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Nancy Grace

Dr. Sievers Murder Investigation Developments; Kentucky Woman Vanishes. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired July 09, 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, Bonita Springs, Florida, mystery surrounding the murder of a gorgeous young doctor, a mother of two

little girls, Dr. Teresa Sievers found murdered in her upscale Florida home while Sievers`s husband and two little daughters out of town.

Bombshell tonight. We travel to the scene to investigate Dr. Sievers`s home security system only to discover her killer apparently avoids one of

three surveillance cameras she`s got positioned on the exterior of her home. What was the motive for murder?

And tonight, we learn the intricacies of Sievers`s home security system. Could that alarm system be disabled by remote by someone that knows the

code?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard what was, like, a shrill, like they got hurt.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Doctor and mother of two found dead. Murder of Dr. Teresa Sievers inside her home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The safest place is in your own home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Based on the evidence that we have to this point, comfortable saying that it`s not a random, arbitrary situation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: And live, Bardstown (ph), Kentucky, where a mom of five, Crystal Rogers`s (ph), maroon Chevy found on the side of the road with a flat tire.

She has not been spotted alive since.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Something has happened to Crystal!

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mother of five Crystal Rogers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Family members found her maroon 2007 four-door Chevrolet abandoned.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her purse, phone, keys and diaper bag were still in it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We`re looking for you.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re doing everything we can.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.

Bombshell tonight. We travel to the scene to investigate Dr. Sievers`s home security system only to discover her killer apparently avoids one of

three surveillance cameras Dr. Sievers has positioned on her home. Now police sources also revealing tonight Teresa Sievers`s murder did not

include theft or sex assault. So what was the motive for murder?

And tonight, we learn the intricacies of Dr. Sievers`s home security system. Could that alarm system actually be disabled by remote by someone

that knew the code?

First, I want to go straight out to the photos of the scene. Look at what we have obtained as we go to air tonight, the actual videocameras` position

on Dr. Sievers`s home.

Now, remember, she`s away. She comes home that Sunday night from out of town, Connecticut, at a family get-together. Her husband and two little

girls, coincidentally, stay out of town.

Now, look where the security cameras are positioned. To Matt Zarrell, on the story. What can you tell me about the positions of the three security

cameras on the outside of the home, none of which apparently caught the perpetrator?

MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Yes, Nancy, so you`ve got -- I`ll start on the one on the front, right by the garage. That is

above the garage door. Now, in theory, Nancy, you would think that maybe it would see the killer leaving the scene or coming in -- approaching the

house. You`ve got that camera. That`s the first camera that we became aware of.

GRACE: OK, look at these. We believe the perp came in through a door that was crowbarred. Let`s see the position of that door. See, there`s the

security -- the other, third security camera that she has gotten placed outside. Now, see that walkway, that Lanay (ph) is what it`s called down

there -- excuse me, Lanai (ph) -- and it`s kind of a breezeway. So that was covered. And there is the door that was apparently crowbarred. Hold

right there. The side door is the one we think was crowbarred.

Now, compare that to the three security cameras. Look at the three security camera photos. None of them would be able to catch the side door.

None of them. There`s an aerial shot we`ve got for you.

So either it was just dumb luck that the killer managed to avoid being caught on camera, or he knew this. He knew what was going to happen.

To Bob Alexander, news director at Fox News 92.5 there in Fort Myers. Bob, we`ve also been learning a lot about the home security system. But what

more have you learned on your end?

BOB ALEXANDER, FOX NEWS 92.5 (via telephone): Nancy, Lee County sheriff Mike Scott has characterized this case as being very complicated and made

an interesting prediction this week.

[20:05:01]He predicted that when this case is finished, there will be books written and movies made about it, obviously in reference to many high-

profile cases that have inspired books and movies in the past.

But I think it may have been a roundabout way of him saying there are so many twists and turns in this case. He even said there are details he

wishes he could divulge but obviously can`t at this point to protect the integrity of the investigation.

And I also think it speaks to what you`ve been saying about the investigation being on the right track if the sheriff is willing to say

that this was not a random incident.

GRACE: You know, another thing that we`re learning is all about the intricacies of the home alarm system. To Matt Zarrell, also joining us,

along with Bob Alexander from 92.5 Fox News -- this alarm system, this company, says that, obviously, the most popular alarm system and the one we

believe is here, is by cell phone, all right? What did we learn, Matt?

ZARRELL: Yes, we know that this company says that they can run the security, most importantly, Nancy, through a cell network, Internet

provider or plain old telephone, but that cell phone is the most popular one and that most people use that.

GRACE: And to you, joining me, Christo Taourshiani. Christo, the specific security alarm company here -- we spoke to them, Stateside Security -- we

learned a lot. Now, this particular alarm system is the type that if it is tripped, if it goes off, they call you immediately.

And they don`t just say, Are you OK? You have to have a passcode. You have to be able to say, like, I watch the NANCY GRACE show or I`m a doctor

and I went to Emory University Medical School or NYU. You`ve got to have a pass phrase or code, or else they send the police.

That says to me, Christo, this alarm was never tripped, and that is why the two brothers of Teresa Sievers are out there at the -- in the night trying

to test the alarm system, making it go off, trying to find out why it wouldn`t trip the night she`s murdered.

What else did we learn, Christo?

CHRISTO TAOURSHIANI, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): That`s exactly right, Nancy. Statewide Security of Florida told me that they have a

central station, so you have to speak to them before they even dispatch the police to your house.

Also, a neighbor told me on Saturday, July 4th, in the night for about 10 or 15 minutes, Dr. Sievers`s brother-in-laws were at the home and they

heard the alarm going off again, which makes me think they were testing it.

GRACE: Guys, again, another major breakthrough in the investigation into the death, the slaying of a gorgeous young Bonita Springs doctor, Dr.

Sievers, a mother of two little girls. We now know that the killer, apparently through dumb luck, or by knowledge of the inner workings of the

alarm system, managed to avoid being caught on video. We have scoped out the home and found there are three security cameras.

What more can you tell me about Statewide Security? I understand, Christo, they provide a wide array of home alarm systems.

TAOURSHIANI: Oh, yes, Nancy. They provide security and fire insulation (ph) and monitoring, access control, CCTVs. They do the alarms on the

doors and the windows, and they even have surveillance cameras, which is the three that we are seeing at this house.

GRACE: You know, another thing we found out is that all their techs have to be in the business for three years` experience, and they have to be

vetted by a background search. So this is a highly sophisticated alarm system.

Joining me, Ben Levitan, telecommunications expert. Ben, we have reason to believe that, A, there was not a theft, and there was not a sex assault on

Dr. Sievers, which leads me to question the motive behind her murder.

But also, we are learning this is likely one of those cell phone wireless alarm systems. And there`s reasons for that, Ben. There can be a landline

system, but then thieves and perpetrators learn you can cut your phone line. So then the alarm system company -- nationwide, the industry moved

to cell phone. There`s also radio frequency.

Explain to me, Ben, how somebody that knew the code could disarm this system by remote from their cell phone.

BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT (via telephone): Well, Nancy, there`s several ways to this. One of the -- one of the possibilities I`m

looking at -- yes, you can get a cell phone blocker. So if an alarm was tripped, the alarm company would never know about it because they`d never

get the signal. A second possibility, Nancy, is...

GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait! Wa-wait! Hold on, Ben. Break it down for us non-techies.

LEVITAN: OK.

GRACE: Are you telling me that if somebody cut the alarm system off via remote, say from their cell phone, somebody that knew the code to that

home, the alarm company would not know that? Because with my alarm system, I can look right now and know the alarm is on, what mode it is on, when I

turned it on, when it was last turned off. It`s very, very -- let me just say complicated, and it`s extremely technological.

[20:10:31]LEVITAN: It`s an application. Now, there`s -- if somebody had the code -- somebody had the code for her alarms, they could remotely

disconnect it.

The other possibility is she was driving up to her house, and you know how people -- as you drive up to your house, you can disarm your alarm and open

your garage and turn on your air-conditioning. It`s possible that nobody hacked her alarm system. As she was driving into her house, she turned the

corner and out of habit, she hit her code to disarm her alarm and open the garage, and then there was no alarm system at that point.

GRACE: Well, wouldn`t the alarm company have knowledge of that?

LEVITAN: That it was -- it`s just routine. Remember, the alarm...

GRACE: I know, but they would have a record of it. The alarm company would have a record of it because if I can tell if my alarm system is on or

off by remote, I know the alarm company can.

And another thing, are you telling me if somebody cut it or jammed it, that the alarm company would not have knowledge of that?

LEVITAN: Yes. How would they know? Remember, the alarm company -- the cell phone link sends information from the house and from the alarm system

back to the monitoring station. If that signal is broken, it`s just like the wire is cut.

GRACE: Well, here`s the other thing -- Bob Alexander, news director at 92.5 Fox News. Bob, we saw the place crawling with the security company,

which says to me they`re trying to figure out what went wrong, all right? Then we`ve got the brothers coming over, and they`re tripping the alarm

into the night, trying to figure out -- they`re testing, they`re testing the alarm system.

So something went wrong or somebody disabled that alarm system, Bob Alexander.

ALEXANDER: Well, I think it speaks to the fact that there`s no stone unturned here in this case Nancy. Everybody wants to make sure they do

everything possible to find out even the smallest details in this case, if it has to do with the alarm system, if it`s something that happened around

the back of the house.

I mean, there`s so many things going into this case. There are so many details to be worked out. Certainly, the security company is going to play

a big role in this before this whole thing is finished.

GRACE: We are also honing in on which room the -- in which the attack occurred. The garage, we believe, has been ruled out, which means the

perpetrator was actually in the home. Another question is, does the alarm system work differently in the garage than it does in the home?

Also, we know that the dogs remained in the home while Dr. Sievers went on a mini-vacation. She rarely goes on vacation. And coincidentally, when

she gets home by herself from this vacation, she`s murdered. The dogs were at home. We know that because a dog sitter had been employed to come and

feed the dogs, take the dogs on a walk.

Now, another thing that we know is that the evidence in this case has been sent to a different crime lab to get quicker results. What does that mean?

Does that mean that the killer left behind DNA? You wouldn`t need another crime lab to analyze fingerprints, all right? Also, we know about touch

DNA. But what can blood spatter tell us?

Joining me right now, Dr. William Morrone. Dr. Morrone, I don`t know if you can see the video we`re showing right now, but we have obtained video

of -- from YouTube and C.J. Careers (ph) of a hammer with blood-like substance and the spatter that it would create.

Now, with a blunt object like a hammer, a hammer is going to leave a specific marking on the human skull. The blood spatter, including the

throwback, when the perpetrator raises the hammer, the blood going behind the head, it`s called castoff and back spatter. There`s also forward

spatter. We`re going to learn a lot from the spatter marks.

Could you explain, Dr. Morrone?

DR. WILLIAM MORRONE, MEDICAL EXAMINER, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: There are three major kinds of splatter. You just explained two of them. Forward

splatter happens when the hammer comes down. It`s in front, and it`s coming off the front of the hammer.

[20:15:10]The castoff is when they pull the hammer back, it goes that way. And fine castoff is closer to the hammer, and it gets larger droplets as it

goes away because it slows down.

And the other one is a back splatter, which would be close to where the perpetrator`s hand is. So there`s three different kinds of splatter, one

underneath, one in front and then the castoff.

They`re going to be able to tell the position of the body during the murder based on the walls. And one of the reasons why I think they`re taking so

long is they`re reconstructing the kitchen, the scene. They have to create the cadaver, and they have to show the physics. And that`s all really

difficult.

This could be a man. This could be a woman. But it`s somebody that they knew everything about this person...

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[20:20:14]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was early in the morning. I got up, and I heard -- it was, like, a shrill.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Like hollering. We were getting ready for work (INAUDIBLE) heard hollering coming from over there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The death of Dr. Teresa Sievers remains a mystery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... evidence that`s being processed as we speak. It`s not random and arbitrary.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: The investigation into a gorgeous young doctor, a mother of three, Dr. Teresa Sievers, goes on there in Bonita Springs, Florida.

We traveled to Florida to examine the security system on the exterior of the home, and we discover her killer, adroitly or either through dumb luck,

managed to get into the home and avoid one of three exterior security cameras she had placed on the outside of the home.

We also traveled to the airport it is believed that she entered into. And what did we learn about the airport, Matt Zarrell?

ZARRELL: ... she had used short-term parking. She would have had to go through a toll booth that had a person in there, who would have seen her,

and possibly a surveillance camera that also would have seen her. And if someone was in the car with her, maybe they spotted that person as well.

GRACE: You know, I took a long, hard look at what we learned about the airport. If she had parked in short-term, there would have been a camera

at the toll for her to exit. In long-term parking, however, are there videocameras, Matt?

ZARRELL: There may be at the booth, but it doesn`t seem to be a manned booth. You would insert a card, and then the gate would open up. There

might be a camera there, but from what we can tell, we can`t be sure.

GRACE: Take a look at the airport toll booth. Now, judging by the time that she was attacked, Dr. William Morrone, we are creating our timeline

based on the fact -- the time that a neighbor heard a shrill scream.

It was just about dawn, just as the sun was coming up. And she had already told her family that she would be getting up around 5:00 o`clock that

morning to go see patients on Monday morning, as her husband was coincidentally out of town with the two little girls in Connecticut. So

oddly, we hear the scream at about the time she would have been waking up.

Now, question to you. Why not kill her -- if the whole motive is to kill her, it wasn`t rape, according to a non-police source, wasn`t theft,

according to the same source -- now, why not kill her in her sleep? If your whole sole purpose of entering was to kill her, why wait until she

wakes up? Or did that scream occur in the bedroom? Is that what woke her up?

So what can we tell from the body as to whether she was taken by surprise?

MORRONE: Well, the number one thing your going to look for in tissue samples and in photographs is, are there defensive wounds on the body? And

defensive wounds would be bruises and fractures. And then under the fingernails, is there a DNA sample?

And that`s what you said they most likely sent out to another crime lab. A university crime lab might have faster turnaround than state police. Those

defensive wounds -- hard, blunt force wounds from a hammer -- would show up as bruises on autopsy. So those are very important.

If there`s no defensive wounds, then we know that she was either surprised or that this is somebody who was very, very close to the family.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[20:27:48]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A neighborhood on edge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Heart-breaking killing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This doctor and mother of two was found dead in...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A murder on your street right across the street from your house.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two young daughters that will now grow up without their mother.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Who murdered this gorgeous young doctor, this mother of two little girls, while her husband and children were coincidentally out of town?

They very rarely took vacation. We have had her patients calling in at the home for pregnant unwed moms, those calling in. One woman diagnosed with

stomach cancer, Sievers came to her bedside in the hospital and stayed all night, for no reason, just to be there with her. That`s who Dr. Sievers

was.

To you, Matt Zarrell. I notice the prints on the fence have been getting a lot of attention. Why?

ZARRELL: Yes, I think this could be very important, Nancy, because this could show us where they think that the person may have entered. Maybe

they climbed over the fence and went in through that door.

GRACE: And to Christo. What can you tell us about the husband recently breaking down outside the home, I think for the second time?

TAOURSHIANI: Yes, Nancy. A neighbor told me that they saw the husband breaking down in the middle of the road, bursting into tears and crying.

GRACE: And let me ask you this. Have Mark and the daughters, the husband and the daughters, been back in the home? Are they living there?

TAOURSHIANI: The neighbors tell us the daughters have not been back at all, but that Mark has come back a few times with the brother-in-laws.

GRACE: Everyone, you are seeing family photos of Dr. Sievers and her family. At this hour, the investigation goes on. Who murdered Dr. Teresa

Sievers?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:33:42] NANCY GRACE, HOST: Live, Bardstown, Kentucky, where a mother of five, Crystal Rogers, Maroon Chevy, found on the side of the road with a

flat tire. She has not been spotted alive since.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: A search party is looking for Crystal Rogers on the Bluegrass Parkway after her car was found there abandoned with a flat tire.

TOMMY BALLARD, FATHER OF MISSING KENTUCKY MOM: She would never have got out of that car. She would never have turned it off.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Air and ground search will continue.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody saw something somewhere that will get us going in the right direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRACE: Joining us right now in addition to Crystal`s parents, her boyfriend, the father of her baby. She was at their three-bedroom home,

there in a quiet subdivision, just before she went missing.

But first, to Scott Johnson, WVLK, tell met progress of the search for this Kentucky mom.

SCOTT JOHNSON, WVLK: That search continues, Nancy. The search has centered on the Bluegrass Parkway, the state freeway that runs near

Bardstown. It has now moved on and expanded to a state highway, Highway 49, that runs south of Bardstown, and to a local waterway, the Beach Fork

River.

GRACE: The Beach Fork River. Let`s go first to the mother and father of missing Crystal Rogers, a young -- a gorgeous young mom of five.

[20:35:07] Mr. and Miss Ballard, thank you for being with us.

SHERRY BALLARD, MOTHER OF MISSING KENTUCKY MOM: You`re welcome.

T. BALLARD: You`re welcome.

GRACE: I want to go first to Mr. Bauer. You were discussing with me how she would never have left her car on the side of the road and the sheriff

has confirmed with us it was a genuine flat. That there was a nail that had gotten into her -- her tire and had been embedded. You believe,

because she has done it before, that she would have driven on the rim of that car, the rim of that tire, that wheel, until she got to safety, or

would have called you or her boyfriend or someone else to come help her. Instead, her car is found with her cell phone, her keys, her purse and a

diaper bag in the car.

You also say, Mr. Ballard, she would never have just gotten out of the car leaving all that behind. She would either drive it on the rim to safety or

sit there I guess with the car locked and call somebody, correct?

T. BALLARD: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: Let me ask you, Mr. Ballard, was the car locked and were the keys in the ignition when police find the Chevy, the maroon Chevy?

T. BALLARD: Yes, ma`am. Me and her brother found the car and her keys were in it. It was unlocked. Her purse was in the passenger seat with her

phone beside it. And I know she would have never got out of that car.

GRACE: Were the keys still in the ignition?

T. BALLARD: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: So keys in the ignition. Let me understand this. Keys still in the ignition, both doors -- her door unlocked, her cell phone on the

passenger seat beside her, correct?

T. BALLARD: Yes.

GRACE: Let me ask you this, Mr. Ballard, I assume either you or one of your sons got into the car. Was the seat in the position she would have

had it in or was it moved back for a bigger person, say, a man to drive?

T. BALLARD: We didn`t get in the car. My son opened the door and I made him close it back. I told him not to bother nothing.

GRACE: That was wise. That was wise.

Joining me right now, in addition to Crystal`s mom and dad, Tommy and Sherry, with me is her boyfriend, I guess I would say fiance. She is

divorcing the last husband. She has a young child by Brooks Houck, who formerly ran for sheriff in that jurisdiction. He has taken a polygraph.

He has not hired lawyers. He has allowed police to search his property and says that he is on call at any time police want to talk to him.

Mr. Houck, thank you for being with us.

BROOKS HOUCK, BOYFRIEND OF MISSING KENTUCKY WOMAN: Thank you.

GRACE: Mr. Houck, what happened the night Crystal goes missing exactly?

HOUCK: Earlier that day, she showed rental property. She went to Wal- Mart.

GRACE: With who?

HOUCK: We have established a timeline of all the facts and events.

GRACE: Who did she go to Wal-Mart with, Brooks?

HOUCK: I was not there at Wal-Mart with them. She had some of the children with her.

GRACE: Mm-hmm. OK.

HOUCK: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: That`s important, Brooks, because as you know, with your interest in law enforcement, it establishes a timeline. So that was Friday around

4:00 p.m. then what happened after Wal-Mart?

HOUCK: When she left Wal-Mart on Friday, late afternoon, early evening, she showed a rental property that we have listed, in the Kentucky standard,

in a large ad, multiple properties. She then left that and preceded home.

GRACE: So that was Friday evening. What time did she get home, Brooks?

HOUCK: After 5:00.

GRACE: After 5:00. And what, if anything, did she do at that time?

HOUCK: It was a normal -- normal evening. At that point, she showed the property and came home.

GRACE: Well, what day of the week was this?

HOUCK: This was on Friday, would have been July 3rd, 2015.

GRACE: Did you have July 4th plans?

HOUCK: Yes, we did.

GRACE: What were they?

HOUCK: My uncle, Fabian Ballard, and Loreto, about 49, had a large gathering at his home. My mother has a very large family, there`s 13

brothers and sisters, and we -- we had planned on going there on Saturday, July 4th.

GRACE: Did you go?

HOUCK: Yes, I did. I went with my family.

GRACE: And what time that was?

HOUCK: That was about 5:00 or 5:30 on Saturday --

GRACE: OK. Let me understand the timeline, Mr. Houck.

[20:40:02] So on Friday night, she shows a property in the evening, well, the evening, she gets home after 5:00.

HOUCK: No. Incorrect. Incorrect.

GRACE: No? OK. Explain.

HOUCK: Friday evening.

GRACE: Friday? Yes, that`s what I said.

HOUCK: July 3rd.

GRACE: Correct. That`s what I said.

HOUCK: She showed the property. And then on -- you asked me if we had plans jus on July 4th, which was in the following day on Saturday.

GRACE: Right. Right. That`s what I just said.

HOUCK: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: So Friday evening, she shows the property at a multi-property spot that had been advertised in the standard. She gets home after 5:00 and

what children, if any, did she have with her at that time?

HOUCK: Two children.

GRACE: And --

HOUCK: The other two children had already been dropped off at their dad`s house.

GRACE: And what did you guys do for supper that night?

HOUCK: We just ate here -- we ate here at the house.

GRACE: Did she cook?

HOUCK: For about an hour and a half and then we left here about 7:30.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: Did she cook that night?

HOUCK: You`re cutting out on me. I didn`t hear what you just said, ma`am.

GRACE: Oh, I`m sorry. Did she cook that night, Brooks?

HOUCK: She did not. We just ate here at the house. It wasn`t anything special or new anything like that. We knew that we had plans, wasn`t going

to kill a lot of -- kill a lot of time and then we proceeded -- we proceeded out there to the family farm.

GRACE: OK. Now. On July 4th I thought was the family farm get-together, no?

HOUCK: Well, the Fourth, that right there is another family member.

GRACE: Oh, I get it.

HOUCK: That we went to.

GRACE: I get it. So that night, you get back and what was she doing when you went to bed?

HOUCK: She was playing games on her phone.

GRACE: Really? OK. Where was the baby?

HOUCK: The baby was still up.

GRACE: OK. And who -- who had the baby while she was playing games?

HOUCK: He was just running loose in the house.

GRACE: OK.

HOUCK: If a light`s still on in the living room, he is not going to go to bed until all the lights are out. So if there`s still activity going on in

the home, he is going to stay it up with me.

GRACE: Now what time did you go to bed and was she still up playing games on her phone?

HOUCK: She was still up playing games on her phone. And it was really close to midnight.

GRACE: OK. And was the baby still awake?

HOUCK: Yes, ma`am.

GRACE: So you go to bed. She is playing phone games and -- was she playing with another person or just by herself?

HOUCK: I`m not aware if she was, you know, texting anybody else or talking to anybody else. I`m under the impression she was just playing one of the

games on her phone.

GRACE: And when did you realize --

(CROSSTALK)

HOUCK: Just standard and normal for her to do that.

GRACE: Brooks, when did you realize, Brooks Houck, that she was gone?

HOUCK: The very next -- the very next morning.

GRACE: So you slept through the whole night and did not realize that she was gone?

HOUCK: That`s true.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:47:21] GRACE: Joining me right now in addition to her parents, Tom and Sherry Ballard, her boyfriend that she lived with there in their three-

bedroom suburban home, Brooks Houck is with us.

So, Brooks, you go to bed and she is still playing games on her phone. The next morning around 8:00, you noticed that she`s missing. Did you report

her missing?

HOUCK: No, ma`am.

GRACE: Why?

HOUCK: That is a great question and one that I definitely want the public and the media -- I was not in the least little bit alarmed in any way,

shape or form. We have had a stressed relationship at times. And one of the ways that Crystal has always chose to cope or deal with that is by

going to -- a young woman`s name, Sabrina, that is her cousin, her dad`s brother`s daughter, whom she is very close to, she spent the night there on

several occasion.

GRACE: When you say several, do you mean one, three, 20?

HOUCK: In the neighborhood of four to six.

GRACE: OK.

HOUCK: Something like that.

GRACE: OK. To Tom and Sherry Ballard, were you aware of that? Do you know who Sabrina is?

S. BALLARD: Yes, ma`am.

T. BALLARD: That`s my niece.

GRACE: OK. Did you know she goes and spends the night over there when she is having an issue at home?

T. BALLARD: I`ve known probably one time.

GRACE: Right. OK. I want to go back to Brooks Houck who was the last person to see her alive.

Brooks, did you go on to the July 4th get-together that day?

HOUCK: Yes, I did.

GRACE: Even though you didn`t know where she was?

HOUCK: Well, I was expecting -- I had put in a phone call that morning and then around lunch and usually, the maximum period of time that she has

stayed gone has only been like a day to a day and a half, at the most. And as a result of that, I thought that she would --

GRACE: Did you try to call her?

HOUCK: -- join us. I`m sorry, I didn`t hear you, ma`am.

GRACE: Did you try to call her during that time?

HOUCK: Not while I was there -- there at the -- at the Fourth. I called her prior to leaving to head in that direction, yes, ma`am.

GRACE: Some people have accused you of not being involved enough in the search efforts. What`s your response?

HOUCK: That is a great question and one I certainly appreciate you asking me. And that is all of my effort in searching for her has been done behind

the scene. With the Nelson County Sheriff`s Office.

[20:50:14] GRACE: What? What?

HOUCK: Detective Snow who is leading the investigation and Jason Allison who is a deputy there assisting him along with the Kentucky State Police

Agency Post Number 12.

(CROSSTALK)

GRACE: My question was what you had been doing with them. Let me ask you this. I know that you agreed to take a polygraph. Did you pass?

HOUCK: Because of the way that the lines or whatever were they, they determined it to be inconclusive. I`m not exactly sure what that means.

But they did tell me it does mean that I wasn`t lying or I didn`t pass it or I didn`t fail it. They just ruled it inconclusive and that is exactly

the way it stands.

I have been 100 percent completely honest with everyone. I have been 100 percent cooperative in everything that has been asked of me. I have not

asked for any kind of legal advice or assistance or an attorney of any nature. I`m 100 percent completely innocent in this. And I have exhausted

my efforts with the law enforcement agencies to gather all the facts necessary to allow me to have a clean name again.

That`s very important to me. I have not responded to a lot of the negativity and all of this animosity because I want the emphasis to remain

on Crystal`s safe return home. And that`s where I want it to stay focused in that area rather than dealing with any of the animosity between the

families.

GRACE: To Tommy and Sherry Ballard, Crystal`s mom and dad, to Miss Ballard, I want to talk about her car and her getting out of that car, and

leaving the car in the ignition with her cell phone and pocketbook and a diaper bag still in the car and getting out on the side of the road. What

do you make of that? Because there is no way I would do that.

S. BALLARD: I don`t think Crystal would, either. I can`t see her getting out the car. I can`t see remember once her leaving her baby at home. I

can`t see her getting out of the car in the dark, not with a cell phone in her hand or something anyway. She had AAA. She had no reason to get out

of the car. I just -- it don`t make sense.

GRACE: It doesn`t make sense to me, either, Mr. and Miss Ballard.

Everyone, the tip line, 502-348-3211, 502-348-3211. The reward has climbed to $40,000. Please join us in the search for Crystal.

CNN Heroes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Barb wire and machine guns. Welcome to Chicago. These are definitely some of the most challenged communities in America. Not a

day goes by without the headlines being littered with deaths, shootings.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was returning home from college. You know, I went to go pick up my sister from school. And next thing you know I got caught up

in the crossfire. I was shot seven times. I was paralyzed from the stomach all the way down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As an orthopedic surgeon I have seen a very significant number of patients that have been victims of violent crime. But there`s a

whole layer of patients in these underserved communities. They`re underinsured and they`re uninsured. But they need care.

If you can get the final 20 degrees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just saw people put on waitlists for months and years. And as a result their injuries get worse. And I just said enough

is enough.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess I`m just stuck with arthritis.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I run three clinics in Chicago`s most underserved areas.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Walking better.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You smile more.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We treat orthopedic conditions. We never turn away a patient. We treat patients regardless of ability to pay.

What`s going on here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He performed two surgeries on me and encouraged me to return back to college.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot of guys never come out as positive as you. I mean, you`re living life and you`re moving on.

I know I can`t fix everybody, but my focus is to break down the barriers.

I`ll see you in a couple of weeks.

[20:55:02] The greatest thing we give them is hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GRACE: Let`s remember American Hero, Army Corporal Andy Anderson, just 24, Falls Church, Virginia. Bronze Star, Purple Heart, buried Arlington. A

standout high school basketball star, leaves behind parents, Harold and Xiomara Mena, twin brothers, Rafael and Randall, fiance and high school

sweetheart Tava.

Andy Anderson, American hero.

I`ll see you tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.

END