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Nancy Grace
22-year-old Tries to Poison Roommates With Windex. Aired 8-9:00p ET
Aired May 05, 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, South Carolina. Caught on camera, a 22-year-old blonde caught on secret grainy surveillance
video in the swanky apartment she shares with two roommates, specifically in the kitchen. And the camera doesn`t lie as we see Hayley King
repeatedly poisoning her roommates` food.
Bombshell tonight. The household cleaner associated with sparkly clean windows, and for good measure, an (ph) addition to the other two
women`s Tupperwares of food, she spits on it!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hayley`s roommates told police they were worried what Hayley might do, so they set up secret cameras in the apartment, and
what they saw was shocking. On video, it appears Hayley is spitting into containers of food and even pouring Windex in food.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, Phoenix, a man charged in the sex-molest of a 4- year-old little girl, even taking pictures of the sex act. Tonight, his defense, the 4-year-old little girl, quote, "had a crush" on him and forced
him, a grown man, to molest her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops say a man claimed a 4-year-old girl had a crush on him, and that`s why he allegedly sexually abused her. Police have
19-year-old Stephen Nelson (ph) in custody. They charged the man with molestation of a child, sexual conduct with a minor and indecent exposure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, Houston suburbs, reports a serial drunk driver crashes into a mother and her 2-year-old boy tot. Tonight, we learn that
serial drunk driver, 34-year-old Blaine Boudreau (ph), was let off with just a ticket, then goes on to slam into another family car, killing a 6-
year-old boy just two hours later. Oh, and did I mention the man he left dead in a ditch on his way?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 3:30 in the afternoon, Boudreau, police say, was behind the wheel of the black pick-up that hit one car from behind,
causing it to hit another. He hit and killed a man along spur (ph) 5 near the University of Houston at 5:30, a truck rear-ending a car. Thirty
minutes later, the accident that killed 6-year-old Joshua Madrano (ph). Police say Boudreau was high and intoxicated.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. To South Carolina. Caught on camera, a 22-year- old blonde caught on secret grainy surveillance video in the apartment she shares with two roommates, specifically in their kitchen. The camera
doesn`t lie, as we see Hayley King repeatedly poisoning her roommates` food with Windex. And then for good measure, in addition to poisoning the other
two women`s Tupperwares of food, she spits in it!
OK, let`s see the video, Liz. Let`s first just look at the video. There she is. First, we`re going to see her spit in the food. OK, here we
go. All right, yes, shake it up so they can`t see it. Good girl. There you go. They`ll never catch on to that. Oh, yes, there you go, just for
good measure, shake it up. She`s studying it very carefully. OK. That wasn`t enough. Let`s see it again. There`s some more Tupperware. Take a
look as you see 22-year-old Hayley King spitting in her roommates` food.
And that`s -- that`s the tip of the iceberg. She searches the kitchen. She stands around thinking. Now, take a look. She continues to
look into the fridge. What is she going to do next? Oh, yes, there goes the Windex! Yes, a little dab will do you, Hayley.
She keeps going. Not satisfied. She`s got -- there you go, opening up more of the roommates` -- what is that, take-out food? She`s not done
yet. Keep watching. She has no idea her two female -- she pours it in! Forget squirting it, pours it in! I can only imagine she`s stirring it up,
resealing it. Don`t forget to burp (ph) it. And there she goes. She goes on and on, poisoning her roommates` food.
[20:05:06]Straight out to Rita Cosby, investigative journalist, WABC host. Rita, what do we know?
RITA COSBY, WABC HOST: Well, we know that Hayley King, Nancy, 22 years old, senior at University of South Carolina -- my alma mater, by the
way -- she was living with two roommates who she was arguing with. Apparently, first, she was being very messy. They were not happy. And
then they were so worried about her that they actually set up a secret camera, and that is the video that you`re looking at there.
One of the roommates came back and started eating some of the food and said, Gosh, this tastes terrible, and realized that there had been
something poured in it. They discovered it was Windex. It was spit. And then they went to that secret camera and saw the video you`re seeing now.
GRACE: You know, Rita, I think I -- I couldn`t hear one point. What made the other roommates start videoing her, to place a secret camera in a
kitchen? How did that happen?
COSBY: Well, apparently, they were first saying that she was a messy roommate. They were having trouble with her. They told her to move out,
and she would not move out, they said. So then they were having lots of verbal fights, and they said that she was making some threats to them. And
that was so egregious and they were so concerned, that`s why they set up the camera, Nancy.
GRACE: OK, what you are seeing is Hayley King, a 22-year-old there in South Carolina, poisoning her roommates` food, caught on tape.
But I got to tell you, I think it was more than just being a messy roommate that caused this horrible rift between the three women, but it
culminated in her pouring Windex into their food, unsuspecting to them.
Joining me, Dr. William Morrone, forensic pathologist and toxicologist -- just who we need. Dr. Morrone, what does Windex do to the inside of a
human body?
DR. WILLIAM MORRONE, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, I`m not going to try to dumb this down too much. I`ll call it caustic. It burns. Windex, in
its formula since 1933, has had ammonia, isopropyl alcohol, propylene (ph) glycol, sulfonic (ph) acid and hexoxyethanol. None of those are on an FDA-
approved food list.
And whether you accidentally spray it in somebody`s eyes or they breathe it, or you pour it in their food, it`ll begin by swelling up the
throat and doing irreversible damage, so that people have difficulty breathing.
And it burns the inside of the nose and the mouth and the throat. And people may need to be intubated because it swells up so much. At higher
concentrations, they won`t be able to breathe.
It`s very caustic. Sulfonic (ph) acid, ammonia, these are not things that we put in our mouths. This is very, very toxic.
GRACE: I mean, right there on the label, I`m sure it`s clearly indicated it is not for human consumption. Absolutely not. Let`s see the
ingredients in Windex again. I mean, we grew up with this. No one would ever think to actually ingest it. What are the -- there you go. I was
looking at ammonium hydroxide. What would that do to the human body, Dr. Morrone?
MORRONE: in all cases, we tend to think of objects as neutral pH, or acidic or basic. Ammonium hydroxide is a very basic element. That doesn`t
make it safe. It makes it very caustic. It burns just like an acid, at the opposite end of the pH scale. Mucosal membranes, soft membranes that
make things moist and transfer oxygen, tear up and bleed and swell closed.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Joining us, Robert Schalk, defense attorney out of New York, and veteran trial lawyer, former prosecutor
Darryl Cohen out of Atlanta. First to you, Schalk. What is your defense of this woman?
ROBERT SCHALK, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, I think, obviously, as you said earlier, there has to be more to the story than just upset
roommates. I actually prosecuted a case very similar to this a number of years ago where a roommate was poisoning somebody with eyedrops, kind of
out of the movie "Wedding Crashers." But it must...
GRACE: But hold on, Robert. I don`t know that that`s necessarily a good thing for Hayley King.
SCHALK: No, but what I`m...
GRACE: That there`s more to it. It could be more damaging stuff on her part.
SCHALK: I`m not saying there`s more to it that`s going to offset her criminal responsibility. I think what it`s going to do is offset what wind
(ph) up happens to Hayley King, 22-year-old college student. There`s obviously a rift that`s being caused for whatever reason, and it may affect
the plea disposition that`s given. And I don`t think she`s going to do any jail time here.
[20:10:02]GRACE: OK, you know, Darryl Cohen, it`s very difficult for me to believe that this woman will not do jail time. What, because she`s
young and blond and pretty? Is that what you guys are trying to say? She poisoned her roommates` food, and for good measure, she spits on it.
DARRYL COHEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, this guy didn`t say that yet, but he will now. Frankly, Nancy, Windex has nothing to do with it. Windex
merely cleaned the intestine, cleaned the stomachs and makes it clear. So to make it clear to you, certainly, what she did was wrong. She`s not
going to do any jail time. She shouldn`t do it.
If she wanted to really poison a roommate, she would certainly use something far more insidious than Windex or any other type of cleaner with
ammonia.
GRACE: OK, hold on! Dr. Morrone, I guess the defense lawyers didn`t hear what you just said Windex does to the inside of the human body.
MORRONE: I`m going to tell you that when I was in graduate school for toxicology, oven cleaner, Easy-Off, was rated the same as Windex for
ingestion. It`s an emergency visit. At high enough concentrations, you end up on a ventilator and your throat closes. You start bleeding
internally. It`s toxicologically something you report to a poison center, period.
GRACE: Well, you know what? They`ve got a JD, but you have an MD. I`m going put my money on you, Morrone.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:16:19]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: University of South Carolina student Hayley King was allegedly having disagreements with her roommates for weeks
and was finally asked to leave, which she refused to do. Hayley`s roommates told police they were worried what Hayley might do, so they set
up secret cameras in the apartment, and what they saw was shocking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, we go live in a stunning case caught on camera, this 22-year-old blond female caught in the act of poisoning her roommates.
Straight back to Rita Cosby, investigative journalist, WABC host. Rita, what about text messages?
COSBY: Yes, there was a text message sent after the incident. First, you know, the roommates basically showed the police the video. They
arrested her. Then she confessed that she did put some of these things in the food.
But then there was a text message that was sent claiming to be from a friend of hers right afterwards, and it basically says, You`ve got to stop
blanking with her, that you have been taunting her since the semester started, and you better stop it or I`m going to personally check on you.
And now the roommates are saying they`re being threatened. But they`re saying that this could be a reason that they were taunting her and that`s
why she did it.
GRACE: Well, and also, they don`t want their names even out there.
COSBY: Exactly.
GRACE: I wonder if out of fear. I want to go back to Dr. Morrone, but first, unleash the lawyers, Robert Schalk and Darryl Cohen joining us.
Back to you, Schalk. I assume that you heard what Dr. Morrone said...
SCHALK: Yes.
GRACE: ... that this Windex -- of course, it`s not Windex`s fault that she pours it in her roommates` food, but it is deadly.
SCHALK: Of course.
GRACE: It is deadly. It`s listed in pesticides, for Pete`s sake. It`s for windows, not people.
SCHALK: There are two...
GRACE: So the two of you sloughing it off as though it`s no big deal -- you know, I guarantee you, if this had been a man and not a cute little
blonde, you two would have a completely different reaction. I mean, look at you right now. It`s like a big joke.
SCHALK: No. Two things. Number one, the doctor said that he needed to know different -- the amount of levels ingested could be deadly, not the
levels in this case. Number two, no one`s saying that she dumped an entire bottle of Windex on something. If she put a little...
GRACE: Oh, does that make it...
(CROSSTALK)
SCHALK: ... mitigates the case. Yes, it makes a difference as to what her responsibility`s going to be.
GRACE: Go back to he video. Go back to the video. Especially, Liz, if you could play the part -- there you go. You read my mind, Liz. Thank
you. She tries to squirt the Windex in.
SCHALK: You can tell me what she`s doing?
GRACE: You know what? Forget that. She takes the top off the Windex, De. Morrone...
SCHALK: Show me...
GRACE: ... and pours the Windex into the food. There you go.
SCHALK: Oh, my God! That was such a big pour!
COHEN: It`s hardly a pour, Nancy.
SCHALK: Oh, my God!
COHEN: It`s a drop.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A college student is accused of poisoning her roommates, and it`s all caught on tape. On video, it appears Hayley is
spitting into containers of food and even pouring Windex in food, which can be poisonous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:23:53]GRACE: Welcome back. Let`s go straight out to Joe Demark, owner of James Bond Spy Shop, joining us tonight out of New York. Joe,
thank you for being with us. Now, a lot has been made of the fact that the roommates videoed her poisoning them with window cleaner, pouring it into
their food, and spitting on it for good measure. How was this set up so Hayley King never had a clue?
JOE DEMARK, OWNER, JAMES BOND SPY SHOP (via telephone): Well, it`s very easy to do because you can have a hidden camera in almost anything.
You can have it in a clock. You could have it in the smoke detector. And for a kitchen, they could have used something like even a mug.
We have different products that you can hide stuff in. And one of the special ones that we have is you could put (INAUDIBLE) camera in a wall
socket, a plug. And it can record to itself, and some of them can even transmit wi-fi.
GRACE: You know, we see it so often when we are covering stories about nannycams, but in the kitchen, where would it most likely be hidden?
[20:25:02]DEMARK: In the kitchen, because you don`t want it to stick out, it would have to go into an object like a coffee mug because our
products already have a hidden camera built inside. So it`s not like we have to take something and make it into a hidden camera. They are already
hidden cameras.
GRACE: Oh! Oh!
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So the person that buys it, Joe Demark, you don`t put it in the coffee cup yourself, you sell it already implanted in a coffee cup or a
teddy bear or whatever the person wants?
DEMARK: Right. Exactly. It`s already in there. We can custom-make things, too, but it`s much easier for a person to just buy it already made
because a lot (INAUDIBLE) we charge your phone (ph) (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: I got you.
DEMARK: (INAUDIBLE) a phone charger hidden camera.
GRACE: Ah, a phone charger hidden camera. Now, how does it work inside the digital clock? Where`s the camera in that clock we just showed?
DEMARK: All right, inside the digital clock would be a hidden camera that you can`t see the camera. It`s just like your cell phone. Your cell
phone has just a small little hole for your camera.
Well, hidden cameras are made with the same technology as your cell phone. A cell phone is pretty flat, and you can get incredible images from
it. So having something like that, the same technology inside of any device works the same. And also, being that you can record through it with
an (ph) SD card, is it has internal recording, so you can go and play it back, hook it up (INAUDIBLE) the little slots and you hook it up with a USB
and you can watch it on a computer.
GRACE: Next question. Does it record over itself? And can you access it remote?
DEMARK: Some, you can access remotely through the Internet and -- what was your second question?
GRACE: Can you access it remote, and does it record over itself? I mean, she`s totally busted. She turns around and looks straight at the
camera.
DEMARK: Most of the time, it records only until the memory is full, and it can record for, you know, even a couple of months.
GRACE: With me, Joe Demark, owner of James Bond Spy Shop joining out of New York.
Back to you, Rita Cosby. So is it true, after she pours Windex into the food of her roommates, she actually gets bond? Is there a stay away
order? I mean, what`s happening in this case? This is attempted murder.
COSBY: Yes, it is pretty amazing. She has a $5,000 bond, which as you know, that`s a pretty low bond, and has to appear in court in several
weeks, but is charged with malicious intent with a food product or drug product and could get potentially 20 years.
GRACE: Whoa. OK, take a look at Hayley King. This 22-year-old girl in South Carolina attempts to poison -- well, she does poison her two
female roommates using Windex, and for good measure, yes, spits on it.
You know what`s amazing to me, Dr. Morrone, is that she has made bond, she`s walking free, when she`s caught dead to rights on video.
MORRONE: I think the fact that she`s young -- I don`t know exactly what she looks like, but it sounds like she`s cute or attractive with blond
hair. This is totally skewing this.
If she did this to a child, they`d take the child away from her. If a man did this, they`d probably come down harder. This is a very serious
act. Spitting in somebody`s food is a potential infectious disease thing. You could pass on hepatitis A, you could pass on influenza, you could pass
on other infections.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:32:50]
GRACE: Live to Phoenix, a man charged in a sex molest of a 4-year-old little girl. The perv even reportedly taking pictures of the sex act.
Tonight, his defense, he says the 4-year-old little girl quote, "had a crush on him." And that she, the 4-year-old little girl, forced him, the
grown man, to molest her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A man reportedly claims a 4-year-old girl had a crush on him, and that`s why he allegedly molested her. The man arrested
after authorities say the dad of the 4-year-old girl walked into his daughter`s bedroom and finds the man watching a movie with his child. When
the girl stands up, her pants were allegedly around her ankles. The child allegedly details incidents of abuse.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Tammy Rose joining us in Phoenix. Tammy, thank you for being with us. It`s really hard for me to take in that this
had reportedly, according to the police, happened on many, many occasions, where this man would molest the 4-year-old little girl, even taking
pictures of the molestation, and his defense is the 4-year-old little girl had a crush on him. The grown man?
ROSE: Yes, Nancy, just a horrible case of child abuse with the defendant trying to turn things around and blame the victim, who is just 4
years old. Stephen Nelson, who was living with the girl`s parents in south Phoenix for six days, told police the girl had a crush on him and pulled
her own pants down on several occasions and forced him to fondle her private parts. This all came to light last week on April 28th, when the
father said he caught the defendant in his daughter`s bedroom. Stephen Nelson said he was watching a movie with the girl. However, when she stood
up, her pants fell down around her ankles. Just horrible.
GRACE: Just take a look at what the little 4-year-old girl says. This is taken straight from the police report. "He licks me every day."
The victim also states the defendant took pictures of the place that she, the little girl, uses to go quote, pee. If she touched his long thing that
curved, he wouldn`t have to touch her private.
The defendant, according to the little girl, told her not to tell or she, the little girl, would get in trouble.
Take a look at Stephen Nelson. Allegedly telling cops that the whole thing happened because the 4-year-old little girl had a crush on him. And
that she forced him to molest her. You know, I don`t think that`s going to help his case very much, and isn`t it true, back out to investigative
reporter, Tammy Rose, that when they looked at his phone, at his camera, there were other victims on there.
ROSE: That`s right. It looks like there might be multiple victims dating back as far as September of 2014. One picture showed a white female
who is somewhere between the age of 5 and 6 years old with her vagina exposed, so there`s definitely some graphic evidence that documented what
was on this man`s camera.
GRACE: Straight out to Jeff Herman, victim`s rights attorney joining us out of Florida. Weigh in, Jeff.
HERMAN: Yes, well, unfortunately, his comments this girl had a crush on him is classic pedophile speak, Nancy. These pedophiles believe they`re
being loving to kids and that kids love them back. That`s why adult men like this should not be alone with kids. I question why this man had so
much access to a 4-year-old girl alone. It shouldn`t happen.
GRACE: Apparently, he was either a friend of the family, or he was coming to stay there. They let him in having no idea what would happen.
Let`s take a look at what the suspect said. The defendant, I`m talking about Stephen Nelson, states that he was watching a movie with the
little 4-year-old girl in her bedroom. That she, the 4-year-old little girl, pulled down her own pants and her own underwear and asked him to
touch her private parts. So, instead of touching her with his hand, he kissed her genitals instead. He says that initially, he denies the
allegations, but then stated it`s all because the 4-year-old little girl has a crush on him.
Unleash the lawyers, Robert Schalk New York, Darryl Cohen, Atlanta. You know, the Fifth Amendment is all about this guy. Nelson. Darryl
Cohen.
COHEN: Nancy, the Fifth Amendment may certainly be about this guy, but Dr. Drew would have a field day. He fits in the 18 percent. He needs
to be psychiatrically evaluated, he needs to be incarcerated for his psychiatric problems so he can`t touch another child. Ever.
GRACE: You know, speaking of, let`s go out to psychiatrist Dr. Charles Sophy joining us in L.A., author of "Side by Side." Thank you so
much for being with us. Why is it every time we have a sex predator, a pervert like this guy, Stephen Nelson, who states the 4-year-old girl had a
crush on him, why do all the lawyers immediately claim he obviously has a mental illness? Actually, he`s a sex molester. If these claims are true,
that`s not a mental illness. He just needs to go to jail.
SOPHY: Absolutely. And he does need some treatment in the meantime. He`s a sick man. He`s delusional, and if there`s other things going on,
but at the end of the day, he`s talking himself into abusing a child and he does it every time.
GRACE: What kind of treatment, Dr. Sophy? What kind of treatment?
SOPHY: Well, it could be anything from a medical issue to a psychiatric issue. There are a lot of hormone imbalances. And issues that
go on with testosterone and those kinds of things.
GRACE: Are you serious? They find photos, explicit photos of another little girl`s genitals on his camera, and you`re telling me he`s got a
what, did you say a hormone imbalance? Are you serious?
SOPHY: There have been studies that show that kind of stuff, but the bottom line is this guy needs to be locked up and he needs to be away from
the access to children. After that, you can evaluate him and see if you can help him, but at the end of the day, he needs to be locked up. That is
the real treatment.
GRACE: Out to Jeff Herman. Victims rights lawyer out of Florida. Jeff, I`m sure you heard Dr. Sophy state that this guy, who has reportedly
molested a 4-year-old because she had a crush on him, and on his digital camera, you find photos of another little girl`s vagina, okay, a hormone
imbalance? Jeff, what about it?
HERMAN: No, this to me, it`s not a hormone imbalance. There`s no adjustment in hormones that`s going to stop this guy`s compulsion to have
sex with children. Once these pedophiles cross the line, the experts tell us they`re not going to stop. I don`t care what kind of treatment, what
kind of hormones you give him, he`s not going to stop.
[20:40:00]
GRACE: You know, what`s interesting, Jeff Herman, in all the years that I`ve prosecuted, when I first started, Jeff, I was open to the idea
that possibly a child molester or a rapist could be rehabilitated in addition to jail, and as the years went by, ten years as a matter of fact,
prosecuting felonies including sex crimes, I`m now convinced they can never be rehabilitated, Jeff.
HERMAN: I agree with that. That`s the sad truth, and that is what history shows us. These guys, when they cross the line from fantasizing to
acting out, then it`s -- there`s no stopping them, and it becomes a compulsion. And despite everyone`s best efforts, they want to heal people,
and this is nonsense.
GRACE: Tonight, #redflag premiers 9:00 p.m. It is about two families struggling with mental illness as it plays out on social media. Dr. Drew
in L.A. with an audience. Drew.
DR. DREW PINSKY, HLN: Like with all diseases, genetic predispositions can play a role. Then triggers and stressors like divorce, financial
worries, a loved one`s death, for instance, can activate these predispositions. Brain chemistries change. They can change due to head
trauma, PTSD, drug use, emotional or physical abuse trauma. All of it, or any of it can be a part of it. Mental illness can also begin at any stage
of life, but there are warnings. In other words, a red flag. Tonight, we`ll talk about what to watch for and how to get help. My special report,
"Mental Health," airs at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, immediately following #redflag, which is at 9:00.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:45:50]
GRACE: Live, Houston suburbs. Reports a serial drunk driver crashes into a mother and her 2-year-old boy tot. Tonight, we learn that very same
drunk driver, 34-year-old Blaine Boudreaux (ph), was let off with just a ticket, then slams into another family car, killing a 6-year-old little boy
just two hours later. And did I mention? The man he had just left dead in a ditch on his way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two relatively minor accidents just before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to know that if any of our accidents could have detected that something was wrong with this individual.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Prosecutors said Boudreaux was drinking and driving, and hit the Madrano`s (ph) car, plus, was involved in three other
accidents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m very angry with what has happened. He took our baby.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to news reporter KTRH, joining us now, Nik Rajkovic. Nick, thank you for being with us. It`s hard for me to take in
this guy already has a history regarding drunk driving. Out in Louisiana, he`s walking free. He kills two people in separate accidents, separate
crashes, in one day, including a 6-year-old little boy, and then he leaves another man, a World War veteran, dead in a ditch?
NIK RAJKOVIC, KTRH: Good evening, Nancy, thank you for having me back. Unbelievable, isn`t it? This guy could be involved in so many
accidents, killed two people, and yet, all he got was a ticket for speeding and was let go. Houston police conducting an internal affairs
investigation as to what the officer was thinking, what the officer might have found or smelled or seen from Boudreaux before he let him go,
eventually killing the man, as you said, and that 6-year-old boy.
GRACE: Just sick about it, Nik. That doesn`t even mention his drunk driving history out of Louisiana. And then the veteran. The war vet that
was just standing at the corner, he crashed into him, nobody even knew about that. He was dead in a ditch along with a front bumper of his car.
RAJKOVIC: That`s right. He left behind the whole entire bumper with his license plate still attached. They found that in the ditch with this
veteran. As you mentioned, unbelievable. That was the second accident. The first one, again, near Houston`s medical district, if you know where
that`s out. He gets into a minor fender bender. Gets a speeding ticket and then runs this man over and leaving him to die in the ditch. He`s not
found until the next day.
GRACE: You know, Leonard Baptiste (ph) also killed in addition to Josh Medrano (ph), the 6-year-old little boy. There he was, graduating
from kindergarten. When he was killed, he was buckled in, too. Buckled into his seat belt by drunk driver, Blaine Boudreaux. Little did police
know, he had already killed another guy that day, and he had just been let off on another incident with a ticket.
With me is Nik Rajkovic, KTRH. Also joining us, former president of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving Georgia, Cheryl McCollum. This little
kid just graduated from kindergarten, Cheryl.
MCCOLLUM: Nancy, it just doesn`t get any sadder than this path of destruction with this guy, and how he was let off with a ticket is beyond
me.
GRACE: Everyone, you`re seeing shots of little Joshua Madrano. Also, the faces of all the people killed by drunk drivers. Incredible. What do
we know about this guy`s history, Nik?
RAJKOVIC: Several DUIs out of Louisiana. He failed to appear in court, and that is why he was still out and around, driving around the
Houston area drunk.
GRACE: Everyone, you`re seeing faces of those killed by drunk drivers. And isn`t it true, Cheryl McCollum, for every time someone is
caught driving drunk, how many times have they actually driven drunk?
[20:50:00]
MCCOLLUM: Oh, hundreds, Nancy. Every time they are caught, they had driven drunk at least 11 times.
GRACE: This time the victim is a war vet, a 61-year-old war vet. And a 6-year-old little boy, just graduated from kindergarten. And earlier in
the day, this drunk driver, Blaine Boudreaux, let off with just a citation. They didn`t know about the dead war vet in the ditch and what was to come,
the crash killing a 6-year-old little boy.
Tonight HLN premiers a special on mental illness, #redflag. Drew and a studio audience in L.A. Drew?
PINSKY: Nancy, psychiatric disorders and brain conditions are very common. And we want to send the message that you are not alone. As many
as one in four of us may experience a mental health issue in our lifetime. Of course, there is help. Sometimes there is medication, sometimes talk
therapy, sometimes a combination. I`ll have more to say about this, as will my studio audience, who is watching with me today on our special
report "Mental Health," at 10:00 tonight, right after #redflag.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:55:20]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: 3:30 in the afternoon. Boudreaux, police say, was behind the wheel of the black pickup that hit one car from behind,
causing it to hit another. He hit and killed a man along Spur 5 (ph) near the University of Houston. By 5:30, a truck rear ending a car. 30 minutes
later, the accident that killed 6-year-old Joshua Medrano. Police say Boudreaux was high and intoxicated.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Michael Christian. With a rap sheet, a criminal arrest record as thick as his was out of Louisiana, I just don`t understand how he
was driving in another state, the state of Texas. What does the Medrano family have to say about all of this?
CHRISTIAN: They obviously are very upset about this situation, Nancy. When Mr. Boudreaux was in court for his first appearance, the Medrano
family showed up in droves. Somebody yelled at him as he was being led from the courtroom, "I hope you die," and several members of the family
gave him the finger.
GRACE: You`re seeing shots of Boudreaux, who in one day claimed the lives of two victims. Reports he was driving drunk. So Sheryl McCollum,
former president of MADD, Mothers Against Drunk Drivers Georgia, what is the message?
MCCOLLUM: The message, Nancy, is we never take this crime seriously enough until they kill someone. Drunk driving is almost a rite of passage
with people. And when they murder two people in two different scenes on the same day, suddenly we`re pissed enough to do something about it.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Robert Schalk and Darryl Cohen. You know, Darryl Cohen and Robert Schalk, so often, Robert, defense attorneys
will refer to this as an accident. That it just happened. But that`s certainly not true, because you have to intend to ingest all of the
alcohol. You got to drink it all. Then you got to get your car key. You got to walk to your car, get in, turn the key, put it in reverse, take off.
All of that signals intent to commit a crime.
SCHALK: Well, it doesn`t -- it`s not a criminal intent, it`s per se recklessness. It cuts both ways. You can`t argue that away. So this
guy`s got a huge, huge, huge mountain of issues. He could be facing a murder charge if the prosecution believes they can prove the depraved
indifference, that would be his biggest concern.
GRACE: Two. Two murder charges.
SCHALK: Exactly. Two. That should be his concern. And again, the only issue that I really have here is the police department stop him, meet
him, and they`re trained in standardized field sobriety tests. Are you trying to tell me no one thought he was possibly impaired by drugs or
alcohol? That`s the only question I think needs to be answered here in court.
GRACE: What`s interesting about that, to Dr. William Morrone, Dr. Charles Sophy, first to you, Morrone. Someone that is a chronic alcoholic
can drink, drink, drink, drink. You don`t necessarily know that they`re inebriated.
MORRONE: Yes and no. But you know this fact. If they`re using alcohol, there is a very high risk they`re also using other substances.
And there is two words, drug testing. Drugged driving and drunk driving are an anathema in this country. That was Greek. I`m sorry. But you have
to look it. Drugged driving and drunk driving. He needed to be tested.
GRACE: And to you, Dr. Sophy. At one point when somebody already has a slew of arrests for drunk driving, do you infer intent when they drink
and get behind the wheel?
SOPHY: 100 percent. They already know what they`re doing. If they`re not in treatment, they need to be in treatment. They need to be
locked down into a program that holds them accountable through testing, hair testing, urine, blood, whatever it takes. But hair is going to give
you the longest history. But you`ve got to lock them down to accountability.
GRACE: Everyone, let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Specialist Edgardo Zayas, just 29, Dorchester, Massachusetts. Bronze Star,
two Purple Hearts. Loved dancing, reggae, dreamed of a college degree and traveling to Jamaica. Parents Victor and Gloria, brother Eddie, widow
Suhil (ph), son Alexander, daughter Alexia. Edgardo Zayas, American hero.
It`s mental health awareness month. HLN`s #redflag up next, following families dealing with mental illness. I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00
sharp Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
END
