and I saw it before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Okay. What would happen when the skin would be broken if you can tell us?
BOTHUELL: It would bleed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Marie Osborne, the testimony of little Charlie devastating, yet the father, Charles Bothuell`s defense lawyers still say the little boy
is lying?
MARIE OSBORNE: That`s what they`re saying, Nancy, but it`s just hard to believe that this young man is making up this story. I mean, he told
this horrific tale in court, and maybe one of the most gut wrenching bits of testimony at least for me was when he told the court that he was
homeschooled, and that the prosecutor asked, well, do you have any friends? And he said, no, I don`t have any friends. And she said why? He said
because I don`t go out. So he was extremely isolated in this particular case and subjected to this abuse. He couldn`t tell anybody.
GRACE: Joining me tonight, special guest, the lawyers for the father, Shawn Patrick Smith and Farris Haddad. Gentlemen, thanks for being with
us. To both of you. Shawn, first to you.
SHAWN PATRICK SMITH, ATTORNEY: Yes.
GRACE: Is your defense of Charles Bothuell, the father, that little Charlie made the whole thing up?
SMITH: He made the whole thing up. That`s correct.
GRACE: Okay. And do you agree with that, Farris?
FARRIS HADDAD, ATTORNEY: Absolutely. Absolutely.
SMITH: Nancy, what you -- what you`re failing to understand there`s 2,500 pages of discovery. There`s two separate interviews he did that are
all recorded. When he comes to court, he starts talking about what happened. We know what the truth is. We know what he said before. We
know what he`s saying now, and there`s such a vast difference between the two stories, and you as a prosecutor know that when somebody comes to court
and they tell a different story, there`s usually a reason for that, and it`s usually because they`re not telling the truth.
GRACE: In what way are they different? In what way are they different, Shawn Patrick Smith?
SMITH: You just played a clip where they talked about the prosecutor who repeated badgered teenage Charlie to talk about whether he had any
other injuries on his body, other than the one on his buttocks, he kept repeatedly saying no. We all know from prior testimony, from the doctor
and the officers, that one of their main allegations is that big Charlie or his father struck him with a PVC pipe and left this horrific scar on his
chest. Teenage Charlie said nothing about that yesterday. Just skipped over it. The prosecutor kept hammering away.
GRACE: To you, James Gemmell, frankly Shawn Patrick Smith and Farris Haddad, if I were prosecuting the case, I wouldn`t need the boy to detail
the bruises or the cuts on his body, or the scars, which is even more disturbing to me, because that means the abuse has been going on for a long
time, because I would have photos from the original examination by the doctor. To James Gemmell, news director at WJRW, there is a lot of
corroboration, and the defense lawyers tonight are telling me the little boy made the whole thing up. But there is corroboration for what he`s
saying, James.
GEMMELL: That`s right. In fact, the evidence at the scene, Nancy, protein bars, chicken bones, Gatorade, frosted flake, those speak to
somebody who`s under a grueling workout regimen.
[20:40:00]
Also the fact that everybody is making a big deal out of this PVC pipe. But as a six degree black belt, (inaudible) someone had studied the
martial arts of the Filipino (ph) (inaudible) wooden sticks, I can tell you the wooden stick more apt to rip the skin than even the PVC piping.
GRACE: Justin, would you put up the tears of what little Charlie was saying in court. Absolutely gut wrenching, heartbreaking. A terrible
place to be. I was expected to do everything perfectly, never given any leeway. I was told to basically lay across the dining room table and was
spanked on the butt with a wooden stick and then a PVC pipe. PVC pipe was found in the home. Recalling other whoopings when the skin on his buttocks
bled and split open. Being forced to stand in the corner with his arms stretched above his head if he didn`t complete assignments. Lay down on
the couch and would get a spanking, basically, whooped on the butt and sometimes on the side.
Notice he`s always forced to lay down. You say Charlie Bothuell IV would strike you? Yes. It goes on and on and on. What did your stepmom
do? Sometimes she punched me. One time I was choked.
This is a child. How did you feel when you were living there? Depressed, upset. I just wanted to go home and be with my mom.
To Caryn Stark, psychologist, the defense lawyers are saying that all of this is a big lie. But you know what, Caryn, I find so much detail in
what he is saying, and you can`t get away from the scarring on his body, Caryn.
STARK: Not only can you not get away from the scarring on his body, Nancy, but it makes perfect sense to me that his story would change. I
mean, here he is, and before he`s in court, he is still, you know, in the presence and knowing that his father is around. And you can bet that in a
situation like that, he has to be very torn between telling on his parents no matter how terrible they were --
GRACE: Well, yes, they`re sitting right there in the courtroom, Caryn. I mean --
(CROSSTALK)
STARK: In the courtroom, Nancy.
GRACE: There`s a lot to corroborate the little boy`s story, Clark.
GOLDBAND: Well, Nancy, some of the information that has previously been reported on this case, includes, as you said testimony from the head
of the children hospital`s child abuse pediatric unit, in which she said the boy had scars on the buttocks and the chest, Nancy, in addition in one
of the previous court documents, Charlie`s own grandma, she allegedly told the FBI the child was very skinny and almost looked like a cancer patient.
She also added according to reports he had marks all over his arms and chest, and Nancy, according to some reports, the dad had allegedly told law
enforcement he disciplined Charlie with a PVC pipe.
GRACE: Very quickly. A new hln original #redflag follows two families` struggles involving Andrew battling depression after a family
suicide. #redflag premieres Tuesday May 5 9:00 p.m. sharp Eastern HLN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is Andrew. I`m 21 years old. Growing up, I had the all-American family. I had three brothers. Brian was the oldest
brother, followed by Mike, then Matt, then me. As I was growing up, me and Mike had more of a closer relationship than my other brothers. Our moods
would really affect each other a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They got along great. They just -- they always did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Five years ago my brother Michael committed suicide at the age of 24 by the way of a gun at a shooting range. Ever
since then, my family just hasn`t been the same.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:48:25]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You`re telling us that you searched your basement and your wife searched your basement.
CHARLES BOTHUELL: We`ve been on the lookout for him. We searched that entire house repeatedly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you tell us where you had injuries?
BOTHUELL: On my butt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How do you know it was injured?
CHARLIE BOTHUELL: Because the skin was broken. It would bleed.
CHARLES BOTHUELL: That is absurd. There was no abuse of my son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Well, that`s not according to prosecutors. They say little Charlie was beaten, was basically starved. His own grandmother says he
looked like a cancer patient. He was so thin. Tonight, the defense lawyers for little Charlie`s father, Shawn Patrick Smith, Farris Haddad
with us. And also with us who watched the testimony Marie Osborne, also with us James Gemmell. Marie Osborne, WJR, I don`t even know how the
little boy formed words with his father sitting in court or within hearing. How could he testify about what happened to him knowing his father could
hear him?
OSBORNE: He never looked at his father during any of this testimony, Nancy. He kept his eyes averted from his father, where he was with his
attorneys. Also just to let you know about that exercise routine you mentioned. We`re talking 100 push-ups, 200 sit-up, 100 jumping jacks, 25
arm curls. In court he testified that he had to work out between an hour and a half and one hour every day, and that was just in the morning, and he
sometimes had to do that again in the afternoon.
[20:50:00]
GRACE: To Shawn Patrick Smith and Farris Haddad.
I`ll start with you, Haddad, how do you respond to the fact that your client has admitted to beating little Charlie with PVC pipe?
HADDAD: Nancy, we`ve had several days of hearings now. So the prosecutor`s gotten a lot of opportunity to put out their evidence. I
really want to be very clear about a few things that are being reported that the prosecutor has not shown in court by any witness, including
teenage Charlie.
No. 1, he was not covered in bruises when they found him. He wasn`t skinny and emaciated. He was not -- he`s not covered in scars. He had two
scars they were talking about. The first scar, he reported to doctors when he got to the hospital, the one on the buttocks that you just played the
clip of, he told the doctors he wasn`t even sure where he got that scar when he first got to the hospital.
GRACE: Could you address what I asked you, sir? Could I see Mr. Haddad, please, Farris Haddad, Shawn Patrick Smith, Mr. Haddad, your
client, Charlie`s father, admitted he beat his son with a PVC pipe. Please respond.
HADDAD: Nancy, I`ll respond to that. We`re going to have a hearing about that. Because when people, as you know, are defendants and they give
statements, under certain circumstances, then we have hearings to figure out those statements were taken voluntarily --
GRACE: Wait, wait, wait.
HADDAD: If they were advised of their rights, if things were done properly.
GRACE: Are you telling me he didn`t say that?
HADDAD: I`m telling you the circumstances around which the statements were made, supposedly to the police, are under investigation. And we`re
going to attack those vigorously.
GRACE: James Gemmell, what I`m hearing from Mr. Smith and Mr. Haddad, is that, A, deflect. They don`t want to answer the question that their
client admitted he beat the little boy with PVC pipe. And they`re saying that statement may have been coerced by police or without Miranda.
James Gemmell, WJRW, isn`t it in the evidence that the father confesses, admits he beat the boy with PVC pipe?
GEMMELL: That`s what the court document stated, but, Dr. Dina Nazar (ph), chief of child abuse said at the children`s hospital testified not
only about the scar, but their general conclusion was that he had undergone this kind of abusive duress. Now, this is medical evidence. This isn`t
just hearsay statements.
GRACE: So, back to Haddad and Shawn Patrick Smith, I want to give you another chance to answer this, since Mr. Smith fielded the last one for
you. So are you saying that the doctors, the pediatricians that examined him in the hospital were wrong?
HADDAD: I`m so glad you asked me that, Nancy. What the --
GRACE: I can see that all over your face. You`re glad I asked you. So, how do you respond to that?
HADDAD: Absolutely. How I respond, is this is what the, this is what the medical report said and what the doctors said. What they said was,
when he got to the hospital, he didn`t need an IV, his vitals were normal, his blood, his blood test results, all his labs came out normal. His
gastrointestinal system came out normal.
SMITH: Bowels.
HADDAD: He was not even admitted to the hospital. Wasn`t given an IV, nothing, absolutely nothing.
GRACE: You`re not responding. James Gemmell, what the did the doctor testify to, sworn testimony, what, Gemmell, did the doctors say after
examining little Charlie?
GEMMELL: They saw a long-term pattern. That`s the key right there. A long-term pattern of abuse. Sure, anybody can heal up, you know, at the
time they found the boy, he may not have looked that bad right to the moment, but it`s the long-term abuse that was indicative.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:57:55]
GRACE: Live, Stillwater, a 24-year-old waitress disappears. Tonight, where is Abby Russell?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A beautiful young woman vanishes without a trace just weeks after moving from Florida to Stillwater, Minnesota.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is her family, we`re always together. And we have a lot of faith. And a lot of hope.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Abby`s roommate woke up after hearing Abby`s phone ringing multiple times. Abby`s phone was there, but Abby was gone.
Tonight, where is Abby Russell?
GRACE: Straight out to Mary Divine, with the Pioneer Press. What do we know, Mary?
MARY DIVINE: Well, we know that Abby, waitress at a local bar and restaurant in Stillwater, called Pub 112, finished her shift at about 5:00
p.m. on Friday. She went out for drinks with friends, and then went home. She didn`t stay out late. She had to work a double shift the next day.
Starting at 9:00 a.m. She was on the phone with a friend that night, and then the friend asked her to hold on, and said she would call her right
back. The friend called back and couldn`t reach her. In turn, Abby had walked out, and was on foot.
GRACE: Everyone, please help us find Abby Russell, 651-351-4945. Let`s stop and remember, American hero, Army Sergeant David Gordon. 23,
Williamsfield, Ohio, third tour. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, loved to play video games and dreamed of opening a family bakery. Parents Rodney and
Judy, three sisters, widow, Kimber, two stepsons. David Gordon, American hero.
And happy birthday to our friend, Mary Cartwright. Happy birthday, Mary. Everyone, Drew up next, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp
Eastern, and until then, good night.
END
