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Nancy Grace
Grandmother Shot Dead in Police Training Exercise/Update on Dual Female Jogger Murders; Beloved Teacher Killed by Giant Rock to Windshield; Huge Boulder Devastates Life of Sharon Budd; Authorities Searching for Teen in Wisconsin. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired August 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, HLN HOST: Breaking news tonight, live, Florida. A 73-year- old grandmother shot dead by a police officer during a police academy training exercise. It was in front of a live audience where this
grandmother was a volunteer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thirty-five civilians were here for the citizens police training academy shoot/don`t shoot scenario when one of the Punta Gorda
police officers...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In a horrible accident, participant Mary Knowlton was mistakenly struck with a live round.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: A quiet neighborhood in shock when a 26-year-old mother and her little 4-year-old daughter both shot dead coming home from the local
grocery store, Long Beach. Tonight, we want justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She was always smiling (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just heard four shots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After a beautiful young mom and her 4-year-old daughter are gunned down while returning home from the grocery store.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then saw the lady laying on the floor, and the baby was face up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Heart-breaking tragedy, a beloved teacher, cancer survivor, mother of four goes on summer vacation with the family. Out of nowhere, the
front windshield shattered by an 8-pound rock the size of a soccer ball. Sharon Budd hit directly in the face and head, battling for her life with
brain injury and disfigurement. Young men arrested for her horrible disfigurement. This was no accident!
But in the last hours, her husband, overcome with stress and grief after his wife`s horrific injuries, commits suicide, and cops say it`s the rock
throwers` fault he`s dead.
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. To Punta Gorda, Florida. A 73-year-old grandmother shot dead by a police officer during a citizen police academy training in
front of a live audience where this grandmother was actually a volunteer. How did it happen? Let`s go straight to the presser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... unaware that any live ammunition for this particular weapon existed. We believed that the particular caliber of the
weapon used, that there were only blank rounds available to the officer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an actual firearm that was used in this particular scenario.
QUESTION: Have you used a real weapon in the past scenarios, shoot/don`t shoot?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. This one particular weapon, I believe, is the one used. All of our officers don`t have access to this particular
weapon (INAUDIBLE)
QUESTION: (INAUDIBLE) type of weapon is like your service weapon?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, it`s not.
QUESTION: What kind of weapon is it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a revolver.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This is unbelievable. This grandmother, this mother of two sons, dead. She goes to a shoot/don`t shoot police training exercise and
volunteers to be part of it, and she`s shot dead in front of a live audience?
To Bob Alexander, news director at Fox News. Bob, how did this happen? What exactly happened? Start at the beginning.
BOB ALEXANDER, 92.5 FOX NEWS (via telephone): Well, Nancy, 35 people invited to the chamber (ph) police night, a two-hour presentation designed
to foster communication and education between the department and its citizens. They`re invited in for a tour. They sit down and have
discussions.
And then they have this thing called shoot/don`t shoot. It`s a role play portion of the presentation, where an officer plays the role of a bad guy,
and one of the citizens is invited to play the role of a police officer having to make a quick decision when it comes to use of force options.
The person that was in charge -- we don`t know exactly what the situation was as far as the weapon and the live ammunition is concerned. That`s
currently under investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
But what I can tell you is that when the shot occurred, the victim, Mary Knowlton, went down to the ground. At first, the people in the audience
thought it was just part of the role-playing. They kind of chuckled and, Oh, wow. and all of a sudden, she didn`t move and she didn`t respond to
anybody`s communicating with her.
They rushed to her side and discovered that she was seriously hurt, and sadly, as we all learned, she later died.
GRACE: Bob Alexander, news director joining us from Fort Myers Fox News. Bob, I understand that the officer in charge of this role-playing citizens`
education class shot several times, not just once?
[20:05:07]ALEXANDER: Well, that`s been a little bit of a discrepancy between the police department and information that we`ve received, Nancy.
A reporter from one of the local newspapers was part of that demonstration last night, and the reporter has said that there were several shots fired,
where so far, the police department has spoken of only one gunshot fired.
GRACE: Why is it, Bob Alexander, that they so far are keeping everything so close to the vest? Because if this did not involve a police officer, we
would know most of the facts by now.
ALEXANDER: Well, Punta Gorda police chief Tom Lewis has said to the media that the reason they really haven`t released any details is because a
separate independent law enforcement organization, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, or FDLE, has been handed over this investigation, which
is standard protocol when it comes to any kind of police-involved shooting. So that`s why everything is being held back until this investigation can be
thoroughly (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Wow. I know her family is absolutely in shock, Bob Alexander. Was she chosen as the volunteer, or did she raise her hand and choose to go up
and be part of the role-playing, as they are calling it?
ALEXANDER: She was -- she was actively picked out of group. That`s what they do. They go around and they say, OK, you and you. But according to
her family, she was a staunch backer of the Punta Gorda Police Department, which was the biggest reason she was there in the first place.
And apparently, this exercise that they used, the shoot/don`t shoot role play, has proven to be very popular among all those who have participated
in this community and several communities around the country.
GRACE: We`re showing shots right now of this type of role play, shoot/don`t shoot. But it went horribly wrong when a grandmother is shot
dead in front of a live audience by a police officer.
Another issue I have -- and I don`t know the answer to this. Bob Alexander, this gun was supposed to have only blanks in it. And I noticed
that the police presser, the speaker said that everybody doesn`t have access to this gun. So who would have access, and who would put a live
round of ammunition in the gun?
ALEXANDER: Well, that`s one of the big questions that`s gone unanswered. And we assume that that`s going to be a big portion of the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement investigation because only certain personnel supposedly had access to this weapon. It was not an active police weapon.
It was an out of service weapon. It was a revolver. And there was only supposed to be blank rounds available.
But I`ll tell you, Nancy, a bigger question that`s being asked around this community today is why a real weapon used in a training exercise at all.
Why wasn`t it a squirt gun or a toy gun or a stick or a piece of wood? Why would you even take the chance of using a live weapon? And that`s a
question that has gone unanswered so far.
GRACE: With me right now, retired NYPD lieutenant, criminal justice expert Darrin Porcher -- Dr. Porcher. Darrin, thank you for being with us. This
is a major, major no-no, Darrin, because, for instance, when I would have a homicide case or an aggravated assault case, when you handle a gun around
civilians, you are not to have it loaded. For instance, when you put it away into property or when I would take the weapon back to my office in the
middle of a jury trial, you never have it loaded!
How could this have happened? I`m very curious who put live ammo in this. And now a mother, a grandmother is dead and in front of a live audience!
DARRIN PORCHER, RETIRED NYPD LIEUTENANT: Well, there shouldn`t have been live ammo in the gun to begin with.
GRACE: Yes!
PORCHER: (INAUDIBLE) police departments in these simulation exercises traditionally use replica firearms that are incapable of firing bullets to
begin with. This was an actual firearm, which was a definite no-no. The police department should have used replica firearms for these simulation
exercises.
GRACE: You know, you and I are really putting perfume on the pig because we`re saying it`s a no-no. We have a dead body, Darrin, a Dead body, a
mother. And you know, people may say, You know what? She`s a senior citizen. Her children are grown. How many grief could they be in? It`s
not like they`re tiny tots.
I know. I just lost my father unexpectedly. And yes, he was in his 80s. But it doesn`t matter. It does not matter. Yes, when the children are
young, it`s much, much harder on them being raised without their parent.
[20:10:00]But this is a horrible tragedy to her children and her grandchildren, who love her. And for what? You know, if this guy --
unleash the lawyers. With me, Margie Mow, defense attorney out of LA, and Parag Shah, defense attorney and author out of the Atlanta jurisdiction.
You know what, Parag Shah? Very often, when there is a gun accident in a home and a child is shot or somebody is shot, it`s very clear it was an
accident. It doesn`t get a blip. Nobody even notices it. But because it`s a cop, everybody`s looking at it.
There`s no way on God`s green earth that this cop meant to shoot this grandmother. A lot of people are calling for the officer to be prosecuted,
criminally prosecuted for this. What I`d like to find out, Parag Shah, is who put that live ammo in that gun. What are your thoughts
PARAG SHAH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it has to be somebody that had access. And if someone did put a live round in there, then that`s an intentional
act, which becomes criminal. Accident means there was no intent and can`t be prosecuted. But if you can find intent, now you got a criminal case.
GRACE: You know, you really are -- put him up! You really love to talk out of both sides of your mouth, Parag Shah, because every time, for
instance, a child, a tot is in a home and Daddy`s cleaning his gun and the tot gets killed, I say, You know what? They had that gun sitting out in
the home. That was an intentional act. You know, what, they had live ammo in the gun, that was intentional. And you fight me tooth and claw that it
was an accident.
SHAH: I don`t make up the law! I don`t make up the law!
GRACE: Now, as the shoe is on the other foot, you want your cake and you want to eat it, too!
SHAH: The law is accident. I`m just quoting the law.
(CROSSTALK)
SHAH: Your problem is with the legislature.
GRACE: So why do you argue the other way when it`s not a cop, Parag Shah? If this was a dad whose tot had been killed in the home and people would be
arguing accident, and I say it`s so negligent, it`s homicide, you would be arguing tooth and claw that it was just an accident. Why, because it`s a
cop, is it now a homicide?
SHAH: Well, because we have that extra element that only certain people had access to it, and there was definitely something intentional. This gun
has been used numerous times.
GRACE: That`s not what I asked you!
SHAH: There have always been blanks in it.
GRACE: I asked you, why do you take the other side when it`s a cop? That`s what I asked you. Can you answer that?
SHAH: Yes, because -- I can answer this because there is a type of intent called criminal negligence. This is criminal negligence. This is
conscious disregard for the safety to others. Those cops...
GRACE: I asked you why...
SHAH: ... should have known better.
GRACE: ... you`re taking that side when the person is a cop and you take the other side when they`re not a cop.
SHAH: You`re making that distinction. I`m making this distinction...
GRACE: Have you ever once...
SHAH: ... based on the facts today.
GRACE: ... taken the side that you`re taking today when the shooter was not a cop?
SHAH: I -- I`m...
GRACE: On this program one time?
SHAH: I don`t know if I have on this program...
(CROSSTALK)
SHAH: ... is I evaluate the facts, and that`s what the facts say today.
GRACE: OK, Margie Mow, jump in. Margie?
MARGIE MOW, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, I think it`s case-by-case specific. And I don`t think that you look at the accused person as whether or not
he`s a cop or not. You look at the facts.
GRACE: OK, let`s hear your analysis on this.
MOW: I agree with what he`s saying. The person who intentionally put the live rounds in the weapon is criminally liable. However, the shooter had
no reason to know that there was anything other than blanks in the revolver...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You`re agreeing with Parag Shah. What a surprise. Second version, same as the first. Or is there just an echo in the studio?
MOW: Because we`re right.
GRACE: Bob Alexander, question to you. Is there any move afoot for this cop to be prosecuted?
ALEXANDER: At this point officially, Nancy, no. Right now, the officer in question is on paid administrative leave. Again, that is standard
procedure in any kind of situation where an officer is involved in any kind of shooting. Right now, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the
state agency, is investigating this. It`s been taken out of hands of the local officials. The state officials are investigating it. And no
determination of any kind of guilt or any kind of charges has been determined at this time.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:18:18]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It`s a very active crime scene still, completely blocked off with crime scene tape. Mary Knowlton, one of the
civilians, was enacting in a shoot/don`t shoot scenario with one of the Punta Gorda police officers. The officer fired his weapon. It was
supposed to be a blank round, but a live bullet came out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was transported to Lee Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: In a shocking turn of events, a group goes to the police station for a citizens education class in shoot/don`t shoot with police. A
grandmother, a mother and grandmother, a book lover, a library employee, a staunch supporter of the police is a volunteer. In the middle of the role
play, the cop shoots her dead.
Straight out to Kyle Peltz, on the story. We now know the officer`s name is Officer Lee Cole. What else do we know about the officer, Kyle?
KYLE PELTZ, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): That`s right, Officer Lee Cole. He`s been with the police here since March of 2014. Police say
that he`s frequently seen providing presentations and tours, and specifically role playing in these shoot/don`t shoot scenarios. So this
doesn`t seem to have been his first time at a class like this.
GRACE: We are learning the name of the officer, Officer Lee Cole. He came on board the force March 17th, 2017, often did tours, presentations and
this role-playing class.
Unleash the lawyers, Margie Mow, LA, Parag Shah out of Atlanta. We were just arguing the difference between when, in this case, when a cop picks up
a gun that`s supposed to be loaded with blanks and uses it in a demonstration, and there`s live ammo in that, and a case where, for
instance, the father is cleaning his gun at home and accidentally shoots his child dead.
[20:20:14]In those cases, I would argue that there should be a prosecution, but unlike the two of you, I have a difference. I have a reason why the
cop may not be prosecuted. In those cases, the parent intentionally leaves a gun loaded in the home, knowing that it is live ammo. In this case,
reportedly, Officer Cole was told and was led to believe that these were blanks. That`s a big difference.
But I will go to you on this, Parag Shah. I mean, I know the two of you try a lot of cases, but when I would take out a gun in front of a jury,
which I would only do when it was a piece of evidence, the first thing you do -- and you do it in front of the jury so they`re not afraid while you`re
slinging a gun around the courtroom -- is you open it and empty it out or you open it and you check it in front of them so they know the gun isn`t
loaded and you know the gun isn`t loaded. That`s rule number one.
But this guy, Parag Shah, was led to believe it was blanks like every other time he had done it.
SHAH: Yes, and so he`s still criminally negligent because it`s a reckless disregard for the safety of others. He should have checked that gun.
Doesn`t matter how many times he`s done this. And because there`s only a limited people that have access to that gun, someone intentionally put a
live round in there.
We have laws of party to a crime. You know, you can be charged for aiding and abetting in any type of intentional act, and this was an intentional
act, to put a live round in there.
GRACE: OK, hold on just one moment. To Dr. Darrin Porcher, retired NYPD. If he looked in the gun and there were blanks in the gun, what would it
have looked like to the cop?
PORCHER: Well, we have to take into consideration this was a revolver, so the bullets were already in the chamber. It`s very difficult to assess if
these were live rounds or if these were blanks, so to speak. So for him to make that assessment, the officer to make that assessment, at that stage
would have been difficult.
We have to take into consideration where was the supervision in this? There`s a vicarious liability that must be shouldered by the supervisor in
charge of this particular exercise.
GRACE: Well, you`re talking about vicarious liability. That`s civil law. This is criminal. I`m saying, Is somebody going to jail? This grandma is
dead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:26:56]UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: K9 officer discovered 27-year-old Vanessa Marcotte`s body in some woods just off the road.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The body was found about one half mile from her mother`s home in a wooded area.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We do not know if this was a random act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Two beautiful young women out jogging, both reported missing, both discovered dead. We`ve been bringing you both of these stories. But now
breaking news. Michael Christian has the latest on the investigations regarding Karina Vetrano and Vanessa Marcotte.
First of all, Michael, has there been any changes specifically in the reward regarding Karina Vetrano?
MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): There have, Nancy. They have doubled that reward to $20,000. Now, when they
originally raised it to $10,000, they said that that was because they`d had so few leads. So it`s obvious that they`re trying to get the public`s help
in this desperately.
GRACE: They`re trying everything, both jurisdictions begging for witnesses in both the Karina Vetrano case and the Vanessa Marcotte case. Now the
reward up to $20,000 in Karina Vetrano`s death investigation.
Michael, are authorities still looking at a link, a possible link between the murders of Vetrano and Marcotte?
CHRISTIAN: Well, they said that they have not ruled out, Nancy, that there is a link. They`ll be in a better position to know once more evidence from
Vanessa Marcotte`s crime scene is processed.
GRACE: You know, we still don`t have answers as of last night regarding what was found on the scene of Vanessa Marcotte`s murder. Did the two
women die in similar ways, Michael? Do we know that much yet?
CHRISTIAN: We know, superficially, they were both jogging when they died. We know that Karina Vetrano was strangled. But unfortunately, Vanessa
Marcotte`s autopsy results haven`t been made public yet, so we don`t know specifically how she died.
GRACE: Have they released, Michael, any list of evidence that they have collected in the Marcotte case?
CHRISTIAN: No. But unlike the Vetrano case, where there are so few tips, they have had literally hundreds of tips in the Vanessa Marcotte case. So
police are sorting through those, trying to find some leads.
GRACE: Tip line 800-577-TIPS. Let`s go to Marcotte`s tip line, please -- 508-453-7589.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:30:00] GRACE: Crime victim turned crime fighter, Hailey Dean is back in "Murder in the Courthouse."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The unstoppable prosecutor digs in to track down a killer, but could she wind up the next victim? Find out in third book in
Nancy`s bestselling series.
GRACE: Portions of proceeds go to help find missing children.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pre-order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes and Noble.com and more.
GRACE: My proceeds to National Center of Missing and Exploited Children go to murderinthecourthouse.com. Amazon books booked for million three orders
come with an autograph manuscript page from "Murder in the Courthouse."
A quiet neighborhood in shock when a 26-year-old mother and her little 4- year-old daughter are both shot dead. And guess where they were. They were coming home from the local grocery store in Long Beach. Tonight, we want
justice.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Unimaginable pain grips a Southern California beach community.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The mother was not responsive and the baby -- they`re trying to keep the baby awake.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, police are trying to find the killer.
GRACE: Straight out to Eric Leonard, reporter with KFI. Eric, thank you for being with us. Police at this juncture are begging for help.
[20:34:59] Let`s start at the beginning. Let`s start with them coming home that night from the grocery, Eric Leonard. What happened?
ERIC LEONARD, KFI REPORTER: Sure. Saturday night, about 10.30, 10.40 in the evening they were unloading the car. It was this three of them. The
mother, the father, and the 4-year-old girl. At some point, the mother and the girl become separated from the father.
He either goes back to the car to get bag or park the car a block away. This is a neighborhood that is jammed with condos and apartments. Parking
is difficult to find. And he tells us that as he was about a block from the rest of his family, he hears a tremendous gunshot.
Turns around and sees a man with a large gun firing at close range at both his little girl and his girlfriend. He says he watched as the girlfriend
was shot in the neck. He says he yelled and began running towards them.
And at that point the gunman turned and fired a shot at him before running off into the neighborhood and disappearing into the night.
GRACE: You`re seeing video. It`s a nice Facebook. Take a look at this little girl. A 4-year-old little girl shot dead in front of her own home.
Why? Why did this happen? Now, I know a lot of you legal eagles, just like myself, the first thing you think is why did they die and the husband
lived?
He`s right there with them. Why did armed assailants come shoot them dead and not the husband? How did he miraculously manage to escape? Well, police
have investigated that as they always do SOP.
The father has been determined to be absolutely a victim. He is not part of this.
And another theory I wanted to dispel. This is not a bad area or a crime ridden area. These were nice apartments, a nice residential area and no
suggestion of gang activity. Nothing like that.
What would possess someone to drive up, a male, and gun down a beautiful young mother and her 4-year-old little girl. Justin, can I please see the
video of the little girl again. You`re seeing shots of Jennabel Anaya, the 4-year-old little girl, and Carina Mancera, her mother just 26 years old.
Bringing in groceries. The little girl with her mommy. How many thousands of times have you done that, taken your children to the grocery store. They
may carry a bag in. You`re bringing your stuff in and a then suddenly with your arms full of groceries, a deadly attack.
Eric Leonard, KFI joining us tonight. Eric, I want to go through every fact that we know. So, these three pull up, the mom, dad, and the daughter. They
get out. The father goes back into the car to get more groceries. What exactly happens?
LEONARD: Well, this is really the central question in the investigation right now. How is it that these two, the mother and her little girl, became
the target of all of this? Was this a random street attack or was this something more sinister?
And the focus is on what happened in that instant. Was the person who pulled the trigger somebody who was lying in wait perhaps hiding in the
bushes or hiding behind a large sign outside of the apartment building.
Some neighbors and residents say they were led to believe that`s how things played out. Although the police have not confirmed any of that just yet.
And if that`s the case and somebody was waiting for somebody to come back, is this a case of mistaken identity.
Perhaps the wrong people became the target of this attack or is it possible that this was truly some strange bit of random street violence that is even
more. Unexplainable than the unexplainable.
GRACE: To Caryn Stark, psychologist joining us out of New York. You know, Karen, to when an adult kills another adult, that`s bad enough, but a 4-
year-old little girl. Caryn, I don`t know if you can see it in your studio but when you see the video of this 4-year-old child. I mean, if this is not
a death penalty case, I don`t know what is.
CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: And it`s so hard to understand, Nancy. Unless there`s somebody out there who really wants to get revenge on the father
that we don`t know about or in the family. Or the only other thing I could think of is the kind of person who would go in a car and randomly shoot
people.
But we haven`t heard of any more shooting. So, it`s unconscionable. There is something really wrong here that doesn`t make a lot of sense.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Parag Shah and Margie Mow out of L.A. You know, Parag, when we hear these theories that, oh, this could have been
revenge on the father.
[20:40:02] Typically, when you seek revenge, you shoot the person not their family. I mean, that`s great for movies and books but that doesn`t really
happen that much in real life.
PARAG SHAH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it`s hard to tell. I mean, you know, there`s...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Well, I mean, I know that was hard to tell. I`m asking you to comment on what I just said.
SHAH: Yes.
GRACE: And go off of that -- let he get you back in the middle of the road, OK? Out in the weeds.
SHAH: I agree. I appreciate your comment but your comment takes away a big part of what happens in this country and mental illness. You know, there`s
mental illness...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Oh, dear Lord in heaven. OK.
SHAH: ... there just -- there could be a lot of issues here.
GRACE: That`s not what I asked you. I asked you about the theory of revenge on, you know what? Let me get back...
(CROSSTALK)
SHAH: Revenge. It`s not unusual to have revenge on family members.
GRACE: OK.
SHAH: It not only happens in the movies, it happens in real life.
GRACE: Thanks, Parag. Can you name one?
SHAH: No, I can`t name one...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: OK, thanks.
SHAH: ... because I`m not constantly reviewing these topics.
GRACE: Matt Zarrell, what more do we know about the facts?
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Grace according to the father was all covered up. And the father said the shooter shot at him when he actually
looked at the suspect. And one thing about the weapon that I have seen reports saying that the weapon used was a shotgun, which I think is kind of
odd. I don`t -- you don`t hear shotgun that often.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn`t see nothing. I turned around I was closing the door to my car. And I heard the shots. I ran around the corner then I saw
him struggling with this gun, like with the rifle or something, shotgun.
My little girl she was always smiling no matter where we went.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Heartbreaking tragedy. A beloved teacher, cancer survivor, mother of four, goes on a road trip summer vacation. Out of nowhere, the front
windshield shattered by an eight pound rock the size of a soccer ball.
Sharon Budd, the mother hit directly in the face and head. Left battling for her life with brain injury, disfigurement. But this is no accident.
This was an intentional.
Young men arrested for Sharon`s horrible injuries and disfigurement. But in the last hours, we learned her husband overcome with stress and grief after
his wife`s horrific injuries commits suicide.
And tonight, police say oh, yes, it`s the rock throwers fault the husband is dead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A beautiful family`s tragedy deepens. A schoolteacher is almost killed by a huge rock teenagers throw into her wind shield from
an overpass and now her husband takes his own life.
Tonight, the D.A. points the finger of blame at the rock throwers for turning their victim`s lives into a nightmare.
GRACE: Straight out to Solomon Jones with WURD. Solomon, I remember when this happened.
SOLOMON JONES, WURD RADIO HOST: Yes.
GRACE: I want to go back to the beginning. But what we know tonight is that the husband has committed suicide. What do we know?
JONES: Yes. It`s a terrible incident with the husband. But on that night, it was last 2014, they were traveling from their home in Ohio to New
Jersey. Mr. Budd had some business there and then the wife with the 19- year-old daughter who was driving were going to see a Broadway play "Mama Mia."
And just a few minutes before midnight out of the dark from about 20 feet - - 22 feet from above drops this rock from an overpass and crushes through the wind shield. Shatters the dark just the sound and everything and
damages this woman`s skull. The husband said it was the most gruesome thing he had ever seen.
GRACE: Do we have video of that overpass? There are the defendants. Grown men who thought it was a great idea to throw a nearly a 10-pound rock, the
size of a soccer ball, over in overpass directly down on to this family.
The daughter was driving. Mom sitting in the front seat. Dad was in the back seat for a switch. It hit her directly in her face and head. Twenty
feet at 65 miles an hour.
They thought that was an awesome prank. Grown men did this leaving her with irreparable brain injuries.
To Dr. Lee Norman, chief medical officer at University of Kansas Hospital. Dr. Norman, thank you so much for being with us. A whole portion of her
frontal lobe had to be removed. What does that do?
LEE NORMAN, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS HOSPITAL CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Well, the frontal lobe is the part of the brain that really helps to organize our
behavior. It makes us really quite human. The fact that she survived was remarkable but there`s -- those are catastrophic injuries. That`s like a
cannon ball coming through the window.
GRACE: You know, her husband has been her sole care giver ever since this happened. And a, he just couldn`t take it anymore. She apparently, Dr.
Norman, doesn`t even really understand that he`s gone.
We`re showing these photos of her out smiling. And it really doesn`t speak of the true injuries because she doesn`t really understand what`s going on.
What are the injuries? What does that do to you, doctor?
[20:50:02] NORMAN: Well, it can make a person no longer anything close to normal for the rest of their life. One of the things that people have to
realize with brain injuries like this, it takes an immense amount of energy, years and years to sustain that person. I`m sure he was
emotionally, physically, financially exhausted.
GRACE: Well, as a matter of fact, he visited with us. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY BUDD, KAYLEE BUDD`S HUSBAND: I called 911 immediately. Kaylee, she`s so strong. She came right back in. So, I was -- I was on the passenger
side. Kaylee climb in the driver side and we just -- we just held her that weep out at that time where she was bleeding out. There was blood coming
out of her nose, her mouth, her brain.
And then she came to and when I mean came to she started moving. And she was just moving all over the place and trying to grab at her face. I don`t
know if she remembers it. And we`re trying to keep her hands down so she didn`t injure it more.
And she started -- she started gurgling in her own blood. And we just kept waiting and waiting for the ambulance and the only she could breathe was
through her brain. Then she would breathe heavy and it would come out of her brain.
And it was, oh, my God, it was terrible. She`s been heavily sedated. She`s got up on command, she potentially can move her fingers and toes. We
obviously have not been able to talk with her.
What we know is that she is definitely lost her right eye. The left eye is definitely in question. Her face, when that rock hit her, it hit her right
head on. Right through that windshield. Busted her top portion of her face backwards and split it out.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Adult men throw a huge boulder over the side of an overpass and devastate the life of Sharon Budd forever. Her husband, as we go to air, we
learned commit suicide after taking care of her with severe brain injuries. He just couldn`t take it anymore.
Psychologist Caryn Stark, we are told that he kept saying why couldn`t it have been me. Why did I live and she went through this. Why did this have
to happen to her? It completely tortured him.
STARK: Oh, Nancy, think about that. I mean, having to live with someone who was vibrant and alive and now, you know, she doesn`t even know how to
grieve or what emotion she`s supposed to have but her body registers a loss.
That`s the most important part of your brain, your frontal lobe. You know, it just controls everything, your judgment. And here he is with someone who
was that his wife he left her and he has to take care of the baby, you know, like she`s not aware of what`s going on.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Margie Mow and Parag Shah. Cops are saying the rock throwers should be held responsible for his suicide, Margie Mow.
MARGIE MOW, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I disagree with that. It is not foreseeable that he would kill himself two years after the incident. Now, yes, this is
an unfortunate incident. It was a prank. They obviously did not foresee that this was going to happen two years later.
And in addition to that, they`ve already been convicted for their crimes. So, what crime have they committed? None.
GRACE: You know, Dr. Lee Norman, chief medical exam -- officer at University of Kansas Hospital, is there any way she is ever going to
recover?
NORMAN: No, she`ll require the same care in the long haul as she has now. She`s probably very stabilized now and unfortunately, not anything like she
was before.
GRACE: Right now authorities desperately searching for a 16-year-old Alexis McDonald. Last seen in Kiel, Wisconsin. To (Inaudible) Tyle (Ph),
what happened?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sixteen-year-old Alexis McDonald reportedly was working at a subway sandwich shop in Wisconsin when she told her boss she wasn`t
feeling well and left work. She hasn`t been seen since. And friends and family are begging for help in bringing this girl home.
GRACE: Take a look at Alexis. What do we know about her, Tyle (Ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, what we know, Nancy, she`s about 5 and a half feet tall. She`s got shoulder length hair and hazel eyes. She has a small
scar in her right cheek.
And when she went missing, she was reportedly wearing her uniform still. A green subway employee shirt and black pants. Although right now we don`t
know what she may be wearing.
GRACE: Where does the investigation stand tonight, Tyle?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we know is that there is a private investigator that`s now involved in the case and they are combing through every lead.
But really police, friends and family they`re just trying to get answers here as to what happened to Alexis. She`s considered endangered, Nancy. So,
every second counts.
GRACE: Let`s see the tip line again, guys, 800 -- oh, 920-894-2211.
Let`s stop and remember American hero Master Sergeant Ivica Jerak, 42, Houston, Texas, Four bronze star, two Purple Hearts.
Remember for dedication and willingness to serve. Mother Nilca (Ph), widow, Hai (Ph), Ivika Jerak, American hero.
Thanks 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. Until then. Good night, friend.
[21:00:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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