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Nancy Grace

Phoenix Serial Shooter Sought; Man Claims Fiancee Was Accidentally Shot In Their Home; Search for Alabama Teen Girl. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired July 14, 2016 - 20:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

JEAN CASAREZ, GUEST HOST: We do begin tonight with breaking news out of Arizona, seven random shooting deaths. A manhunt is now under way for the

deadly serial street shooter stalking Phoenix.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The killer is on the loose, nine people shot, seven killed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is a serial shooter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A series of shootings in the Phoenix area, which police are tonight calling the work of a serial killer. All the shootings have

been at night, targeting people walking or in vehicles, seemingly at random.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: She got shot. She`s going to die. Those words from a distraught Florida man after he claims his Fianceee is accidentally shot with an AK-

47. But tonight, police say an argument and claims of cheating are motive for her murder.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say a Florida man told them he was 9 out of 10 mad when he shot and killed his Fianceee with a short-barreled rifle inside

the couple`s home. Police say Roy Teets (ph) shot his Fianceee, Terry Lynn Coolidge (ph), in the chest with an AK-47 rifle. Teets told police the

couple had been arguing that day, with the victim claiming Teets was having an affair with a woman named Carly (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: The search for an Alabama teen girl who just simply takes out the trash, and then she disappears.

Good evening. I`m Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace. Thank you so much for joining us.

We do begin tonight with the manhunt taking place right now for a deadly serial shooter in Phoenix, Arizona. Let`s go straight to CNN correspondent

Paul Vercammen. He`s been following the case closely from the beginning.

Paul, now, there are seven shooting deaths so far, two people injured. Do police believe that all the shootings are linked to the very same suspect

or suspects?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, Jean. That`s what`s going on. And in the last few moments, Phoenix police have released to me what`s

extremely important to them, a new composite. They want as many eyeballs on this picture as possible because they say that they desperately,

desperately need a break in this case.

And now they are refining their basic definition of the suspect. They say they believe it is a Hispanic male. They call the suspect in his 20s,

lanky, or lean, about 5-10 or less.

And Jean, as you were asking, they believe this is the person who took seven lives, wounded two others. Very similar pattern in all of this.

They say that this person has walked out of his car, mainly in the Maryvale neighborhood of Phoenix, had a handgun in hand and then begun blasting.

And he`s become more and more lethal as these crimes have gone on. In the first instance, he wounded somebody, a 16-year-old. Then wounded somebody

again. And then after that, he became more deadly, four separate people shot in four separate incidents and killed.

And then on June 12th, sort of the crescendo to all of this, he killed three people at once. He also shot into another car on that night. So in

a sense, there`s been eight separate shootings.

But then after that, Jean, absolutely quiet, wondering where this person could be and why he`s doing this, obviously sounds like a serial

psychopath. And they say sometimes with these crimes, these violent criminals, the violence ramps up or escalates, and that certainly is what

happened here, as it began with just the wounding of somebody and ended with three people being killed at once.

CASAREZ: And Paul, I think this sketch here from a forensic artist is extremely important. Everybody look at this because Phoenix, Arizona,

right now is a city on edge.

And Paul, you`re so right because this started in March, and there were two victims in March of this year, but they survived. But then after that, it

was just a succession. And explain for everybody how similar -- every time a victim is hit, it`s not at a shopping center, it`s not at a busy

intersection, it`s in a residential area, right?

VERCAMMEN: Right. And as you look at the map, this is Maryvale. This is primarily a Latino enclave in Phoenix. And as you said, all of these have

happened in the cover of darkness, at night, never any later than 3:00 AM. That was the last one.

And the MO seems to be the same. He drives up -- he doesn`t shoot while driving. It`s clearly not a rifle. He`s not pulling some sort of Wild

Bill Hickock Wild West act, as police were telling me. He gets out of his car, shows this handgun, a semi-automatic handgun, and then shoots his

victims.

[20:05:00] And it`s random. There`s absolutely no connection between any of these victims, that they found at least, and the shooter. He just seems

to drive into the neighborhood and begin blasting.

CASAREZ: And what courage to get out of your car and walk up and shoot at close range. And the victims have been sitting in their cars, standing in

front of a home. One of them had just come home from work after working an evening shift, shot dead, bodies right there in the street or even in their

driveway.

Paul, I think we`ve got a little bit of an interview from the police in Phoenix, Arizona, on exactly what they believe is happening. Let`s listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Back on June 12th is when we really started to put these together based on some of the anomalies we were talking about, with

geography, the victim action and the time of day and whatnot. So since then, we`ve actually gone back and done a review of all cases that we think

may be related through the start of the year.

We have been able to recently link four additional incidents dating back to -- the earliest one was March 17th. And those have been forensically

linked, meaning, again, a totality of the circumstances and certainly some physical evidence that`s been recovered at some of these scenes.

So we`re not trying to alarm the public by using the term "serial," but in reality, we have eight different incidents linked to the same person or

persons. That is a series. That is a serial shooter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And joining us tonight is Sergeant Jonathan Howard. He joins us from the Phoenix Police Department right there in Phoenix. Sir, thank you

very much.

Your city is on edge. You don`t know when this person may strike again. They last struck in June. So I`m sure you`re concerned right now that the

time has come that possibly something is going to start up again.

Talk to us about why you believe that it`s the same shooter or shooters. And you haven`t discounted that there could be more than one, right?

SGT. JONATHAN HOWARD, PHOENIX POLICE DEPARTMENT (via telephone): We have not discounted that, ma`am. A lot of the witnesses are reporting a

singular shooter, and that`s where we`ve gotten some of the descriptions that allowed us to put out those composites.

But we`re keeping an open mind. Some of them have reported that there may have been another person or multiple people in the vehicle as it fled the

area.

So we`re definitely concerned. We`re reaching out to residents. We know that somebody knows who that person is. We know that somebody out there

knows who`s responsible for this, and we`re asking that person to recognize that composite and give us a call.

CASAREZ: Have there been any clues left at all? Because I know with serial killers, like the BTK killer out of Kansas, he left notes. He left

clues that helped them actually find him, but at least have a working mindset of who this person might be.

HOWARD: Well, we haven`t discovered anything similar to that. But of course, at every crime scene nowadays, evidence is left and discarded

behind. And it was some of that evidence, as well as witness testimony, that has allowed us to link these eight incidents together.

CASAREZ: Do you believe that everything, every commission -- shooting has been done by the same weapon?

HOWARD: You know, the information we`re putting out today is information that`s going to help the neighbors protect themselves, help us solve the

case. So some of that forensic evidence we`re holding back so that we can someday guarantee a fair trial for this perpetrator.

CASAREZ: No, I understand that. Now, what role can the public play? Because I know this has been primarily on the west side of Phoenix, but you

believe there could be movement toward the east side of Phoenix. So really, nowhere is safe at this point.

HOWARD: We absolutely have expanded our area of concern. This is the number one priority of the Phoenix Police Department right now. And when

we ask about the role the community can play, they have the major role for us right now.

We`re doing what we can forensically, but we need their information. We need their tips. We`re asking that if they see any suspicious activity, or

even unfamiliar vehicles or people in their neighborhood to call the department.

We have dozens of investigators working on this. We have dozens of officers in the field specific to this case. There is no tip too small.

If they report it, we`ll check it.

CASAREZ: And there is a reward of $30,000.

Justin Freiman, what more can you tell us of the shooting deaths that have occurred throughout 2016 so far?

JUSTIN FREIMAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, they were also -- there`s ones that we`ve just seen here in Phoenix, which is really

frightening the community right now. And what`s interesting is they all seem to be right there in or near driveways, many of them, and the person

is basically just driving up and opening fire at them.

CASAREZ: You know, let`s ask Sergeant Jonathan Howard from the Phoenix Police Department. What is your theory on why it is done in residential

areas, next to a home, right in the street, right in the driveway, somebody sitting in their car in the driveway or in front of their house?

HOWARD: Well, you know, it`s unfortunate. I think earlier, you used the word "courageous," and I don`t think this is a man with courage. This is a

man that`s targeting victims that are unaware. They`ve gotten home. They`ve gotten to a friend`s house. And they probably let their guard

down.

We`re asking our residents, Don`t drop your guard right now. Raise your level awareness to a healthy level. Keep an eye out for your family and

your neighbors and report that activity. I think this man is choosing these areas specific (ph) because he knows there`s not a lot of people

around and it`s going to be easier for him to get away with this crime.

[20:10:05] CASAREZ: You know, it`s a really good point you make. "Courageous" is not a good word. I was thinking of the D.C. sniper case,

which actually riveted this entire country when we think of the D.C. sniper case. It was back in 2002, John Allen Muhammad, Lee Boyd Malvo. But it

was a long gun, and it was shooting at people from a long distance, and they were able to be snipers and actually shoot and kill so many people.

This modus operandi, this mindset of this killer, Sergeant, is very different.

HOWARD: It is very different. He has a psychological profile that is different than, unfortunately, most of us. He`s coming into very close

contact with his victims. And that`s disturbing.

CASAREZ: And what does that tell you?

HOWARD: It tells us that we need to be doing everything we can to get him off the streets. And I can assure you right now, the police department is

doing everything we can. What we need right now is more tips from the public, to have our community do everything they can.

CASAREZ: Bethany Marshall, what does that tell you, that someone uses such -- gets out of his car and walks up, Bethany Marshall, and goes so close to

his victim and shoots and kills them?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOTHERAPIST: This serial shooter wants to see the look of suffering on his victims` faces. Unlike the D.C. Snipers, who were

at a great distance, and they liked the sense of power over somebody who was unsuspecting and helpless, this guy actually wants to see the suffering

and the anguish, much like serial killers who strangle their victims while facing the victims so they can see the look of shock, surprise and pain in

the victim`s eyes.

You know what, Jean? This guy is spending a lot of time driving around, so absolutely, people should be on the lookout in their neighborhood. This

guy probably has a history of behavioral problems, is fascinated by guns, is cold, callous, has very shallow affect, feels that he is above the law.

He probably has a parasitic lifestyle. He`s probably living off somebody, maybe even living off the system or living at home.

And there`s a lot of talk about guns and violence in this presumably young man`s life. He`s probably writing about it on line, maybe even bragging to

people about it.

So I certainly think the public can play a very important role in identifying this person, especially if you, the public, live with somebody

who is out patrolling the streets all night long and they come in in the early hours of the morning and they`re mysterious and vague, you should

really call the police and take your role seriously.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[20:16:32] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... 12-year-old Maleah Ellis, shot and killed along with her mother and friend as they listened to music inside

their car.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) was gunned down, shot three times and left for dead near 32nd Street and Filmore (ph). Horacio Pena shot nine

times and left for dead.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Police say they all stem from the same killer or killers.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace. A manhunt is taking place right now in Phoenix, Arizona, because of a serial street shooter that goes

up and down residential streets at night, with people in their cars, getting out of their cars, getting home from work, thinking they`re going

to go into their home, and they`re shot dead.

Joining us tonight is one of the sisters of one of the victims. Nancy Pena is joining us. She is the sister of the victim, Horacio Pena. Ms. Pena,

thank you very much for joining us tonight.

And I can`t imagine what you have been through because it was June 3rd. It was just a little over a month ago. And it was your brother, Horacio

Dejesus Pena. He`s -- was 32 years old. There he is right there. He was shot and killed when he was outside of a home.

Was it his home, Ms. Pena, that he was killed or...

NANCY PENA, VICTIM`S SISTER (via telephone): Yes, it was his home that he (INAUDIBLE) know how many -- how many shots were fired (INAUDIBLE)

CASAREZ: Now, what did you say? Do you know how many shots hit him?

PENA: No, I just heard it right now on your show. I didn`t know it was nine bullets. (INAUDIBLE) so a little in shock. I didn`t know those

details.

CASAREZ: Tell us, what have the police told you at this point is going on?

PENA: Not much actually. (INAUDIBLE) you guys know (INAUDIBLE) similar (INAUDIBLE) as the other people. (INAUDIBLE) people in the area, so

that`s pretty much all we have to go with. And so a lot of us are scared (INAUDIBLE)

CASAREZ: They`re trying to solve this investigation. Paul Vercammen, I want to ask you, do we know at all how many shots went into these victims?

Multiple shots, one or two, or do we not know?

VERCAMMEN: Well, as you know, Jean, as we discussed with the sergeant, there`s often a deliberate withhold among law enforcement officers because

of the evidence and the impending possible charges. So they are not being detailed. But as you said, nine here. We heard 14 from another victim`s

relative. It all suggests semi-automatic handgun and he`s firing in rapid succession, Jean.

CASAREZ: Right. And Paul, he may not have had to fire as many shots as he did, being at close range and killing people on the spot right there.

Sergeant Howard, what do you think the motive is for somebody to do this? Is it fun and games? Is it a challenge? Why?

HOWARD: You know, first -- first thing I want to say is, Nancy, we`re doing everything we can to solve your brother`s killer and to locate and

arrest him.

As far as the motive, that`s another frustrating thing for investigators. We have eight different people or eight different incidents, seven

different people that have been killed, and at this point, there is no obvious motive.

[20:20:06] Our youngest victim was a 12-year-old girl. I can`t imagine what she could have done to somebody to create a motive even in their mind.

So that`s one of the big things our investigators are working on.

CASAREZ: So are you telling people that when they get to their homes at night or in a residential area, just don`t hang out in your car and don`t

stand outside? Is that what you`re telling people right now?

HOWARD: You know, we`re not telling people that. We`re telling people that we need them to raise their level of awareness. We want them to

remain healthy. We don`t want people to live in fear. But they need to know what`s going on in their neighborhoods. They need to know that

there`s somebody out there that has done this.

We`re praying that he`s not continuing to do it. But we want them to look around, understand they have a duty to protect themselves, their families

and their neighbors and to report unusual activity to the police department.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[20:25:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Seven total killed since the serial shooter or shooters hit the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gone, in the blink of an eye, because of a monster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect believed to be a white or Hispanic man in his 20s. He may have an accomplice. Phoenix police tell us the same

weapon was likely used in each shooting, a semi-automatic handgun.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez, in for Nancy Grace. They call him a serial street shooter, on the road, on the rampage in Phoenix, Arizona. And

there`s a manhunt now to try to find him.

I want to go to Tammy Rose, investigative reporter joining us. What else can you tell us about the task force that has been formed and now police

are saying no fact is too small of inconspicuous, if you see anything, you`ve got to go to authorities.

TAMMY ROSE, INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, multiple agencies are now involved. The Phoenix police have the experience. Within the last 10

years, there have been four serial shootings. One was called the baseline killer. Another was baseline -- or was the shooting incidents back in

2006. So police were able to solve those incidents, and it came from tips from the public. So no small amount of information is too small. You see

anything, you be vigilant, you report it to the police.

CASAREZ: All right. And to Mike Upchurch -- you are the chapter leader of Guardian Angels. I know you are doing your part in all of this. Tell us

your thoughts on what`s happening to your city.

MIKE UPCHURCH, GUARDIAN ANGELS (via telephone): Well, it`s, you know, same thing as it was before in 2006. You know, it`s just a big mess with all

this, a lot of people afraid, you know, scared to go out of their homes. For instance, we had a grocery store. One of the Friday nights we were out

there (INAUDIBLE) about 15 cars in the parking lot of a major grocery store. You know, that`s -- there should be a few hundred there, you know?

CASAREZ: Well, you are helping and the police are definitely doing everything they can. It`s not their fault that this is happening.

Sergeant Jonathan Howard joining us from the Phoenix Police Department. Phoenix seems to have been a target. I mean, a year ago it was -- you had

a sniper shooting down on the freeways. You never found the person that you believe committed those killings last year. Do you think there`s any

correlation to this?

HOWARD: Well, you know, we`ve been working closely with our Department of Public Safety who spearheaded that investigation, and we`re looking for any

links. And at this point, we haven`t seen any evidence that would support that that series was in any way related to this series.

CASAREZ: But maybe somebody that got ideas, a copy artist, because it has common links there.

HOWARD: You know, it`s unfortunate. We have had our share of these incidents over the years. If there`s a benefit, it`s that our

investigators are very experienced, and some of the top investigators in the world are working on this case, too. So certainly, copycat issues and

things like that are at the top of our list. We`re working with all of our valley (ph) agencies to determine if anyone else has information that`s

going to help us out on this one.

CASAREZ: And Sergeant, I guess as far as a vehicle, there`s been some mixed reports, a light-colored sedan, a dark-colored sedan. Maybe the

person changes vehicles. So you really don`t have as good of a description of a vehicle as you do of the person we`re seeing on our screen right

there.

HOWARD: Exactly. We have had very specific variances in the vehicle description, a light-colored sedan or a dark-colored sedan. We do have

some additional information. We`re vetting that right now to determine how factual and useful it is. Right now, we don`t want to limit somebody to a

particular color, a size, shape of a vehicle at all. We want any tips at all regarding any suspicious activity.

CASAREZ: All right, if the serial street shooter is watching tonight, and they do watch television, what do you want to say directly to him or her?

HOWARD: We`re coming for you. You are going to be caught. You are going to be brought to justice.

[20:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CASAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez in for Nancy Grace. A Florida man claims his Fiancee is accidently shot with an AK-47 in their home. But tonight, police

say his story just doesn`t match the forensics. Have police uncovered a motive for murder?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Florida authorities have arrested a man who claimed he was nine out of ten mad, and told four different stories when he shot and

killed his Fiancee with short barreled AK-47 inside the couple`s home. Royce Teets allegedly told police that he and his Fiancee, Terri Coolidge,

were arguing when Teets claims he went and retrieved a gun after the victim allegedly stated she wanted to kill Teets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CESAREZ: Let`s go straight out to Monse Medina and he is the news anchor of Radio 610 WIOD in Florida. What happened?

MONSE MEDINA, NEWSRADIO 610 WIOD ANCHOR: Hi, Jean. Well, you know, as you guys just mentioned right now, police responding to this call of a man who

said that his Fiancee got shot and that`s exactly what he said, "she got shot. She`s going to die. We were messing with the shotgun."

Those were his first declaration in regard to this case. When police arrived, they found Terri`s body in the living room with a bullet hole in

her front and a bullet hole -- an exit wound in the back.

[20:35:00] CESAREZ: OK, Matt Zarrell, you don`t just kill somebody, all right. Now, he told authorities that from one to ten about how angry he was

with her, it was about nine out of ten, OK. But they are saying that this was premeditated murder. Tell us what happened.

MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Well, what happened was that Teets told police that they got into an argument earlier that day. He goes out

drinking with friends, He gives many different stories about where he was and who he was with. He says he comes home at about 9:00. The Fiancee meets

him, has his phone in her hands and accuses him of having sex with a woman named Carly.

Now, according to Teets, the Fiancee begins throwing items all around the house, says, "I`m going to kill you." And Teets went to the bedroom closet

where he keeps two short barreled AK-47s. That is when says, and he gives three different version of events, that his Fiancee caused the gun to

accidently discharge resulting in a gunshot wound to the chest.

CESAREZ: All right, but Monse Medina, the first thing, when he calls 911 -- he`s the one that called 911 -- and the first thing he says, at 10:34 p.m.,

he says, "We`re messing with a shotgun." Well, a shotgun is not an AK-47. Then two minutes later, he says, "Yeah, I was cleaning the rifle." The

rifle. The AK-47 is what was used to shoot and kill this beautiful, beautiful young mother of two. What wer the different stories, Monse, that

he told police after they came to the home?

MEDINA: Well Jean, there ended up being three versions. I mean, one of them was he grabbed the gun by the barrel and pulled it to her chest, causing

the rifle to discharge at point blank. Another version was that she bumped the underside of the gun and that made it go off. And then the third

version was that he was hitting or she was taking hitting him trying to grab the gun and that`s what discharged it. Obviously there was a fourth

version after police determined that one of this...

CESAREZ: Well let`s talk about those three right there. Joseph Scott Morgan, you`re a certified death investigator. You`re a professor of

forensics, Jacksonville State University. Let`s look at the forensics, OK. His first three versions here, once he admitted it was an AK-47, and he

also says that he had two of them in the closet and he was scared that she was going to use them on him because she said, "I want to kill you" so he

cook one, left the other one right there.

But besides that, he said, Joseph Scott Morgan, that she was pulling at the gun that she pushed up on the magazine area and that she did everything

that allowed the shot to go in her. Do the forensics line up with that?

JOSEPH SCOTT MORGAN, CERTIFIED DEATH INVESTIGATOR: I can`t imagine if they do. I`ve got to tell you, Jean, after all my years of investigating gunfire

related deaths, I`m always very dubious when anyone says there`s an accidental discharge. Most people that own weapons know how they function.

The tale will be told in the forensics, though, what they`re going to find at the autopsy and in the lab. We can determine the range of fire. Was the

muzzle actually drawn into the weapon? Is there searing around the wound or was it a distant shot?

As far as putting her hands on the magazine in this sort of thing and then causing the thing to discharge with an AK-47, I can`t see that happening

unless the thing is just absolutely mechanically unsound. They`re going to have to go a long way to prove that this is anything other than as

advertised, which appears to be a homicidally fired weapon.

Also, the delineation between a shotgun and an AK-47 is distinctive. The AK-47 is a rifle round. It is a high velocity round. Shotgun is a smooth

bore weapon and their bear no resemblance. There are some shotguns out there that are made on an AK-47 platform, but I can`t imagine why he would

make that.

And then my understanding is they never found a shotgun in the home. Sounds like he`s, you know, he`s really chasing a variety of different stories to

try to rationalize what he`s done at these scenes.

CESAREZ: A variety of different stories, and Trinity Hundredmark, defense attorney, if you`re representing him, those hundreds of different stories

that he just keeps mounting one after the other, that`s going to cause you a lot of problems.

TRUNITY HUNDREDMARK, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Yeah, it is definitely going to cause a lot of problems Jean. It does, you know, from reports, it looks

like he was (inaudible) and we don`t know how well he understood. We don`t know how long the interrogations went on. I mean, those are obviously

things that defense attorneys are going to pick apart.

How long was he in there? Did he really understand his rights? I mean, as the stories progressed, how much did he know? That`s what the defense

attorney are going to be looking at because certainly the stories changing are not good for him.

CESAREZ: And Chris Robinson, you`re a firearms expert. He says that he removed the magazine and then she was shot somehow, but when police came

and they looked at the weapon, there was still another bullet in the chamber. What does that tell you? Was the magazine really removed?

[20:40:00] CHRIS ROBINSON, FIREARMS EXPERT: No, ma`am. That just indicate that the magazine was still in the gun because it chambered, it makes

(inaudible) automatically after the shot of a fire. So, he already, you know, telling a false truth to that point.

CESAREZ: One after the other, Troy Slaten, defense attorney out of Los Angeles. It seems to, you tell me, but it seems to me the best thing he

says for your case is that from a one to ten, "I was nine or ten. I was so angry at her." Can`t that help you with the premeditation element?

TROY SLATEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, sure Jean. I mean his defense council may argue that this was a heat of passion event. It was a crime of

passion. She was alleging that he was having affairs. He says that he wasn`t, and so, they may have very well got into a struggle and this could

have been an accidental shooting.

Of course, prosecutors will argue against that because of all the different versions that he`s given, that is very strong evidence for what`s called

consciousness of guilt. When somebody changes their stories and lies to investigators, prosecutors are entitled to an instruction that tells the

jury that he was conscious that he was guilty.

CESAREZ: And this is in Florida. He`s been charged with premeditated murder. We do not know if prosecutors will give notice of the death penalty

-- seeking a death penalty. We`ll keep you up with the story. Shocking video released in the search for two suspects in the brutal attack

of an elderly man -- elderly man -- in the West Village. Watch this, a 75- year-old man, he`s punched to the ground come on. He`s kicked by a male suspect as another female suspect stands by as a lookout.

The man is wearing a white shirt, beige pants, carrying a black and gray backpack. The female suspect, who is very nonchalant there, she was wearing

a green dress with a hood. The tip line is Crime Stoppers, 1-800-577-8477.

[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CESAREZ: I`m Jean Casarez in for Nancy Grace. We turn now to the desperate search for an Alabama teenage girl. She takes out the trash and then she

disappears.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible)

CESAREZ: Alissia Freeman left her home, never to be seen or heard from.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where is she? What`s going on? Is she somewhere where she wants to be?

CESAREZ: The disappearance has also left investigators scratching their heads, trying to figure out what happened.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CESAREZ: This is a beautiful, beautiful young girl, 17 years old. She lived with her parents, and all of a sudden she is gone. And her parents are

desperate to find her. Dave Mack joining us, syndicated talk show host. Talk to us from the beginning, what happened here?

DAVE MACK, SYNDICATED TALK SHOW HOST: Yeah, Jean, this is one of those typical events where as a child is talking to somebody online, and actually

we`re dealing with a young adult. She was 17 when she left. She turned 18 in February. She was chatting with somebody online. She had active social

points.

CESAREZ: Why don`t we talk about -- why don`t we talk about the facts of what we know -- what we know. What we know is that she took out the trash.

Take us from there.

MACK: She actually told her mom that she was going to take the trash from her room outside and she walked away. And other than one neighbor spotting

her on the highway, she hasn`t been seen since.

CESAREZ: OK, Michael Christian, there`s a lot more to this. This young girl took out the trash. First of all, when she was doing that, she said

something to her mother, didn`t she, Michael Christian? And her mother was really struck by it.

MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Yes, according to reports, Jean, she told everyone in the home before she took the trash out that she loved

them. And her mother, Vicky Metcalf said, well, she thought that was, you know, a little odd. She had a weird feeling about it. But this was a family

that routinely told each other that they love them so it didn`t really set off alarm bells until it was thought about it in retrospect.

CESAREZ: And Michael, this is a young girl, she was 17. She has now turned 18. She was very close with her parents. She was being home schooled at

home. And the ironic thing, Michael Christian, is after she took out the trash, she came back into the home, didn`t she?

CHRISTIAN: That`s being reported that her younger sister said that she actually did come back in the house and then left. But apparently the

mother did not see her when she came back in.

CESAREZ: So Michael, what did she take with her, her clothes, her purse, her I.D., money, just tell me everything she took.

CHRISTIAN: Well, she took no clothes. She was seen later carrying nothing. Apparently she took two cell phones with her. She had three cell phones.

She left one cell phone at home, and she took two others with her, but her mother didn`t realize that she had those cell phones until later.

CESAREZ: Joining us tonight is Vicki Metcalf, the mother of this beautiful girl that you`re seeing on the screen. Ms. Metcalf, thank you for joining

us.

VICKI METCALF, MOTHER OF MISSING TEEN: Thank you.

CESAREZ: Your daughter is beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

METCALF: Thank you. She is.

CESAREZ: What do you want to tell people out there? Because there was -- you`re in Alabama. There was a witness that they believe they saw her

walking on Highway 331. What do you want to tell people? Any marks on her that would be identifying for somebody that could see her on a highway, at

a truck stop, anywhere in this country?

METCALF: She doesn`t really have any marks that are -- that just really stand out like, you know, birthmark or anything like that. She has one of

those faces, you know, that you just know her when you see her. Her eyes, they stand out. You can see them, how blue they are.

[20:50:00] CESAREZ: OK. So, blue eyes, brown hair, just an all-American beauty right there. When you suddenly realized she was gone, you also, in

time, learned that something about her computer hard drive. What did you learn about that?

METCALF: We learned that she had apparently wiped her computer -- cleaned it up. I`m not sure exactly what was done to it, but some things had been

deleted.

CESAREZ: And the computer hard drive had been deleted, right? It had been wiped.

METCALF: I believe so, yes, ma`am.

CESAREZ: Mark Saltzman, technology expert joining us from Toronto, Canada. This is a young 17-year-old. She`s not going to know a sophisticated thing

of how you wipe your hard drive. There had to be some help here from someone, but that has to be a difficult task?

MARK SALTZMAN, TECHNOLOGY EXPERT: Not really. I mean, with the internet, you can learn how to properly wipe a hard drive. It`s called shredding,

where you`re not just hitting delete and you`re not just formatting the drive, because a digital forensics expert can often retrieve data left on

that drive.

But with a shredding tool, and they`re free, and they`re available for download, and perhaps she was instructed on how to do that. You can format

a drive or physically damage the drive and then it becomes a lot harder for authorities to retrieve data. But it`s not that hard for a 17-year-old to

figure it out.

CESAREZ: All right. We`re going to have more on this in just a minute. But first, there are many organizations helping the homeless, providing food,

shelter, even medical supplies. But what about washing their clothes? Nicholas Marchesi couldn`t find any group helping with that, so he and a

friend turned a van into Australia`s first mobile laundromat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLAS MARCHESI, CNN HERO: Most people take for granted putting a fresh, clean set of clothes on. For someone who is sleeping rough and who really

doesn`t have access to washing and drying their clothes, is something that`s continually overlooked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CESAREZ: Marchesi`s group travels to nine cities in Australia every day. Their next stop, the United States. Watch this story at cnnheros.com and

nominate somebody you think should be a 2016 CNN hero.

[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A beautiful teenager leaves home on a Sunday afternoon after taking out the trash and never returns.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If someone took her against her will.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a guessing game. We`re just unsure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CESAREZ: I want to tell everybody that there is a Facebook page that has been set up now for Alissia Freeeman, "Find Alissia Freeman." And that is

where tips come in. And Dave Mack, on Alissia Freeman`s birthday, which wasn`t too long ago, when she turned 18, her mother found a tip on that

facebook site. What was it?

MACK: It was that apparently, this tip that she was working as a prostitute in Atlanta and that for $70,000, they could buy her back. And it was

determined that it was probably a fraud, somebody taking advantage of the situation.

CESAREZ: And Michael Christian, not only just a fraud, but they linked it to Russia?

CHRISTIAN: That`s right, Jean, they think it was a group of scammers operating from Russia who basically had this plot to extort money from

vulnerable people.

CESAREZ: Vicki Metcalf is joining us. She is the mother of beautiful Alissia. Miss Metcalf, you believe that your daughter was talking to

somebody online? Is that what you believe that may have lured her, promised her, seduced her, in a sense, to leave the home for greater and better

things?

METCALF: That`s what we`re afraid of. We`re afraid that someone may have talked her into leaving. Somehow that maybe she thought she knew them and

didn`t really. But, of course, we hope and pray that`s not the case. But, yeah, that`s what we`re afraid of.

CESAREZ: Bethany Marshal, what can parents do to monitor these websites, these apps, the way that young girls can communicate with someone that

isn`t even who they believe they`re communicating with?

BETHANY MARSHALL, PSYCHOANALYST: Talk to your child about with whom they`re communicating. Let them know that you`re going to check all of their texts

and correspondence, that you have the right to do a spot check. And if they have a computer, make sure that the screen, -- that it`s in the living room

and the screen is facing towards the family area, not towards the wall, so they cannot be secretive.

CESAREZ: Bethany, why are parents so scared to be parents?

MARSHALL: Because they don`t want their kids to be mad at them. You know, it`s tough to be a good parent. To be a good parent, you have to tolerate

that your child might be temporarily angry, but if you set limits, it`s going to settle them down, make them feel safe and secure, internally as

well as in the world.

CESAREZ: Mark Saltzman, I want to give you the last word on this as a technology expert. What is your advice to parents?

SALTZMAN: Well, I`ve heard it already. These were great tips. Put a computer in a central area of the home. It gets a bit more difficult when

you`re dealing with mobile devices, as its mobile. They can bring it to their room. So, open communication is key.

And there are some tools that will help filter out inappropriate content and provide reports to parents about with whom their kids are chatting

with. But not every parent wants to go there. I think a good starting point is just open dialogue.

CESAREZ: All right, 18-year-old Alissia Freeman, four foot eleven, about 120 pounds. Let`s find her.

We honor American hero, army sergeant, Paul Neubauer, 40 years old from Oceanside, California. He enjoys studying military strategy. He leaves

behind his sister, Elizabeth, a wife, and a daughter. Paul Neubauer, an American hero. Thank you so much to all of our guests and to you at home.

Thank you so much for being with us. I`m Jean Casarez. "Forensic Files" is coming up next. Good night, everybody.

[21:00:11] UNIDENTIFIED MALE: An affluent young woman was found dead in her home...

END