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Nancy Grace
Avery`s Ex-Fiancee Recants; Did Father Kill His 3-Year-Old Son?; Judge Lets "Affluenza Mom" Walk Free; Remembering Army Specialist Javier Villanueva. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired January 13, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HLN HOST: Breaking news tonight. Missing photographer 25- year-old Teresa Halbach, bones and teeth found on the property of Steve Avery so badly burned, the most advanced DNA testing needed.
A Netflix documentary reels in record viewers, convincing them Avery innocent in Teresa`s brutal murder. The controversy boiling over. Nearly
300,000 petition the White House and the governor as the cold-blooded killers using Netflix to scam their way out of jail.
Bombshell tonight. Steven Avery`s fiancee tells us tonight the real truth about Steven Avery, how he repeatedly beat her to a pulp, threatened to
kill her, even threatening her up to the time she talks to Netflix, Avery demanding she make him look good, or else. I bet Netflix doesn`t include
that in their documentary.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODI STACHOWSKI, AVERY`S EX-FIANCEE: He told me once all bitches owe him because of the one that sent him to prison the first time. We all owed
him.
NATISHA LANCE, HLN SENIOR PRODUCER: Do you believe Steven Avery killed Teresa Halbach?
STACHOWSKI: Yes, I do. He told me how to act. You know, he`s all, Smile, be happy. It was all lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, a 3-year-old toddler boy goes missing. But tonight, did his own dad kill the tot because Daddy`s much younger girlfriend,
quote, "doesn`t like children" and threatens to break up with him?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Little Brendan Creatta (ph) was found dead, partially submerged in the water in a park near his home.
911 OPERATOR: 911. Where`s your emergency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just woke up, and my 3-year-old`s missing. No, I just woke up and he wasn`t in my home (ph). I don`t know if he wandered
out or what happened. I don`t know where he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, a rich kid high on weed mows down four people dead, a fifth paralyzed. He gets straight probation for killing four people, then
caught on video playing beer pong. He and his mom go on the run to Mexico, dye his hair black, blows $2,000 at a Mexico strip club, then busted
ordering pizza on a cell phone tracked by cops.
Breaking now, a judge lets "affluenza" mom walk free. Did nobody tell the judge she just fled to Mexico with her son? Hello? This after excessive
whining about the lining in her jail cell. Affluenza mom caught smirking at the camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After two weeks in at least three different jails in two countries, Tonya Couch walked out free.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After a judge reduced her bond from a million dollars all the way down to $75,000. Couch has an ankle bracelet and is not
allowed to drink alcohol or use social media.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Missing photographer 25-year-old Teresa Halbach bone and teeth on the property of Steven Avery so badly burned, the most
advanced DNA testing need. Then a Netflix documentary reels in record viewers, Netflix convincing the viewers Avery innocent in Teresa`s brutal
murder, the controversy boiling over when 300,000 petition the White House and the governor as the cold-blooded killers using Netflix to scam their
way out of jail.
But tonight, Avery`s fiancee tells us the truth about Steven Avery, how he repeatedly beats her to a pulp, threatens to kill her, even threatening her
right up to the time she talks to Netflix on the documentary, Avery demanding she make him look good, or else. I bet Netflix didn`t include
that in their documentary.
Let`s start off -- take a listen to what Steven Avery`s fiancee says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JODI STACHOWSKI, AVERY`S EX-FIANCEE: It was hard being in jail. Everybody`s looking at me, and I had a lot of guilt because the day this
happened, Steven was supposed to pick me up to go to a AODA (ph) class.
NATISHA LANCE, HLN SENIOR PRODUCER: What`s that?
STACHOWSKI: A drinking class. But for some reason, which I still don`t know, the jail wouldn`t let me out. And if they would have let me out,
she`d still be alive because I would have been there! Oh!
[20:05:06]I went through four months of intense counseling because of my guilt. And they kept telling me I have nothing to be guilty about, It`s
not your fault. But if I would have been there, I still feel she`d be alive!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining me from "The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel" is Tom Kercher (ph). Tom, I know that you recognize the voice of Jodi Stachowski. She is
now telling us what she told Netflix was a load of Basically, there`s no delicate way to put it, that Steven Avery had beaten her to a pulp on
numerous occasions, threatened to kill her. There was one point she said she even ate rat poison so she could go to the hospital and beg for help to
get away from Steven Avery, Tom.
TOM KERCHER, "MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL": I`m not sure what that has to do with the case, honestly. She...
GRACE: What do you mean, you don`t know...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: She was a witness in the case!
KERCHER: She really had no role in the trial.
GRACE: OK, let me understand something. Matt Zarrell, isn`t this the woman who stated she spoke with Avery around 5:30 that day and sounded
perfectly calm?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Yes, she did, and she was on the witness list for the trial but she actually was not called to
testify.
GRACE: Straight out to Sheriff Robert Hermann, the Manitowoc County sheriff. Sheriff, thank you for being with us. I find what Jodi
Stachowski is saying to be extremely critical because she offered a bit of information to the police at the time that Halbach was murdered. She said
at the time she spoke to Avery on the phone at 5:00 o`clock or so that afternoon, he sounded perfectly calm.
Now we know he had threatened to kill her and beat her within an inch of her life, Sheriff.
SHERIFF ROBERT HERMANN, MANITOWOC COUNTY: Yes, and I think that this is a critical piece also, and that, you know, no matter what she said back then
and now she`s coming forward -- that`s common with domestic violence victims. And you know, we know Steven Avery`s history and what he`s
capable of, and I really believe her story, and I think that`s a critical piece to this puzzle.
GRACE: Take a listen to what Steven Avery`s fiancee has to say. Now, remember, she was part of the Netflix documentary, but tonight, we are
learning he threatened to kill her, that if she didn`t make him look good on this Netflix documentary, that or else. Listen to what she now tells
us.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACHOWSKI: He beat me all the time, punched me, throw me against the wall. I`d try to leave, he smashed the windshield out of my car so I
couldn`t leave him. I was at work one day, and he was up there spying through a window. I got in the car after work. I knew nothing about it.
And he just started slapping me. And got back to the jail, they told me I wouldn`t be working anymore so I couldn`t see him because they noticed the
red marks on my face.
I told her it was all lies. I told her -- she called me and asked me if I wanted to do another interview before the documentary came out, and I told
her no. And that`s when I asked her, I want nothing to do with it, I don`t want any part of it, and I don`t want to be in it. I said, It`s all lies
because Steven called me and told me -- it should be all on police phone records -- that if I didn`t say anything good and nice about him, I`d pay.
LANCE: What did you interpret that to be?
STACHOWSKI: He`d beat me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Joining me right now, Natisha Lance, HLN senior producer who interviewed Avery`s ex. Natisha, thank you for being us. So she is saying
that she told Netflix, Don`t put me in the documentary. It was all lies. Don`t put me in there. But somehow, she manages to end up in the
documentary anyway, doesn`t she?
LANCE: That`s true, Nancy. She said, just as we just heard, that she was contacted by the filmmakers, and they asked her if she wanted to do one
last interview. She declined that. And she also said, in fact, I don`t want to be in the documentary at all because it was all a bunch of lies.
[20:10:08]Now, we did reach out to the filmmakers. We have not heard a response back from them. And as far as whether or not they knew about the
abuse that was taking place at the hands of Steven Avery, we`re not sure, although she says that they did ask her a lot of questions. She`s not sure
if they knew about the abuse.
GRACE: Take a listen to what Steven Avery`s then-fiancee says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACHOWSKI: He choked me one night and -- well, actually, he started hitting me, so I called the police. Then he choked me and was dragging me
out the door so we could leave before the police got there.
And we were driving down the road, and the police that were on the way pulled over, took me out of the car and asked me what was going on. And I
told him and they arrested him and ordered him to stay away from me for three days.
He told me once -- excuse my language -- all bitches owe him because of the one that sent him to prison the first time. We all owed him. And he could
do whatever he wanted.
But Steven`s one person I don`t trust. He`s like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a nice person, or a semi-nice person, and then behind closed doors, he`s a
monster.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This is a woman, the fiancee of Steven Avery, now being touted by Netflix as a hero, a hero that is the poster boy for wrongful conviction --
you are about to see the other side that this woman presented under threat from Steven Avery. This is "Making a Murderer" from Netflix.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STACHOWSKI: They told me get a job and move. I moved and got a job. I`m working. I`m doing everything they told me to. My lawyer was supposed to
talk to my probation officer on Monday about having this "no contact" lifted.
I just think they`re doing it thinking that, well, I`ll get sick of it and just leave him for my own -- I don`t know. It would be better for me if I
didn`t talk to him and got on with my life. That`s what I think they think. But it ain`t going to happen.
I just keep thinking I wish I could talk to him, just tell him I love him. See, I`m still here. I ain`t going nowhere.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:17:08]STACHOWSKI: I ate two boxes of rat poison just so I could go to the hospital and get away from him and ask them to get the police to help
me. We didn`t have a phone. He ripped that out of the wall.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You are hearing Steven Avery`s fiancee describing the brutality he heaped on her, even threatening that if she did not make him look good on
the Netflix documentary, that or else.
To Dr. Daniel Bober, forensic psychiatrist out of Miami. Dr. Bober, what she is now telling us is vastly different than the picture portrayed by
Netflix of Steven Avery.
DR. DANIEL BOBER, FORENSIC PSYCHIATRIST: You know, Nancy, it`s very difficult to know because everyone has their agenda here, and the
credibility is in question. She very well may have said what she said to Netflix under duress, and she does seem credible. But it would be really
sad if Netflix was exploiting this just for ratings.
GRACE: Well, what`s disturbing is what she says she went through. And Matt Zarrell, isn`t it true that we have actually corroborated her story in
that the occasion she describes, where after he had beaten her so badly, he drags her, literally drags her out the front door to get away from the home
before police get there -- and they pass police on the way, Matt.
ZARRELL: Yes, exactly. And there was actually -- we do have the police report from this. He was actually ordered to stay away from Jodi for three
days. He was sent to jail for this. This is very, very documented.
GRACE: I mean, Dr. Bober, to actually eat rat poison in order to get to the hospital to get away from Steve Avery?
BOBER: Well, it just shows how desperate she was that there was no help in sight for her, and this is the level that she had to sink to to actually
get any kind of assistance.
GRACE: Natisha Lance, I don`t understand why none of this, none of this side of Avery was exposed on the Netflix documentary. I guess it didn`t
fit into their theory. Could you explain how Avery wrote her from behind bars demanding money in a letter?
LANCE: Yes. And Nancy, there`s still a strong fear that she has for Steven Avery. So in this letter, which we had the opportunity to look at,
Steve Avery is threatening her, asking her for money, and threatening her because, as we see in the documentary, she has a history with DUIs,
threatening to report her to law enforcement for driving under the influence of alcohol, as well as driving without a license.
She says she has a license. She`s been sober for eight years, and there`s no reason that he should be contacting her. In fact, him contacting her
forced her to move from where she was living, and she`s now living in a hotel because she`s afraid.
[20:20:05]GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Jeff Gold and Riah Greathouse. First to you, Riah. What I`m seeing in this letter that he writes her is a
very obvious threat. He`s saying, You give me these thousands of dollars or else I`m going to write a letter about you and it`s going to detail how
you drive drunk or without a license. You`re just a drunk on the road. None of that`s true.
What about it, Greathouse?
RIAH GREATHOUSE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, Nancy, she clearly has credibility issues. What it is...
GRACE: What`s her credibility issue?
GREATHOUSE: She`s lying then, and now she`s being honest, we should believe -- which one is it? She doesn`t know which story to believe.
GRACE: Wa-wait! Wa-wait! Why are you taking the side of a convicted killer, and you`ve got this letter, and you`re still attacking her?
GREATHOUSE: Well, Nancy, she`s afraid of him. She`s going to do whatever it takes to keep him behind bars. That`s what she wants. She doesn`t care
what it takes.
GRACE: That`s not what I`m asking you, Greathouse! I`m asking you about - - you know what? What about it, Jeff Gold? He writes a letter to her extorting money, or else, he says he`s going to frame her for driving. I
didn`t hear anything about that in the Netflix documentary.
JEFF GOLD, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So what? It`s not relevant to the murder! Not only is she a liar and a felon, she`s going to drunk house because
she`s got problems with drinking, and probably other things, as well. So what? It wasn`t relevant!
GRACE: You know what, Natisha Lance? It seems like nobody wants to hear the truth about Steven Avery. He beat this woman to a pulp. He nearly
killed her. He`s still threatening her from behind bars, and he used her in this Netflix documentary. I don`t understand why nobody wants to hear
the truth. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANCE: Do you believe Steven Avery killed Teresa Halbach?
STACHOWSKI: Yes, I do.
LANCE: Why?
STACHOWSKI: Because he threatened to kill me and my family and a friend of mine.
I was in a bath, and he threatened to throw a blow dryer in there, and he told me that he would be able to get away with it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:26:04]STACHOWSKI: He told me once all bitches owe him because of the one that sent him to prison the first time. We all owed him.
LANCE: Do you believe Steven Avery killed Teresa Halbach?
STACHOWSKI: Yes, I do.
He told me how to act. You know, he`s all, Smile, be happy. It was all lies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: As Hollywood celebrities and move stars line up to weigh in, insisting that Steven Avery is really innocent in the murder of Teresa
Halbach, tonight, we speak to a woman that would know about Avery, his fiancee. His former fiancee says he beat her to a pulp on numerous
occasions, ripped the phone out of the wall, threatened to kill her, and told her to make him look good on the Netflix documentary, or else.
At one point, so desperate to get away from Avery, she eats rat poison just to go to the hospital and get away from him. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANCE: In the documentary, we see the two of you holding hands. We see you smiling. We see you defending Steven.
STACHOWSKI: It was all an act. I -- I -- he told me how to act. You know, he`s all, Smile, be happy. I didn`t know what to do. I didn`t want
to get hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Matt Zarrell, also on the story. Isn`t it true, like Teresa Halbach`s body, that he has a history of burning things he wants to get rid
of?
ZARRELL: Yes, he does. In fact, Jodi Stachowski told us that Avery liked to burn this frequently, that when she left, she took only one duffel bag
of clothes, and that was it. She left behind her daughter`s baby books, her clothes, a china set. All of that was burned by the family, including
Avery.
GRACE: You know, Natisha Lance, as more threats are made on prosecutors, when you interviewed her, Natisha, did she seem as if she`s still afraid of
Steven Avery? I noticed in the letter he wrote to her, he says, I`m about to get out on a motion for a new trial. I`ll see you on TV.
LANCE: Yes, she did still seem like she`s afraid of Steven Avery. That`s what caused her to move from where she was living because he has her
address and she has no idea how he got it. She`s never written to him in prison. She`s never gone to visit him in prison.
When she received that letter, she reported him to the lead investigator on his murder case. They told her because it was out of their jurisdiction,
she had to report it in her jurisdiction and contact the prison. She did those things, and she heard anything back. But she also hasn`t heard back
from Avery again since then.
[20:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A 3-year-old toddler boy goes missing. But tonight, did his own father kill the tot because daddy`s much younger girlfriend, "doesn`t like
children and threatened to break up with daddy?"
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, what did you say was he wearing?
D.J. CREATO: He was wearing red pajamas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, and you didn`t hear anything or see anything, nothing like that?
D.J. CREATO: No, I just woke up and he wasn`t in my apartment. I don`t know if he wandered out or what happened. I don`t know where he is.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The prosecution argued that Brendan Creato died from homicidal violence.
Police determined that he died of homicidal violence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This story is so upsetting. This 3-year-old little boy comes to daddy`s for his visit. He shows up in his PJs ready for bed, in less than
16 hours, this little boy is dead.
This video of little Brendan from Instagram, happy, full of life.
It turns out daddy`s much younger girlfriend doesn`t like kids, threatening to break up with daddy. This little boy found face down in water and muck.
Take a listen to the 911 call we`ve just obtained.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 911, what is your emergency?
D.J. CREATO: I just woke up and my 3-year-old is missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay, what`s your address, sir?
D.J. CREATO: (Bleep) Cooper Street.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Bleep) Cooper?
D.J. CREATO: Hold on, he`s out ... is he in there? No. Yeah, he`s missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, and your address is (beep) Cooper?
D.J. CREATO: Yes. (Beep).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This 3-year-old boy or girl?
[20:35:00] D.J. CREATO: Three-year-old boy. His name is Brendan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spell his name for me.
D.J. CREATO: B-R-E-N-D-A-N.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And last name?
D.J. CREATO: Creato. C-R-E-A-T-O.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, and what you last seen him wearing?
D.J. CREATO: He was wearing red pajamas.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, and you didn`t hear anything or see anything, nothing like that?
D.J. CREATO: No, I just woke up and he wasn`t in my apartment. I don`t know if he wandered out or what happened. I don`t know where he is. The door was
locked. I guess he unlocked and left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, we already have the police on the way, sir. What is your name?
D.J. CREATO: My name is D.J.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: D.J., what is your last name?
D.J. CREATO: Creato.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spell for me.
D.J. CREATO: C-R-E-A-T-O.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alright, sir. Do me a favor and just hold on. I already had the police on the way, don`t hang up.
D.J. CREATO: Alright, thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to see if the police dispatcher wants to speak to you, OK?
D.J. CREATO: Alright. Alright, thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alright. Alright, stay on the phone.
D.J. CREATO: Alright. The police are on the way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Solomon Jones, joining us, WURD morning host. Solomon, thank you for being with us. So, the little boy comes over the night before. They
bring him over already dressed for bed so dad doesn`t have to do that. And what time of the morning is the child reported missing?
SOLOMON JONES, MORNING HOST, WURD RADIO: The child was reported missing right after 6:00 a.m. in the morning.
GRACE: So not even nine hours have passed and the child is dead, missing, at least. Where is the body found, Solomon?
JONES: So the body was found in a muddy spot near the Cooper River where he would have had to walk through the dark over a steep incline and down to
this muddy space by the river, where his father had gone before. Apparently, his father liked that spot a lot because it had spiritual
elements.
GRACE: Hold on. Wait a minute, I want to explore that, too.
JONES: Yeah.
GRACE: Stacey (inaudible) also on the story along with Solomon from WURD. Stacey, very often we see this recurring theme. For instance, in "tot mom,"
Casey Anthony. Remember? Caylee`s body, her 2-year-old child`s body, found 10 houses up (ph) from the Anthony home.
And a spot where "tot mom," Casey Anthony used to hang out, smoke cigarettes and drink when she was in school -- I guess high school. That`s
where the child`s body was found.
And Scott Peterson, Laci and his unborn child, Connor, were found on in the San Francisco Bay, a place where Scott Peterson often went fishing. So,
this spot, Solomon Jones says, was a special spot for the father. Why?
STACEY NEWMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yeah, because him and his girlfriend, who doesn`t like kids, this was the spot where they would hang out. They
had been there 30 times. He offered this information to police, and he called this spot "spiritual."
GRACE: "Spiritual." And it just so happens his child dies there.
Solomon Jones, WURD, I want to talk about the locks on the family door. He says the baby gets put to bed around 9:00 o`clock, OK?
He also lies to police about his activity. He says he goes to bed, too, but his phone shows that`s not true. He is breaking in to his girlfriend`s
Snapchat and all of her device accounts well into the night, 1:00 or 2:00 o`clock in the morning.
But what about the locks? Because he says he wakes up, the boy is gone. He would have had to go through two locks on the door. What kind of locks,
Solomon?
JONES: Yes. Apparently they were pretty sturdy locks and they were locks that he would have heard. The child only slept about nine feet away from
the door. It`s a small apartment. The father would have heard that child opening those locks.
And again, the child is 3-year-old, small hands, probably -- not very probable that he would have been able to open those locks by himself.
GRACE: And I`m wondering how high up on the wall the locks are. You`re seeing video of Brendan from Instagram.
Dr. Lee Norman, Chief Medical Examiner, University of Kansas Hospital. Dr. Norman, thank you so much for being with us.
Now, the cause of death, we know, has been cited as homicidal violence. I can`t tell if the boy drowned to death or was asphyxiated in another way.
He was found, I think, face down in that mucky water with bruising around his collarbone.
DR. LEE NORMAN, CHIEF MEDICAL EXAMINER, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS HOSPITAL: That would suggest that there`s physical trauma to the head and neck. If it`s
purely drowning, you would expect about 80 percent of the time to have water in the lungs, 20 percent not. With either of the other one,
suffocation or strangling, you`d expect bruising and other kinds of injuries around the head and neck.
[20:40:00] GRACE: Ben Levitan, telecommunications expert out of Raleigh.
Ben, leading up to the boy`s disappearance and death, the father and his young girlfriend exchanged nearly 600 text messages, all right? How do we
know that that night he`s so jealous of the girlfriend, afraid she`ll leave because of his little boy, how do we know he broke into her Snapchat? How
can you tell that, Ben Levitan?
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT: Well, you know, the phone company keeps record of every single text you send or receive. We would know
exactly -- we know the general area he was when he sent and receive those texts. Now that they`ve (inaudible) when they have his phone and they have
the contents of all those text messages, Nancy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:45:00] GRACE: A rich kid gets high on weed and Xanax mows down four people dead, a fifth paralyzed. He gets straight probation. Then he`s
caught on video playing beer pong. He and his mom go on the run to Mexico, dying his hair black.
Ethan Couch blows $2,000 at a Mexican strip club. While he`s on the run, he`s busted ordering pizza on a cell phone, being tracked by cops.
Breaking right now, tonight, a judge lets the mom, `affluenza mom`, walk free. Did nobody tell the judge she just fled to Mexico with her son? This,
after her excessive whining about the lighting in her jail cell. `Affluenza mom` caught smirking at the camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He`s the kid who killed four people when he was 16, driving drunk, and was only sentenced to 10 years probation and rehab
because his attorney claimed he was influenced by `affluenza.` This video, allegedly of the now 18-year-old Couch, playing beer pong was posted to
Twitter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Robyn Walensky, Senior News Anchor with "The Blaze," Robin, thank you for being with us. I did not see this coming. OK? I knew that they`d
get apprehended probably in Mexico. We predicted he would dye his hair, but getting drunk again, blowing $2,000 at a strip club, mommy bailing him out
again, and now a judge lets her walk on bond? What? Nobody told the judge she just fled to Mexico?
ROBYN WALENSKY, "THE BLAZE" SENIOR NEWS ANCHOR: Nancy, it is quite unbelievable. People here in ...
GRACE: What is that, Liz? Wait, wait. What is that on the screen? OK, there you go. There`s the strip club where he blew 2 grand. All right, seen
enough of it, Liz, but thank you. OK? Robyn, can we get back to the mom walking on bond?
WALENSKY: So she was in Puerto Vallarta with the son. He`s getting lap dances, he`s allegedly with hookers, runs out of money, goes to see mommy.
Now she`s out. She`s back here in the Fort Worth area.
She is -- been ordered by the judge, Nancy, to live with her oldest son who`s 29 years old and his family. She`s got to go for regular drug tests,
no booze. She`s got to check in with the probation officer. She`s banned from social media. She`s got and ankle bracelet on. She can`t leave the house. No
nightclubs for her. She can`t carry a gun. And my personal favorite, the judge told her, avoid bad actors. Well, who`s the bad actor here? Her own
self.
GRACE: She is the bad actor. And so is her son. I`m with two lawyers, Jeff Gold and Riah Greathouse. All right, Jeff Gold, what -- did nobody tell
this judge she just got back from helping her son run out on his probation conditions? She just got dragged back from Mexico?
GOLD: I got to tell you, I agree with that, but he also ordered that she have a competency examination to see if she`s crazy.
GRACE: Are you hearing me (ph)? That woman is -- you know what?
GOLD: Well, that`s apparently her defense, that she`s insane.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Dr. Daniel Bober -- Dr. Daniel Bober, Forensic Psychiatrist, please help me. This is a woman who has run through the husband and the money like
they`re water. She led police on a chase that lasted for weeks, hiding out in Mexico. This woman is not insane. She had the wherewithal to withdraw
...
BOBER: Nancy.
GRACE: ... $30,000 before she skipped town. What?
BOBER: Nancy, this -- this case is a joke. It`s a disgrace. The son never took any responsibility for his behavior. The mom reinforced it.
And now you can see the apple doesn`t fall far from the tree. The mother`s exactly the same way. She acts with complete impunity and takes no
responsibility for her actions.
GRACE: To Dr. Lee Norman, Chief Medical Examiner, University of Kansas Hospital, Dr. Norman, four dead, one left forever permanently paralyzed.
They can`t eat, they can`t move, all they can do is see, Dr. Norman. What would cause that type of a forever permanent injury?
NORMAN: Well, it`s usually a head injury that causes that kind of total paralysis and inability to have any of the bodily functions. Tragic cases,
no question about it.
GRACE: Dr. Lee Norman, Chief Medical Officer, University of Kansas Hospital.
Back to Robyn Walensky, Senior News Anchor with "The Blaze." So, who is this judge that lets mom walk?
WALENSKY: Well, he is in the Tarrant County area, and his point, Nancy, on the reducing the bond from a million dollars to the $75,000 is the fact
that he`s saying, well, you know, this is a third-degree felony, and this is not a capital murder case. That was his justification.
GRACE: Oh, OK. So they`ve already flouted the law once.
(CROSSTALK)
WALENSKY: ... but we want her to show up for the trial. I want to make one point. You know, she is acting, you know, high maintenance here, saying
that the lights in the jail were too bright. She couldn`t sleep because other inmates are staring at her. I mean, it`s really quite stunning.
[20:50:00] GRACE: (Inaudible) one of the hangout, the beach side bungalow there in Mexico, that was probably a lot nicer, but she doesn`t have to
worry about that anymore, because the judge just let her walk just like they let her son walk on straight probation.
Joining me right now, Colleen Sheehey Church, the national president of mothers against drunk driving. Please, weigh in on the fact that this judge
let this mom walk when she was hiding a four-time killer.
COLLEEN SHEEHEY CHURCH, NATIONAL PRESIDENT OF MOTHERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING: You know, Nancy, I have to agree with the people that are on your
-- on your -- on your table right now. I mean, we were outraged. We were angry. We were mad. The fact is that we know that the number one influencer
to children are their parents.
So we obviously know that Tonya has influence, and had a key role in her son`s upbringing. So when you look at it that way, you try to say, you
know, what the heck is going on?
But, you know, we don`t want to take away from the importance of what Ethan has done, the fact that he`s pled guilty, he killed four people, he
seriously injured others, knew a video was coming out and then he fled the country.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: With the help of his mommy! Justin Freiman, what`s going to happen now?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE SHOW EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Well actually, this mom is out, she is stuck in her home. She cannot leave the home and she
knows that ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Am I supposed -- what are - do you (ph) feel sorry for her? These four people are dead, one is permanently paralyzed and the judge lets the
mommy, who took her son on the run, walk free.
She`s at home having chicken soup tonight, while these four people`s families are still crying.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The first court appearance by Tonya Couch.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Four lives lost, many others changed forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A 16-year-old who was driving three times over the legal limit for an adult when he killed four strangers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not only had three times the legal limit of alcohol in his blood, but Valium as well.
GRACE: Four people dead, one left, a fifth one, permanently paralyzed. He gets straight probation and actually argues to the judge, he and his family
are so rich, so affluent, he doesn`t know right from wrong and cannot relate to normal people.
This, after he`s caught on video with his friends robbing Walmart, stealing booze from Walmart, gets straight probation then caught playing beer pong.
You know, Justin Freiman, another offensive moment is when this guy`s mom, who takes him on the run to Mexico, actually argues in court she`s broke.
Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much money is in that account, if she were to have access to it?
ETHAN COUCH, `AFFLUENZA TEEN`: I (inaudible) negative $99 billion.
FRED COUCH: That`s my son.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say that - I`m sorry, say that again?
E. COUCH: It was negative $99 billion, if you pull up her account.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Negative $99 billion?
E. COUCH: Yep.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Okay. How much money were you expecting to be in that account before you discovered there was a hold on it?
E. COUCH: I don`t know exactly. I didn`t know how much she had in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Justin Freiman, did he say there`s negative $99 billion? I mean, he could buy Apple computers with that. Just $99 billion? And she`s poor-
mouthing that she needs us to pay for her lawyer, are you kidding?
FREIMAN: That`s right, Nancy, $99 billion, negative $99 billion. They also - now, remember, investigators say she took out $30,000 before fleeing to
Mexico and now she`s claiming she has no money.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Oh, whoa, wait a minute. Riah Greathouse, She spends 30 grand hiding her kid, who kills four people, in Mexico. Two grand at a strip club and
now she`s poor-mouthing, saying she`s indigent? Really?
GREATHOUSE: Well, Nancy, let`s -- first know what a bond is supposed to be. It`s not supposed to be a punishment.
GRACE: That`s not what I asked you.
GREATHOUSE: It`s not supposed to be a punishment. It`s only supposed to secure that she shows up at later dates.
So anything that she puts forward should be sufficient. She doesn`t have to put up a billion dollars.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I don`t know even what you`re talking about. I don`t even know what you`re saying. I`m asking you why she`s claiming she`s indigent and you`re
talking about the bond. I could only assume it`s because you don`t want to answer that question.
Let`s remember, American hero, Army Specialist Javier Villanueva, 25, Temple, Texas. Bronze star, Purple Heart, combat medic. A modern-day
cowboy, embodied spirit of the west. Parents, Christine and Wilfredo. Three brothers, widow, Felicia, daughter, Taliyah. Javier Villanueva, American
hero.
Tonight, our thoughts and prayers to our friend, Craig "Hollywood" Lyle (ph) in the fight of a lifetime. The entire law enforcement community
standing with you, Craig. Our prayers going up every night. Stay strong.
And happy birthday to a 12-year-old little crime fighter, Mario Mazzarella (ph). Isn`t he handsome?
And happy birthday to our superstar, music, NASCAR, Broadway lover, Justin Freiman! We go back all the way to Court T.V.
Thanks to our guests, and especially you for being with us. Nancy Grace, signing off. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8 o`clock sharp, Eastern. Until
then, good night, friend.
[21:00:00]
END
