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Nancy Grace
Tot Girl Dies From PJs Wrapped Around Head; Woman Claims Empire Steals Her Life; Drunk Driver Runs Down Family, Aired 8-9p ET
Aired April 05, 2016 - 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. A beautiful 1-year-old tot girl found dead, pajama bottoms wrapped tight around the baby`s face. Bombshell
tonight. If this is just an accident, why did Mommy wait hours and hours to report the baby is dead?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kayla Monique (ph) Stouten-Orzoco could face decades behind bars for the death of her 15-month-old baby girl. One of the
mother`s children told police that the mother, who was tired of listening to her baby crying, tied a pair of pajama bottoms around the baby`s face
and head.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, a so-called real-life Cookie claims the TV hit "Empire," seen here from Fox, steals her life. And tonight, she`s
demanding $300 million.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The runaway hit TV show "Empire" is at the center of a real-life battle. A self-described former drug kingpin says the super diva
character Cookie Lyon (ph) is based on her autobiography.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They`re going to pay more than that.
Oh, I`m going to win. What jury in the world wouldn`t let me win?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tragedy, a woman driving drunk plows down a 5-year-old little girl dead, the mother and a sister still in ICU, all three thrown 70 feet up
into the air. Thirty-seven-year-old drunk driver Jessica Cowan (ph) only stops when a female good Samaritan runs to the middle of the road, chasing
her down, blocking her for killing Moore (ph).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. A beautiful 1-year-old tot girl found dead, pajama bottoms wrapped so tight around the baby`s face! Now, if this is an
accident, why did Mommy wait hours to report the baby is dead?
You know, Stacey, I want to go through the facts. Let`s start with that. The day that the tot is found dead -- what do we know happens that day?
STACEY NEWMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, the mother explained that about 6:00 PM, she had put little Star in the bathtub for a shower. She turned
the shower on and left the 15-month-old in by herself in the tub, goes through...
GRACE: Wait! Wait! Wa-wa-wait! Stacey, let me understand what you just said. She put a tot, Star Astrea (ph), she put the tot in the bath and
leaves? Did I get that part right?
NEWMAN: That`s what the mother`s claiming. She put the daughter in the shower, turned it on for a bath, and left to attend to the three other
children in the home, to make them hot dogs for dinner, when she hears a thud. She comes back to the bathroom, Nancy, and says little Star has
climbed out of the tub on her own and fallen on the floor.
GRACE: OK.
NEWMAN: She picks her back up and puts her in the shower again, stays in the shower with her, and says she crawls out of the tub on her own for a
second time, falls out and hits her head.
GRACE: OK, da-da-da-da-da! You`re telling me she hits her head twice in one day from the same incident, from the same shower, the mom keeps putting
the baby back in? How old is the baby?
NEWMAN: The baby`s only 15 months old. So she was...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... baby in the -- is it a shower or a bath?
NEWMAN: It`s a tub, but she said she turned on the shower, so I assume the shower from -- you know when you have the shower up top of the tub, was
spraying out, and the baby was in there alone.
GRACE: OK, so the baby hits its head twice. To Dr. William Morrone, forensic pathologist -- Dr. Morrone, that`s not what this is about. The
baby doesn`t die from hitting its head. The baby isn`t dead from being in the shower, OK? So that`s just apparently a prelude.
What is the cause of death, Dr. Morrone?
DR. WILLIAM MORRONE, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Any time you have a baby that`s breathing and something`s tied around the head -- it doesn`t matter what it
is. If it`s pajama bottoms, it`s the exact same thing as a barrier. Any kind of barrier could prevent this baby from breathing. And if it`s tied -
- tied around the neck, that`s even worse. That`s exactly what happened to that baby.
GRACE: But what I don`t understand, Dr. Morrone -- this was apparently done with pajama bottoms, this baby`s pajama bottoms. And the mom is
saying the baby got tangled up in the blanket and that that -- the baby died from asphyxiation. Would we agree on that, Dr. Morrone?
MORRONE: Asphyxiation and strangulation. Whatever the cord was that went around this baby`s head, there was a barrier and there was a constriction.
[20:05:10]GRACE: Could that have been an accident? Could it have been an accident? That`s what I want to know. Is there any way on God`s green
earth that the baby could have tangled itself in either a blanket or pajama bottoms and done this to itself? It was not hanging from a precipice. It
was not hanging from anything.
How could it have manually done it itself?
MORRONE: No -- no accident. We don`t tie things around babies` heads and necks. We don`t -- that`s a conscious act. That is a conscious act.
There`s no accident here. This is homicide on the death certificate. It has to be.
GRACE: OK, well, what I don`t understand is, when the cops get there, they don`t find the pajama bottoms. They don`t find the pajama bottoms, so we
don`t know that that`s what happened, and the mom`s insisting it`s a blanket.
Hold on. I`m being joined right now -- in addition to renowned forensic pathologist Dr. William Morrone, joining me now is Lori Lozano. Lori
called 911, and Lori performed CPR on the baby, Baby Star.
Lori Lozano, thank you for being with us.
LORI LOZANO, PERFORMED CPR ON BABY AND CALLED 911 (via telephone): Hi. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good. Lori, tell me how you ended up in that apartment.
LOZANO: I was visiting a friend (INAUDIBLE) neighbors.
GRACE: And you -- so you`re visiting a friend. How did you end up in the apartment?
LOZANO: We were standing outside, talking on the porch when the mother came out screaming, Help me. Can I use your phone. My baby`s not
breathing.
GRACE: Right.
LOZANO: And I grabbed the phone and dialed 911 and ran downstairs to help.
GRACE: And did you go into the apartment?
LOZANO: Yes, ma`am, I did.
GRACE: Did you see...
LOZANO: The door was open.
GRACE: ... baby Star? Did you see baby Star in the apartment?
LOZANO: Yes. There was a gentleman that was picking the toddler off the floor.
GRACE: OK, you saw the baby. And when you saw the baby, what did the baby look like?
LOZANO: She was pasty and pale and looked (INAUDIBLE) blue. She was lifeless.
GRACE: Pasty, pale, lips blue and lifeless. When you saw the baby pasty, pale, with blue lips and apparently lifeless, what, if anything, did you
do?
LOZANO: The man that was holding the baby was screaming, Help me, help me, what do I do? (INAUDIBLE) the child and cleared her airway, make sure
nothing was lodged in her throat, and started CPR on her.
GRACE: Was there anything lodged in her throat?
LOZANO: No, ma`am, there wasn`t.
GRACE: With me is Lori Lozano, who tried desperately to save baby Star`s life. Now, when you got there, you saw a man picking the baby up off the
floor, screaming, Help me, help me, what do I do? Did you at any time, Ms. Lozano, see a pair of pajamas, baby`s pajamas?
LOZANO: Not specifically a pair of pajamas. It was very dimly lit. That apartment was pretty messy.
GRACE: OK, so question. Do you recall seeing pajamas, the baby`s pajamas?
LOZANO: No, ma`am. No.
GRACE: OK. How about a blanket. Was there a blanket? The baby, was she wrapped in a blanket?
LOZANO: No, she was not (INAUDIBLE) blanket.
GRACE: Ms. Lozano, Lori Lozano, what was the child wearing?
LOZANO: I honestly don`t recall that she was wearing anything, or if she was.
GRACE: OK. So if she was, you don`t recall it. Right. You went and you began to perform CPR on baby Star. What kind of CPR? What exactly did you
do to save the baby`s life, try and save the baby`s life?
LOZANO: I was doing chest compressions and mechanical breathing for her mouth to mouth.
GRACE: So mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, you tried that?
LOZANO: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: So you did mouth-to-mouth while holding the baby`s nose, and at the same time doing the appropriate chest compressions that are taught with
baby CPR. That`s exactly what they teach you to do. And that is what you did, did you not?
LOZANO: Yes, I did.
GRACE: Now, when you are performing CPR on the baby, was the baby on a sofa? Was the baby on the floor? Where was the baby situated?
LOZANO: I placed the baby back on the floor, on the carpet.
GRACE: Which is exactly what you`re supposed to do. The victim is supposed to be on a hard surface. Question, Lori Lozano. What, if
anything, was the mother, Kayla, doing while you`re trying to save her baby`s life?
[20:10:03]LOZANO: She was standing above me and asking -- I remember her asking, Is she breathing, is she dead? Is she dead, is she going to be OK?
The man (INAUDIBLE) was screaming, How did this happen? How did you let this happen? How could this happen?
GRACE: How long, Ms. Lozano, did you try to perform CPR?
LOZANO: I felt like an eternity. I have no idea how long it was.
GRACE: When you were performing CPR, Ms. Lozano, was the baby cold to the touch?
LOZANO: Yes, ma`am. She was cold and clammy.
GRACE: Cold and clammy. Was -- had rigor set in at that time? Was the child stiff?
LOZANO: No, she wasn`t stiff.
GRACE: She was not stiff. Did you see any signs of vomit or mucus coming from the baby`s nose?
LOZANO: Yes, ma`am, she had mucus in her nose.
GRACE: She had what?
LOZANO: She did have mucus in her nose.
GRACE: Mucus in her nose. Was it coming out of her nose or just in her nostrils?
LOZANO: It was coming out of her nose.
GRACE: Coming out of her nose. When did you finally stop your attempts at CPR?
LOZANO: I didn`t stop CPR until the paramedics took her from hands.
GRACE: Lori Lozano with us, the hero that tried to save the baby`s life. Let me ask you, Ms. Lozano, when I asked you how long you performed CPR,
you said it seemed like an eternity. Why do you say that?
LOZANO: I remember thinking (INAUDIBLE) so many thoughts run through your head when you`re -- when I was doing it. I just kept telling myself I
couldn`t stop because what if it was one of our babies? What if it was one my babies? I can`t give up.
GRACE: And Ms. Lozano, after the EMTs come and they take the baby away, did you speak to the mother, Kayla?
LOZANO: I didn`t speak to her personally. I gave her a hug. She seemed - - she didn`t talk much.
GRACE: Was she crying?
LOZANO: I don`t remember actual tears. I remember hearing her sob, but I don`t remember seeing tears.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:16:15]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police in Galveston are investigating the mysterious death of a 15-month-old toddler girl named Star. Police were
called to the home by the mother`s neighbor after the mother asked for assistance when she found the child unresponsive and not breathing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, mystery surrounding the death of this tiny baby. Was the baby asphyxiated by pajamas tied around her head, a murder or an accident?
With me right now, the hero that tried to save the baby`s life, Lori Lozano. Lori, again, thank you for being with us. Isn`t it true that your
friend you were visiting observed the mother standing outside on and off throughout the day smoking and actually complaining that she and the
boyfriend had had a big fight?
LOZANO: Yes, ma`am.
GRACE: I want to go now to a special guest joining us, Amber Stouten, the sister of the mother, the sister of Kayla Stouten. Ms. Stouten, thank you
for being with us.
AMBER STOUTEN, BABY`S AUNT (via telephone): Hi, I`m sorry. This is a lot (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Ms. Stouten, I want to ask you a very narrow question. Do you believe your sister, Kayla, would have ever harmed her baby?
STOUTEN: No. And I`ve known her all my life.
GRACE: Why do you believe that one of the other children would have told that she tied pajamas around the baby`s head?
STOUTEN: See, that in court got thrown out because it was not true.
GRACE: Well, I`m asking you, why would the little 6-year-old have even said that?
STOUTEN: Because -- well, when she got picked up out of school to go get questioned...
GRACE: Right.
STOUTEN: ... she was coming home, no -- they didn`t let my sister nor Joe (ph) know -- she was coming home with (INAUDIBLE) toys. She was coming
home with life-sized Hello Kitty dolls. And where is she getting all this?
The lawyer told me and my family that the detective that was on the case, she really (INAUDIBLE) I can`t say the word. She likes attention, and she
wants -- this is her first murder case. She wants to sit there and be able to say that she closed this case. She got a murder case closed.
He straight up told her that, from the beginning, she told my sister, You killed this baby and somebody`s going to pay for it.
GRACE: OK, let me understand something. With me is the sister of the mom, Kayla, the sister Amber Stouten. Amber, are you telling me that it`s your
belief the 6-year-old stated, Mommy wrapped PJs around the baby because she was more or less bribed by the detective, by giving her toys?
STOUTEN: Not only that, they also got it on film that they asked her, Zeta (ph), are you trying to tell us the truth? And she said no. And they
said, Why? Because you`re scaring me. They have that on video.
GRACE: What can you tell me about that, Dr. Morrone? You know, this is a he say, she say here. The 6-year-old, the 6-year-old sister, Dr. Morrone,
insists that the Mommy tied PJs around the baby`s head and neck and that the 6-year-old tried to get them off.
Dr. Morrone, does any evidence suggest this could have been an accident? Because if this is not an accident, this is first degree murder.
[20:20:09]MORRONE: First of all, what you have is a clammy, pasty, cold body, based on the testimony of the person who tried the CPR. Any time
that you would have something, that you would have somebody go down, they`re still going to be warm. And if this baby was huffing and puffing
and trying to breathe, it would have been hot. So there`s a lot of time in between there that the baby didn`t overheat. It was left.
So in addition to the assault of the baby and the asphyxiation, there`s the not calling for help, not getting timely medical care...
GRACE: I hear you, Dr. Morrone. Maybe I`m asking you to pull a rabbit out of a hat. But I want you to know if those abrasions on her neck tell you
she was strangled or not because I don`t think a baby could wrap something around its neck that tight.
MORRONE: Any time you have any marks on the lower face or neck of a baby and some kind of history of something being tied -- that`s not -- we just -
- we don`t do this to babies. We don`t do this. This is not natural. It`s not any part of child care.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:25:28]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police arrived at the Galveston home of Kayla Stouten-Orzoco and discovered a neighbor performing CPR on her child.
Authorities determined the baby had already been dead for about 1 to 2 hours by the time they arrived.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Joining me out of New York, Alex Sanchez. Joining me out of Atlanta, defense attorney Jeff Gold.
OK, Alex Sanchez, give me one reason why the mother should not go down for murder one, one good reason.
ALEX SANCHEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I think based upon the information that we have now, there`s definitely insufficient information to determine whether
or not this was intentionally done or there was some, you know, improper or negligent action on her part.
And then we have some pieces of information -- I would like Dr. Morrone to comment on this. We have an eyewitness that said there was no marks around
the neck. So if there`s no marks around the neck, isn`t that inconsistent with some type of choking around the neck? I`d like him to comment on
that.
GRACE: OK, what witness are you talking about?
SANCHEZ: The young lady that was -- first came in to help with the CPR, she said there was no marks around the neck.
GRACE: OK, she was...
SANCHEZ: ... and to me, that was inconsistent.
GRACE: ... administering CPR. I don`t know that she was looking forensically for marks. But that`s a point. OK, Gold, weigh in.
JEFF GOLD, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I don`t know if she caused the marks by mistake. All we know is that...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... around the neck by mistake?
GOLD: There was negligence here, we know at the very least, in not getting the medical treatment after the fact. Maybe she caused the death. Maybe
she didn`t. It was extreme negligence. She endangered the welfare of the child, but that`s probably all we really know.
GRACE: Joining me right now is a special guest. It is the chief of the Crimes Against Children division in Galveston County DA`s office. With me
is Adam Poole. Adam, you know the case intimately. Simply put, were there marks on the baby`s neck, Adam?
ADAM POOLE, CRIMES AGAINST CHILDREN DIV., GALVESTON CO DA (via telephone): Yes, there was no doubt that there were marks. It was really on her face.
It was extending all the way from her lips, around her cheeks and then bruising on her ear, and then the bruising continued onto the back of her
head. And EMS noticed it immediately once they first saw the baby.
GRACE: Interesting. You`re giving me a whole different scenario, Adam. And you`re saying that the bruising or the marks were what, from the nose
to the chin and back around?
POOLE: Really it`s from the edge of the mouth all the way...
GRACE: Edge of the mouth.
POOLE: ... going horizontally across the cheeks and all the way around.
GRACE: So Adam, what is the theory as to how she could have been ligature strangled with PJs that way, what putting it over the baby`s mouth so the
baby won`t cry?
POOLE: That`s exactly the theory. The theory, the night of, when the autopsy was performed, was just that something cloth-like was used to
strangle the child. It wasn`t until eight days later that the oldest child disclosed that she had seen what happened. And that`s when she said that
the mother used pajama pants specifically to do that, to muzzle the baby so that she couldn`t cry.
GRACE: Adam, what do you think lead up to the baby`s death?
POOLE: Well, what we know is that the mother had broken up from the father four days prior to this. So she is home alone with four young children.
The conditions were pretty horrible. It was a very filthy apartment.
And she had been making public comments on Facebook and things about how she was extremely frustrated and how being a parent was difficult. And
we`re talking about a timeframe right around midnight. And according to the child that gave the statement, this youngest child just wouldn`t stop
crying. So this is a case of a mother who it appears got to a point where she just lost control.
GRACE: Everyone, you are seeing pictures of baby Star and the mother, Kayla. With me, special guest Adam Poole, the chief of the Crimes Against
Children division.
Adam, on a conviction of child endangerment, isn`t it true that she would now be eligible for parole in just five years?
POOLE: That is -- well, on a conviction of child endangerment and a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, yes, she would be eligible for
parole after serving half of that time. So that would be five years.
GRACE: And Adam, what, if anything, did she say? Did she say anything inculpatory or exculpatory?
POOLE: The only really inculpatory things I would say that she admitted to that night when she gave her statement was that she was alone with the
child. She admits that all day and all night, there had been no one else in that apartment but her.
[20:30:10] But the explanation that she gave is that she left the child asleep on a couch with a blanket. And that she went outside to smoke a
cigarette. And when she came back in, the child was all wrapped up in the blanket and not breathing.
NANCY GRACE, HLN NANCY GRACE SHOW HOST: Adam Poole, how long do you think she waited to call a police?
POOLE: It`s really only Kayla knows how long after she found her child unresponsive before she called. But what we can piece together from the
time line is that when an EMS got there, which was very quickly, they determined that the child had been dead for at least an hour as long as two
hours.
So, she conceivably could have waited up to two hours before calling anybody.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Tonight, a so called real life Cookie claims the TV blockbuster hit "Empire" steals her life, and tonight, she is demanding $300 million.
[20:35:01] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A self-described former drug king pin says the super diva character Cookie Lyon is based on her autobiography.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TARAJI HENSON, "EMPIRE" COOKIE LYON CHARACTER: And I really want them to be persecuted because I have scars in my heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now a woman, Sophie Eggleston is suing Fox and show producers for hundreds of millions.
GRACE: That is "Empire" from Fox that you were just seeing. And joining us tonight is the real live Cookie or who purports to be the real live Cookie.
Before I get to Sophia Eggleston, to Alan Duke, editor-in-chief leadstories.com, give me what the lawsuit says in a nutshell.
ALAN DUKE, LEADSTORIES.COM EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Ms. Eggleston...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Did you see cookie put a whooping on is that girl -- oh, yes, there goes the wig, there it goes. Yes.
DUKE: She`s my favorite television character, Cookie. The lawsuit is -- Ms. Eggleston is claiming that she wrote a book that she shared with
someone in Hollywood, who then she believes, alleges, shared with Lee Daniel, the creator of "Empire." And that she alleges they copied her life
character and created Cookie Lyon who`s this incredible character played by Taraji P. Henson.
GRACE: You are seeing video from "Empire." It`s a major blockbuster hit and there`s Cookie, we`re showing you Cookie, Cookie and Cookie. This is
"Empire" from Fox.
And according to her, Sophia Eggleston, she is the real life Cookie, and she wants a piece of the pie. With me, Sophia Eggleston. Ms. Eggleston,
tell me why you are the real life Cookie. Because if you are, you are looking at a heap of money. So, why are you the real cookie?
SOPHIA EGGLESTON, CLAIMS TO BE REAL-LIFE COOKIE LYON: Because I`m the one that wrote and that`s why...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Now I`ve a copy of your book.
EGGLESTON: Yes.
GRACE: Now what`s the name of your book? "The Hidden Hand?"
EGGLESTON: "The Hidden Hand."
GRACE: And tell me how you are, how can you prove you`re the real Cookie?
EGGLESTON: First of all, Frida Grant Miller took me to her home, showed me the butler, told me she was giving it to Lee Daniels, she -- before they
decided to cut how she informed me that she was on her way there to meet with him and she was coming on to Detroit to spend four days to work out
details and then I never hear from her again after that returning.
GRACE: OK. Sophia Eggleston is referring to a woman named Rita Grant Miller who is a screenwriter. You`re seeing "Empire" from Fox. And there
comes Cookie.
Now, let`s take a look at any similarities that Ms. Eggleston is claiming between her and Cookie. OK, number one. They`re both women. All right,
well, that`s 51 percent of the population. They`re light skinned African- American. True. They both have straightened hair. Ok, there you go, that`s about 40 percent of women. The population.
Expensive wardrobe. OK. Prolific user of the word bitch. OK, that I think would be about 50 percent of the population. Prolific user of the word hoe.
OK, that could be quite a bit of the population.
Now here we go, these are more serious. Sophia Eggleston says they both lead a gang that sold drugs, own firearms, went to prison for running a
drug ring. Put a hit on a man and has a gay relative. OK, now, hold on, keep that up there.
Not very many people have lead a gang that sells drugs, own firearms, that`s common. Went to prison for running a drug ring. That`s not common.
Put a hit on somebody, that`s not common. Has a gay relative, that`s extremely common.
So, I think the major similarities are, you lead a gang that sold drugs and you went to prison for running a drug ring and ordered a hit.
Now, back to Sophia Eggleston. Ms. Eggleston, you went to prison for drugs, but you did not go to prison for running a drug ring?
EGGLESTON: I went to prison for murder.
GRACE: All right, you know what? That`s right. It was manslaughter. You sure did.
EGGLESTON: Yes.
GRACE: Tell me about the drug ring. Because that would be the similarity, a very significant similarity with Cookie.
(CROSSTALK)
EGGLESTON: It`s in the book.
GRACE: Your drug conviction -- your drug conviction dealt with growing and distributing marijuana, correct?
EGGLESTON: No.
GRACE: OK. What was your drug conviction?
EGGLESTON: My drug conviction, I don`t want to talk about that.
(CROSSTALK)
[20:40:00] GRACE: OK, Justin Freiman, according to the rap sheet, what is Ms. Eggleston`s drug conviction. Oh, there we go, 2005, delivery
manufacture of marijuana. All right. Do you know anything more about that, Justin?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: That was her conviction as well as fleeing a police officer, she`s also been caught with possession of a
controlled substance. So, there`s more than one drug-related.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Possession is not possession, can be one hit of crack. Possession is not going to jail because you run a drug ring. OK.
FREIMAN: Right.
GRACE: Big difference. Josh Sabarra joining me, Hollywood marketing P.R. executive, and I see bestselling author. Here`s "Empire" from Fox. Josh,
you are an "Empire" aficionado. Is this the real life Cookie? Is it Cookie? I mean...
JOSH SABARRA, HOLLYWOOD MARKETING PR EXECUTIVE: You know, I would say -- I would say, by her logic anybody could be Cookie, because the truth is, the
stories -- but the part that you`re saying is most similar...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So, I could be Cookie. I could be Cookie.
SABARRA: I could basically be Cookie.
GRACE: Because I want $300 million, too.
SABARRA: But my point is, is that the elements of the show that she`s claiming are similar to her life are really peripheral elements of the
show. They`re back story. Their Cookie`s back story, they`re not really what the show is about.
The show is basically King Lear as a primetime soap opera set against the music industry. These little elements that she`s bringing up are little
snippets of back story and flashback in the actual show. The whole thing is ridiculous if you ask me.
GRACE: You`re seeing "Empire" from Fox.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A self-described former drug king pin says the super diva character; Cookie Lyon is based on her autobiography.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HENSON: And I really want them to be persecuted. Because I have scars in my heart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, the woman, Sophia Eggleston is suing Fox and show producers for hundreds of millions.
GRACE: Three hundred million dollars to be exact. And with us tonight, claiming that the blockbuster hit empire is based on her life, that they
stole the character Cookie from her, and her book. That she not only published, but copyrighted called "The Hidden Hand."
With me is Sophia Eggleston. Sophia, Ms. Eggleston, you just heard Mr. Sabarra say that under your reasoning, anybody could be Cookie. Response?
EGGLESTON: No way. Anybody don`t have a book with a living legend and entertainers where they have personal sceneries of B.B. King, Johnny
Taylor, Tyrone Davis, dramatics, O.J.`s performance, using drugs, anybody don`t have that in their book. OK?
GRACE: OK, Josh?
SABARRA: Well, I hope that the jury and judge have a better time understanding that excuse than I do because...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Because what?
SABARRA: Because what Ms. Eggleston in the music industry? How many Grammys does she have, I`m not talking about people who are affiliated with
her, and may have been in her life or crossed her life but I don`t see the similarities between the grand scheme of her life and Cookie Lyons.
EGGLESTON: I don`t see how you can`t. You got the entertainment world, you got the streets, you got the drugs. You got a woman that wearing coats all
the time. News already seen.
GRACE: A woman that what?
SABARRA: Wearing coats all the time?
EGGLESTON: Rita purposely...
(CROSSTALK)
SABARRA: Honey, wearing coats all the time is 90 percent of my friends. Wearing expensive clothes and expensive jewelry...
EGGLESTON: No. Your friends don`t own no 30 different coats. Your friends don`t own no 30 different coats.
SABARRA: No, they have 60. Now they know.
GRACE: So, OK. I don`t want to argue about who has more boas and furs right now.
Alan Duke, let me ask you a question. "Empire" is about the music industry, right? And it`s kind of like a modern day dynasty, where there`s this very
powerful family. But the cookie character, that`s what I`m talking about, here`s "Empire" from Fox, 12 million people are watching this, and I want
to know, is it possible that the "Empire" Cookie is really Sophia Eggleston? Tell me because...
(CROSSTALK)
DUKE: One of the big problems...
GRACE: Go ahead.
DUKE: One of the problems with this is that Ms. Miller is not credited as a writer on the show. Her internet movie database credits do not touch
"Empire." There are production credits on others, and we don`t even know that she knew Lee Daniels.
GRACE: OK. Let me understand something, Justin Freiman, what Sophia Eggleston is arguing, is that she meets with this writer who is Rita Grant
Miller, and they go through her story, they go through her book, "The Hidden Hand," and then Rita, according to Eggleston, says, I`m going to
meet with these people. And then all of a sudden, she never hears from this Miller person again. And then, kaboom, "Empire" hits the air. Is that the
time line, Justin?
FREIMAN: That`s right. And she goes on to say that this person does meet with Lee Daniels and shows him the book and goes over notes that she`s
taken and that then Lee Daniels shows it to the other people that end up involved in the show "Empire."
GRACE: OK. Everybody, you`re seeing "Empire" from Fox, I want to go back to our guest Josh Sabarra out of L.A., Sophia Eggleston in Detroit.
So, Ms. Eggleston, you`re saying, Cookie is always wearing boas and coats, flamboyant coats, that`s your signature style. That she has an extensive
jewelry collection, that`s your signature style. That she straightened her hair, well, that`s all you. That she`s a light skinned African-American
that`s all you.
[20:50:03] What other similarities are you, Ms. Eggleston?
EGGLESTON: Well, due to the fact that my baby daddy was a producer my life were from the streets to the entertainment world. Due to the fact that
Cookie is very outspoken, Lucius needed her. He needs her severely all throughout my book up until Eddie dies, you see there Eddie need me, my
baby daddy.
If you read "The Hidden Hand," there`s no way in the world you could read "The Hidden Hand" and not see that "Empire" came out of "The Hidden Hand."
That`s the proof. Read the Grant Miller telling me...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: OK. Do you have proof that Rita met with the "Empire" production crew because we`ve looked and looked and researched and researched and we
can`t find a connection between Rita Grant Miller and the "Empire" show.
EGGLESTON: Well, why would Rita Grant Miller call me out to her home and sit me down and show me the movie "The Butler" and tell she think that they
could do a better job and Lee Daniels could do more justice than Rick and his auntie and ask me, let her put it together and then call me back two
weeks later and tell me that she going to kill two birds with one stone.
And she`s flying into New Jersey to meet with Lee Daniels and her daughter one day. And after a day with her daughter and the day with Lee Daniels
then she`s flying on to Detroit...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: OK. Hold on. TMI, Josh Sabarra, you`re seeing "Empire" from Fox. Is this the real-life Cookie why or why not?
SABARRA: You know, I think there are 9 gazillion real-life cookies, so no.
GRACE: And Ms. Eggleston, you`re saying you`re part of the music industry.
EGGLESTON: I said that my baby daddy, if you read the book, he was a producer, OK? He produced "Stars" and he gave shows with Johnny Taylor,
B.B. King, Tyrone Davis, O.J.s, Dramatics, Carl Carlton, George Clinton.
There`s no way in the world, first of all, they stole something from me that was so sacred. Do you know how many days that I`ve sat up at my
typewriter in prison while tears rolled down my face, writing, giving back to the world that they would make the mistakes that I made, to have that
stolen from me and being desecrated?
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A woman driving drunk plows down a 5-year-old girl dead. The child`s mother and sister still in ICU. The 37-year-old drunk driver,
Jessica Cowan only stops when a good Samaritan runs in the middle of the road chasing her down and blocking her before killing more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jessica Louise Cowan of Frazier Park, witnesses say she looked clueless and when asked what happened she said quote, "I don`t
know."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She runs at red light and strikes all three of our victims.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And they all had the right-of-way in the crosswalk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the middle of the cross walk.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 5-year-old Osmara Meza is dead because of what police say Jessica Cowan did.
GRACE: Chris Spargo, reporter at Dailymail.com. Chris, what happened? How can you mow down three people right in front of you? Were they in a
crosswalk?
CHRIS SPARGO, DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER: They were. They were in the crosswalk where they were supposed to be crossing the street, the three of
them holding hands.
GRACE: The three -- I mean, how can you not see that? I want to go to Chloe Carmichael, clinical psychologist. This woman, apparently, got drunk
on a plane, touches down. I don`t know. I still think you got to do a breathalyzer before you rent a car but she gets in a car and takes off. She
says she didn`t even know what happened.
CHLOE CARMICHAEL, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Nancy, I think that`s a wonderful idea to have a breathalyzer before you can rent a car. Maybe that`s the way
that the family can cope. I was thinking about that perhaps Osama`s law with the poor little baby girl that was killed in this terrible tragedy.
For this woman to say that she didn`t know what was happening, that they are pressing for manslaughter instead of murder because she didn`t intend
to do this is completely ridiculous.
GRACE: Brad Lamm with us, addiction specialist and founder of Breathe Live Healing Centers. Brad, please weigh in.
BRAD LAMM, ADDICTION SPECIALIST: Nancy, my last drinks were on a plane 13 years ago. I think it`s the number one drug of abuse in the country; one
out of three fatalities is because of a drunk driver. Some -- everybody should talk to their kids about -- I sadly I think she should be in jail.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: What do you think should happen?
LAMM: She should go to jail. Prison.
GRACE: You, Brad Lamm, think she should be in jail because usually you`re like...
LAMM: I do. Absolutely. Yes, I know -- but when a life is lost, I think that we`re society of justice. We have to go beyond the treatment ideas,
but I hear you.
GRACE: With me Brad Lamm, Breathe Life Healing Centers.
Let`s remember American hero Staff Sergeant Louis Cardin, 27, Temecula, California, four tours, three Afghanistan campaign medals, three sea
service deployment ribbons, military family, lost his life leading fellow marines under fire into a bunker.
Parents Mary and Fred, three brothers, sister Polly. Louis Cardin, American hero.
Forensics Files is next. Thanks to our guest but as always to you for being with us. Nancy Grace signing off. See you tomorrow night at 8 o`clock sharp
Eastern. And until then, good night.
[21:00:01] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
