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Nancy Grace
Unarmed Dad Takes on Armed Intruders. Aired 8-9:00p ET
Aired August 18, 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, Vining suburbs. A man stands in front of his home and tells four men with guns they can`t go
in the home because his wife and two small children inside. That`s when they unleash a hail of bullets, shooting him twice.
It all goes down when the family, Mommy, Daddy, newborn baby girl and 2-year-old little boy, return from their annual beach trip with extended
family. Shortly after they unloaded the suitcases, four men show up pretending to need a jack for their car, then pull guns on Daddy, demanding
to go inside, and quote, "see the wife and baby." Mommy hears the hail of bullets, runs out the back door clutching baby in her arms, only to take
gunfire herself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s just an amazing man and he`s a hero.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When a group of teens showed up at the couple`s Sumpter (ph) Street home, they then pulled a gun on Mike and demanded to go
inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he said, I can`t let you because I have my wife and my two children are in there. So they shot him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And live, Houston suburbs. Desperate parents actually break in a local day care, shattering the window, risking criminal charges
themselves to save their 10-month-old tot boy after day care workers, quote, "forget" the baby`s still asleep in the crib. They lock up. They
leave the baby for overnight. And it`s all caught on video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ross (ph) recorded the baby`s father climbing through the window to get inside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That cell phone video taken by mom Sharonda Ross (ph).
And live, Minneapolis. What started as an isolated incident when a mom undergoes facial reconstruction and brain surgery when a huge rock
thrown randomly off an interstate overpass has now turned into a trend. We go live to Minneapolis and a string of five near fatal so-called bricking
attacks, cement bricks flung at innocent bicyclists and travelers at the height of rush hour. Who`s next?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police on the lookout for a man accused of throwing concrete chunks at bike riders!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police say a man drove by in a white Bronco, hurling a concrete chunk the size of a brick at McKenzie`s (ph) head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So unprovoked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Live, Vining suburbs. A man stands in front of his home and tells four men with guns they can`t go in the house because of
his wife and two small children inside. That`s when they unleash a hail of bullets, shooting him twice.
It all goes down when the family, Mommy, Daddy, newborn baby girl, 2- year-old little boy, return from their annual beach trip with extended family. Shortly after they unload their suitcases, four men show up
pretending to need a jack for their car, but then pull guns on Daddy and demand to go inside and see his wife and babies.
Mommy hears the hail of bullets, runs out the back door, clutching the baby in her arms, only for Mommy to take gunfire herself. To (ph) Daddy,
who takes on four armed men who want to come into the house and see his wife and children. When he refuses to let them in the house, they open a
hail of gunfire.
Straight out to Mike Duffy standing by at the crime scene. The family had been on their annual beach trip that they take with extended family.
They all go on this trip every year. And they had just gotten back on the Sunday night, I believe it was, or Monday. They start unloading their
suitcases and go in. Next thing you know, some men show up and want to borrow a jack for their car.
What happened, Mike Duffy?
MIKE DUFFY, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, Nancy. Well, the father in this case, Mike (INAUDIBLE) he thought that these gentlemen were perhaps
just trying to sell something. He didn`t think they were threatening at first, so he opened the door.
[20:05:00]That was his mistake. And unfortunately, when he had -- when they -- he thought they had turned their back. They turned around
again with the gun, and that`s when it happened.
GRACE: So Mike Duffy, I understand so Mom and Dad and the two little babies come home from the beach trip. They`re unloading all their
suitcases. Mom goes in to bathe the children and get them ready for bed, and these guys show up and ask to borrow a jack for their car? Is that how
the whole thing starts?
DUFFY: Yes, that`s exactly it, Nancy.
GRACE: So they come and knock on his door, or he sees them or what?
DUFFY: Yes, well, he saw them outside his window. And like I said, he didn`t at first think of them as a threat. He thought that perhaps
they`re youth, just meant that they were trying to sell something, perhaps tickets or something of that nature.
GRACE: So they come to the door, they ask to borrow a jack, and then what happens? How did it go bad so quickly, Mike Duffy? I mean, when did
he realize they wanted in the house?
DUFFY: Well, he knew that they wanted in the house when they pulled out a gun. They told him to get down on his knees. And he said, I can`t
do that. I have a wife and kids in here. And they demanded it, and then they shot him.
GRACE: Also joining us, in addition to Mike Duffy standing by at the scene -- for those of you just joining us, a wife, a mother, and her
husband and their two babies come home from a beach trip. They unpack the suitcases. Mom goes in to bathe the babies. The dad continues unpacking.
Next thing you know, four men show up.
You are seeing pictures now of Michael Lash and their baby girl, just 6 months old. There`s Mommy, Whitney, who also takes gunfire. And they`re
in their home when home invaders appear. Daddy, unarmed, goes to the front door and refuses. He stands defiant against four men with guns.
Joining me right now, along with Mike Duffy, is Jessica Huffman. She is the mother of Whitney Lash, on the scene immediately after the shooting.
Ms. Huffman, thank you for being with us.
JESSICA HUFFMAN, MOTHER OF VICTIM Whitney Lash: Thank you for having me.
GRACE: I`m going to find these four guys because I believe they had been watching the home for some time and saw your family when they pulled
back in. What is your understanding of what happened, Ms. Huffman?
HUFFMAN: I think they did wait for them to come home. I don`t think that they just wanted to rob them because they really didn`t take much. We
do believe it might have been gang-related. And a gentleman that I spoke with thought that it might be that they only wanted to kill the family,
that it wasn`t about robbery.
GRACE: They only wanted to kill the family. I wonder if they had any idea that there were two little babies in the home.
So it`s my understanding that Michael Lash stands at those front steps behind you, will not kneel down to home intruders, even though they`re
armed, even though they had their guns pointed directly at him.
What do you understand they said, that they wanted to come in and look and see the mother?
HUFFMAN: Well, he said -- he told -- they said, We want your money. We want your phones. We want your credit cards. He said, I don`t have any
money. And he said, But you can take my car. You can take my credit cards. You can take anything you need. Just you can`t have my family.
So they said, We want to come inside and see the family. He said, I have a wife and two small children in there, and you`re not coming in.
GRACE: And then what happened?
HUFFMAN: And that`s when they opened fire. So they shot him in his leg and...
GRACE: Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! Michael Lash taking two bullets, and then the mom, Whitney, hears the gunfire. Is that right, Ms. Huffman? And what
did she do?
HUFFMAN: Yes. Well, she had a feeling when he opened the door and saw those four young men at the door that it wasn`t a good situation. But
my son-in-law is very -- he`s just such a kind and nice person that even when they said -- he said, I don`t have a jack, but if there`s anything
else I can do to help you, if your car is broken down, I`ll be glad to. And that`s when they pulled the gun.
But my daughter had a feeling it wasn`t good. So she grabbed the baby and her cell phone and ran out the back door. And when the four men --
after the gunshots, the four men came in, but then they rushed maybe about -- it anywhere from eight to a dozen other young men that came in and
rushed the house. They must have came out of the woods, and came in and ransacked the bottom floor.
[20:10:03]But the gunman that shot my son-in-law also went after my daughter, firing shots at her in the house as she was running out the back
door and then continued to shoot at her in the back yard as she was running.
GRACE: Ms. Huffman, I`m just trying to understand. Your daughter suddenly hears gunshots, grabs her baby and takes off. And at that point,
eight to ten guys rush into the home after her, and she runs out the back door clutching the baby and her cell phone?
HUFFMAN: Yes. And she was calling 911 and whispering into the phone and trying to get them to come before they could shoot her.
GRACE: And they actually fired at her. How did she and the baby escape the bullets?
HUFFMAN: Well, they were young. I think they weren`t very seasoned at it. I hope to think that. I really think it was angels protecting
them. But she just ran as fast as she could, and then she got over to the gate -- I`m sorry. Go ahead.
GRACE: How far did she get, Ms. Huffman? Because we`ve got -- we`re showing photos of the home, and I see that there`s a gate in the back. Did
she make it to the gate? Did she hide behind the gate? What happened?
HUFFMAN: No, she made it to the gate. And the gunman was chasing after her, and he caught up with her because she couldn`t get the gate open
fast enough, and he caught up with her and she turned around and said, Please don`t kill me. I`m a mother with a small baby. And he said, Well,
hand me your -- give me your cell phone, and she just handed it to him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:16:21]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A group of teens showed up at the couple`s home, pretending to need a jack for their car, pulled a gun on
Mike and demanded to go inside. Whitney Lash grabbed her baby girl and ran out the back.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She turned around and said, Please don`t shoot me, I have a little baby.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The gunmen chased and fired several shots.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: He goes out to the front door. These four men ask to borrow a jack for their car that`s apparently broken down somewhere, but it quickly
goes bad. They pull guns on Daddy, demanding to go in and see the mom and her two babies.
This dad takes on four armed intruders. He`s unarmed. When they tell him to kneel down, he says no.
Mommy hears the gunshot as her husband is shot in the front yard, clutches her newborn baby and runs out the back door. At that point, eight
or more other men run into the home, run through the lower level, chasing Mommy and commence shooting at her.
A miracle she is not hit. The baby is not hit. One of the guys catch up with her, demanding her cell phone. Tonight, who are they? It is a
miracle Mommy lived!
Joining me at the scene, Mike Duffy, along with the mom-in-law, Jessica Huffman, who was immediately at the scene.
Ms. Huffman, again, thank you for being with us. What are police saying as to who the home intruders were? And you said something very
interesting. You said that you didn`t think they came necessarily to steal because they didn`t take TVs, DVD players, money. They tore the place up.
You thought they were there to kill the family?
HUFFMAN: Yes, I think it was gang-related. I`ve spoken to some other people that know about gangs, and they feel like it was gang-related and it
was an initiation.
GRACE: You also said -- we were under the impression that there were the four armed intruders that Daddy answers the front door to, but then you
said eight to ten men run through the home after Mommy. Where did they come from?
HUFFMAN: We think they were hiding in the woods. There`s some wooded area, a small wooded area near their home. And as soon as they heard the
gunshots, they came running. And they stepped over Mike knowing he couldn`t move.
GRACE: Oh! They stepped over him lying there shot?
HUFFMAN: Yes because his femur was shattered. So he -- there`s no way he could get up.
GRACE: To Ninette Sosa with news radio 106.7 joining us. Ninette, I didn`t understand there were that many people. I only thought there were
four armed intruders that told Daddy to kneel down in the front driveway and let them in the home. He refused.
I didn`t understand that there were eight to ten people involved in this that then swarmed the home?
NINETTE SOSA, NEWS RADIO 106.7: Exactly, Nancy. And the emphasis has been on those four who knocked on the door. Shots are fired, and then from
the woods comes running nearly a dozen other men. And in an effort to appear to make a robbery, ransacked that bottom floor there...
GRACE: Oh!
SOSA: ... and then one of them chase after the wife.
GRACE: And Jessica Huffman, where was the other baby during all this? You`ve got the 6-month-old baby girl and then the baby boy who`s just 2.
Where was he?
[20:20:06]HUFFMAN: They had just put him to bed. He had -- we traveled all day from Florida. And he -- they came home and gave him a
bath and put him in the bed. So he was asleep upstairs...
GRACE: So all this happens with a 2-year-old baby upstairs.
Dr. William Morrone, forensic pathologist and renowned toxicologist, medical examiner joining us. Dr. Morrone, what happens when a person is
shot in the femoral artery?
DR. WILLIAM MORRONE, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Well, most people think the only fatal wounds can happen to the torso, but fatal wounds can also
happen in the legs. The femoral artery is the longest, largest artery. And if it`s pierced or severed, you`re looking at two or three minutes to
bleed out. And if the bone`s shattered, you can`t stand. You can`t walk. You can`t go for help.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whitney was inside with the couple`s sleeping 2- year-old and getting ready to put their 6-month-old daughter to bed when a group of teens showed up at the couple`s home. They then pulled a gun on
Mike and demanded to go inside.
[20:25:04]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said, I can`t let you. And they said, We want to go in and see them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Lash again refused.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So they shot him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: For those of you just joining us, Mommy, Daddy, their two children, a newborn girl and a 2-year-old little boy, just come home from a
beach trip with the extended family, the annual vacation. They come home, unloading suitcases. Mommy goes in to bathe the two children and put them
to bed.
The doorbell rings. Daddy goes to the door. Four men appear asking to borrow a jack for their car broken down. He doesn`t have one.
It quickly goes bad. They pull guns on Daddy, order him to kneel down in the front yard. They want to go in the home to, quote, "see" Mommy.
Daddy refuses, defiant, protecting his family.
They open fire, shooting him, force their way into the home. They`re joined by about 10 others, 10 other males who ransack the home, race
through the downstairs and go after Mommy. She runs out the back door clutching the baby girl, and they open fire on her.
Joining me at the scene, Mike Duffy and Jessica Huffman, the mother- in-law, who races to the scene immediately after the shooting.
Ms. Huffman, again, thank you for being with us. What were the their exact words to Michael Lash, the daddy?
HUFFMAN: Well, of course, I wasn`t here, but from what I understand, when they came to the door, demanding to see the -- you know, wanting a
jack, and he said he didn`t have one, and he said, But I`ll help you in any other way, if you want me to. And they said, Well, we want your money and
credit cards and phones.
And he said, I don`t have any money, but you can take my car. You can take my credit cards. You can take anything you want. But I have a
family, and you can`t take them.
GRACE: Joining me now, Larry Fishelson, technology expert with Coo (sic) Dynalink (ph) Communications, COO of Dynalink Communications. Larry,
thank you for being with us. Question. They took the mom`s cell phone. She was in the process of calling 911. Now, we tried to ping the cell
phone. It`s been turned off.
Here`s my question, Larry. What does it mean to, quote, "swipe" a phone clean, and after a phone has been swiped clean, a stolen phone, can
it still be pinged or located under the old phone number?
LARRY FISHELSON, TECHNOLOGY EXPERT (via telephone): OK, yes, Nancy. Thanks for having me. So to wipe a phone clean is very simple. You just
go to settings and you do a few tasks, and all the data is gone from the phone. So if the sim card is still inside the phone, the phone can be
pinged and located.
Now, if they went ahead and took the sim card out of the phone, in addition to wiping out the phone data, then the phone cannot be pinged. It
is totally off.
So the question is, Did they do both? If they only did the first police, then they can go ahead, the police, ping the phone. If it`s on,
they could it through cell phone triangulation. If not, they can see where the last call from the tower was made.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:33:00]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s just an amazing man. And he`s a hero.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When a group of teens showed up at the couple`s Sumter Street home, they then pulled a gun on Mike and demanded to go
inside.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He said I can`t let you because I have my wife and two children are in there, so they shot him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: For those of you just joining us, a family comes home from their annual beach trip with their extended family. They come home, start
unpacking suitcases. Mommy goes in on this quiet street to start bathing the two babies. One just 6 months old, a baby girl, and a 2-year-old
little boy. While daddy finishes unloading. Knock at the door. He meets four men on the front door who want to borrow a jack, saying their car is
broken down, and quickly pull guns on daddy, tell him to kneel down. They want to come in the home. And the father, defiant, refuses to let four
armed men into his home, where his wife and children are. They claim they want to, quote, see mommy and the babies.
They shoot daddy. Other men join them, racing through the home as mommy runs out the back door, clutching the 6-month-old little girl to her
arms with the 2-year-old asleep upstairs. They ransack, racing through, and chase mommy in a hail of gunfire. One catches up. He takes her cell
phone. Tonight, who are these men? Mike Duffy, what can you tell me about the weapon?
DUFFY: Nancy, the weapon used in this incident was no joke. It was a 40 caliber weapon. And it went through the front side of Mike`s body, out
the back, hit the floor, made a divot, and then lodged itself in the ceiling. The hail of bullets was everywhere, and it even hit one of the
child`s chairs.
GRACE: And to Dr. William Morrone, forensic pathologist, joining us tonight. Doctor, about how long will it take you to bleed out with a shot
to the femural artery in your leg? And what are those feelings? What would you experience? The pain that you would suffer?
[20:35:30]
MORRONE: Well, not only do you have the pain from the trauma of the soft flesh, but shattering the bone and crashing the bone. The closer you
are to the middle of where somebody is shot, you`re closer to the heart. The blood pressure, shooting somebody here is astronomical. It`s a very
big, wide artery. Two minutes. Two minutes, you could bleed to death. You need compression right away. You need a tourniquet. Two minutes.
Uncontrolled bleeding and puncturing that artery, and you`ll die in two minutes.
GRACE: Jessica Huffman, the mother-in-law. This is the bride`s mom. Immediately goes to the scene. Ms. Huffman, thank you again for being with
us. What about the 2-year-old little boy? What happened when you got there?
HUFFMAN: He was asleep upstairs. And I told the policeman I needed to go in and get him. He said you can`t go in, it`s a crime scene. And I
said I have to go get my grandson. So they let us go in. My husband went in and got him with another policeman. They came outside, and he saw all
the police cars, the ambulances, the fire trucks, and saw his mommy getting in the back of the ambulance. And he was hysterical.
GRACE: The 2-year-old child sees mommy being loaded onto an ambulance, sees blood on the ground, the first floor, ransacked. Unleash
the lawyers. Joining me, Randy Kessler, Atlanta, Andell Brown, Miami. Randy Kessler, these are not going to turn out to be teens. There are
adults involved, and they were watching this home. This has been planned for a long time. What`s scaring me is every moment they`re out free, they
know where this family lives. They know where mommy lives. They don`t want witnesses, all right?
KESSLER: Agreed. And I think the police know more than they`re letting on. This seems like a big operation and a big investigation. If
it was one person, a random act of violence, that`s one thing. But there seems to be some sort of coordination. Whether it`s a conspiracy, whether
it`s a group. They got to know a lot more, and I`m optimistic that they`re going to find something. If I was one of these guys, I would lawyer up and
I`d say let`s figure out how to stop the research, the investigation. They may need to cut a plea quickly.
GRACE: This is what is encouraging me, the fact that there were so many men were involved in trying to get into that home where mommy and the
two children were. How likely is it that eight people can keep their yaps shut? Very unlikely. What, Andell, Andell Brown joining me out of Miami.
Tip line 404-577-TIPS. What about it, Brown?
BROWN: Well, you hit the nail on the head, Nancy. That amount of people being involved and everyone keeping their mouth shut is likely never
to happen. Someone always talks, especially with all the attention this case has been receiving. You know the pressure is mounting for those
individuals, because everyone is looking for them. With such horrible accusations, you know that they`re under a lot of pressure right now. It
only takes one weak link to break the chain.
GRACE: Jessica Huffman, what are police telling you about getting these guys? Bottom line is they don`t want witnesses to testify against
them at trial. I want these guys behind bars, pronto. Do they have any leads at all?
HUFFMAN: You know, Nancy, it`s been such a whirlwind. I haven`t had a chance to speak to them, and I don`t know if they have spoken to anybody
else in our family. I`ve heard they have made some leeway, but I don`t know a lot. I`m sorry.
GRACE: Well, there`s another issue. Duffy, the only way we know the gun caliber is from the gunshots. They didn`t recover the gun, did they?
DUFFY: No, not that we`re hearing. But they have recovered multiple casings.
GRACE: Yes, I`m thinking about footprints. Ninette Sosa, reporter with 106.7. Surely one of those guys had to touch something in that home,
including the door, the doorknob, the light switch, something.
[20:40:00]
SOSA: Or even step in blood.
GRACE: Yes, something. There`s got to be a fingerprint somewhere. And when they get one guy, it`s all going to fall down like a house of
cards. These guys need to be arrested. I`m telling you, they don`t want witnesses, all right. And they know where this family lives.
SOSA: Police are very tight-lipped on this case. We know that, and I`m sure it`s for a reason. They probably know more than they`re
discussing. We know the essentials. Remember, we just heard four at the door. Now we know it`s a group of men. We know, again, as Mike said, the
casings. They have that, easily traced.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: What started as an isolated incident when a mom undergoes facial reconstruction and brain surgery after a huge rock thrown randomly
off an interstate overpass into her car has now turned into a trend.
[20:45:00]
We go live to Minneapolis in a string of five near fatal so-called bricking attacks. Cement bricks flung at innocent bicyclists and travelers
at the height of rush hour. Who is next?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tracking down a man accused of hurling concrete at bicyclists and drivers unprovoked. 20-year-old Mackenzie Jensen (ph) has
five broken bones in his face after a driver threw a piece of concrete at him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining me right now on the scene, Andrew Lee, host KTLK. Andrew, thank you for being with us. What happened in this case? I
understand there`s a string of five near fatal cement bricking attacks. What happened in this case?
ANDREW LEE, KTLK: There was a single incident on July 20th, where a driver threw chunks of concrete at a bicyclist. That guy fell, the victim
fell and broke his collar bone. It happened again on August 4th when another bicyclist was struck. That one knocked him unconscious, very
serious injuries. And then on August 7, there were three separate incidents all on the same day. First was thrown to a motorist. The next
two were bicyclists. Fortunately, the first two were only minor injuries, but the third, Mackenzie Jensen, a 20-year-old, ended up with a smashed
eye, a smashed jaw and cheek, and he`s been in the hospital and has required three surgeries since the attack.
GRACE: Joining me right now in addition to Andrew Lee at KTLK is John Elder with the Minneapolis Police Department. John, thanks so much for
being with us.
Sir, can you tell me, we now have five incidents, spanning just a few short weeks. Attacking bicyclists and travelers, and it all seemed to
start with a Sharon Budd (ph) case. A mom driving along in the car, her husband was actually driving. She`s in the passenger`s seat, when a brick
block is thrown off an interstate overpass, shattering her face. Now it has seemingly turned into a trend. What happened, officer?
JOHN ELDER, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: We have had the incident in Minneapolis, all stemming around one individual, same description of the
suspect and same description of the vehicle.
GRACE: John Elder joining me from the Minneapolis Police Department. What do we think we know about the suspect?
ELDER: Well, the suspect has been described as a tanned white or possibly Hispanic male. 20 to 28 years of age. Unkempt in appearance.
Wears construction style gloves, and in one case has been described as wearing a yellow construction type belt.
GRACE: And also, Officer, what can you tell me about the vehicle?
ELDER: The vehicle has been described in each of the incidents as an older model white or tan Ford Bronco or possibly a Ford pickup truck with a
topper on it.
GRACE: Do we have the mock-ups of the vehicles? Let`s show the vehicles we think the perp is driving. Again, Officer, what were the
vehicles?
ELDER: It`s an older model white or tan Ford Bronco or an older Ford pickup truck with a topper on it. Interestingly, one of the rear windows
is missing and is covered with a piece of wood or cardboard.
GRACE: I don`t understand the random nature of this. Dr. Patricia Saunders, clinical psychologist, it all seemed to start with Sharon Budd,
who was a passenger in a vehicle her husband was driving. I remember seeing the photos of her in the hospital that were just heartbreaking. She
had multiple surgeries, facial reconstruction. Brain surgery. I don`t understand the nature of the thinking behind a random bricking.
SAUNDERS: There isn`t thinking, Nancy. It`s primitive, raw, destructive sadism. I don`t think it`s a trend. As the police officer was
saying, it`s a single individual who may be coming apart at the seams. It`s not just aimed at bicyclists, the most vulnerable of people on the
highway. But he`s thrown bricks, which are lethal weapons, at vulnerable bicyclists, in the head, and his pattern was very rapid. It escalated
within a few days.
Another piece of evidence suggesting he might be in construction is that all of these attacks occurred at 4:00 or after. A lot of construction
workers get off at 3:00. He was wearing a yellow jacket. So I`m sure the police are investigating those issues.
[20:50:00]
GRACE: To Dr. William Morrone. When I look at what Sharon Budd went through, and now five more similar attacks, there`s no doubt in my mind
that it is a trend. But why so many facial reconstructive surgeries? Why brain surgery? What is the result of the impact of a cement brick when
both vehicles are moving or when one vehicle is moving, as in the Sharon Budd case?
MORRONE: Well, you have the added speed and velocity effect, but when 13 to 15 pounds of concrete hits the face, in this human skull, you have
thicker bones back here, but the face are fragile bones, and when they fracture, they fracture backwards, into the brain. So to reconstruct this
and give a facial appearance and then reconstruct the inside of the cranium, that`s what`s really important, to set it up to make it safe,
these are fragile bones and they fracture backwards into the skull.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:56:30]
GRACE: Live, Houston suburbs, desperate parents actually break into a local daycare, shattering the window, risking criminal charges to
themselves, to save their ten month old tot boy after daycare workers forget the baby is still asleep in the crib. They lock up and leave the
baby for overnight. It is all caught on video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The baby`s father climbing through the window.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come out, Norris.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining me there, Carmen Watkins, host of "Point of View," KJOZ. Carmen, thank you for being with us. I just can`t get my mind
around the fact that this baby was left locked in for overnight, and there have been no charges, and the daycare worker wasn`t even fired, Justin
Freiman, let me throw that to you. Well, what happened?
FREIMAN: There is not even a car in the parking lot. She looks there, she doesn`t see anybody there. She starts to head home, thinking,
well, maybe daddy picked up the child. Finds out daddy hadn`t picked up the child. They both returned to the daycare. They can hear their child
crying inside the building.
GRACE: What I don`t understand and what I`m asking, Justin, is, there are no charges and the daycare worker has not even been fired. You see
cell phone video from the mom, Sharanda Ross (ph), so I don`t understand, you lock a baby in daycare overnight and leave. All right. The parents
risk criminal charges to themselves, let`s play the video. There are not any charges and nobody has been fired?
FREIMAN: Nancy, yes, you are correct. Nobody has been fired. The owner of the daycare said they were not firing the person responsible for
this, and police have come out and said no charges filed.
GRACE: Can I see the video of them breaking in the window? Parents, risking criminal charges to themselves to save their child left for
overnight at the daycare. They lock up and leave the baby. No charges and nobody has been fired. I don`t understand this. You are seeing the video,
yourself, as the parents have to go in and rescue the child.
Let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Staff Sergeant Dale Kelly, Jr., 48, Richmond, Maine, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, renewed his vows for
his 25th wedding anniversary. Parents Barbara and Dale, five siblings, widow Nancy, four children, three grands. Dale Kelly, Jr., American hero.
Thanks to all our guests, especially to you for being with us, inviting us into your homes. Nancy Grace, signing off, I`ll see you
tomorrow night 8:00 sharp Eastern. Until then, good night, friend.
END
