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Nancy Grace
Secret Jailhouse Tapes of Walmart Child Kidnap, Murder Suspect; TBI Endangered Child Alert; Young Girl`s Uncle Takes Her Out of School; Girl Hurt on Nebraska Fun Ride. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired May 10, 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 desperate mom calls 911 when her 8-year-old little girl vanishes from Walmart superstore. Video
captures the little girl as she is lured out of the store. We have the video. After a frantic search, authorities locate Cherish`s tiny body
bloody, half-clothed, submerged in murky water, weighted down with asphalt chunks. That night, he`s pulled over, soaking wet, muddy, covered in
scratches. We have the photos.
Bombshell tonight. We obtain 72 hours of secretly recorded tapes of the perp behind jailhouse walls, talking through his toilet, yes, through his
commode to a cellblock neighbor. What you will hear is disgusting! If a jury ever hears this, it`s over!
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are 74 hours of recordings of Smith in jail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And there`s one looked like about 12, 13, 14 at the most years. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) side. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (EXPLETIVE
DELETED)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It ain`t no penetration on one side. Damn girl get laying on her right side with her legs bent up to her chest, spreading
(EXPLETIVE DELETED) over here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, TBI endangered child alert. A 9-year-old little girl`s creepy uncle tricks here elementary school, yanks her out of the classroom,
this girl in danger, the uncle traveling tonight in a white Dodge Caravan, a dark stripe down the middle.
Tonight, store surveillance of the uncle buying camping gear just before the kidnap. As we go to air, we obtain more surveillance video of the 9-
year-old girl with the uncle hours after he kidnaps, her buying provisions. Breaking now. Can we track Carlie?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, I`m Carlie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do the right thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bring her home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve heard tips from all over the place.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I go to Hopkins (ph) Elementary. (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And don`t destroy her life anymore than you`ve already destroyed it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want her to be OK!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We go live. A fun ride at a local Nebraska carnival literally yanks an 11-year-old girl`s scalp off her head by her long red hair.
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. A desperate mom calls 911 when her 8-year-old daughter vanishes, Walmart superstore, video capturing the little girl as she`s
lured out of the store. Frantic search. Little Cherish is located half- clothed, bloody, submerged in murky water. That night, he`s pulled over soaking wet, muddy, covered in scratches.
Bombshell now. We obtain 72 hours of secretly recorded tapes. It`s the perp behind jailhouse walls. He`s talking through his toilet, through his
commode, in his jail cell to his cellblock neighbor, 72 hours of this guy.
Let me see him in Walmart luring little Cherish out -- this guy, talking behind bars. After he lures this little girl away from her mother, saying,
Hey, let`s go get some cheeseburgers. People heard him. What you will hear is disgusting. If a jury ever hears this, it`s over.
First, let`s go to the secretly recorded calls. Roll it, Liz.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There was two females with the client (ph), I mean, with Wesley (ph). And I don`t know, I can`t tell you how old the girls
were, you hear? But man, this one looked like about 12, 13, 14 at the most, you hear me? Big (EXPLETIVE DELETED) cantaloupe-sized (EXPLETIVE
DELETED) and got an (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that make cocoa (ph) look like (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You could set a wine glass on top of this girl`s
(EXPLETIVE DELETED). It`d sit perfectly. I`m, like, God damn! (EXPLETIVE DELETED) fake eyelashes, fake nails, fake hair. Like a grown woman, you
hear?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:05:14]GRACE: He`s talking about a 12-year-old little girl. This guy - - and I`m going to go straight to Janet Johnson, a veteran criminal defense attorney there in Jacksonville, Florida. He is behind bars, arrested, not
convicted, on luring Cherish out from under her mother`s nose, raping the child, killing the child, and from what we learned tonight, praying,
forcing the child to pray with him before he murders her.
And he is behind bars?
Where is Janet? He is behind bars, Janet, talking about other little girls like this, about how you could sit a wine glass on their behind, talking
about the size of their chest? I mean, you know what? If a jury hears this, he`s getting the death penalty. I don`t care what you or any other
defense attorney is going to say in court.
JANET JOHNSON, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, and not just behind bars, he`s in solitary, Nancy. I`ve had clients in that exact jail, in probably that
exact cell, and you think the one place where your client cannot confess to other inmates? But no, they talk through the toilet. They pass notes
through the toilet. It`s crazy. As a defense attorney, it drives me nuts.
GRACE: OK, how does it work? Here, you are seeing the last known images of 8-year-old Cherish Perrywinkle as she is lured by this child predator,
who has -- this predator has a rap sheet as long as my arm, and he still is out to prey on this little girl? Yes. And now, we`ve caught him behind
bars talking to a next-door neighbor through his commode. And this is what he`s talking about?
Janet, I think this has got to come in front of the jury. It comes to course of conduct, state of mind, MO, modus operandi. What do you think?
JOHNSON: Well, and the judge is a former prosecutor in this very office. So he has -- he`s actually used informants in this exact situation. He did
these kind of cases for the state. So he`s aware of this.
This is the first time that they`ve started recording. And I do think this judge, who I know, is going to say, You don`t have an expectation of
privacy. And it`s not in his cell. The state made a big point. This isn`t in your cell, it`s in someone else`s cell. So I think...
GRACE: Actually, in the commode. It`s a tape recorder, I understand, Janet Johnson, that`s wedged somehow in between the wall, between the
commode.
Hold on. Everyone, let me warn you, what you are about to hear is sickening. But it`s the truth. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) Yes. Ain`t no penetration on one side. Damn girl get laying on her right side with legs bent up to her
chest, spreading (EXPLETIVE DELETED) over here. And on the other side, there`s a picture on -- there`s three pictures. The picture on top is
where the girl got over (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and she got clothespins on her (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Then the second picture is the same one, but she
pulled on her clothespin and got (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and (EXPLETIVE DELETED) pulled straight out, you hear me? Then that last one is the best
one. She`s laying -- she got her hands between her legs, right, and she got six clothespins.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: OK, I had to cut that short. I couldn`t even stand to hear the rest of it because when I think of this little girl, an 8-year-old little
girl -- a lot of you are like me, that have children this age. And when I think of this child getting lured out of a Walmart, where we all go, and
then this guy is caught on audio -- it`s him talking to his cellmate.
Just right there, he`s talking about trying to sell a pornographic picture to someone else behind bars. Now, this guy should be behind bars, on his
knees, praying for forgiveness, begging the family for forgiveness. But what is he doing? He is behind bars trying to sell some pathetic picture
of pornography for $5.
That`s where his mind is, Janet Johnson. It`s so -- I don`t find it laughable! When I think of this girl dying in the back of his van, and
instead of focusing on that, he`s focusing on selling porn behind bars? Oh, yes, he needs to go to the death penalty. Yes, he does!
[20:10:08]JOHNSON: Except in Florida right now, there`s a question whether it`s constitutional. Just yesterday, Judge Hersh (ph) in Miami said it`s
not. So this is a bad time for the state...
GRACE: Whoa! Whoa! Put her up! You think I care what Judge Hersh (ph) thinks? Because the U.S. Supreme Court has said that it is constitutional.
Now, I understand the quagmire in Florida. I understand what you`re saying. It`s not -- is -- it`s not simply is the death penalty
constitutional. It`s a much more complicated question in Florida.
But I am telling you that this guy is going to get a death penalty sentence. Then it can hang up in the appeals court, like every other death
penalty.
Janet Johnson, how was -- how did this recording affect (ph)? How did it happen? How are they recording people behind bars?
JOHNSON: This is the first time. So Mr. Divini (ph), his neighbor, said, Listen, this guy is confessing to me. And the state said, We don`t believe
you. You have a bad track record. You`re a criminal, and you know, in fact, you`re a known liar.
So they said, Listen, we`ll put a tape recorder in -- the apparatus in between your cell and his cell, where the toilet is -- because they know
this happens. It`s been a known thing at this jail -- and we`ll record. And they did it.
And you know, I`m sure my clients are going to fall prey to it because, obviously, they got a good quality tape. That`s what`s amazing, is how
good the quality is.
GRACE: We have combed through, our whole staff, 72 hours of this guy bragging and yakking about the most disgusting topics to a neighbor next
door. I want you to hear this. Is it disgusting, sickening? Yes. I can`t tell you how many times I would walk out of a courtroom disgusted at
the injustice I was hearing.
As you listen to this, remember, this is the guy that`s caught on video luring an 8-year-old girl away from her mother, then assaulting her and
murdering her in the back of his van. Listen.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) somebody, man? I heard you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that dude on a 16-year-old. I heard you weren`t
(EXPLETIVE DELETED) (EXPLETIVE DELETED) in the box (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don`t want (INAUDIBLE) two girls.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said that to Taylor. (ph) I want (EXPLETIVE DELETED). He said I`m going to (INAUDIBLE) he said I`m going to (EXPLETIVE
DELETED) put him in population. And he said, You mean you`re going to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) put them in population. He said, No, I`m going to
(EXPLETIVE DELETED) him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (INAUDIBLE)
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
[20:17:20]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) why are you (EXPLETIVE DELETED) somebody, man?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I heard you want to (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that dude (INAUDIBLE) a 16-year-old.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, we have sifted through 72 hours of this man. This is the man caught on video luring an 8-year-old girl out of Walmart after meeting
her family, the mom, trying to raise three little girls. He saw she couldn`t pay, I think it was a Family Dollar. He says he`s going to meet
his wife over at the Walmart superstore. They all go over there. That`s when after spending several times together -- you see him isolate -- there
they are at Family Dollar. And he isolates this little girl as he`s talking to her, looking at her, even taking clothes back into the dressing
room for her to try on.
This little girl is assaulted and murdered, her body, half-clothed and bloody, found submerged in water, held down by asphalt chunks. Tonight, we
obtain him bragging, boasting, trying to sell porn, talking in a sexual manner about little girls as young as 12 years old.
Straight out to Kaye Smith. Dr. Smith counseled his family. The founder of Reclaimglobal.org. Dr. Smith, you have counseled his family. What did
Donald Smith`s family tell you that he said to this little girl before he murdered her?
KAYE SMITH, COUNSELED SMITH`S FAMILY (via telephone): Well, Nancy, Donald Smith`s MO was that of a very calculating sociopath. I believe he did this
primarily, in some sick way, to ease his own conscience.
Before his lawyers blocked him from having visitors, he began to confess what he did to this little girl to his family. After he abducted and raped
little Cherish, he then told her, We need to pray. So he prayed. He then said to this precious child, Now you know what I have to do. I have to
kill you. And so he did.
GRACE: I am looking at photos of Cherish Perrywinkle, just 8 years old, 2nd or 3rd grade. She died a horrible death at the hands of this man.
With me, Dr. Kaye Smith, who counseled his family and is the founder of Reclaimglobal.org.
[20:20:18]You spoke extensively to his mother. Were they aware of his behavior? I mean, they had to know he`s a convicted sex offender.
SMITH: They honestly -- and I`m very objective and subjective when I counsel with families. They were really ignorant to what capabilities,
possibilities this man had. He had convinced them he had a drug problem. He was in prison for 30 years, as you mentioned. But after he got out of
prison in May, two weeks later, he checked himself into a mental institution.
This comes from a family with bills to prove that he was there. He goes under the best therapists in Jacksonville, Florida.
GRACE: You know, I appreciate what you`re saying, Dr. Smith, and the system has flaws, but the system did not rape and kill this 8-year-old
little girl. He did. And instead of thinking about that, listen to what he`s worried about behind bars.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (EXPLETIVE DELETED) black and orange. (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED) thief (ph). (INAUDIBLE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED) you know I`m going to be on TV (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (INAUDIBLE)
(EXPLETIVE DELETED)
(END AUDIO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:26:11]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They`re recorded jailhouse conversations with another inmate.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) setting on a chair (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) wine glass on top of this girl`s (EXPLETIVE DELETED). It sits perfectly. I`m, like, God damn! (EXPLETIVE DELETED)
fake eyelashes, fake nails, fake hair.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Ray Caputo, WDBO, we have combed through 72 hours of this guy talking through his toilet to his neighbor behind jailhouse walls. Are the
tapes coming into evidence? And listen, Caputo, catch this. A lot of it`s been redacted. We can`t even get it all. The judge and the court is
hiding a lot of it from the public. Can you imagine what they`re not letting us hear?
RAY CAPUTO, WDBO (via telephone): Well, Nancy, listen, the story of these tapes isn`t so much this disgusting stuff we`re hearing. I think it`s what
we`re not hearing because 74 hours in total recorded. Only 72 hours were released.
But here`s the thing. Prosecutors had said there`s a confession on those tapes. They are not going to release it to the public. So these may very
well have a confession that we don`t even know about because it hasn`t been released.
GRACE: Meredyth Censullo, investigative reporter, what do you know?
MEREDYTH CENSULLO, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (via telephone): Exactly that, that two hours of those recordings are sealed because they are exempt from
public records laws because they might contain confession. So we really don`t know -- outside of those 72 hours of disgusting conversation, we
don`t know what the other two hours...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I think it`s more than that, Meredyth.
CENSULLO: ... most important elements in this case.
GRACE: I think it`s more than that, Meredith. Unleash the lawyers, Kirby Clements, defense attorney, Atlanta, Robin Ficker, defense attorney,
Maryland.
Robin Ficker, the point that it`s disgusting, while that is true, that`s not the probative value. In other words, what does it prove? These tapes
show his frame of mind, his course of conduct, his motive, his modus operandi, his intent. All of it is clear as a bell, the way he talks about
12-year-olds and their chest and their rear end and the way they`ve got on fake eyelashes, according to him, trying to sell pornography behind bars.
Oh, yes, it should come into evidence, Ficker.
ROBIN FICKER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, all this shows that the Florida jail system doesn`t rehabilitate anyone. He`d been there a long time. There
are 389...
GRACE: Are you kidding me?
FICKER: ... people...
GRACE: That`s all you`ve got to say?
FICKER: There are 89 people on death row. Is mowing them all down...
GRACE: Can you...
FICKER: ... going to do anything?
GRACE: ... address this issue?
FICKER: It doesn`t serve as a determent.
GRACE: Hey, you know what? You may try that on your Maryland juries and they may fall for it, but I can tell the difference between a legal
argument and a magic act, OK? So you talking about everybody else on death row -- I don`t give a flying fig about everybody else on death row. I care
about this girl, Cherish.
FICKER: It doesn`t serve as a deterrent.
GRACE: That`s who I care -- OK, you know what? You twiddle your thumbs.
What about it Clements?
KIRBY CLEMENTS, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, several things, Nancy. Number one, the audiotape is very disturbing, but it shouldn`t come into evidence
in the first place because that guy that was -- that they used to get it with was acting as a state agent, in violation of this man`s constitutional
rights. And the Constitution does mean something, and in this case, it was violated.
GRACE: Nobody is arguing...
CLEMENTS: So that shouldn`t come in.
GRACE: ... that the Constitution means nothing. You know, I like the way you throw that out there, like I`m arguing to burn the Constitution.
That`s not what I`m saying. I`m saying under the Constitution, this tape should come in evidence. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:30:03] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s two females with the client (ph) -- I mean, with Wesley (ph). And I don`t know, I can`t tell you how old the
girls were, you hear? But man, this one looked like about 12, 13, 14 at the most, you hear me? Big (EXPLETIVE DELETED) cantaloupe-sized (EXPLETIVE
DELETED) and got an (EXPLETIVE DELETED) that make cocoa (ph) look like (EXPLETIVE DELETED). You could set a wine glass on top of this girl`s
(EXPLETIVE DELETED). It`d sit perfectly. I`m, like, God damn! (EXPLETIVE DELETED) fake eyelashes, fake nails, fake hair. Like a grown woman, you
hear?
(END AUDIO CLIP)
[20:35:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Right now, TBI endangered child alert. A 9-year-old little girl`s uncle tricks her elementary school. He yanks the girl out of her classroom.
This girl is in danger. The uncle traveling tonight in a white, Dodge Caravan, a dark stripe down the middle.
Store surveillance of the uncle buying camping gear just before he kidnaps the girl. As we go to air, we obtain more surveillance video of the 9-year-
old little girl with the uncle just after he kidnaps her by provisions. Breaking right now, the FBI involved, can we track Carlie?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very -- bring her home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He bought her this nail polish, girl`s underwear, a bikini, two shades of lipstick, a nightgown while he was at that Wal-Mart
store shortly before picking her up at school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just bring her home, Gary. Please.
GRACE: The family absolutely broken hearted. This 9-year-old little girl was in school where she belonged when the creepy uncle shows up, tells the
school that the father, that the little girl`s father, James Trent, had been in a horrible crash, a car accident and he needed to take Carlie out
and she would be out for several days.
That he didn`t know if the father was going to make it or not. Because he was on a relative`s list, they let her go. They were tricked. She appears
on surveillance video with the uncle just after he kidnaps her and disturbingly, they are buying camping provisions.
Take a look at what we see. As we are looking at the video, Dave Mack, syndicated talk show host, what did they buy together?
DAVE MACK, SYNDICATED TALK SHOW HOST: Well, together, they bought food provisions at a grocery store, Nancy. He was buying her things that she
wanted to eat, to make her comfortable because, earlier in the day, as you talked about, he already thought and planned and bought all the things they
needed for camping, including her own camping chair.
GRACE: Do we know, Michael Christian, specifically, what he bought?
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: We know, Nancy, he bought at Wal- Mart some clothes, some underwear, a camp chair. And then at the grocery store, they bought a lot of canned food, they bought a lot of what looks to
be soda and a lot of paper products, paper towels and apparently toilet paper.
GRACE: Wait a minute. This guy is buying this little girl bikini underwear and a bikini, nail polish. OK. Bad. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the blanket that he purchased at that Wal-Mart store. This is the shirt he purchased for himself, a green shirt that he
might be wearing.
These are black pants that he purchased for himself. These are some khaki pants that he purchased for her. He also purchased this girl`s underwear
for her. He bought her this nail polish. Another nail polish.
This one is a sparkly green that he purchased for her. These are two shades of lipstick he purchased for her. Child`s camp chair that he purchased for
her. A nightgown that he purchased for her. And lastly, this is a bikini that he purchased for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: There`s no telling what he has told this child. According to her father, who I have spoken with extensively, he believes the uncle told her
some told tale about where they are going.
Joining me right now, I`ll take you back in that press just one moment, Josh Devine, public information officer for the TBO. Josh, thank you for
being with us. Have there been any sightings of Carlie?
JOSH DEVINE, TENNESSEE BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION PIO: Not at this point, Nancy. And right now, we are working to sift through about 600 plus kits
that we`ve received really from all across the country.
In fact, law enforcement agencies in 11 different states are pursuing leads about this girl`s whereabouts right now.
GRACE: Take a look at these states, Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky,
West Virginia, Idaho.
Question to you, PIO with TBI, Josh Devine, why those states? I was going to ask you, what states, if any, what jurisdictions does he have ties to?
[20:40:01] Like relatives? Has he ever lived there before? Does he know somebody there? Why -- let`s see the maps again. Why have these states been
selected?
DEVINE: Well, Nancy, we suspect it`s because word about this girl has gotten out there far and wide. I mean, look at her, she is a beautiful,
innocent 9-year-old girl. And she is beloved in the community. I spent the past (Inaudible) in Tennessee.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: But what I`m asking, Josh, is why would she -- why would you be alerting Georgia, Louisiana, Kentucky? Does he have relatives or
connections to those states?
DEVINE: He`s a lifelong resident of Rogers Hills, Tennessee. We`ve not necessarily reached out to those states. That`s just when where there have
been tips that have emerged, possible sightings based on media reports or information that`s been passed along to law enforcement there.
GRACE: Michael Christian, we were told that there have been sightings, have they been deemed not credible?
CHRISTIAN: We don`t just know, Nancy. There were reported sightings on Monday night and Tuesday afternoon in Idaho near the Utah border. But local
police there have said that they can`t confirm those.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Oh, see that is why. So, that`s why Idaho is in the mix.
Joining me right now, Ben Levitan, telecommunications expert. Ben, according to the father who I spoke with, the wife of this guy, I mean,
he`s been married 30 plus years. They call and he won`t pick up. They don`t say it went straight to voice mail, they say he won`t pick up.
Now, if he`s not using his cell phone, but the cell phone is on, how can we track him in the country? How can we do it?
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT: Well, Nancy, you just brought up a really good point there. When you call someone and their phone is off, it
barely rings, it goes right to voice mail. If it`s on and he`s ignoring it, it creates what`s a call detail record with the location of that phone,
even if he doesn`t pick it up.
So, that`s going to be really important. If we keep calling this phone, we should be able to trace it. The other thing, the law enforcement can do is
go to his cell phone provider and they can ping that phone just like you do with 911. They can send the signal to that phone and get its location
within 140 feet, Nancy.
GRACE: Let`s get back into that TBI presser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no information that they are in Tennessee still but we have no information that they are not in Tennessee still. So, we are
still continuing to pursue any and all avenues, believing that, quite literally, they could be anywhere. There`s every indication that he
intended to essentially go out of sight.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARLIE MARIE TRENT, KIDNAPPED KID: Hi, I`m Carlie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do the right thing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bring her home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`ve heard tips from all over the place.
TRENT: I go to Hopkins Elementary.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just bring her home.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And don`t destroy her life any more than you already have destroyed it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want her to be OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tonight, the FBI leading the investigation into the search for little Carlie. Hand-in-hand with the TBI, this creepy uncle goes to her
elementary school, lies to the school that her father has been in a horrific crash, gets her out of school.
All indications that he intends to be out of the public eye for, quote, "some time." Why do you say that Josh Devine?
DEVINE: Well, we believe that for two reasons. First and foremost when you look at that video from the Wal-Mart, he purchased items that were
consistent with camping, and as you`ve mentioned a couple of different times, he purchased apparel.
Then after he picked up the girl, he goes to the grocery store and buys p items that are nonperishable, speaking to perhaps an intent to stay out of
public view for a long time.
GRACE: Josh Devine, can you tell us if you guys are pinging his cell phone?
DEVINE: I can`t speak to specifics, but we are doing anything and everything both from on the ground talking to people perspective and also
using some digital forensics capabilities that we have.
GRACE: Fifty nine cell towers in a 47-mile radius. Let`s see the map. We know he shops at Wal-Mart. That`s where he got a lot of camping gear. The
other grocery was a save a lot last time the girl was seen alive.
Joining me also, Lillian Glass, psychologist, a body language expert. Dr. Glass, what do you make of this? For 30 plus years, happily married. No
record, no problem, nothing until now.
LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST & BODY LANGUAGE EXPERT: Well, something suspicious there. And what`s really amazing is...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I guess so! He kidnapped a girl. I would say that`s suspicious.
GLASS: Exactly.
GRACE: But I`d want you to analyze, why now?
GLASS: Well, again, only he knows why now. But the girl obviously trusted him because he`s a relative. And you could see by her body language, she
looks very relaxed, she looks like she`s not nervous, not upset. So, this is very scary. But just to buy her lipstick and bikini and bikini
underwear, that speaks volumes.
GRACE: OK, Michael Christian, what about credit cards, ATMs, what about that?
CHRISTIAN: Police have not specifically addressed that, Nancy. But as far as we know, nothing has been used.
GRACE: Guys, you are seeing the last known video of Carlie Marie Trent, just 9 years old. Blond hair, blue eyes, just four feet tall, four feet
eight inches, weighs just 75 pounds.
She is in danger. Everyone at camping grounds, truckers on the road, please be on the lookout for a white 2002 Dodge conversion van, Tennessee license
173 G-Georgia, P-Public, S-Safety.
[20:50:05] There is a $15,000 reward. Tip line, 1-800-824-3463, 1-800-TBI- FIND.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: A fun ride at a local Nebraska carnival literally yanks an 11-year- old girl`s scalp off her head by her long red hair.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The king`s crown ride.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The girl with the long red hair.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Elizabeth Gilreath smiles from her seat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The spinning ride jerked. A girl fell to the floor. Her hair was caught in the still spinning mechanism, yanked her entire scalp
off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was hurt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: How could this happen?
That surveillance video given to our affiliate WOWT from Dr. D. (Inaudible). Question to you, I`m just -- I don`t understand how this
happened.
To Dan O`Donnell, News Talk at WISN, she is on the ride. We have video of her on the ride before the incident. What happened?
DAN O`DONNELL, WISN NEWS TALK HOST: She apparently fell out of her seat and was in the center where the gears are sort of exposed. That`s where she
got her hair caught.
GRACE: Fan O`Donnell, WISN. Dr. William Morrone. Every one, I`m about to show a very graphic photo of what has happened. Forensic pathologist
explained to me what happened.
WILLIAM MORRONE, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: When the hair is pulled and the hair is deeply embedded. And it has to be a lot of hairs, not just a clump.
It has to be the whole part. It tears the skin away, and when the skin gets torn away you expose tissue and bone underneath.
Now, if you can get it back on the head and it bleeds and the skin bleeds back into the skull and it forms a scab it will regrow. It will regrow, and
if it doesn`t, then the donor skin comes from the thigh of the child as the child ages.
Skin from a lot thigh, a very large piece is cut off and then it`s applied to the head and then later they can add hair plugs. So, there`s a couple
different options there.
GRACE: OK. Well, wait. Well, wait. Hair plugs? What I`m concerned about right now is whether she`ll ever be able to see. If you look at the before
and the after photo, can you see that there is a suture line right here.
And she can`t -- we`ve been told that as of tonight she can`t see. They don`t know if she`ll ever see again. Forget her hair, Dr. Morrone, I want
the little girl to be able to see.
MORRONE: Look, she needs to be put in the hands of ophthalmology and plastics. And it`s amazing what they can do. But they have to get her to a
major university.
GRACE: Another issue, if you take a look at this. Justin Freiman, let`s see the video, you see a mom. A mom is running up the ramp, there she goes.
That`s not her mom, it`s a mom there running up the ramp to save the girl. Where the hay is the attendant?
JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: That`s right, Nancy. They say...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Wait a minute, there he goes. He`s running away. Let`s just assume he`s going to get help. What happened?
FREIMAN: Right. So, this mom is staying there, she notices the girl, the 11-year-old on the ground suffering. She`s the one who comes and sees it
happening, and go gets that ride to stop.
The ride operator apparently didn`t notice it that quickly. Now, when the ride operator is leaving, we can see the ride is still moving a bit but it
could have already been closing down...
GRACE: Right.
FREIMAN: ... because it keeps moving when it stops.
GRACE: Joining me right now, Ken Martin, amusement rides safety analyst and inspector. Ken, I mean, I don`t think I`m ever putting on -- putting my
twins on one of these rides if I can help it. What went wrong, Ken?
KEN MARTIN, AMUSEMENT RIDE SAFETY ANALYST & INSPECTOR: Well, what went wrong is a system let us down. And the system could begin with was broken,
and that`s the system we have of regulating amusement rides, the laws vary from state to state, there`s no one government agency that oversees
amusement ride safety and tracks things like this. The broken system failed us again.
GRACE: OK, I think what you`re saying is that the -- it wasn`t taken care of mechanically, or inspected. Or operated correctly. That is going to be a
very long investigation.
But, Dr. Marrone, I want to talk about the little girl.
MARRONE: Yes.
GRACE: Will she live and will she see again? That`s what I want to know tonight.
MARRONE: Rehabilitation of the eyes is 50/50. She`ll live because we`re really good in America at trauma surgeries and emergencies like this. We
know, because of experience in war. And that`s where we learn our lessons.
GRACE: Everyone, our prayers out to Lulu Gilreath and her family tonight for her recovery.
Let`s remember American hero, Sergeant First Class Brandon Sneed, Norman Oklahoma, bronze star purple heart. Loved watching football, spending time
with his family.
Parents Alvin and Gloria. Daughter Brandy, sons Christopher and Brandon Jr. Widow Lori. Brandon Sneed, American hero.
Forensic Files is next. Thanks to our guests but to you for being with us.
[21:00:00] Nancy Grace signing off. See you tomorrow night at 8 o`clock sharp Eastern. And until then. Good night.
END
