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Nancy Grace
Lion Mauls Woman to Death in Park; Mila Kunis Stalker Escapes Hospital. Aired 8-9:00p ET
Aired June 02, 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. We go live. Just in time for summer vacation, zoos, petting farms, camera safari parks, a 22-year-old
tourist dragged out of her white sedan at a popular lion park and mauled dead, the lion going for the chest and throat as all the other shocked
tourists watched the grisly scene unfold.
Bombshell tonight. Outrage as the lion park defending the lion, claiming, Hey, she had her window rolled down!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The female lioness approached the car and leapt through the window on the passenger`s side, attacking the woman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, these are not tame animals. Please keep your windows up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cameras capturing other close encounters like this one, opening the unlocked door to this family car.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That video from ABC`s "GMA."
And tonight, live, LA, movie superstar -- "Black Swan," "Ted," "Oz" and a breakout star of "That `70s Show," Mila Kunis -- in the last hours,
we learn her stalker, twice convicted for stalking Mila Kunis, has escaped from a mental facility for deranged criminals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) is most romantic thing I`ve ever read, heard about or seen on TV.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just when Mila Kunis thought she could breathe a sigh of relief, her stalker escapes from jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He broke into one of Mila Kunis`s vacant condos and started staying there for two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) made me the happiest man in the world!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That video is "That `70s Show" from YouTube and Fox.
And live, Little Rock, California. A 28-year-old young mom of one vanishes into thin air. Family say her burgundy Mercedes shows signs it
was run off the road before 28-year-old Monique (ph) disappears. Where is Monique?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This young California mother has been missing for two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe my daughter is kidnapped.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her abandoned Mercedes Benz SUV was discovered with scratches as if it had been run off the road, but there was no sign of
the missing woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Just in time for summer vacations, zoos, petting farms, camera safari parks, a 22-year-old tourist dragged out of her white
sedan at a popular lion park and mauled dead, the lion going for her chest and throat, as all the other shocked tourists watch, unable to help as the
grisly scene unfolds.
Outrage tonight as the lion park defending the lion, claiming, Hey, she had her window rolled down! They`re quick to point out that they say
there were at least 40 different signs and/or verbal warnings that your windows should never be rolled down.
You know what? Rita Cosby, if you open your doors to the public and something like this happens, it`s on you. I don`t quite understand how
they`re defending themselves and the lion.
But let`s start at the beginning. Rita, tell me exactly what happened.
RITA COSBY, INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST: Well, this woman is there. She`s a 22-year-old. She`s in a passenger seat of a car. The other side
is a tour guide. They have their windows rolled down, as you point, but apparently, a lot of people have their windows rolled down. There`s
pictures on line, by the way, of other people there on the site with their windows rolled down.
They`re watching the lions, taking pictures of the lions. Suddenly, a lioness breaks way from the pack, comes closer to the vehicle. She
continues taking pictures. And then when the lioness was about three feet away, the woman is taking a picture, and the lion suddenly lunges at her
and kills her, attacking her in her throat, her neck and also in her arm.
The only way that her body is freed was when the tour guide is able to pull the lion away and other members and workers in the park. It is a
horrifying scene as other tourists are watching nearby.
GRACE: Whoa! OK, so they all stand by and see the lion tear the woman`s chest and throat apart. Is it true, Rita Cosby, that she was
taking pictures of the lion just seconds before it attacks her?
COSBY: Yes, she`s literally taking pictures. In fact, that camera has now been taken into evidence. Also, other tourists were taking
pictures of the lion, too, as well. Those have now been submitted into evidence with authorities.
[20:05:00]GRACE: OK, I`m just going to ask the obvious question here, and I`m certainly not defending the lion park or the lion. But instead of
taking pictures of a lion, when a lion is rushing toward you -- hey, the video you`re seeing is from YouTube -- what about rolling up the window
instead of taking pictures? If a lion is rushing toward your car and the window is down, I -- Rita, do you think she was under the impression that
these lions would not attack?
COSBY: It certainly seems that way. And also, remember, she`s with a local tour guide at the time, who also has his window rolled down. Both of
them have their window rolled down. She was taking a picture, and the lion just snapped and in a moment, lunged at her.
GRACE: Oh, oh, oh! OK, joining me right now, special guest Christo Taourshani, who has visited the lion park where the attack took place.
Christo, how did this happen?
CHRISTO TAOURSHANI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Nancy, I`ll tell you this. I`ve been to this park numerous times, and they are very
concerned about safety precautions. There are at least five different enclosures, and before each enclosure, there`s a giant sign that says, Do
not roll down your windows.
GRACE: Well, you know, I hear that, but I just don`t see how, if your tour guide has the window down, you see everybody else with the windows
down, how she could be wrong and the lion park could actually be saying, Hey, she had her window rolled down.
Joining me right now, special guest Dr. Grey Stafford, director of conservation at Wildlife World Zoo there in Arizona, author of "Animal
Trainer." Apparently, Dr. Stafford, animal trainer is not an appropriate title since these lions cannot be trained. I mean -- what, did you bring
that to scare me? It looks like a kitty-cat. What is that?
GREY STAFFORD, ANIMAL TRAINER: This is actually a 2-week-old jaguar, not the same cat involved in this tragic story, but certainly, a large,
powerful predator when they reach full size in a couple years.
I go back to what one of the keepers said in the video, and that is these are not tame animals. These are wild animals. Even an animal like
this that I -- we are hand rearing, it is still going to be a dangerous adult animal.
GRACE: So Dr. Stafford, you work at one of my favorite zoos in the world, Wildlife World Zoo.
STAFFORD: Thank you.
GRACE: And you personally took my two twins in to pet a baby -- what was it? It was a -- was it a black jaguar?
STAFFORD: I think it was, actually. I think it was.
GRACE: But it was a baby. It was a baby.
STAFFORD: That`s right.
GRACE: And I`m very concerned about this place, the lion park, suggesting that somehow it`s the woman`s fault, that she had her window
down. She was mauled in front of a bunch of tourists, her throat and chest ripped out of her body as the tour guide sat there.
STAFFORD: Well, it`s a tragic situation, and it`s a reminder that the rules are in place for a reason, Nancy. We have barriers, whether it`s a
car window or a fence line or a double fence, like in our case, those rules are there to protect the public, to protect the animals, as well as to
protect the staff members that might have to intervene if someone doesn`t follow those rules.
GRACE: Grey, are you actually taking the side of the lion park on this? Because it sounds like you are.
STAFFORD: Well, Nancy, you are a strong one to believe in personal responsibility. And I think what happened to this young woman is terrible.
It`s awful. And we certainly work every day to try to prevent things like that at any facility.
But at some point, personal responsibility and common sense -- you even alluded to it. If you`ve got a lion approaching you a few feet away,
wouldn`t you think to roll the window up and follow those instructions (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Well, I would. I would. But that doesn`t mean everybody else would think that way because I`d be worried about my children. On the
other hand, when you`re with a tour guide, Grey Stafford, and the tour guide has the window down -- like, part of the reason I went into that cage
with you with John David and Lucy, my children, is because you went in there, so I assumed it was OK. And if you`ll recall, I watched for a long
time before I would go in there with them.
STAFFORD: And I held that animal the whole time, as well.
GRACE: Yes, you did. You did. You held it the entire time. So when you look around and you see everybody else with their windows down, your
tour guide has his window down, you are lulled into the belief that it`s OK.
Unleash the lawyers, Areva Martin out of LA, Randy Kessler out of Atlanta. All right, Areva Martin, weigh in. What`s your position?
AREVA MARTIN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think, as unfortunate as this is, Nancy, this woman failed to obey the rules that were clearly stated
throughout this park. So we are sorry that she lost her life, but you can`t hold the park accountable. She assumed the risk and she took an
unnecessary risk by rolling her window down.
And this stuff about the tour guide having his down -- so if other people are jumping in the lake, Nancy, you`re going to follow them? That`s
not how the law works.
GRACE: Really?
MARTIN: She saw the rules. She knew what the rules were...
GRACE: Have you ever...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... these two words, "strict liability"? What about that, Kessler?
[20:10:02]MARTIN: Absolutely. This is not a strict liability case!
RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It`s not. It`s...
GRACE: OK, I`m hearing -- still hearing Areva Martin, but I think I said Kessler. Kessler, whenever you have, for instance, blasting, like
you`re bringing down a building or you`re working with high-voltage electricity or you`re dealing with something poisonous or dynamite or wild
and exotic animals, the law refers to strict liability, which means even if you take necessary precautions and an accident occurs, you`re still liable.
KESSLER: Well, there`s a nice legal term, but there`s also a legal term known as assumption of the risk.
GRACE: Which does not apply in strict liability.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... not apply in strict liability, Randy.
KESSLER: If -- if there`s strict liability here.
GRACE: It absolutely does not.
KESSLER: But does strict liability apply to this park? No. It`s a lion. People know...
GRACE: Yes, of course! It`s wild and exotic animals.
KESSLER: But you were in -- with instructions, and you don`t follow the instructions, that`s it. Strict liability is only if you`re doing
something and -- no, no. Strict liability does not apply here, period. She assumed a risk. It`s horrible. It`s terrible. But this woman went in
knowing she should have her window up, and her window was down. It`s a terrible situation, but...
GRACE: OK, I will say that you and Areva do have a point. I disagree with it, but you are making some headway because listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An horrific incident at this Oklahoma animal rescue zoo. A 500-pound tiger attacked a worker feeding it through a wire
fence, pulling the woman`s entire left arm through a tiny 4-inch-square hole.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Levins (ph) and his 11-year-old son went outside the cabin and saw the snake. The boy told the sheriff his dad picked it
up, and that`s when the snake bit him.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More than 100 people are watching as the trainer taps the nine-foot-long gator`s head several times. Then suddenly, he
snaps.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The shark was moving so quickly towards me that I didn`t realize it was going to bite me until I saw my arm was, you know,
just mangled.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Humane Society conducted an undercover investigation, placing an operative in the park. He shot this video of
what they claim is a 20-month-old tiger attacking a child.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:16:43]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The lion then sort of lunged at the car, and it bit the lady through the window.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The lioness then attacked the female through the passenger window.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Our staff immediately rushed over to chase the lion away.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... that this is an environment where people forget that a lion is a wild and unpredictable animal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, we learn that a woman has her throat and chest torn out at a lion park. It`s called a car safari, or a camera safari, where
you drive through an open area and you see the wild animals there in a natural habitat. This video from YouTube. She paid for that privilege
with her life.
To Dr. William Morrone, forensic pathologist, renowned medical examiner and toxicologist. Dr. Morrone, what did she endure before her
death, just the terror of being dragged out of your car by a lion and having your throat and chest ripped out?
DR. WILLIAM MORRONE, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST, MEDICAL EXAMINER: Well, you have to remember there`s certain parts of the body that are protected
by bones. Part of the chest and the head would only leave her liable towards 30 to 35 percent fatal injuries.
But what really took her down, probably put her into a state of unconsciousness, was wounds to the neck. There is no bony protection in
the neck. You have the heart in the chest. And in the neck, you have carotid arteries that are pumping enough blood that if you sever them or
bite them, you`re out in a minute. And the amount of blood flowing, you can`t conserve that, so neck wounds are 75 percent fatal, 80 percent fatal.
And then to be dragged through a window -- I`m sure she was unconscious. And it`s a terrible thing, but we have no natural way to
understand being the victim of a predator like a lion. Dogs, wolves, we fight back. We never fight back against lions. We never hunted them for
food. They`re that dangerous. They`re 20 times more dangerous than a dog bite because of the size and the power. One lion is equal to 20 dog bites.
GRACE: Rita Cosby, investigative journalist, you`ve researched the lion park. What can you tell me about the history this place has?
COSBY: Yes, they`ve had a series of attacks, which is interesting, especially because of this case. They`ve had three attacks where they have
attacked humans, big cats. One was a cheetah. The other one was a lion, this attack, in the last four months. And also, another attack of somebody
going through the window in December 2013. So there is a history here.
GRACE: Third big cat attack in just four months, an incident where a tourist injured by a lion after the car window open, two days later,
another attack.
[20:20:00]What more do you know, Clark?
CLARK GOLDBAND, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, I just want to break things down here. I think I`m going to respectfully disagree -- it rarely
happens -- from your point of view. The 13-year-old who was riding through, who got attacked, Nancy, he reportedly trespassed, was on his own
bicycle and had no business being in the area. The other attack we just mentioned, that person had their window down...
GRACE: Wait a minute!
GOLDBAND: ... another big no-no in this situation.
GRACE: Whoa! Wait! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Clark Goldband
GOLDBAND: Yes, Nancy?
GRACE: ... you`re siding against the boy that rode through on his bicycle. If I am correct in my recollection, wasn`t he driving through to
take a shortcut and he was driving through what was supposed to be a safe area?
GOLDBAND: Well, that I do not know. But I can tell you this. It appeared he trespassed through the area and was taking a shortcut, perhaps
diagonally through an area, and that`s when he got attacked, reportedly by a cheetah. You don`t want to take a shortcut through an area where there`s
tons of lions and tigers and beasts!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:25:23]GRACE: Movie superstar of "Black Swan," "Ted," "Oz" and one of the stars of "That `70s Show," Mila Kunis -- in the last hours, we learn
her stalker, twice convicted for stalking Mila Kunis, has escaped from a mental facility for deranged criminals.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Michael? You get them. You`re the one who (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A man convicted of stalking actress Mila Kunis escaped from a mental health center.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He started showing up at her gym parking lot (INAUDIBLE) having to hide in her car.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Breaking into a condo that she owned and living there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is video from "That `70s Show" from YouTube and Fox.
Straight out Alan Duke, editor-in-chief, Leadstories.com. Alan, thanks for being with us. What is so terrifying about this is that not
only has this guy been in court several times for stalking Mila Kunis, A, she`s got a brand-new baby she`s got to take care of and take into account,
and B, he was talking about his fixation on her, his obsession for her very recently.
Tell me the whole thing.
ALAN DUKE, LEADSTORIES.COM: Well, yes, I mean, this guy went so far as to basically squat in one of her condos where she wasn`t living -- it
was vacant -- for a couple weeks back in 2012. That`s really when the stalking came to light. Just over a year ago, he was sentenced to mental
health treatment and probation because he tweeted...
GRACE: Hold on. Hold on, Alan. Let me ask you a question about that. OK, Alan Duke joining us, editor-in-chief at Leadstories.com. And
right now, you`re seeing her in "Black Swan" from Fox Searchlight Pictures. I mean, she was just in "Jupiter Ascending." She`s a major motion picture
star. And she still is not protected by the law? Not that I advocate a two-tier justice system. But what I`m saying is this is a huge system
fail. Here she is, a brand-new mother with a brand-new baby, and she`s got a stalker.
What I was going ask you about, Duke, is that you said this guy, Stuart Lynn Dunn, age 30, squatted in one of her condos that at the moment,
she was not living in. While he was there -- so he lived there for, like, two weeks at least -- he made a whole series of phone calls. He was trying
to get her personal information, remember, Alan, like her DOB, all kind of information about her, while he was living her condo.
DUKE: Yes, it`s really scary. He is obsessed. He is still apparently obsessed with her. He`s on the loose. Pomona is about 30 miles
from where Mila lives now. But I can tell you I`m sure she`s got a lot of private security, if not the police, watching out for this guy.
GRACE: Everybody, you`re seeing video from "That `70s Show," YouTube and Fox.
You know the thing about her, Alan, is she seems so down to earth. She`s so likable. You know how smart she is? I watched her conduct an
interview, I think she spoke entirely in Russian.
What I also don`t understand, Alan, is this guy has been through so many court appearances. It`s like a revolving door.
Here she is in "Ted" from Universal.
DUKE: Well, he`s obviously mentally disturbed. That`s why he was at a mental hospital. What`s disturbing to me about this is that he was in a
facility that was so easy to escape from, no bars on the windows. There was a chain-link fence he had to climb over, and that was it. So that`s
kind of scary. The courts should consider that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:34:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MILA KUNIS, ACTRESS: Michael, that is the most romantic thing I`ve ever read, heard about or seen on TV.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just when Mila Kunis thought she could breathe a sigh of relief, her stalker escapes from jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He broke into one of Mila Kunis`s vacant condos and started staying there for two weeks--
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You just made me the happiest man in the world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You are seeing video from "That 70s Show" from Youtube and Fox. In the last hours, we learned a long-time stalker of movie star and
new mother, Mila Kunis, has escaped from a mental facility for deranged criminals. That`s the video again from "70s Show" on Youtube and Fox.
It`s the Olive Vista Behavioral Health Center.
Matt, I don`t understand how a guy who has been stalking one of America`s most famous movie stars manages to escape. How does that happen?
ZARRELL: Let`s not sugar coat this, Nancy. He busted out of this place.
GRACE: Wait, wait, am I seeing it? That`s it? So, he can just come out of sliding glass doors?
ZARRELL: No, actually, he had to break a window. He had to pry open a small window, and then he had to scale a fence, a fence that had barbed
wire on it, that was reportedly ten feet high. The cops are saying this guy is incredibly dangerous. He is still fixating on Mila Kunis. They are
very concerned that as recently as just days before his escape, he expressed his obsession with Kunis and she has also been personally
notified, Nancy. She has got to be scared right now about what`s going on.
GRACE: Hold on. Back it up. I want to see the pictures of this Olive Vista. I was researching it and found a comment stating Olive Vista
is one of the most unorganized behavioral health institutes I have ever encountered. I have a loved one there and have no way or means of moving
her unless I bring her home, where she would be unsafe.
That`s one of the reviews of the Olive Vista Behavioral Health Center. Let me see the picture one more time, Liz, where the rooms are -- okay,
what, that does not look like a facility for criminals. Allen Duke.
DUKE: Yes, he had only been there for about four weeks. He was actually out and free under community supervision, but they decided back in
March he wasn`t complying with mental health requirements to be evaluated and that sort of thing, and they thought he was having some trouble, so
they committed him back to this institution, and he was just there for four weeks, but obviously, very easy to leave.
GRACE: Let me ask you this, everybody, you just saw "Black Swan" from Fox Searchlight Pictures -- so, the Olive Vista Behavioral Health Center,
is it for criminals or no? Because our information was that criminals go there. Is that wrong, and was he just there for a mental evaluation?
DUKE: The center has 55 beds for people who have been sent there. Forensic mental patients, I believe.
GRACE: That`s criminal. That`s criminal. Forensic is criminal. Okay, so --
DUKE: 55.
GRACE: So, let me get this straight. This is a place, I can`t get over the sliding glass windows. Glass doors, because that`s the easiest
thing in the world to break into. And they can just come right out. So this, I don`t understand the point. How many times and how long has he
been stalking her, Allen?
DUKE: Well, three years at least. Something like that. And he`s not giving up apparently. There`s a train station that heads right into Union
Station in Los Angeles from Pomona, and he could walk right on it without a ticket and be in the city easily.
GRACE: Another thing, Allen, is he in love with her? Does she think he loves him? Does he think she`s married to him? What is his thought
pattern on Mila Kunis?
DUKE: He is obsessed with her, and as one person observed, he said he could eat her. I don`t know if that meant literally or just figuratively,
but he is extremely obsessed. And he`s not shaken that in the last several years.
GRACE: I think I heard you say he wanted to eat her?
DUKE: That was one of the statements that I`ve seen on one of the reports, yes.
GRACE: What more do you know about that, Matt Zarrell? How could authorities let a guy who wants to eat Mila Kunis go to a place only
protected by a sliding glass door?
ZARRELL: A detective who actually investigated the stalking incidents said that Don scared Mila Kunis on several occasions, that she felt he had
crazy eyes, and that it looked like he could eat her. That`s how scared she was of him.
GRACE: Dr. Daniel Bober is with us. Forensic psychiatrist. Dr. Bober, please weigh in. Why would a guy like this, who`s been stalking her
for three years, end up in a mental health facility that clearly is not a deterrent to escape?
BOBER: Well, Nancy, obviously, he wasn`t being monitored closely enough if he was able to get out of this facility. This type of stalker is
actually a less common type of stalker. It`s known as a love obsessional stalker. And the perfect example of that is John Hinckley Jr. These types
of stalkers generally are less violent than what we call a simple obsessional stalker, which is someone you`ve had an intimate relationship
with. I guess what`s disturbing about this is the fact he`s been able to get so close to her so many times, so there is definitely the potential for
violence, and that`s pretty scary.
GRACE: Dr. Daniel Bober, you`re the MD, I`m just a JD, but you just said not dangerous in the same sentence as Hinckley. Right? The killer?
[20:40:00]
BOBER: Hinckley is a prototypical example of this type of stalker, but most celebrity stalkers never have, never actually connect with their
celebrities. Usually, they worship them from afar. They have a fantasy that they will be with them, and that the celebrity is actually looking out
for them or worshipping them in a sense. So, they tend to be less violent, actually, even though John Hinckley was the example that I used, and
obviously John Hinckley was violent.
GRACE: Doctor, you`re seeing "70s Show" from Youtube and Fox. Let me see Dr. Daniel Bober joining us out of Miami tonight. Dr. Bober, you`re a
forensic psychiatrist. What happens when you`re saying a love obsessional stalker finally gets to his object of desire, i.e. Mila Kunis, and she
rejects him? What happens then?
BOBER: Well, then you`re talking about a situation that was actually very similar to Mark David Chapman when he assassinated John Lennon. Very
often, the rejection can lead to violent acting out, so it must be terrifying for Ms. Kunis that this guy is on the loose, and I hope the
authorities are doing everything they can to apprehend him.
GRACE: Dr. Bober, I`m sure that I`m not using the correct language, the medical language, but when you have someone that you say is a love
obsessional stalker, not dangerous, but they`re ultimately going to get rejected by their object of affection, then that love turns to hate. That
sounds dangerous to me.
BOBER: It can be, and no stalker fits into a neat category. There`s definitely features, different features that they all have. But in this
particular case, again, it is disturbing that he has been to a place that she lived. It`s disturbing he waited for her outside the gym, and clearly,
he looks to make some kind of physical contact with her, which certainly raises the risk of violence.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:46:00]
GRACE: Joining me right now, special guest, Lieutenant Steven Jauch, with the Homicide Bureau there in LA, sheriff`s department. Lieutenant,
thank you so much for being with us. Why does the family believe that her car was run off the road?
LT. STEVE JAUCH, HOMICIDE BUREAU, LA SHERIFF`S DEPARTMENT: We were able to locate Monique`s car late last Friday night, early Saturday
morning. And there appears to be some collision damage in and around the car that family members have indicated is fresh and new. The car`s
somewhat dirty. And it looks like it`s been driven in a rural area. The car itself was found in a rural area of Palmdale, off of Juniper Hills
Road. That`s an unusual place for her. And as a result, we`ve done a forensic examination of the interior of the car, and you know, at this
point, we still don`t know. We used some scent dogs in the area where the car was found. But that hasn`t turned up any leads.
GRACE: You know what`s interesting that you just said, Lieutenant Steve Jauch with us, the homicide bureau there at L.A. Sheriff`s
Department, is that where her car was found, a burgundy colored Mercedes, clearly run off the road with fresh damage to the driver`s side of the car,
as I understand it, is you said, Lieutenant, it was out of her sphere, where she normally drives. I find that very interesting, because a lot of
moms in particular, probably people in general, have a sphere. You go to work. You come home. You might go to the grocery store, the church, the
synagogue, bla, bla, bla, the mall, wherever you`ve got to go, and you start the next day over again. And when somebody`s vehicle is found
outside their general area, you wonder why was she all the way. Look at this picture. All the way out here. It looks like a desert land. Why was
her car there?
So, Lieutenant, you told me that you had processed the interior of the Mercedes, what, if anything, did you find?
JAUCH: It`s actually too early to tell. We are going to look for any DNA related evidence. Obviously fingerprints. These are things we can`t
get overnight, and anything else that we have found on the car. At this point, we don`t necessarily know if it`s going to lead to a criminal
investigation or if Monique is still voluntarily missing. I can`t go into any more detail, but I will tell you that family members have indicated she
talked about possibly taking a vacation and going to Las Vegas. That`s something we`re looking into.
GRACE: Without her car and leaving her car parked in the desert? That`s a funny way to get into the airport, right?
JAUCH: That`s obviously unusual when you compare it to the possibility that she wanted to go to Las Vegas, but in addition, there`s
all kinds of information. We`re trying to sort through the information we`ve received, but at this point, we`re willing to consider any
possibility as to where she might be.
GRACE: With me right now, another special guest. It`s Yvette Watts, who is Monique`s sister. Thank you so much for being with us. I find it
difficult to believe that planning a trip, she would A, leave her child behind, which she has never done before, and B, in order to get there,
what, park her car and hitchhike from the desert?
YVETTE WATTS, SISTER: No. Not at all. From what we know, she wasn`t planning a trip. She (inaudible) she was going down to L.A. and then
coming back. She was never seen since.
[20:50:00]
Her phones were turned off right after that. And no one has heard or seen from her since. So the circumstances around it do not correlate with what
she normally does. She always lets somebody know where she is at, always.
GRACE: Everyone, please join us in the search for a missing mom tonight. 28-year-old Monique Figueroa is gone. Her burgundy Mercedes
found on the side of a road in a deserted rural area. It looks like the desert. That does not jive with the theory that she was going on a
vacation or taking a trip to Vegas. Why would you leave your car parked off the side of the road? And interesting, Yvette Watts with us along with
Lieutenant Steve Jauch. Yvette, there is apparently damage to one side of her car, clearly getting forced off the road. What do you know about that,
Yvette?
WATTS: We were just told about that. So we`re recently figuring that out. And it -- that`s another missing piece to all this.
GRACE: You said the phones were turned off. Yvette, her phone was turned off immediately? I mean, it goes straight to voice mail?
WATTS: Yes. Right the day after that she was going to supposedly to L.A., her phone got turned off right after. No one was able to get ahold
of her since.
GRACE: To Lieutenant Steve Jauch, Homicide Bureau, L.A. Sheriff`s Department. Lieutenant, thanks again for being with us. Was the cell
phone or purse or credit cards and ID or her shoes or any other object of hers that you would expect her to carry with her left in the car?
JAUCH: We haven`t been able to find any of her personal effects. That includes her purse, her wallet and her phones. That`s one of the
reasons why we`re doing everything we can. We`re going to rely on the community right at this moment. If anybody knows where she frequents,
anybody has seen her, anybody has any information, it`s important that they come forward. And if they`re not comfortable coming out and giving their
name, they can remain anonymous, but we`re going to rely on the community to help us out and give us information if they know about where Monique is
at.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This young California mother has been missing for two weeks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe my daughter is kidnapped.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her abandoned Mercedes-Benz SUV was discovered with scratches as if it had been run off the road, but there was no sign of
the missing woman.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Back out to Lieutenant Steve Jauch, Homicide Bureau, L.A. Sheriff`s Department. Lieutenant Jauch, question. Was there anything
wrong with her car? And where is the car key?
JAUCH: That`s information that I don`t have at this moment. We`re obviously interested in finding out where -- what the condition of the car
in terms of how it would operate, if there was mechanical failure, that`s something we`re going to be looking at in the next few days. And I`m not
sure where the car keys are at.
GRACE: To Yvette Watts, the sister of Monique. What concerns you the most right now? Where is her daughter? Who is taking care of her child?
WATTS: She`s just not home for her family and her daughter. That concerns me the most that she has been missing for so long and hasn`t
contacted anyone. Her daughter stays with dad, but she would never, ever leave her daughter this long. She loved her. That -- the only thing I
think started to keep her grounded. We love her and we miss her and just want her home.
GRACE: If you could speak to her now, what would you say?
WATTS: We love you. We miss you. You`re the rock of everything. You have touched so many people. And from what I know of you, no matter
what you`re going through, you always have a smile on your face, always. Always. Everybody loves you. We love you. We just want you home. We
don`t care what is going on. We don`t care what is happening. Just want you home and safe.
GRACE: Guys, you are seeing photos right now of Monique "Mo" Figueroa, 28-year-old mother of a little 2-year-old girl. Tip line, please
look on the screen. 323-890-5500.
Let`s remember American hero, New Orleans Police Officer James Bennett Jr., just 45, killed in the line of duty. A two-year vet, served 13 years
with the Jefferson Parish as a reserve sheriff`s deputy. Also served the Army in the first Gulf War. Loved his job so much, he inspired his brother
to join the force. Loved his mom`s cooking and power lifting. Leaves behind his mother, two siblings, son Justin. James Bennett Jr., American
hero.
And tonight a special good night from Jacksonville, North Carolina, friends. Jamie and Michael. Now, aren`t they handsome? Drew up next.
I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
END
