Return to Transcripts main page
Nancy Grace
The Bevers Murder Target List. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired May 09, 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. Is an arrest imminent in the murder of exercise mom stabbed dead inside the local church? Did Missy`s
killer video her murder? The mom of three at Creekside church 4:00 AM to teach aerobics, surveillance video catching the killer disguised in SWAT
gear. We reveal Missy dies from multiple puncture wounds to the head and chest.
Bombshell tonight. We identify and profile the nine individuals on that police target list, including Bevers`s family members, a married male
fitness colleague, his wife, another unnamed man, a mixed martial arts expert. Who are they? What was their connection to the murdered exercise
mom?
Family writes an open letter to Missy`s killer. What clues does the letter reveal? Tonight, police suggesting the perp has an injured right foot.
And reports the unnamed male fitness colleague has his trash sifted through. Why?
Local police bring in advanced stingray equipment to capture the killer`s cellphone data. And that creepy, pervy message Missy gets just before
she`s murdered -- was that a fake, a setup to point police away from the real killer?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who murdered the mother of three inside a Texas church?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Missy Bevers had some communication with at least nine people leading up to the day she died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had recently received creepy messages from someone on social media.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could any of them be tied to the person seen in this video, the person who murdered Missy Bevers?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, police say a 9-year-old little girl`s creepy uncle takes her out of school under false pretenses. This girl in danger, the uncle
traveling in a white Dodge Caravan, dark stripe down the middle. Tonight, store surveillance of the uncle buying camping gear just before the kidnap.
And as we go to air, we obtain more store surveillance video of the girl, the 9-year-old missing girl, with the uncle after he kidnaps her, buying
provisions. Where is Carly (ph)?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tennessee authorities are ramping up efforts to find a missing 9-year-old girl pulled out of school.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say that Carly Trent (ph) is blond with blue eyes, is 4 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs 75 pounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help bring Carly to safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Is an arrest imminent in the murder of exercise mom Missy Bevers, stabbed dead in her local church? The mom of three at
Creekside church 4:00 AM to teach a Gladiator aerobics class, video catching the perp disguised in SWAT gear. We reveal Missy dies from
multiple puncture wounds to the head and chest.
Bombshell tonight. Right now, we identify and profile the nine individuals on that police target list we learned about in their secret search warrant.
We`ve got Bevers family members. We`ve got a married male fitness colleague and his wife, another unnamed man who is a mixed martial arts
expert. Who are these people? What, if anything, is their connection to the murdered exercise mom?
Family writes an open letter this weekend to the killer. What clues does that letter reveal? Police absolutely putting it out there the perp may
have an injured right foot. And we find out that unnamed male fitness colleague -- he has his trash sifted through. By police? And why? Local
police bringing in stingray equipment to capture the killer`s cell phone data.
And tonight, we find out that creepy, pervy message Missy gets just before she`s murdered -- was that LinkedIn message a fake? Was it a setup to
point away from the real killer?
Right now, straight to senior news anchor with The Blaze Network, Robyn Walensky. Robyn, it`s like drinking from the fire hydrant, what we`re
learning tonight. Let`s take a look at the profiles, Robyn Walensky. Put them up, please.
[20:05:00]Number one -- now, go slowly, Charles, because I want to explain each one of these. These are the numbers off the secret police search
warrants. There are 11 so-called target numbers that they are looking at. Number one, you got Brandon Bevers, the husband. He has two numbers. That
makes up two of the 11.
Now, listen, don`t get crazy. Every time there`s a domestic homicide, they always look at the husband first. This does not make him a suspect, but he
is on the list.
Let`s move forward. Who`s the next person on that target list? Randy Bevers. OK, we already know about him. He`s Missy`s father-in-law. He
took the bloody shirt to the dry cleaners, says it was animal blood. What`s taking so long on that DNA, by the way?
Let`s move on. That`s three of the 11 numbers. You`ve got Missy Bevers`s mother-in-law. She`s got two numbers. That`s five of the 11 numbers.
Let`s keep moving. Who`s next? Number four. OK, whoa! Stop the train! A married fitness coach, claims a neighbor saw people -- that does not say
police -- people taking bags of his trash. At a convention with Missy prior to the murder. Let`s go to number five. Number five is the wife of
the fitness coach.
Robyn Walensky, let`s pause right here, senior news editor with The Blaze Network. We are not giving out the phone numbers or the names of these
individuals that we`ve obtained from the search warrants.
Who is -- without giving me the name, who is this fitness coach? Is that another Gladiator coach? Who is he?
ROBYN WALENSKY, THE BLAZE NETWORK: He is a person that is known to Missy Bevers. And they were at a convention together, Nancy, in Austin, Texas,
right before she was murdered. He may have nothing to do with it. He could just be a friend.
GRACE: OK, hold on. You say just before she`s murdered. She`s murdered on a Monday morning, correct?
WALENSKY: Correct.
GRACE: All right. Are you saying the previous 72 hours, they were together at an out-of-town, what, sports extravaganza? What was it?
WALENSKY: It was a fitness event in Austin, Texas. And they were together there that weekend, which is about three hours, by the way, away from
Midlothian. It`s about a three-hour drive.
GRACE: Do we have video or pictures of the event we`re talking about? Specifically, what was it, Robyn Walensky?
WALENSKY: Oh, it had to do with the Gladiator boot camp, I`m told.
GRACE: OK, so the previous 72 hours before she`s murdered, she`s at Austin, Texas, at a convention I guess of boot camp enthusiasts. And he`s
there. Right? Wrong?
WALENSKY: Correct.
GRACE: OK. Is her husband there? No, he`s in Mississippi. Is his wife there?
WALENSKY: We do not believe that the wife was there.
GRACE: OK. In this line of business, there are a lot of men fitness instructors. This doesn`t mean anything. But he is on that target list of
11 numbers. OK. What`s the wife doing on there?
Lisa Pineiro, investigative reporter joining me from Midlothian, without giving the name or the phone number of the wife, what are they, all family
friends, or what?
LISA PINEIRO, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (via telephone): Well, I`ll tell you, Nancy, you know, the court of public opinion here is just running rampant
in the area. You know, everyone is playing junior sleuth and...
GRACE: OK, now, hold on. I want to look at one other thing. You know, Lisa Pineiro, investigative reporter, if you looked at my iPhone or my
Blackberry, a good 60, 70 percent of the people that text me are men. Yes, they`re all reporters and producers on our show. You can have work
colleagues -- let`s just clarify this -- without, A, having an affair, or B, them killing you, OK?
So let`s move on. Lisa Pineiro, now you`re saying that there is the fitness instructor colleague that goes with her -- they both go to the same
convention. I don`t know about them traveling together -- and his wife. So is the wife calling her or she`s calling the wife? These numbers are
popping up enough for them to look at the number?
PINEIRO: Who knows? I mean, that`s the big question, right? Nobody knows exactly how these numbers are related to Missy. They just know that they
are numbers of interest, these target numbers.
GRACE: OK, let`s go on. I think we were on number five, Liz. Let`s move on to -- here`s six. Whoa! Who`s this guy? Number six is another married
man who participates in an ironman competition.
Now, Robyn Walensky, this number is one of the nine numbers that we have profiled. Now, without giving his name or his phone number, Robyn Walensky
with The Blaze, is this guy a mixed martial arts expert?
WALENSKY: He is, Nancy. And it`s unclear if this is the same person that has anything to do with the person who was on LinkedIn.
[20:10:07]GRACE: Now, I`ve got a clarification on that. Mike Duffy, it was not the same guy. The LinkedIn guy is completely different, correct?
MIKE DUFFY, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Correct, Nancy. These are two separate individuals.
GRACE: OK, so we`ll put him in the LinkedIn category. So what`s the connection, Robyn Walensky, between Missy and a married mixed martial arts
expert?
WALENSKY: Well, his phone number is part of the nine numbers, including his wife. So there`s communication. We don`t know if he`s calling her or
she`s calling him, but his wife is also on the list.
GRACE: OK, a lot of wives are on this list, OK? And you know, can I ask you, Robyn -- they keep just throwing it at us that the perp could be a
female.
WALENSKY: The police have said that from early on, that they believe that this could be a larger woman dressed up to look like a man, and they
believe that some of the mannerisms could be that of a woman.
GRACE: OK, let`s move on. We`ve gotten through six. And seven is the wife of the mixed martial arts expert who participated in an ironman
competition. Who`s number eight? Is there a number eight? OK, a female acquaintance who was a friend. OK. Is there a number nine? Number nine
would be Missy Bevers herself. OK, that`s it.
Now, let me understand this. Lisa Pineiro, out of the 11 target numbers that they are looking at and they`re trying to find out if photos, video,
map, flashlight, GPS, all of that were used on these phones -- these are the nine people that comprise those 11 numbers. Is that right, Lisa
Pineiro?
PINEIRO: Yes, that`s the way we understand it. Also, one of those couples is a friend -- the parents of a friend of their daughter, of Missy`s
daughter.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:16:06]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missy Bevers had some communication with at least nine people leading up to the day she died. Could any of them be
tied to the person seen in this video?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My wife was a -- she was a godly woman.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Money problems and extramarital affairs were a problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: For those of you just joining us, we have identified and profiled those 11 numbers that police are targeting. Of those 11 numbers, there are
only 9 individuals. Of course, Missy is in there herself, exercise mom. Her husband is in there. Of course, they`re looking at him. That doesn`t
mean he did it. That means he`s her husband. Of course, they`re going to look at him.
The father-in-law that took the bloody shirt to the dry cleaner is in there. A mother-in-law is in there. She`s got two. The bio mother-in-law
and the step-mother-in-law. So of these nine numbers, there are seven individuals.
Then you`ve got the LinkedIn guy. Let`s see his profile. Now, what do we know about the LinkedIn guy, Robyn Walensky with The Blaze? Don`t give me
his name or number, please. What do we know about him? He`s the martial arts expert. The guy calling on the phone, ironman, not mixed martial
arts. They`re both married, though. So what do we know about LinkedIn?
WALENSKY: All we know is that text messages on LinkedIn -- you know, actual e-mails on LinkedIn is how it works -- were exchanged and that the
two of them, Nancy, are in the same field, the same profession.
GRACE: Now, hold on. Let me understand something. Matt Zarrell, you`ve got the ironman competitor who is one of the nine individuals, one of the
11 phone numbers that police are looking at. Then you`ve got the LinkedIn married man who has a wife and two children. And he is the mixed martial
arts expert, right?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Yes. Correct. You`re exactly right.
GRACE: Now, let me understand, Matt, he`s the one that was sending her intimate messages.
ZARRELL: Correct. Yes. The LinkedIn guy who is the mixed martial artist, he was the one exchanging intimate messages with Missy Bevers.
GRACE: OK. I want to clarify something. Lisa Pineiro, investigative reporter, when you read the search warrant, it talks about intimate
relationships outside the marriage. Does it indicate either Missy or the husband? Does it identify who they`re talking about?
PINEIRO: Well, when they talk about the LinkedIn account, they`re very clearly talking about Missy`s LinkedIn account, and you know, conversations
that she`d had with this person that the search warrant deems as, you know, intimate conversation. So yes, when we`re talking about LinkedIn, most
certainly.
GRACE: OK, so the LinkedIn guy is not on the phone list. Ben Levitan, telecommunications expert joining me from Raleigh -- Ben, they were
automatically -- immediately deleting -- or at least she was, I think -- both or one of them were immediately deleting the conversations they`re
having on LinkedIn. A, I didn`t know you chatted on LinkedIn. That`s what I thought was a professional networking device. But is it true they cannot
pull up all those conversations just because they were deleted?
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT (via telephone): No, Nancy, LinkedIn clearly has a backup in case their system goes down. For a
limited time, it should be possible to recover everything from LinkedIn.
GRACE: And let me understand something else. Robyn Walensky with The Blaze, tonight, Midlothian police bringing in the NYPD, New York Police
Department, and stingray equipment. What is it, and why, Robyn?
WALENSKY: Well, I will tell you, Nancy, I was on the phone today with one of my best sources in the NYPD. And this person tells me that the NYPD has
the best equipment in the world.
[20:20:02]In the post 9/11-era, the department had to up its game because they were very busy tracking terrorists. And now this equipment is being
used in a lot of domestic situations here in the United States.
GRACE: So domestic situations. Ben Levitan, a stingray essentially is like a mini-cell tower. And it replicates what a cell tower does. Now,
why are they using it now? I mean, isn`t that a day late and a dollar short? I mean, why would you use it now? Or can it go back and retrieve
phone numbers from the time she was murdered?
LEVITAN: You`re absolutely right, Nancy. I think this shows a little desperation on the police`s part. We know that they did a cell tower dump
between 3:00 o`clock and 5:00 o`clock. They got a list of all the phones that were near the church between 3:00 and 5:00. I believe -- and they --
I believe that one of the numbers they are interested in, they can`t find a name to associate with that phone. Possibly, it was a prepaid phone that
nobody ever put their name down.
GRACE: Oh, OK. I know what you`re saying, Ben Levitan. Did the killer use a prepaid phone from, like, a 7-Eleven? I got you. Or is all this
talk about stingray just to throw off the killer?
Another red herring we`re looking at -- I want to go to you, Lisa Pineiro, investigative reporter -- is that LinkedIn message. Missy shows it to a
friend just before she`s murdered. It was creepy. It was from a man. And she and the friend, neither one recognized the man. I`m guessing something
along the lines of, I`m watching you, something like that. They both agree it was creepy, creepy.
PINEIRO: Yes.
GRACE: And I`m wondering if that`s not a red herring that the killer sent her under an assumed name to make police chase that instead of the killer.
PINEIRO: Well, certainly, this is something that police are looking at, right? And I don`t think it`s too far-fetched to think that -- and I`m
speculating here. But if the killer were, in fact, a woman, to be able to send a message like that from a creepy man, you know, would certainly send
authorities off on a goose chase. So I mean, I think the possibility is there.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:26:26]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A mom with three kids and a husband, Terri Bevers was found dead inside the Creekside Church of Christ.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who was Missy Bevers in contact with just before or possibly when she was killed?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police extracted deleted information from Missy Bevers`s phone, information that confirmed an affair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To Robyn Walensky with The Blaze. Now, one of these nine people that are -- that comprise the 11 target numbers on Missy Bevers`s phone
just before she`s murdered, has their trash gone through?
WALENSKY: Yes. That is true. This person`s trash was gone through. That`s the claim, anyway. And I think that, Nancy, that maybe the numbers
leaked out through the warrant because that`s where the numbers were. And who knows, maybe somebody in the neighborhood, maybe it was law
enforcement. We really don`t know who was going through the garbage.
GRACE: Well, wouldn`t you recognize a cop coming and grabbing your trash?
WALENSKY: Unless they were undercover and wearing a T-shirt and jeans...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: That`s another thing, Robyn Walensky, is this what, the fitness colleague that goes to the workout conference? Is it his trash?
WALENSKY: I am not sure of that, Nancy. I am not sure.
GRACE: Whose trash is it, Matt Zarrell?
ZARRELL: ... that person`s trash, Nancy. It`s the fitness guy who went to the event at the same time that she did.
GRACE: OK, so the weekend before she`s killed, this guy goes to the same event out of town. It`s a big workout sports enthusiast event. They`ve
got things all over the city of Austin. It`s like a conference. She`s there without her husband. He`s there -- we don`t know if his wife was
there or not. And now this same guy says somebody`s going through his trash.
Unleash the lawyers. Jim Elliott, city attorney for Warner Robins, Yale Galanter, defense attorney, O.J. Simpson lawyer, Seema Iyer, defense
attorney out of New York. OK, to you, Seema Iyer. What`s wrong with police going through your trash, if it was police? I don`t see a problem
with that. You throw it away. You know, one man`s trash is another man`s treasure.
SEEMA IYER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I still think they need some kind of cause here. It`s absolutely a violation of their rights.
GRACE: Is that what you think?
IYER: There is no reasonable basis for them to have gone through that guy`s trash. But let`s look at the behavior of this couple, Nancy...
GRACE: No, let`s focus on the trash first. First, isn`t it true, under the Constitution, regardless of what Seema thinks the law should be, Jim
Elliott...
IYER: Oh, sure, we`re living in some kind of...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Can we go to Jim Elliott, please? Jim, the law is, when you abandon something, cops can come get it. That`s how they get DNA off pizza
crust.
JIM ELLIOTT, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Happens all the time, yes.
GRACE: Yes, fingerprints you leave behind, Jim Elliott. You leave it behind, cops can get it! It`s open game (ph).
ELLIOTT: No expectation of privacy when you`ve discarded something like that. Absolutely, I agree.
GRACE: So you put your trash out -- it certainly does. Regardless of how the defense wants the law to be, the law is, Yale Galanter, Elliott is
right. If you discard something, you abandon something, police have an absolute right -- this has been litigated many times all the way to the
U.S. Supreme Court. Police have a right to grab it.
YALE GALANTER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yes. I wish I could disagree, but I can`t. You`re right on with the law. No expectation of privacy, abandoned
property, the police. It`s fair game really to anybody. They don`t need a warrant. They don`t need probable cause.
GRACE: Well, one thing...
GALANTER: They don`t even need reasonable suspicion. They can search the trash and do whatever they want with it. It would all be admissible if
they found anything that linked something to the crime.
[20:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who murdered the mother of three inside a Texas church?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Missy Bevers had some communication with at least nine people leading up to the day she died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... have recently received creepy messages from someone on social media.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could any of them be tied to the person seen in this video, the person who murdered Missy Bevers?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:35:00] GRACE: And was that creepy message just a red herring, so to speak, to throw police off the scent of Missy`s real killer?
Tonight, we identify and profile the nine individuals that make up those 11 target phone numbers that Missy was in correspondence with just before
she`s murdered.
I want to talk about this trash issue. We find out that the male colleague is another sports enthusiast, a boot camper, so to speak. He goes to a big
convention of sports enthusiasts, the same convention Missy is at the weekend before she is murdered.
Him and his wife are both in the list of nine people, all right? Cops are looking at these numbers. He says his trash was picked through and taken
and wants to know why.
What about the padded self-defense outfits? Let`s see what that is. Matt Zarrell, why are police interested in a padded self-defense outfit?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, because if we can find the source of where this gear came from that you see on this video of the suspect
wearing, you should be able to pinpoint when it was bought, where it was bought, who bought it and, obviously, who bought it should lead you to this
person that we see on the video.
GRACE; Liz, let`s see the video, please, of the killer walking around like they own the place in Midlothian.
Now, one working theory is this person is small enough to have on padded self-defense gear underneath the uniform.
Let`s see the video of the gait. Now, police saying that the right foot appears to have an injury. Keep it on the video, please.
To Joe Scott Morgan, Certified Death Investigator, Professor of Forensics Jacksonville State University, there`s no video where the person -- yeah,
there you go. Look at the right foot. Look at the right foot. Look at the right foot. Joe Scott, if you had an injury or a surgery, say, one, two
years before, let`s say maybe you had a cast on, would that affect your gait two years later?
JOSEPH SCOTT MORGAN, CERTIFIED DEATH INVESTIGATOR: Quite possibly. If the person didn`t seek proper treatment, rehabilitation, that sort of thing.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: If you have on a cast, you got treatment. I mean ...
(CROSSTALK)
MORGAN: Yeah. Both ...
GRACE: ... to me the left foot skews out to the left. To me the person is obviously slew-footed. Both of their feet go out. But they`re right, the
right foot does.
Well, another issue, Joe Scott Morgan, stab v. puncture. Now police are reiterating they were puncture wounds, not stab wounds. Oh, yeah, it`s the
right foot for sure, they`re right -- police are right. What`s stab v. puncture? What`s the difference?
MORGAN: well, stab is going to imply that you used a sharp-edged weapon like a knife. Puncture can mean any number of things, a piece of iron
rebar. We`ve seen people be stabbed to death with tire tools, for instance.
It has to have generally a sharp point that can drive it -- drive it home. It will create a very distinctive injury, Nancy, a linear injury with a
stab generally with a puncture, it`s going to be more like a hole. It will almost look more like a bullet hole sometimes.
GRACE: Is there a way they can determine if a man or a woman inflicted the puncture wounds on Missy`s head and chest?
MORGAN: I don`t know if they can precisely determine that, but what`s very important, Nancy, is that we`re talking about relationship. If this person
is seemingly taller than the victim, they can go down in a motion like this to strike her in the chest or in the top of the head.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Here`s the ...
MORGAN: Also if they ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: This is what I`m saying, unleash the lawyers, Jim Elliott, City Attorney, Warner Robins, Yale Galanter, O.J. Defense Lawyer; Seema Iyer,
Veteran Trial Lawyer in New York.
You know, Jim Elliott, the thing is with a hammer, if that is the weapon they used, which by tonight we`re learning there was a cleanup.
Certain sources reporting there was a cleanup. We all know that means it was not random. A random guy coming in to burglarize runs into her, kills
her, he is not sticking around to clean up. He`s not getting out the Windex.
So what I`m saying, Jim, regarding the hammer, if it`s with that claw end, I don`t think you`re going to be able to tell man v. woman, angle, nothing.
ELLIOTT: I wouldn`t think so either, Nancy. And again, the height of the suspect is 5`8" to 5`9", that could easily be a man or a woman. I think
it`s going to be very difficult to determine.
[20:40:00] GRACE: OK, let`s see the open letter from Missy`s relative, the mother-in-law. Open letter is very, very revealing because the open letter
that Missy`s mother-in-law writes over the weekend to the killer, hold it, please.
Aren`t you getting a bit nervous, shaking in your `boots that look too big?`
Huh? Let`s see that video again. What does that mean, Liza Pineiro, "your boots that look too big"?
LISA PINEIRO, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, I think she`s kind of stating the obvious. I think everybody watched that video and thought, you know, it
does look curious. I think the boots do look too big. I think that the -- that the -- the whole -- the whole -- all the tactical gear, it looks -- it
looks -- everything looks too big.
GRACE: You`re saying in not so many words that you think it`s a woman. Ben Levitan, Telecommunications Expert, if they did a cell tower dump like you
told them to and they`re smart enough to do it on their own, they don`t need us, which gives you every phone number that was around that area from
3:00 to 5:00 a.m., they`ve got to have the killer in there if they had a cell phone.
Are you now saying that if it`s a prepurchase, like at a 7-Eleven, they can`t I.D. The person?
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT: Nancy, you can buy a phone and not give your name or give a fake name. I think one of the numbers that came up
was a fake name.
So what they`re doing is they`re putting a Stingray. A Stingray will identify every phone that comes into the area. They`re desperate. I think
they`re putting out a ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Ben ...
LEVITAN: ... Stingray in the hopes that phone comes back.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: ... Ben, the thing is this, Ben. Even with the Stingray if you`ve got a 7-Eleven phone, a disposable phone you just bought, still not going
to give you the name of the killer.
LEVITAN: It will not but if the phone comes back in the area, the Stingray, they`ll set that number into the Stingray, an alarm will go off if that
phone comes back to that area.
Once it does, you can move the Stingray towards that phone and capture the person. But that`s pretty desperate, Nancy.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Tonight, police say a 9-year-old little girl`s creepy uncle takes her out of school under false pretenses. He lies to the school.
This girl is in danger. The uncle, traveling tonight in a white dodge caravan with a dark stripe down the middle. Store surveillance of the uncle
buying camping gear just before the kidnap. We obtain it.
And as we go to air tonight, we get more store video of the little girl with the uncle at a grocery store just after the kidnap, buying groceries.
Where is Carlie?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Breaking news, a Tennessee amber alert for a 9-year-old girl removed from school by her uncle under false pretenses. The man has no
custodial rights to the girl, Carlie Marie Trent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Help please bring little Carlie home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Dave Mack, Syndicated Talk Show Host -- the first thing I want to look at, and we`re about to be joined by Carlie`s father,
is the video of Carlie and the uncle, the creepy uncle, Gary Simpson, age 57, at a grocery store. Look at this. There he is.
Right now, the little girl, Carlie, just 9 years old, probably has no idea what`s happening. She`s at a grocery store with who she believes is her
uncle. She`s wandering through the aisles with him innocently.
But little does this child know nor anyone at the Save-A-Lot grocery store that just before he kidnaps her from school, lying to school officials, he
is caught on Walmart video. Let`s see the video of him at Walmart. And he is buying camping gear.
Look, here he is. He`s buying all sorts of camping gear. Stay on the video, please. Dave Mack, what does it mean?
MACK: well, they see him buying camping gear just by himself before he goes and checks Carlie out of school.
He checks Carlie out of school and then goes and takes her shopping to put her at ease, picking up stuff she wants to get. And now, we haven`t seen or
heard and there is no tip and then I know you have the father on.
My heart breaks for this, Nancy, because she`s with somebody she believes is safe.
GRACE: Straight out to Carlie`s father, Mr. James Trent, joining us tonight, begging for your help to find little Carlie.
Mr. Trent, how did he get her out of school? What did he tell police officials? What did he tell school officials to get your girl out of
school?
JAMES TRENT, FATHER OF MISSING GIRL: He told them that he was picking her up because her dad, which is me, was in a serious car accident and was in
bad condition and that he needed to take her to stay with him and that she might not be back at school for a couple days.
GRACE: So they believe him. He gets Carlie out of school. Now, he was on the list when you list relatives. He was on that list and he used that
knowledge that he`s on the list -- stay on the video, please -- to get Carlie out of school by lying and saying her dad, James Trent, had a
horrible crash. He had to take her, and she wouldn`t be back for days. James Trent, were you in any crash?
TRENT: No. I was at work.
GRACE: Oh. Let me ask you, how did you find out your girl had been taken out of school?
[20:50:00] TRENT: Well, my sister called because when the bus ran, the only person that got off the bus was her little sister. And she came out with
her arms out the side and was like, I don`t know where Carlie`s at.
So, you know, my sister called the school and then called me at work. So I left immediately from work and came to the school and nobody there. That`s
when I called the cops.
GRACE: James Trent, they have been spotted at a Save-A-Lot grocer store. Where was the Save-A-Lot?
TRENT: It`s just (inaudible) maybe just, you know, two minutes from where the school is at.
GRACE: Marc Klaas, president and founder of KlaasKids Foundation, this is your expertise. What`s the word? We need a spread tonight to find Carlie.
MARC KLAAS, FOUNDER KLAASKIDS FOUNDATION: Well, you know, Nancy, this is reminiscent of the Hannah Anderson situation of a year ago. A perpetrator,
a trusted individual who took her into a remote location and where people were able to put two and two together and successfully resolve that
situation.
Now, this is a family abduction. That represents about 78 percent of all abductions. And if this little girl is still alive, then she should be
alive when they finally locate her because of all children that are murdered as a result of an abduction, 74 percent of them will be dead
within three hours.
So I think Mr. Trent has to keep his hopes alive, work with law enforcement, work with the media and this should work out the way he needs
it to work out which is a reunification with his lovely little girl.
GRACE: And tonight, for all of you at camp grounds of America, at Jelly Stone Parks, at every camping location, R.V. enthusiasts, truckers out
there on the highways, help us bring this girl home.
Her uncle lies to the school, takes her out of school. She is in danger. Please, help us bring Carlie home.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A 9-year-old little Tennessee girl has been stolen from her school. Her uncle lied to the school to get her out of school, claiming her father
had had a terrible crash.
This guy, Gary Simpson, age 57, is on the run with a 9-year-old little girl, Carlie Marie Trent. We have got to find her. He was caught on store
surveillance buying camping gear. To Carlie`s father, James Trent, does this guy know how to camp?
TRENT: He does. He hasn`t been in years, but yeah, he knows how to camp.
GRACE: Does he have children of his own?
TRENT: He has a handicapped child and is paralyzed and requires 24 hour ...
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Jim Elliott, Yale Galanter, Seema Iyer. Seema, would the cops or prosecutors cut him any slack if he would bring the girl
back safe tonight?
IYER: Great question. And yes, I absolutely think they would. If she comes back unharmed, he will get a good deal and he deserves a good deal. This is
...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Don`t start.
IYER: This is someone who was on the permission ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: He stole the girl. He lied to the police.
(CROSSTALK)
IYER: Talk to the parents. Talk to the parents, Nancy.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Yale Galanter, will they cut him a deal if he brings her back safe?
GALANTER: Absolutely. The primary goal of law enforcement in any prosecutor is the safe return of this adorable child.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: OK, from you, Jim Elliott, you`re a prosecutor. Yes/no. Cut him slack if he brings the girl back alive?
Elliott: I think it will be a factor that will be considered on sentencing.
GRACE: So you`re not committing. Greg Cason, Dr. Cason, Psychologist out of L.A. What happens to a middle-aged father suddenly in his late 50s to
suddenly kidnap a 9-year-old girl and go on the run?
GREG CASON, PSYCHOLOGIST: Suddenly he developed a romantic attraction, obviously, to this girl and then decided that this was his opportunity and
he wanted to take her, he wanted to own her, he wanted to possess her, and this is the unfortunate outcome.
To Carlie`s father, James Trent. What is your message to Gary Simpson tonight?
TRENT: Bring her home. Set her off in a safe place. Go where you want to go, but bring her back. Don`t destroy her life any more than you`ve already
destroyed it.
GRACE: Tip line, 800-824-3463, 1-800-TBI-FIND. There is a $12,000 plus reward to bring Carlie home.
We remember American hero, Bibb County Sheriff Investigator Anthony "T.J." Freeman. Killed in the line of duty when his vehicle struck by a suspect.
Narcotics (ph) investigator, SWAT officer, canine handler, set to become an instructor. Wife, Jessica; sons, Braden and Blaiklyn. Anthony "T.J."
Freeman, American hero.
And tonight, big thank you to super mom, Amy, who sent me these Squatchis as in bigfoot sasquatch. I can stick Lucy and John David`s foot on this and
get the correct shoe size. No more ordering three sizes from Amazon, hoping one will be correct. Squatchi.com. Also, thank you, Amy
"Forensic Files" up next. Thank you to our guests but especially to you for being with us. Nancy Grace, signing off. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8
o`clock sharp, Eastern. And until then, good night, friend.
[21:00:00]
END
