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Nancy Grace
Police Search for Mystery Man in Vetrano Murder; 14-Month-Old Dies in Dentist Chair
Aired September 01, 2016 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NANCY GRACE, HOST: Breaking news tonight. A gorgeous young 30-year-old vanishes while jogging not far from her own home. In a shocking twist, her
retired firefighter dad, out searching with police looking for his daughter, is the one to find her body in a swampy marsh near the jogging
path, evidence she`s both sex assaulted and strangled in broad daylight. Journal entries seem to predict her own murder.
Bombshell tonight. is this the man who brutally assaults and murders jogger Karina Vetrano? In the last hours, police releasing this sketch of
a mystery man. He was spotted leaving the area of her dead body.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, the search continues for whoever killed the 30- year-old while she was jogging.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There`s no way to hide. We`re going to find you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Police now releasing this sketch of a man spotted in the area by a utility worker the day Karina died.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was wearing dark pants with a red T-shirt, and if you`ll notice the dark wool hat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s from ABC`s "GMA."
The fury of parents unleashed. Their 1-year-old little girl Daisy (ph) died in the dentist`s chair while the dentist filling six cavities. I
mean, does a baby even have that many teeth? But tonight, an autopsy revealing she did not even need the procedure. And again, at just 14
months old, how many teeth could she have?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Daisy Lynn (ph) was in to get cavities filled. The child went to the dentist and never came home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is she awake?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is she breathing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While she was under, Daisy went into cardiac arrest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That`s from "Inside Edition."
Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. A gorgeous 30-year-old vanishes while jogging near her own home. In a shocking twist, her own father, a retired firefighter, is
the one to find her body in a swampy area not far from the jogging path. She was sex assaulted and murdered in broad daylight.
But tonight, the police releasing a sketch. Is this the man who murdered jogger Karina Vetrano? In the last hours, this sketch released of a
mystery man actually spotted by a very credible witness leaving the area of Karina`s dead body.
To Noam Laden, news director, WABC. Noam, first of all, who spotted this guy?
NOAM LADEN, WABC (via telephone): Well, it was a utility worker who happened to be in the area near where Karina was raped and murdered. And
this guy came out of the path, and he actually thought this guy in the sketch was going to mug him. So that`s why he remembers him so clearly.
GRACE: And I`ll tell you why, Noam Laden with WABC, I`m saying this is a very credible witness. Because you`ve got a utility worker. He doesn`t
have a dog in the fight. He is out there on assignment, doing his job. He doesn`t know Karina Vetrano. He doesn`t know this guy. He is where he is
supposed to be, doing his job, minding his own business. It`s broad daylight. And again, he`s got no skin in the game. And he sees this
mystery guy.
Noam, where did the mystery man -- where did he come from? How did the utility guy spot him?
LADEN: Well, he was -- you know, he was right in this area near where they found Karina`s body. And I think what stood out to this utility worker and
why he remembers him is, as I said, he thought maybe this guy was going to mug him. The second thing was he was wearing a ski cap, a wool ski cap,
and this rape and murder taking place in the middle of the summer when it was hot outside.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Mindy Smith, Atlanta, Troy Slaten, LA. Troy Slaten, he`s wearing a ski cap in the middle of August?
TROY SLATEN, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: So what? I mean, people wear things all the time when they go jogging.
GRACE: Really?
SLATEN: Sometimes they want to sweat more.
GRACE: A ski cap?
SLATEN: Yes, sometimes people put on...
GRACE: On their head?
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: You want your head to sweat?
SLATEN: Yes.
GRACE: Do you?
SLATEN: It means absolutely nothing. I want to look more...
GRACE: Do you? Do you wear a wool hat on your head while you jog in broad daylight in the middle of the afternoon in August? That`s a yes, no,
Slaten.
SLATEN: I don`t. But I should be jogging more, in all honesty.
GRACE: OK, so bottom line, you don`t.
SLATEN: This utility worker needs to be looked at a little bit more. I mean, this sketch...
GRACE: Oh, no.
SLATEN: ... looks like...
GRACE: Not again.
[20:05:00]SLATEN: ... right out of central casting.
GRACE: Not again.
SLATEN: Let`s write a sketch for somebody that looks like a bad guy.
GRACE: You know what I`ve noticed about you, Troy Slaten, every time -- you know what? I`ll get you in a moment. But let`s not have second verse
the same as the first, OK?
Back to you, Slaten. Every time there`s a witness, every time, you try to blame the witness. Don`t you remember what happened in tot mom Casey
Anthony when the guy is out minding his own business and he spots what he believes to be the remains, and suddenly, he`s the one everybody starts
blaming. He was absolutely innocent. Don`t -- you know what? I`m not even going to listen to you...
(CROSSTALK)
SLATEN: She was found not guilty, as well.
GRACE: Yes, and that`s the jury`s problem. But that`s a whole `nother animal that you`re talking about her not guilty. What I`m talking about,
Noam Laden, is a utility person who was out there on assignment in broad daylight, spots this guy, and then he voluntarily speaks to police to tell
them what he saw.
Now, Noam Laden, he said something very interesting. He said he felt like the guy was going to mug him. He got a bad feeling, a scared feeling, like
chills going up and down his spine, when this guy emerges from the bushes.
What exactly did he say, Noam? We may have our first real break in the murder and the brutal attack on Karina Vetrano. So what happened, Noam?
Where did he come from?
LADEN: Well, that`s the thing. He just came out of nowhere. And so you know, here`s this utility worker doing his job, and this guy sort of comes
out of the woods and he`s got this ski cap on. And this area where in the past, there`s been known to have homeless and drug dealers, that type of
people. So I think he was on high alert as it was. But this guy sort of really stood out (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: I want to go to clinical psychologist Judith Zackson. Dr. Zackson joining me out of New York, thank you for being with us. Judith, I know a
lot of people such as Troy Slaten and Mindy Smith will pooh-pooh that feeling, when you get a feeling. But I have had those hunches, those
feelings before, and so far, they`ve always turned out to be right.
And I don`t pooh-pooh it when a witness tells me they had a bad feeling, and I`ll tell you why. We always try to put everything in a box, Judith.
We try to explain it. We try to rationalize it. But when you get a, quote, "bad feeling," that`s because of thousands of years of developing
into the humans we are now.
It`s a million things. It could be the way somebody looks. It could be the way they`re walking, that they`re -- whether they`re meeting your eyes,
whether they look aggressive to you. You feel a certain feeling because of so many non-verbal cues. It could have been as simple as somebody
springing out of the bushes in the middle of nowhere, OK? I`d get a bad feeling about that, too.
So what do you say, Dr. Zackson, in response to "feelings don`t matter"?
JUDITH ZACKSON, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, in this instance, I would say this guy fits the classic profile of a killer, of a psychopath, because he
knew exactly when the father wasn`t there.
I think this was calculated, that he was hiding out in the weeds, in the bushes, and then sprung when he could. And I think her father is doing
what`s really healthy. He`s staying pro-active. He is grieving in a healthy way. He is doing what he needs to do. He`s angry...
GRACE: Well, speaking of the father, you really brought up a good point, Dr. Zackson. The reward to catch the killer is now over $300,000.
Karina`s father, a retired firefighter, is crusading to up that money because he really believes -- even if he has to fork the money over to the
killer`s family, he wants to catch the killer, $300,000 to help us crack this case and find the killer of Karina Vetrano.
Hey, Liz, take me into the police presser please.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to speak to this person because we feel he was there. This sketch was prepared by a utility worker who was working in the
area at the time and saw this individual near the top of the park, Spring Creek Park. So we put this out today. It`s this individual right here.
It`s out through DCPI (ph). And I will tell you he`s described as a male black, 35 to 45. He`s 5-foot-10, with a medium build. He was wearing dark
pants with a red T-shirt. And if you`ll notice the dark wool hat. Remember the day was August 2nd. A little unusual he`s wearing a wool hat
in the area there. We don`t know who he is. We don`t know if he`s a fellow jogger, what he`s doing...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:10:00]GRACE: There you see the police presser. It`s happening, and there is Bill Bratton standing immediately beside the speaker.
I want to go back to you, Noam Laden, WABC. So this guy comes out of the bushes. The utility worker sees him, gets a horrible feeling, and the guy
takes off. What else can you tell me about this guy, Noam?
LADEN: The problem is we can`t really tell you much else about him. They don`t know who he is. There`s a thought maybe he could be a jogger, but
where he came from seems sort of odd because it isn`t a place where people jog often.
GRACE: Well, wait a minute. Was he jogging? Was he actually jogging, or did he just appear out of bushes and walk off, or was he jogging?
LADEN: Well, we don`t know because this utility worker said he saw this person come out of bushes, which is awfully odd. So the thought is, no, he
probably wasn`t jogging, but police aren`t ready to rule out he might be a jogger because it`s in an area where lots of people jog on an average
afternoon.
GRACE: So let me understand this, Mindy Smith, defense attorney. Here`s a guy dressed in long pants, a wool ski cap, shirt, and he breaks through the
bushes. There`s no way this guy is a jogger. He is not a jogger. Why is he that close to her body?
MINDY SMITH, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, first of all, we don`t know that he was that close to her body. That`s what the utility worker said, is that
he saw him close after the incident happened.
And Nancy, it`s a good thing in this country you can`t be convicted because of what you`re wearing because right now, that`s all the police have.
GRACE: That`s not true.
SMITH: And I`ll tell you this. He absolutely is a suspect. The police can say all day long that this individual is not a suspect.
GRACE: Hold on just a moment.
SMITH: He is a suspect.
GRACE: Just stop right there. Stop right there. To you, Matt Zarrell, on the story. There`s a lot more than what he was wearing. What he was
wearing is just an oddity that shows he was not on the path jogging because he`s not going to be wearing this get-up and a dark wool ski-type hat to
jog in the middle of August on a hot summer day. But coming out of the bushes, and it was very close to where Karina`s beside was found. And I --
around the time that she was killed.
MATT ZARRELL, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER (via telephone): Yes, you`re right, Nancy. It was the same area. It was just a couple blocks away. It was
very close, and it was the same area. It was around the same time, and the cops are desperately searching for him around the area anywhere they can
find him.
GRACE: So back to you, Mindy Smith. And Troy Slaten, don`t try to help her. So you`re saying all I`ve got is a cap. But that`s not true. I`ve
got this guy, who is not known by anyone in the area, who doesn`t live in the neighborhood, who was not jogging on the trail, who was near her body,
her dead body, coming out of the bushes within the hour of her murder.
So don`t tell me, Mindy, that all we have is the way he was dressed. He`s on the scene of the murder at the time of the murder, Mindy. That`s a lot.
SMITH: As I`m sure many people were. This is a trail. You don`t -- I`m assuming you don`t have to just be jogging to be on this trail. He could
have been walking. I mean, that`s a big joke.
GRACE: Actually, other people were not spotted. Noam, let`s follow up. Maybe she`s right. Were other people spotted on the trail?
LADEN: There were other people on the trail. But you know, they`ve talked to everybody, including this one jogger. There was another jogger that
Karina`s father remembered as somebody that he had seen jogging many times before. He gave a pretty full description of what this jogger looked like
because he said he hadn`t seen the jogger since Karina was murdered and he thought, Well, maybe that was their number one suspect. That jogger went
to cops when he heard about the description given. He said, That`s me, and they investigated him and they said this guy (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: So this guy, the -- let`s see the sketch again -- was on the trail and not come forward. The other jogger has actually been tracked down,
came forward and spoke to police.
Let`s go back in the presser.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The DNA profile was culled from three parts of the crime scene, from the phone that belonged to Karina that was found thrown
from the crime scene. We also have touch DNA from her neck. As you know, she was strangled. We also have DNA from her fingernails, probably the
strongest we have. That was all from the same person.
So we have a DNA profile of that. We ran that through our CODIS (ph) system, both state and federal, and have no hits on that, as well as local
DNA database that we maintain to identify pattern thieves (ph). So so far, nothing on that. That has limitations. So we`re working outside those
limitations right now to identify that person.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:18:50]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... DNA profile from the phone that belonged to Karina that was found thrown from the crime scene, touch DNA from her
neck. As you know, she was strangled. DNA from her fingernails. That was all from the same person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The coward, the vermin, the weakling. And I guarantee you, you will pay forever!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Is there finally a break in the murder of Karina Vetrano? Not only tonight do we get a sketch of a guy -- take a look at this -- emerging from
the bushes around the time and in the area where Karina was sex assaulted and murdered -- she`s jogging in broad daylight. She lives with her mom
and dad. We have been told the mom is fighting cancer, and she`s living there, trying to help her dad take care of her mom.
She goes out for a jog and is brutally murdered. Now, finally, have we found the needle in the haystack? And that`s not all. Noam Laden, WABC,
what can you tell me about reports there is DNA?
[20:20:00]LADEN: Yes, well, there`s DNA they took from underneath Karina`s fingernails during this violent rape and murder. She fought back. Police
say she fought back like nobody could. Unfortunately, she lost that fight, but in the process, there`s DNA under her fingernails. They wiped DNA from
her cell phone. And so they have all this DNA. They put it through the national network, DNA network, but they`ve gotten no hits.
GRACE: Matt Zarrell, let`s say there`s DNA under the fingernails, according to Noam Laden, from the cell phone. But there`s a third place.
Where else is the DNA?
ZARRELL: The DNA is touch DNA on her neck, Nancy.
GRACE: OK, touch DNA. To forensic pathologist, expert, Dr. Michelle Dupre joining me out of Columbia. Dr. Dupre, thank you for being with us. You
know, touch DNA to many people is new territory, but it`s not complicated. Explain. What is touch DNA? How can you get DNA off of her neck?
DR. MICHELLE DUPRE, FORENSIC PATHOLOGIST: Nancy, touch DNA is really just what it says. You can touch a surface, and in just touching it, you
actually leave DNA. And we can now take that DNA and get a match if we have that in our database.
GRACE: Dr. Dupre, where is the perp`s DNA coming from? I mean, it`s not a bodily fluid such as saliva, blood, semen. So is it coming then through
your pores? Is it actually sweat? Is that what it is?
DUPRE: Yes, it is, Nancy. It can be -- it could be some epithelial cells from the skin of the hand, but it can also be from sweat or it could be
from saliva if you sneezed or anything like that. But yes, that`s where it`s coming from.
GRACE: Now, what did you say about it could be coming from the skin of the hand. Where else?
DUPRE: It could be coming from sweat and it can also be coming from if he sneezed or anything like that.
GRACE: So the skin on your hand is actually emitting some type of oil that can then be processed to get DNA?
DUPRE: You can actually get DNA from sweat, and that`s where it may be coming from, or it could be actually coming from the skin cells, epithelial
cells on the hand that maybe sloughed off.
GRACE: So Matt Zarrell, according to Dr. Michelle Dupre, now I understand why the perp`s DNA is on the cell phone, under her fingernails -- now,
that`s probably going to be from her scratching him -- and then on her neck. Now, tell me what do we know about her neck? She was strangled,
correct?
ZARRELL: Yes, she was strangled. And we have learned that sources have told "The New York Post" that the killer used such force that they left the
imprint of their hand around Karina`s neck.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
[20:26:54]UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The sexual assault and murder of jogger Karina Vetrano.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Evidence of strangulation, asphyxiation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a predator, a vicious killer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will never, ever, ever, ever forget.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: You know, another unique development in the case, trying to catch the killer of Karina Vetrano, is police using water bottles. Explain that,
Matt Zarrell.
ZARRELL: Cops took DNA from vagrants who sometimes stay inside the park by offering them water and then keeping the water bottles and using that to
get a DNA sample. Now, unfortunately, as of now, those samples haven`t matched any DNA profile. But cops continue to do this as the investigation
progresses.
GRACE: So where are they getting the water bottles? I don`t understand that exactly.
ZARRELL: Well, I don`t know if they`re purchasing them or just using them from a police station. But they`re handing them out to vagrants, and the
vagrants are using them and then handing them back over, and the saliva contains DNA.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers, Mindy Smith, Atlanta, Troy Slaten, LA. OK, I`m ready for you. That is perfectly constitutional. If the killer is
frequenting that area, which I highly doubt, but you never know -- very often, criminals, for some reason, their psychopathy, will return to the
scene of the crime. And they may use this water bottle and then they leave the water bottle. It`s determined to be abandoned under the law, and
police can take it and test it. Slaten?
SLATEN: Yes, there`s nothing illegal with that tactic in particular, as long as the water bottle is abandoned, as you said. But I think the bigger
issue here is that photograph or that sketch looks like somebody who`s had contact with police. I mean, that looks like a scary dude. And it looks
to me like since the police have no DNA in any database, that is good evidence that the person in that sketch is not the killer.
GRACE: OK. So you`re sitting there in your cushy studio in LA and you`re seeing a black and white sketch of someone and you`re saying, Oh, yes,
they`ve been arrested before because what, because of his looks? OK! Yes! You know what?
SLATEN: Because it looks like a scary guy.
GRACE: You probably need to send that to some type of a psychic (INAUDIBLE) the Long Island medium? Maybe you two can get together and
work that whole thing out.
SLATEN: You convicted him because he was wearing a ski cap.
GRACE: No, that`s not. That`s not why I`m interested in him.
GRACE: So you know, this looks like...
GRACE: I`m interested in him because he is at the scene of her murder around the time that she is murdered, jumps out the bushes and takes off.
That`s why I`m interested in him.
SLATEN: So were the fishermen that go through the park.
GRACE: No.
SLATEN: So where the nameless homeless people.
GRACE: They were not spotted by the utility guy, all right? We don`t have any suggestion that any of those people have been identified. This guy
has.
But hold on. I want to address what you`re saying. Matt Zarrell, you hear Slaten saying that if his DNA is not in the CODIS data bank of DNA, then he
doesn`t have a history. That`s not true, Matt Zarrell!
ZARRELL: No, it`s not. Cops are also focusing now on people who might have been in jail before `98, when the CODIS system first started, or on someone
younger who may have not done jail time.
GRACE: You know, Troy Slaten -- put him and Mindy Smith up for a moment. Troy, I love saying this but let me school you, OK?
So, the way the whole -- you`re going to get me back for that, I know. The way the CODIS system works, the DNA, is like AFIS, which is your
fingerprint system, is that upon the time of conviction in some, not all states, they will take your DNA.
(CROSSTALK)
SLATEN: Many people -- when you`re arrested on a felony in most jurisdictions, police are allowed to take DNA samples, just the arrest
triggers them ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Typically, DNA, to go into CODIS, is taken at the time of conviction. Now, here`s the tricky part, it didn`t start until around `98.
So, if somebody is convicted, say, at the end of `97, let`s just say December 31. They are not -- and they serve 15 years for rape or murder and
they get out.
Their DNA is not in CODIS and then they are out and they see Karina Vetrano. So, that is a very possible ...
(CROSSTALK)
SLATEN: But this suspect is only 30 to 35 years old. So, was he -- was he committing crimes back when he was, you know, 10?
GRACE: No, but we could have very well been a juvenile or having committed the crime in a jurisdiction where they did not take DNA.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Exciting news! This week, everybody`s favorite magazine, the "National Enquirer," featuring a sneak peek from the new Hailey Dean murder
mystery, "Murder in the Courthouse."
All of us here, huge fan of the "National Enquirer" they have joined us on countless crusades for justice. The search for missing people, highlighting
unsolved homicides, being with us on the air. The list goes on.
Well, the "National Enquirer" and the Hailey Dean preview sneak peek hits the stands September 6th.
Portions of proceeds from `Murder in the Courthouse" go to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Pre-orders come with an
autographed manuscript page. Thank you, "National Enquirer."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 14-month-old was a happy, healthy baby and full of life.
DR. MICHAEL MELANSO, DENTIST WHO PERFORMED DENTAL PROCEDURES TO DAISY LYNN TORRES: We have a 1-year-old that`s under G.A. and he`s performing CPR on
her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So the medical examiner`s autopsy included why any treatment was performed considering no indication of dental disease or
pathology.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: The fury of parents unleashed. Their 1-year-old little girl, their tot girl, Daisy, dies in the dentist chair while the dentist filled six
cavities. But tonight, autopsy reveals little Daisy didn`t even need this procedure.
Plus, at just 14 months old, how many teeth do you even have? Have you even had time to get cavities?
When I look at this picture, I mean, my children are 8, and the last time they went to the dentist, who I love, Dr. Jackson, they wanted to take some
x-rays. So I`m like, no! Their teeth look fine. If you see a suggestion of a cavity, then OK, yeah maybe.
But all these teeth are going away anyway. They are going to get adult teeth. Why would I do an x-ray on a baby tooth that looks healthy? And they
said, yeah. You know what, you`re right.
Why did this child have six cavities filled but the autopsy shows she doesn`t need that? And why is the baby dead? Tony Plohetski, reporter with
the "Austin-American Statesman," what happened?
TONY PLOHETSKI, "AUSTIN-AMERICAN STATESMAN" REPORTER: Well, Nancy, it really is every parent`s worst nightmare. The parents of Daisy Lynn Torres,
took her to the dentist`s office late in March to have several cavities filled, two cavities filled.
And according to what the family has said, during that procedure, the dentist came out and told the mother, who was at the dentist`s office with
her daughter, that instead of two cavities that need to be repaired, that number had increased to four cavities.
So the dentist then proceeded to do that treatment. The mother had said publicly that she was concerned about that but that she trusted the dentist
and in just a few minutes later that the staff within the dentist`s office told the mother ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Now, hold on. Stop the train, Plohetski. With me right now is Betty Squier. Her baby, this is her baby, Daisy, that passed away. Betty, I want
to ...
BETTY SQUIER, MOTHER OF VICTIM, DAISY LYNN TORRES: Yes?
GRACE: ... thank you for being with us. And I know that your life has been a living hell since this happened. When I first read about Daisy, I want
you to know that you have been in our thoughts and prayers ever since we found out about what happened.
When you took Daisy there, did you think she had cavities?
SQUIER: I didn`t. I actually didn`t know. I was actually concerned because I had seen two of her teeth, they were a little discolored, they were a
little yellow and I didn`t understand why they were coming in a little bit yellow because I breast-fed and she was still breast-fed until 14 months.
And so I was concerned because I didn`t have any issues like this with my son. And he was bottle-fed and he used a pacifier and a sippy cup and I
never had those issues with him.
So I was concerned, and I wanted to know what was going on, why her teeth were being a -- they were a little yellowish, a little discolored.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So, upon inspecting her teeth, you didn`t see a suggestion of a cavity or rotting teeth. I mean, I don`t think she was even old enough,
frankly, to even really have cavities. I mean, when did her teeth come in?
SQUIER: They came in around six months. She was six months when her first tooth came -- her first two teeth came in.
GRACE: So she had only had the teeth for eight months. She`s 14 months old. I mean, I don`t understand it.
So, Tony, you were saying she took her there to get cavities filled, but the mom did not think that there were cavities. She took her there because
she was concerned about the coloration of some of her teeth. So, according to what the police are saying, Tony, what happened then?
PLOHETSKI: Well then it was during the procedure that the staff came out to Daisy Lyn Torres`s mother and told her that this procedure had gone wrong.
And so they called paramedics and ambulance came to the dental office, took Daisy to a nearby hospital and it is there, sadly, where she -- where she
died, where she was pronounced dead.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Oh, oh, Betty -- Betty, again, Ms. Squier, so you know what, I just go back there with mine and the dentist acts like it`s normal because I`m -
- I don`t know why, I`m just scared.
When you were sitting out in that waiting room, what was going through your mind? Did you have any reason to be concerned?
SQUIER: Well, when I had taken her over there, she was actually supposed to go in for two fillings and about halfway when they put her under and did x-
rays, he said she needed six cavities -- she has six cavities and she needed four crowns and two fillings. And she had a total of eight teeth.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Whoa! Did you say a crown? A crown on a baby?
SQUIER: Yes. He said four crowns on top and two fillings at the bottom of the teeth.
GRACE: I mean, I got a crown when I was in law school. I`ve never heard of a baby getting a crown. So, while you`re sitting out there, Ms. Squier,
suddenly they go, well, OK, she needs all these procedures done. What happened next?
SQUIER: Well, after he had told me she needed -- she needed that work done, he seemed kind of like in a rush. So he met about halfway through to the
front, the front of the office and he basically told me we`re going go ahead and do six, it`s not two. The x-ray shows six.
So I was just -- I was concerned and I didn`t even know what a crown was. I`m not a dentist. I don`t know. I actually was trying to do the research
when he seemed to be in a rush to go ahead and do the work because she was already sedated and I didn`t know what that seems like. He kind of just,
you know, caught me ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: So what happened next? He said we`re going to do six and we`re going to do crowns. OK, I didn`t know what a crown was before -- as I said in law
school, I found out I needed one.
So, you`re sitting there trying to figure out what he`s just said and then what happened?
SQUIER: Well, he went -- he went back to, I guess, to go do the work and about maybe 15, 20 minutes into the procedure, he called me back there and
he took me into the little cubicle and he told me that there were complications. And I asked him right away, I said what happened? What
happened to my baby?
And he just kept reassuring me that everything was OK, that she would have the complications breathing but she will be fine with the standard, like,
procedure or what to do was to call EMS just to make sure she`s OK.
So, he made me think that everything was OK, but in reality it wasn`t. He had called 911 before and he didn`t even know if she was breathing or not.
GRACE: And he did not tell you that. When did you see Daisy again?
SQUIER: I`ve seen her when they wheeled her out of -- out of the dentist office.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Daisy Lynn was in to get cavities filled. The child went to the dentist and never came home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is she awake?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is she breathing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do not know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: While she was under, Daisy went into cardiac arrest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Right now, I want you to hear the 911 call. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MELANSON: We have an anesthesiologist here. We have a 1-year-old that`s under G.A., and he`s performing CPR on her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. What is your name, sir?
MELANSON: Dr. Melanson.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, Dr. Melanson, are you with the patient now?
MELANSON: No, I`m not. I`m watching him now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
MELANSON: They`re performing chest compressions right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You said a 1-year-old. Is the child male or female? Male?
MELANSON: Female.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Female?
MELANSON: Mmm hmm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. And I`m just confirming, is she awake?
MELANSON: No.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is she breathing?
MELANSON: I do not know. They`re administering some drugs via the I.V. right now. We were in the middle of a surgery.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: With me baby Daisy`s mother, Betty Squier. Ms. Squier, I think that was the dentist talking. And he said he didn`t know if she was breathing or
not. Is that what he told you in the back?
SQUIER: No, he didn`t tell me that. He told me that she had problems - she had problems breathing but everything is OK now, that the anesthesiologist
has it under control. But I guess standard procedure was to call EMS in these kinds of situations but everything was OK.
GRACE: When you got to the hospital, what happened?
SQUIER: Well, they rushed her to the trauma room and we waited there. And she wasn`t doing so well. They were coming out telling us that they weren`t
able to stabilize her blood pressure.
And they ended up having to take her to another room and when they had taken her to another room, she wasn`t doing so well.
So, when I was in the waiting room, they called me back there when she wasn`t doing so well and they were performing CPR on her. I was there right
next to her and I was praying for her and I was telling her that she had to come back to us and that we needed her. Her dad needs her. I need her. Her
brother needs her. And I witnessed my daughter pass away in front of me and it was just -- just traumatizing, and it`s horrible to think that you could
lose your child at a dentist office. It doesn`t make any sense. That`s not making sense to me.
GRACE: Ms. Squier, you held your baby there in that room.
SQUIER: I did. They gave her to me when she passed away and I held her for a few hours and I lay with her and I held her. I wrapped her around in a
blanket and I had to wait for the medical examiner to come and take her, but we had to leave, we had to say good-bye to her.
So that day, we ended up leaving with a box. We had her footprints and her clothes that were cut off of her and her stained blanket with blood and a
lock of her hair. And that`s all we have left of her.
GRACE: To Jason Ray, the lawyer, renowned lawyer, out of Austin. The attorney for Dr. Michael Melanson. What is the defense, Mr. Ray?
JASON RAY, ATTORNEY FOR DR. MICHAEL MELANSON: Everything that was done in this case was done to the standard of care and was medically necessary. And
we believe Ms. Squier knew exactly what was going on and consented to everything at the time it was done. And in fact, she was familiar with
procedures and why the procedures need to be done.
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I`ve never heard of a little ...
(CROSSTALK)
RAY: I`m sorry, I didn`t mean to interrupt you. Go ahead.
GRACE: I`ve never heard of a little baby getting crowns.
RAY: It`s actually not uncommon. In fact, with the situation like what occurred in this case, which is that Ms. Squier did the right thing
whenever she saw that there were problems, she brought the baby in to have the problem looked at. She did the right thing. Now, unless Ms. Squier
tells me that I can tell you what was found, I can`t tell you what the results of the exam were, but I ...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: Well actually, we have a dentist, an expert, Dr. Mark Burhenne to tell us that.
Everyone, quickly, one last chance to go to the beach in San Diego. One woman uses the shores to introduce children to a career in science. They
are from the city`s poorest communities who have never even seen the ocean before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHARA FISLER, CNN HERO: These are barnacles, and they attach with their heads.
You can study technology, engineering, mathematics, all through studying the ocean.
This is a career field for students from very diverse communities that don`t pursue, and our students are pursuing them at unprecedented rates.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: To see how Shara Fisler does it, go to CNNHeroes.com and vote for someone you think should be a 2016 CNN hero.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: Dr. Mark Burhenne, a very well known dentist in Sunnyvale, California. I`ve never heard of a little baby getting this many cavities
filled at once and getting crowns, and now the autopsy says none of the procedures were necessary.
DR. MARK BURHENNE, DENTIST: Yes, it happens. It`s rare, at least in my area. But you can get cavities on the teeth that come in. You can even get
it from breast-feeding. This is a tragedy on many, many levels and my heart goes out to the parents. But I don`t think that`s the issue here. I mean, I
don`t think the cavities were necessary. According to the coroner`s report, the x-ray showed no decay. No cavities.
GRACE: That`s what I was going to ask you next, Dr, Burhenne, and you answered me already. The autopsy shows there were no cavities.
So, according to Dr. Mark Burhenne out of Sunnyvale, California, and the autopsy report, this child did not need these procedures, and now she is
dead.
You know what, let`s stop and remember American hero, Army Specialist Adrian Butler, 28, East Lansing. Bronze Star, Purple Heart. Michigan State
grad. Dreamed of the FBI. Loved bowling, R&B. Parents Peggy and Eldridge. Adrian Butler, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us everyone. Nancy grace signing off. I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8 o`clock sharp,
Eastern. And until then, goodnight, friend.
END
