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Nancy Grace
Search for 3 Kidnapped Children of Murdered Mother; Alibi Witness Accused of Lying; Young Cancer Patient Beaten Dead on Way to Hospital. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired August 24, 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, emergency, California, three little brothers and sisters, ages 2, 3 and 5, kidnapped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A disturbing discovery on the side road, a woman`s dead body, a severe injury to her head.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The victim was a mother of three children. Joshua Robertson and Brittany Humphrey -- they are now wanted for kidnapping of
those three children. They should consider them armed and dangerous.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, will the man convicted in the brutal murder of this high school girl, Hae Lee (ph), actually walk free thanks to a female
journalist who catapults to fame herself with a podcast called "Serial," bringing the murder to the forefront, re-exploring evidence that convicted
Adnan Syed (ph).
But the victim`s family says the whole nightmare reopens painful wounds no one could imagine. They are forced to relieve the gruesome murder of their
daughter, a high school senior lacrosse and field hockey star, and the time she`s left murdered, her body in a shallow grave. But tonight, a new
twist.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A new twist in that murder case made famous by the popular podcast "Serial."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Syed`s star alibi witness`s story cast in doubt.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was sitting in the library, bored to tears, and someone walked in that I knew.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This morning, according to documents filed by prosecutors this week, McLean`s (ph) account is being called a flat-out
lie.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have had no reason to kill her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is from ABC`s "GMA" and "Serial," produced by WBEZ Chicago.
Tonight, manhunt. A young cancer patient battling her illness, on her way to treatment at the hospital, is beaten dead. But why? Tonight, the hunt
for a killer.
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Emergency, California, three little brothers and sisters, ages just 2, 3 and 5, kidnapped. Straight out to Tom Perumean,
editor with TheAdvocacyReport.com. Tom, what do we know tonight about these three little children?
-TOM PERUMEAN, THEADVOCACYREPORT.COM (via telephone): These three little children are in the wind, Nancy. Nobody knows where they are. They are
suspected or alleged to be in the custody of their aunt. Her name is Brittany Humphrey. She is the sister of the victim, Kimberly Harvill,
Harvill, of course, found dead alongside Interstate 5...
GRACE: Oh, my goodness! I want to pick it up right there, Tom -- Tom Perumean joining me. Also, Chris Spargo with me, Dailymail.com. Chris,
how was the mother`s body found? And what`s the cause of death? I mean, the mother is found dead and the three little children are missing?
CHRIS SPARGO, DAILYMAIL.COM (via telephone): That`s correct. Ten days ago, the mother`s body was found in a very remote area of Los Angeles
County, the side of the road in some brush, with multiple gunshot wounds and severe head trauma.
GRACE: Let`s go straight to the police presser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That victim led us to conduct some interviews in the city of Lebec. Also, it led us to the city of Fresno, where that victim
made her residence. During that investigation in the following days, we also learned that the victim was a mother of three children, Brayden, Rylee
and Joslynn Watkins.
During that time, our investigators continued to try to inquire as to the whereabouts of those children and who they were with. They worked
feverishly long hours, using many resources in an attempt to identify the whereabouts of these children.
We believe that the sister, Brittany Humphrey, an acquaintance, Joshua Robertson, were with them, and we believe they took the children sometime
either before the murder or after the murder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: We`ll take you right back into that presser. But Chris Spargo, Dailymail.com, the mother`s body -- at first, we thought there were normal
injuries, possibly from a car wreck. We didn`t know what. But it turns out that`s not at all what those injuries are, Chris.
SPARGO: That`s correct. It was gunshot wounds they found.
GRACE: So the mom is found riddled with gunshot wounds, the three children missing. To Tom Perumean with TheAdvocacyReport -- Tom, tell me about the
manhunt. Who are we looking for?
PERUMEAN: We`re looking for Brittany Humphrey and Joshua Robertson. These are the two that are suspected of taking the three children.
[20:05:00]They were last seen headed east, and police suspect that they went out Interstate 40 and crossed through Arizona and New Mexico and are
possibly headed for the Midwest or the South. They understand that they have family connections in Mississippi and Louisiana.
GRACE: Joining me right now, special guest is Michele joining us from Sacramento, godmother to the three missing children. Michele, thank you
for being with us.
MICHELE, GODMOTHER TO MISSING CHILDREN (via telephone): Thank you.
GRACE: You were a very close friend to their mother. And you also know the half-sister, Brittany, that we believe has these children.
MICHELE: I do.
GRACE: What could possibly be going on? Because now police are telling us tonight that they are considered armed and dangerous. Why would she have
done this to her sister?
MICHELE: You know, I honestly don`t know that Brittany would do this to her sister. I -- you know, I`m not going to speculate as to what`s
happening because I don`t know. But this is not behavior that Brittany has ever had. She loves her sister. She loves those children. And I do find
it hard to believe that she would be willing participant in this type of situation.
GRACE: That`s a very good observation. Marc Klaas, president, founder of Klaas Kids Foundation, this is what I know. This may be totally out of
context for the half-sister. But I know this. The mom is dead, OK? Kimberly`s dead. The three little babies are gone. And her half-sister
and her new husband are also gone, as is their vehicle.
Weigh in Marc Klaas. What do we do now?
MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION (via telephone): Well, obviously, they have to pull out all of the stops and look for this individual. But I`ll
tell you, this guy, Joshua Robertson, was released from prison early under a program initiated by California governor Jerry Brown, the first of many
initiatives to release violent criminals onto the streets.
And this is just the repercussions. This is just the end game of what one of these guys will do. He`s a dangerous man. The police have to find him.
And they have to do everything they can to rescue these children while they`re still alive.
GRACE: Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation, has devoted his life to finding missing children after his beloved daughter,
Polly, was kidnapped and murdered.
Marc Klaas, explain to me again why the new husband, the brother-in-law, is out of jail. Whose great idea was that?
KLAAS: Well, it was Governor`s Brown idea. He was up against the gun for a certain period of time because there were too many people in the
California prison system. It was overpopulated, and the Supreme Court affirmed a three-judge panel decision to lessen the burden on the prison
system.
That was accomplished a couple of years ago now, but they still are continuing to find ways to release violent prisoners, basically, throw
their fate -- throw it up against the wall and disregard the law of the land and the will of the people.
GRACE: And long story short, Marc Klaas, these three little children, according to police, is with this guy and the victim`s half-sister. They
are with, we believe tonight, this guy that Governor Brown let out of jail.
Take a look at these two. We`re talking about Joshua Robertson, 27 years old, and Brittany Humphrey, the half-sister of the victim, murder victim
Kimberly Harvill, the mother of the three missing children, Kimberly found dead lying in the brush by a motorist that happens to come along, Kimberly
lying in the brush on a rural road.
Now, first cops believe she was murdered -- she wasn`t murdered, that it may have been an accident, but upon closer inspection, head wounds now
appear to be gunshot wounds.
To Dr. Lee Norman, chief medical officer at University of Kansas Hospital. Dr. Norman, how could that have been mistaken at the beginning? And it may
have just been the motorist that thought she had had an accident and was dead. But now we believe she was shot in the head.
DR. LEE NORMAN, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS HOSPITAL: Well, it should be pretty easy with careful forensic work to determine those two. But if the initial
injuries were quite severe, tissue disruption, then it can be a little difficult until you do the good detailed work.
GRACE: How does that happen with a close-range gunshot wound?
NORMAN: Yes, it could look like a head injury from a blunt instrument or from being thrown from a vehicle. But it`s usually pretty straightforward.
GRACE: Yes, a civilian that came along upon a car on the side of the road and a woman lying out in the brush could have easily thought that, somehow,
she was thrown from the car.
[20:10:00]Look at this area. Hold that photo for a moment. Look at this area. You see no structures, no homes, department stores, nothing. This
is where she was.
You know, Chris Spargo, I have reason to believe she was lured there. Why would she be out in the middle of nowhere?
SPARGO: It is true. It`s an incredibly remote area, as you mentioned, and it took a passing motorist to almost stumble upon her in the brush. So we
really don`t know why she`d be out in this area for any reason on her own.
GRACE: You know, Matt Zarrell, also on the story, is reminding me we`ve got one very good lead. Matt, tell me about the vehicle.
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): OK, so they are said to be driving the mother`s car, which is a green or silver 1999 Ford
Expedition SUV. It may have a California license plate number. Police have now information the license plate is most likely no longer on the
vehicle. It either has a paper plate or some other type of plate on it.
But it has distinguishing features. The SUV has a rear sticker reading, quote, "RIP Chad Watkins," which is the children`s father, a sticker
showing a family foreign minister of six stick figures and camouflage duct tape on its exterior.
GRACE: Oh, I know about those little stickers, Matt Zarrell. It would be, for instance, the mom and the dad and four little children or whatever they
want to put in there. You can have a pet in there. But they`re usually in an oval shape and they`re on the back of car.
So you`re telling me a 1999 Ford Expedition. What color are we talking about, Matt Zarrell?
ZARRELL: The cops are saying they`ve gotten green and silver are the two different colors they`ve actually been releasing.
GRACE: Rear sticker. No, you`re not going to find this anywhere else. "RIP Chad Watkins." That`s the bio dad, the husband of the deceased,
Kimberly Harvill, and the father of these three children. He has passed away.
You see a shot right now of Kimberly loving on her baby. Three she is with the three children. She`s dead. She was shot in the head on the side of a
rural road. Her children are gone. Police are telling us tonight the kidnappers are armed and dangerous. Won`t you please help us find them?
Marc Klaas, president and founder of Klaas Kids Foundation, the vehicle is a great lead, right?
KLAAS: The vehicle is a fantastic lead. I mean, it`s a huge thing. Everybody can see that car. And now with the publicity that you have
leveled on this case, I don`t think it`ll be long before somebody finally locates it, although there may be efforts to remove the stickers or may be
efforts to remove the decals or even to alter the appearance of it. But still, people should be on the lookout for it, and this case can be closed.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:16:42]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This woman`s body was found laying in the brush, suffering from trauma to her head. She was the victim of a murder.
We believe that they took the children sometime either before the murder or after the murder.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Those kids need to come home. Brittany, Josh, again, if you hear this, help us get those kids home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Three little children, ages 2, 3 and 5, have been kidnapped. Tonight, the perpetrators on the run, and they are considered armed and
dangerous. What their motivation can be, I don`t know. Nobody knows. But the mother has been found dead on the side of the road in a very remote
area.
Unleash the lawyers. Joining me out of Maryland, defense attorney Robin Ficker. Also, veteran defense attorney out of Atlanta, Randy Kessler.
OK, Ficker, give me one innocent explanation of why the half-sister and her convict husband are missing, and so are her sister`s children, and the
sister`s dead? Why are they coincidentally all missing at the same time?
ROBIN FICKER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, if perpetrators lured the victim to a remote area, where`s the car of the perpetrators? Why isn`t it at the
scene? No one is going to murder someone and take three little kids that need care every few hours. That`s a burden.
GRACE: That happens every day. Children are kidnapped every day.
FICKER: Not three at once at that age.
GRACE: As a matter of fact, Atlanta, Georgia, is the capital of the midway point for human trafficking. It happens every day.
FICKER: Not...
GRACE: Yes, children!
FICKER: Not three.
GRACE: Yes!
FICKER: Not three at that age that need care constantly.
GRACE: Well, you and I think they need care constantly, but sadly, kidnappers don`t agree with us. Children are a commodity that they can
make money off of. Believe me, they`re not worried about giving them warm milk and putting them to bed at 9:00 o`clock.
Tom Perumean, where are -- where`s the perp`s car? Where is the car belonging to Robertson and Humphrey?
PERUMEAN: There are reports that Humphrey and Robertson may have been either living with Kimberly Harvill or helped her move out of her apartment
in Fresno. Now, that certainly would have given them access to Harvill`s Ford Expedition.
GRACE: Good point. Good point. so where her body was found, Tom Perumean with TheAdvocacyReport, there was no car. It`s just her body there?
PERUMEAN: Yes. It was her body just found off of Gorman Post Road near highway 138.
GRACE: Got it.
PERUMEAN: 138 cuts through the mountains from, effectively, Interstate 5 that will connect with Interstate 15 and then on to Interstate 40 which
they pick up in Barstow (ph) or heading east.
GRACE: Bottom line, Chris Spargo, that doesn`t necessarily have to be the murder scene. In fact, my guess would be it was not. I think she was
killed elsewhere and dumped right there. I think that`s a secondary crime scene, Chris.
SPARGO: Yes, that would make sense very much.
GRACE: OK, back to the lawyers, Robin Ficker and Randy Kessler. I didn`t give you a shot at it, Kessler, as to any innocent explanation that her
half-sister and the sister`s convict husband are missing, the mom found dead and the children are gone.
[20:00:02]RANDY KESSLER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: You know, there are a lot of possible explanations. Who knows. People react differently when they see
something like that. They were there. Maybe somebody else did it. And they said, What are we going to do? We`ve been framed. We`re going to
look like we killed them.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!
KESSLER: We got to get out of here. Somebody just killed her...
GRACE: So Instead of calling police -- if I found a dead body...
KESSLER: You`re different.
GRACE: ... I`d call 911. I wouldn`t say, Who someone`s going to try to pin this murder on me. Who would think that?
KESSLER: You`re not an ex-con. This guy`s got -- he`s got a record. He`s afraid he`s going to be arrested again. Who knows. There`s a lot of
reasons that he doesn`t want to be there...
GRACE: Even Ficker is laughing at that.
KESSLER: No, he`s laughing...
GRACE: Even Ficker because...
KESSLER: He`s smiling because it`s a good explanation.
GRACE: ... who can certainly spin a yarn. OK, so they panic and...
KESSLER: He agrees. Yes.
GRACE: ... left with the children and left the dead body on the side of the road. Let`s talk about where they may be. What do we know, Matt
Zarrell?
ZARRELL: (INAUDIBLE) the suspects according to police are headed eastbound on the I-40 freeway, which runs all along the United States lower half. It
runs through Arizona and New Mexico. Nancy, the police have confirmed the suspects have gone through Arizona and New Mexico. They were last known to
be in the Gallup area, which is just across the border from Arizona into New Mexico.
Police say they`ve learned the suspects have family in Nebraska. They also have ties to Kansas, Mississippi and Louisiana.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:25:08]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... a deceased woman whose body was found in a remote area along Gorman Post Road just north of state highway Route 138.
The mother of three children, Brayden, Rylee and Joslynn. We believe that both of them have the children. Joshua -- he`s had a criminal history,
including an arrest for a handgun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Tip line 800-222-8477. These perps are armed and dangerous. They have these three little children with them. Imagine your own children on
the run with a convict. These children ages 2, 3 and 5.
Another question. Is it possible the children saw their mother`s murder? They`ve already lost their father. All they had left was their mother, and
now she is gone. And it was a brutal murder.
I want to go back to the godmother of these three little children, joining us tonight, Michele. Michele, what was the relationship between the half-
sisters, Kimberly, the murder victim, and the half-sister, Brittany?
MICHELE: I had a great relationship with Kim. We`ve been friends for years...
GRACE: No, their relationship, their relationship with each other.
MICHELE: Their relationship? They had a great relationship. You know, they had -- they were sisters. So of course, you know, as sisters, they,
you know, have issues back and forth, but they`ve -- this -- this isn`t -- this isn`t what I expected at all.
GRACE: When you say that they had issues back and forth, what do you mean?
MICHELE: I mean, they`re sisters. Sisters fight. Sisters love each other. The bottom line is, is that Brittany and Kim love each other.
Brittany loves Rylee and Brayden and Joslynn. I`ve seen their relationship firsthand. I know how these children feel about their auntie. I know how
she feels about these children. There`s -- I just -- I -- this whole situation is just beyond me.
GRACE: Now, you say again that the deceased mom, 25-year-old Kimberly Harvill, and a half-sister, Brittany Humphrey, loved each other.
MICHELE: Yes, they absolutely loved each other. Absolutely.
GRACE: And why do you say that?
MICHELE: They`ve spent time in my home. They have been there for each other. When Chad passed away last year, Brittany came home from across the
country to be with Kim and the children. She`s been nothing but a supportive, loving sister to Kim.
There`s -- I just -- this is -- this is not -- this is not normal. This isn`t what their relationship was about at all. This whole situation is
not what -- yes, I never -- I would never see this coming, ever.
GRACE: To Matt Zarrell. What can you tell me about allegations that Brittany was extremely jealous of the deceased mom, Kimberly?
ZARRELL: Well, we spoke to the victim`s fiance and he said -- we asked him what the motive might be, and (INAUDIBLE) says he`s thinking jealousy. He
said he`s known Humphrey longer than his own fiancee, and they were always -- the sisters were always jealous of each other and always trying to one
up each other.
GRACE: Another issue. To Caryn Stark, psychologist joining me out of New York. I can remember things as early as, for sure, age 2, if not earlier.
If these children, ages 2, 3 and 5, saw their mother murdered, I find it difficult to believe they`re ever going to forget that.
CARYN STARK, PSYCHOLOGIST: That would be really hard. They`re going to need a lot of help, Nancy, and somebody who tries to get them to change
that picture in their mind, particularly since their father killed himself. He died. And I feel like all of that is going to be seared into their
brain. That`s tremendous trauma that they would have to cope with.
And this is their aunt who`s with a criminal. So on top of everything else, it has to be a very strange situation in that car, extremely tense.
Who knows what they`re being exposed to right now.
GRACE: If the children are even still alive, Caryn Stark.
STARK: Yes. Yes.
GRACE: You know, Marc Klaas, this case has so much urgency to it. We`ve already got one dead body, the mother, a young 25-year-old mother. And now
her half-sister and her convict husband on the run with the three little children.
We are just getting in breaking news about the whereabouts and the safety of these three little children. Matt, what do we know?
ZARRELL: Nancy, the godmother just called us and informed us that police have told her that they have found the three children, 2-year-old Joslynn
Watkins, 3-year-old Brayden Watkins and 5-year-old Rylee Watkins, safe in New Mexico.
[20:30:03] We are still trying to learn more about the suspects whether they are in custody, where they are -- whether they`re still on the run and
what became of the car.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Alibi witness Asia McClain is set to take center stage in his attorney`s fight to set him free. Two of her classmates from nearly
two decades ago accusing McClain of lying.
ASIA MCCLAIN, ALIBI WITNESS: Do I think Adnan killed Hae? Honestly I couldn`t tell you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two of her former classmates say in a high school conversation, McClain told them she believes so much in Adnan`s innocence
she would make up a lie to prove he couldn`t have done it.
ADNAN SYED, CONVICTED MURDERER: To be honest with you , it kind of, I feel like I want to shoot myself if I hear someone else say, I don`t think you
did it because you`re a nice guy
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is from ABC`s "GMA" and from the podcast "Serial" produced by WBEZ. Will the man convicted in the brutal murder of a high school girl,
Hae Lee, actually walk free, thanks to a female journalist who catapults to fame herself with her podcast called "Serial." It brings the whole murder
back to the forefront, re-exploring the evidence that convicted Syed.
That Hae Lee`s family says this nightmare has re-opened painful wounds. Now, they`re forced to relive the gruesome murder of their little girl, a
high school senior, Lacrosse and field hockey star, the time she was left murdered -- her body in a shallow grave. But tonight, a new twist on the
whole thing. To Sarah Westwood, investigative reporter with the "Washington Examiner," Sarah, a judge has actually ordered a remand and that Adnan Syed
be re-tried.
Now, he is basing this on phone records. Phone records that came out at trial that appears to place Syed at the park, Lincoln Park where Hae Lee`s
body was found in a shallow grave. But on the cover of those phone records, there was a fax cover that said incoming calls can`t really pinpoint
location, only out going. There`s also the issue, Sarah Westwood, of Asia McClain, a so-called alibi witness. What`s the latest?
SARAH WESTWOOD, WASHINGTON EXAMINER INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, Asia McClain said she saw Adnan Syed at the library around the time when
investigators believe Syed was murdering his girlfriend. Now the prosecution submitted the statements of two unnamed witness who say that
Asia McClain fabricated her testimony in order to help Syed avoid conviction.
GRACE: The victim.
WESTWOOD: They say she was bragging about those in a class around the time of the murder, that she was going to lie to prosecutors in order to protect
Syed by telling investigators that Syed had a valid alibi.
GRACE: OK, what we`re showing you right now or we`re showing you is Woodlawn High School which has come center stage. Michael Christian, it`s
my understanding that Asia McClain was confronted by two high school friends about her alleged lie, making up the alibi that she saw Adnan Syed
in the library at the time of the murder. Hold on, Michael, let`s take a listen to Asia McClain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MCCLAIN: I was sitting in the library, bored to tears and someone walked in that I knew. I asked him about his break up with Hae Lee. She was dating
someone else, but that he just wanted her to be happy. He didn`t seem to be disturbed or angry with her. The biggest thing to us was setting a good
example for our children. Leaving a legacy of integrity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is from ABC`s "Good Morning America" and that was the so-called alibi witness that was never called at the first trial -- Asia McClain.
You`re looking at Hae Lee right there. She was a senior lacrosse and field hockey star when she was found murdered. Her body in shallow grave. A guy
comes forward named Jay, best friend of Anan Syed. He says Syed calls him, says he`s murdered Hae Lee and wants help burying her body. Now, Michael
Christian, what happened with the new mystery witness emerging tonight?
[20:40:00] MICHAEL CHRISTIAN, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: There`s actually two, Nancy. They`re sisters and they were high school classmates of Asia
McClain. They said that right after Adnan was arrested, Asia McClain said that if she had to she`d tell a lie to keep him out of prison because she
did not think that he was guilty. They said they never came forward about this because they never dreamed that Adnan Syed`s conviction would be
overturned. But once it did, they said that they thought that they needed to tell somebody so they contacted the district attorney`s office.
GRACE: You know a problem there`s going to be in the case when they bring the so-called alibi witness on. Unleash the lawyers, with me is Seema Iyer,
columnist with the "Dean`s Report." Also with Robin Ficker in Maryland, Randy Kessler, Atlanta -- is that the so-called alibi witness, Asia
McClain, has really cashed in on this murder case.
Even writing a book called "Confessions of a Serial Alibi." OK, and there she is with the glamour shot on the front of the book. OK, what about that,
Seema? Is she going to be cross examined on this at trial if it ever makes it that far?
SEEMA IYER, FORMER PROSECUTOR: She absolutely is. And Nancy, you know, I`m against a witness making any statements to anybody outside the court
because they could be impeached on it. However, I saw Asia McClain testify every single second of her testimony and she was incredible.
She was poised. She was almost the perfect witness. In fact, a criminal defense expert testified and equated her to being a jewel saying that he --
in all of his years, decades of trying cases, he`s never seen someone so credible as Asia McClain.
GRACE: Really? Because I don`t believe her. Unleash the lawyers, Robin Thicker and Randy Kessler. I mean, Kessler, come on. There are two women
that were -- in her co-op class in high school and everything the sisters say have been corroborated. That they were in Ms. Graham`s class at
Woodlawn High School with Asia McClain and that they confronted her in class and said, "Why are you making this up?"
And even now, all these years later, Randy, they face her and go I can`t believe 17 years later, you`re a grown woman. Why are you still continuing
this lie?
KESSLER: But the defense would rather have an alibi witness that gets cross examined than not have an alibi witness. All they`ve got to do is create
reasonable doubt -- reasonable doubt gets...
GRACE: So, whether it`s true or not, as long as they can create reasonable doubt in the minds of the jury.
KESSLER: No, no, no.
GRACE: That`s what you said.
KESSLER: No, I said they`ve got to create reasonable doubt. They got to believe this witness. You can`t put a witness on that you think is lying.
If the witness says I`m going to get on the witness stand and lie, then they can`t put her on. But that`s not what she said. She being cross
examined and you`re impeaching her credibility.
You haven`t proved she`s lied. You`re saying two people says she`s saying one thing, she`s saying another thing. It`s a witness; it`s a fact question
for the jury.
GRACE: Hold on just a moment Thicker. Michael Christian, what exactly do these two sisters say? What was the confrontation at Woodlawn High School
at the time Hae Lee was murdered? What did they say?
CHRISTIAN: They say that they remember being in this co-op class with her, as you say Ms. Graham`s co-op class, and that she said basically she
thought that Adnan was not guilty and that she would tell a lie if she needed to, to get him off. She was that convinced of his innocence. And one
of the sisters confronted her and the other sister basically had to jump in and break it up. It got that heated.
GRACE: Also at issue, if there`s a retrial, the phone records. Ben Levitan, telecommunications expert out of Raleigh. Ben, I know what that fax cover
said, that you can only pinpoint a location from outgoing, not incoming calls. But so much other evidence other than incoming calls places the perp
within one mile of the dead body at the time she`s being disposed of. Explain.
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATONS EXPERT: Nancy, the whole issue about the fax cover sheet is just a red herring, but let`s -- you know, lawyers being
lawyers, let`s just eliminate, completely eliminate incoming calls. The fact is Adnan`s phone is seen leaving -- it`s on highway I-40 -- leaving
the area of Lincoln Park around 8:00.
So, even if you eliminate the calls that did go into Lincoln Park occurred -- the calls that are in question, they occurred between 7:09 and 8:04.
Those are all incoming calls that generally hit the area of the park. At 8:04, I have a call that shows the phone is leaving that area, Nancy.
[20:45:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Tonight, a manhunt. A young cancer patient battling her illness on her way to treatment at the hospital, beaten dead. But why? Tonight, a hunt
for the killer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police report in south (ph) with a patient at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America. She was being treated for breast
cancer. She was struck in the head outside the guest quarters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A guy come up and struck her in the head and took off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Severe head injury. Shannon Vincel pronounced dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Jim Gemmell, news director at WJRJ. Jim, thanks for being with us. Tell me what happened. So, this young cancer patient
battling breast cancer goes all the way to a treatment that I believe was Cancer Centers of America, and she`s beaten dead?
JAMES GEMMEL, WJRJ NEWS DIRECTOR: That`s right. She was at a guest hotel less than a mile away and some man walked up in dark clothing, (inaudible)
her from behind in the head and she died the following night. He took off running.
[20:50:00] GRACE: You know, it`s amazing to me that she had battled so long. Actually, starting to beat breast cancer, at least with a light at
the end of the tunnel, and then she`s beaten dead near a treatment center. Michael Christian, what more do we know?
CHRISTIAN: Nancy, it happened at about 9:30. She was sitting outside of this hotel. She was waiting for a shuttle bus to take her to the cancer
treatment center, and there was another person in the vicinity as well waiting for the shuttle bus. All of a sudden, this guy just comes out of
nowhere. All we know is that he beat her once in the back of the head with some kind of blunt object and then he took off. And that`s literally all
cops know about him.
GRACE: You know, to Dr. Lee Norman, chief medical officer at University of Kansas Hospital, on her injuries Dr. Norman, is there a way to tell what
the murder weapon was? Was it a rock? Was it a gun? What was it? Can you tell? Will there be any residue from the weapon in the wound?
LEE NORMAN, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS HOSPITAL CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER: Typically not. If it`s a blunt instrument, it`s probably rounded. If there are sharp
edges or something that would penetrate the skull, you could get ideas. But blunt, it could be a rock, it could be a baseball bat, mostly anything.
GRACE: Jim Gemmell, WJRW, do we have any idea as to motive?
GEMMELL: No motive offered by police. I know that they`re looking at surveillance images. At least there`s been conflicting reports about what
images they`re actually looking at. Apparently, the Cancer Treatment Center of America has not said whether or not they`ve got surveillance camera up
there but they have said they are beefing up security in the wake of this incident.
[20:55:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A beautiful woman is waiting patiently for a bus to take her to receive cancer treatment. Out of nowhere, a man dressed in black
smashes her in the back of the head with some sort of blunt object then rushes from the scene.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would come up here to get herself cleared of cancer and they took her life out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Her injuries were so severe that she was declared brain dead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: This is what I don`t understand, if there`s surveillance video, why don`t we know more about the man who murders this young girl -- this woman
battling cancer. She`s traveled all the way to a Cancer Treatment of America. And there she is and gets beaten dead. How tragic is this? The tip
line, (847)872-8000, is the Zion Police Department. There`s a $25,000 reward given by Cancer Treatment Centers of America. So, Jim Gemmell, WJRW,
do we have any idea of a description of the killer?
GEMMELL: No. They just say it was a black man wearing dark clothing and very mysterious and deep.
GRACE: Well, you know, Michael Christian, was he on foot?
CHRISTIAN: Yes. He appeared to be on foot and dashed off as soon as he hit her.
GRACE: Well, that says to me, Robin Ficker, Randy Kessler -- first to you Ficker, that he is most likely a local. If he is on foot, and why else
would he be there? If you take a look at it, it`s not in a metropolis area. It`s surrounded by trees. She`s sitting there waiting on a shuttle bus.
Kind of had to know where this was, I mean, look at the area. You see a church in the distance. I say this is a local on foot.
FICKER: I don`t think this is a deadly version of the knock out game. I think this is someone who knew her, who hated her, who had some kind of
relationship with big difference with her
GRACE: Doesn`t even make sense. Kessler, she wasn`t even from there. She travelled from there from home for cancer treatment.
KESSLER: Well, and you said why don`t we know more, because if the police tell us what they know, then the tip will be because they saw it on your
show. They want the tip to be independent, corroborated. They know something, there`s going to be a tip that`s going to match up with what the
police know, and we`re going to get the guy.
GREACE: All right, very quickly, Jim Gemmell, WJRW, what time of the day or night did this happen?
GEMMELL: This happened at nighttime.
GRACE: It`s going to make an identification even more difficult. And Caryn Stark, psychologist, her family believing she saw a light at the end of the
tunnel fighting cancer, and Caryn Stark, you`ve been there.
STARK, I have Nancy.
GRACE: You have battled cancer for years, and every time you and I think we see a light at the end of the tunnel there`s a setback, and you have been
fighting it and fighting it and fighting it. Can you even imagine what this family is going through? With all she`s lived through.
STARK: It`s tragedy. It`s a tragedy Nancy. And you know what, I feel like she was like an easy target because whatever treatment she`s going through,
she must have been very weak. The family has got to be devastated because, what a fighter. She`s been fighting it. She went to the special place just
for cancer. And now she`s gone for no reason that anybody seems to know. So, somebody just saw her as an easy target. Someone with a lot of hate.
GRACE: This young cancer battler, a warrior, beaten dead at the hospital residence. We`re on the hunt for her killer. Tip line, (847)872-8000.
There`s a $25,000 reward.
We remember American hero Marine Sergeant Bradley Harper, just 25. Dresden, Ohio, an Ohio university grad, a Virginia Beach police officer. Parents
Steve and Janet, sister Jennifer, brother Daniel. Widow Kendra. Bradley Harper, American hero.
And tonight, congratulations to our friend, Ronnie, who has just completed the Liverpool Marathon. Ronnie, we`re so proud of you. Thanks to our guests
but especially you for being with us. Nancy Grace signing off. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp eastern and until then, good night friend.
END
