Return to Transcripts main page
NANCY GRACE
Police Say Haleigh Not Taken by Stranger
Aired August 18, 2009 - 20:00:00 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, Florida. A 5-year-old little girl tucked into bed. Five hours later, she`s gone, vanished into thin air, the back door propped wide open. Daddy comes home from the night shift to find not a trace of little Haleigh.
Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, investigators announce little Haleigh was not kidnapped by a stranger. Repeat, it was no stranger that snuck into the home that night and snatched the little girl. Police say the last person to see Haleigh alive is the key to the case, cops closing in on the girlfriend/baby-sitter, claiming she refuses to give straight answers about the night little Haleigh vanishes, Croslin unable to account for crucial hours surrounding the kidnap. And in another stunning twist, cops reveal physical evidence at the crime scene contradicts Croslin`s story. Tonight, where is 5-year-old Florida girl Haleigh?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just woke up and our back door was open, and I can`t find my daughter.
911 OPERATOR: Can`t find what?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My daughter.
I walked in the kitchen, and the back door`s wide open.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Authorities investigating the disappearance of 6- year-old Haleigh Cummings say it`s likely the toddler was not abducted by a stranger. As Haleigh`s birthday came and went with no sign of the child, authorities declared baby-sitter Misty Croslin is the key to the case and is not giving them the whole story.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I go in there and she`s gone. And that`s all I know, is when I woke up -- when I went to sleep, she was there. And then when I woke up, she was gone!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Cops says physical evidence found contradicts Croslin`s sketchy account of what she did the night Haleigh went missing. Croslin is not considered a suspect at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I want is my daughter. It doesn`t matter. It doesn`t matter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you suspect she did anything?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don`t have any suspicions of anybody. Anybody could have done anything. I don`t know what`s what. Obviously, if I knew what was going on, I`d have my daughter.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Her story`s changed several times. I just hope she would not have nothing to do with this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So here`s the back door and here`s the lock. It sticks. So there you go. Now, we open the back door. And here`s the back screen door, the one that was propped open with the cinder block, OK? Now, if you see, when it closes, it slams. It makes a loud noise. But if you leave this door, this slowly closes, as well.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just want everybody to know that I didn`t do anything with that little girl! I loved her like she`s my own. And I`ll do anything to get her back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: And tonight, a young mom just like millions of moms across America goes out for an evening walk on a country roadway not far from her own home, talking away on her cell phone. The boyfriend on the other end hears screaming, Please, don`t take me. Her voice has never been heard again. She has vanished without a trace. That cell phone later found discarded, thrown on to someone`s lawn just two miles away. As we go to air tonight, the search expanding across state borders, targeting hundreds of sex offenders across three states. Tonight, where is Kristi Cornwell?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three states on alert in the hunt for a kidnapper and a missing mom, Kristi Cornwell, swept up, abducted while walking alone on a country road. Police now scouring neighborhoods, even questioning hundreds of sex offenders in the area.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The FBI joined in the case because it appears Kristi`s abductor was heading toward North Carolina or Tennessee. Officers up there are also searching and questioning sex offenders.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In most cases, when there`s an actual abduction by a stranger, the victim has been sexually molested, assaulted, and then killed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... interviewed everybody in her inner circle, family, friends, people she worked with, and so far, we have not developed a suspect in that regard. And so it appears that it`s likely somebody familiar with the area that might not have known her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I plead to the public. Anyone out there who`s seen anything, heard anything, or even think they might have seen anything, now is the time to call.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. In the last hour, investigators announce little Haleigh Cummings was not kidnapped by a stranger. That`s right, it was no stranger that snuck into the home that night and snatched the little girl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just got home from work. My 5-year-old daughter is gone!
911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I need somebody to be here now!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Putnam County authorities investigating Haleigh Cummings`s disappearance announce baby-sitter Misty Croslin is not giving them the whole story. After determining Haleigh was likely not abducted by a stranger, investigators have focused their attention on Croslin and her whereabouts the evening Haleigh went missing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got up because I had to use the bathroom, but I didn`t make it to the bathroom! I seen the kitchen light on. And I walked in the kitchen and the back door`s wide open.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right beside me on my left is the bed where Misty Croslin was sleeping. And here on the right, we have the bed where little Haleigh was sleeping. And you can see it is all but about three- and-a-half feet from each other. And this is right where Misty said she got up and she had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Now, where I`m facing right now, Nancy, is a bathroom. It`s the master bathroom. Through the living room behind me is the other bathroom in the house. And you have to remember she said that when she got up to go to the bathroom, she saw that the kitchen light was on. The kitchen is over this way. So that means she would have had to have gotten up and gone out this door and then have noticed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Law enforcement officials say evidence collected does not jibe with Croslin`s sketchy account. Police believe Croslin, who is not a suspect, has still not provided them a detailed account of her actions that night.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe that Misty was indeed home and that she`s been telling the truth?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I believe she`s telling the truth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello?
911 OPERATOR: OK, sir, let me talk to your wife. Let me get some information from her.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: OK...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: Can I talk to her?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How the (DELETED) can you let my daughter (INAUDIBLE)
911 OPERATOR: What`s her date of birth?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) I`m going to (DELETED) kill somebody!
911 OPERATOR: OK, well, tell him we understand. We need to get her date of birth.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What`s her date of birth?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (DELETED) we need to find her! (DELETED) her date of birth!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to T.J. Hart, program and news director WSKY 97.3 FM. T.J., very stunning development. The police have announced just hours ago it was no stranger that snuck into that home and took this little girl.
Everybody, we have been getting all of your e-mails, all of your phone calls, your letters, about where is Haleigh Cummings. Simple answer, we didn`t know. Nothing had developed into the case. The case had just got degenerated into the mother and the father all pointing the finger at each other and arguing about domestic squabbles. We were getting nowhere.
But now this is a major development, T.J.
T.J. HART, WSKY 97.3 FM (via telephone): It certainly is. This certainly narrows down the field of suspects from everyone to someone. And as you remember, everyone was a suspect when this began, and all the way up until the last couple of hours, too. Still, the one thing you`ve got, Ronald and Crystal no longer suspects. But Misty`s story, still inconsistent, as it was from day one. And I can tell you, some of that physical evidence that`s not jibing up with the story is the fact that on that back door, there`s no sign of forced entrance whatsoever.
GRACE: Wait a minute, T.J. We knew that from the get-go, that there wasn`t a sign of forced entry. Nobody had taken a device and forced the lock open on that back door. We knew that at the beginning.
HART: That`s true, but it was taken in for further investigation, and it has gone through still some more forensics. And definitively -- yes, we did know that at the beginning, but definitively no forced entry. And that, of course, does lead officials to believe that once again, right where they stated, this is not a stranger.
GRACE: Straight out to a special guest joining us. We are taking your calls live. Out to Annette Sykes, joining us from Weelaka (ph), Florida. She`s the great-grandmother of little Haleigh. Ms. Sykes, thank you for being with us.
ANNETTE SYKES, HALEIGH`S GREAT-GRANDMOTHER (via telephone): You`re welcome.
GRACE: Ms. Sykes, what does this mean to you, the announcement made by police that it was no stranger that took little Haleigh? What does that mean to you?
SYKES: Well, we never did think it was a stranger, really.
GRACE: Well, what did you think?
SYKES: We always thought it was somebody that had either followed Haleigh, if it was somebody who had seen her and followed her home, because of where they lived.
GRACE: Well...
SYKES: They had to have known where she lived in order to find her.
GRACE: To Ellie Jostad, our chief editorial producer on the story. Ellie, I`m not getting the sense that cops are saying someone would could have followed them, that they weren`t a stranger in that sense. To me, my interpretation is -- and I`m on the outside looking in -- is that it`s someone within the family or close friends surrounding the family.
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Right, Nancy. Well, what I think is very significant about this announcement from the sheriff`s office is that they`re saying that Misty Croslin still holds answers in this case. They say she`s failed to provide a detailed account of what she was doing in those hours late that evening and early that morning.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. We`re taking your calls. To Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi, prosecutor New York, Raymond Giudice, defense attorney Atlanta, Hugo Rodriguez, defense attorney, former fed with the FBI out of Miami. To you, Ray Giudice. It`s months later. Months have passed. Wouldn`t it be about time for her to cough up the details of what happened that night if she had nothing to hide?
RAYMOND GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, law enforcement is sending her as clear a message as possible, Go get a lawyer. If you have nothing to hide, let that lawyer help her create the timeline and answer these questions. If that lawyer feels she`s got criminal culpability...
GRACE: Put Giudice up. Put Giudice up. You just said, Create a timeline.
GIUDICE: Accurately and honestly.
GRACE: Now that is -- did you initially say...
GIUDICE: Absolutely.
GRACE: ... Create a timeline? Is that how you do it, Ray Giudice, you huddle with your defendant and you create some evidence?
GIUDICE: Yes, we write it down on a piece of paper. We create it. And then we give it to the prosecutor and law enforcement. Because guess what? In six months, they can`t get to the bottom of it. She needs a lawyer.
GRACE: Rodriguez?
HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I agree. Obviously, she`s the focus. She has more information. She doesn`t have to talk to them. If they want to talk to her, there`s means of doing it, but she needs to lawyer up.
GRACE: OK, Anna-Sigga, the two defense attorneys are doing a dance around the pole right now. Let`s get down to it. Why hasn`t she told the police all the details they need about that night?
ANNA-SIGGA NICOLAZZI, PROSECUTOR: The only reason that she hasn`t told them, Nancy, is either she`s protecting herself or someone very close to her. Go get a lawyer? No, if she`s innocent, if she`s not holding back, she doesn`t need a lawyer. She needs to open up, tell the truth and help the police go and find Haleigh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
911 OPERATOR: Tell `em we got them coming. He needs to try to calm down a little bit, OK? The officers are going to come out there and do what they can. We can`t have him screaming and yelling at the officers whenever they get there, OK?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Give me my (DELETED) phone! I got better people to talk to than a (DELETED) that ain`t coming!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I`m just trying to do everything to find her, you know, answer any questions I have to because I know I didn`t do anything to that little girl. I would never hurt her. I mean, they love me. I mean, they look at me like their mom, you know? You ask little Junior, he`ll tell you, you know? They talk (INAUDIBLE) about me, and I`m so good to them kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I pulled into the yard. The front door was wide open. She was standing in it. I asked her what she was doing up. She told me that the back door was open and Haleigh was gone. I turned the house upside-down and told her to call 911.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Misty Croslin said that she realized that Haleigh was missing in the middle of the night when she woke up to use the bathroom. Now, there`s two bathrooms in the mobile home, one that is directly in the master bedroom and another one that is all the way across the living room.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I did take a polygraph.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you passed it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, my understanding is that I passed it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: From the back door area, you can see that you have to walk up a ramp in order to get into the house. Now, what we do know is Haleigh was afraid of the dark, and on both sides of the house, there is densely wooded area.
GRACE: Have you and your girlfriend both taken a polygraph, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I have. Passed it with flying colors. Yes, she has. Passed hers.
GRACE: And you volunteered to do that. And you`ve been cooperating with police, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Why not? Why -- I don`t have anything to hide. I just want my daughter back. Anything that`s going to help them eliminate more people is the best thing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Help me out, Misty. Why were there inconsistencies? Why did you say one thing one time and one time the other -- one thing the other?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But you know you did do that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And you`re not sure why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That was Croslin on the "Today" show back in March, giving extremely ambiguous answers, answers that don`t make any sense. I`m just going to put it to you right now. I`ve cross-examined more people than I can even count. I`ve interviewed more witnesses in felony cases than I can even remember. And when you ask somebody why they said something and they say "I don`t know," you got a problem.
We`re taking your calls tonight. In a major development in the eyes of the legal community, police reveal that it was no stranger that snuck into the home of this little girl, 5-year-old -- then 5-year-old Haleigh Cummings, and made off with her in the middle of the night. Now, the father, Ronald Cummings, apparently has been cleared. He was working the night shift the evening the little girl went missing. You heard his voice on the 911 call we just played for you.
We`ve been getting your calls, your e-mails, your letters. Where is Haleigh Cummings? What`s happening to the story? What did happen to the story, Marc Klaas, president, founder of Klaas Kids Foundation? It went away amidst all the arguing and bickering and name calling between the mom and the -- the bio mom and the bio dad.
MARC KLAAS, KLAAS KIDS FOUNDATION: Yes, that`s absolutely correct. It became a Hatfield versus McCoy kind of a situation. But I think what is central to this story is the same thing that`s always been central, is the fact that Haleigh is still missing. And I think that everybody -- nobody has ever really expected that Ron did it or that Crystal did it, for a variety of reasons. But Misty, who was the last person to see the little girl, whose story continually shifts and who statistics point right to, has not been able to clear herself.
I think that what she needs to do is to tell the truth. And the way to do that is not to bring a lawyer and put her between the truth and finding that little girl.
GRACE: You know what`s interesting to you, Dr. Lillian Glass, psychologist, body language expert, author of "I Know What You`re Thinking" -- Lillian, do you notice that she repeatedly refers to "that little girl." Now...
LILLIAN GLASS, PSYCHOLOGIST: Exactly!
GRACE: ... I don`t think in the nearly two years I`ve had the twins, I`ve ever referred to them in that manner. I don`t know what that means. I`m just a lawyer. What does it mean?
GLASS: She`s detaching. And when you look at her body language, she says it all. She`s crying these crocodile or alligator tears. You`re seeing her with a very flat affect. You`re seeing her shoulders shrugging, looking away. She has a lot of tells that show deception.
GRACE: Whoa, whoa, hey! Don`t these people know about secondhand smoke? Take a look at that picture! They`re both puffing all over that toddler right beside them. OK, that`s a whole `nother line of questioning.
We`re taking your calls live. Out to Donna in Massachusetts. Hi, Donna.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. How are you?
GRACE: I`m good, dear. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, just from the beginning, little Haleigh`s bed -- I can remember Misty saying that she put them to bed around 8:00 o`clock, and then she washed their blankets and covered them around 10:00. I was wondering, have they looked at those blankets and seen whether they were washed? Was (INAUDIBLE) used for those blankets?
GRACE: Interesting. You know, you`re bringing something up and you`re jogging my memory, Donna in Massachusetts. Why would you put the children to sleep, then go wash the blankets that you`re going to put over them? Well, why would you do that? Why wouldn`t you put a different blanket over them and wash the others?
To T.J. Hart with WSKY 97.3 FM. What about it, T.J.? Do I have you, T.J. Hart? OK, we`ll be right back with him. We`ve apparently lost our satellite communication.
What about it, Detective Steven Rogers? That really doesn`t make any sense.
DET. LT. STEVEN ROGERS, NUTLEY, NJ, POLICE DEPARTMENT: Well, it doesn`t. And I can tell you, the police have examined every inch of that home, and there`s a lot of evidence there that will now come out.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could have been any one of us and our children. Anyone. Nobody knows where there`s a psycho or sicko. Nobody knows anything. They could be anywhere, anywhere. You don`t know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So all the world`s a suspect right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you blaming yourself?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just know, like, I feel like that, you know, I wish that they would have took me instead of her, you know, because I can - - I could have fought. You know, she`s only 5. She can`t really do anything. And I just wish they would have took me instead of her! What do they want with a little 5-year-old?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight back out to T.J. Hart, joining us from Gainesville, Florida. What about that point that Donna in Massachusetts brought up regarding the blanket, that she said she put the children down around 8:00 PM, then washed the blankets to put on top of them?
HART: That just sounds a little odd. At that time in February in Florida, it does -- and especially at that area, it does get a little cool at night. But still, when you put your children to bed, you put them to bed, ready for bed, with a blanket on them. That`s the way (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Got it. To Annette Sykes, the great-grandmother of little Haleigh, joining us from Weelaka, Florida. Ms. Sykes, what do you make of police saying that the girlfriend/baby-sitter has not given them full answers?
SYKES: Nancy, I`m not real sure about that. I`m not exactly sure what Misty has said to them because I`ve never really been told. And I`m not sure what their timeline or whatever it is they are -- you know, I`m not aware of all of the exact things, you know? So I don`t know -- you know, I don`t know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: What did Misty tell you that night, not later, but that night, about where Haleigh was sleeping?
RONALD CUMMINGS, FATHER OF MISSING 5-YR-OLD HALEIGH CUMMINGS: She told me that she was sleeping in -- her and junior were sleeping in my queen-sized bed and that she was sleeping in the tot bed beside her. Three or four feet from her, whatever.
GRACE: Ronald, how did it get so backwards that people construed it as them sleeping together in the same bed? Misty, Junior, your son, and Haleigh? How did that happen? How was that miscommunicated?
CUMMINGS: Miss Nancy, I have no -- no answer for you. I don`t know how it was miscommunicated.
GRACE: Is that what she told police, Ronald? Did she tell police at anytime that she was in the bed with little Haleigh?
CUMMINGS: I wasn`t there when she was questioned by police, Miss Nancy.
KIM PICAZIO, ATTORNEY FOR CRYSTAL SHEFFIELD, HALEIGH`S MOTHER: November 6th, the school nurse said that she fell down on the playground and had a scratch to the nose. Six days later, the child is in the emergency room, now with black eyes, a laceration to the nose, and a scrape on the cheek.
The medical report that we just obtained from the hospital also say that whoever took her to the hospital on the 12th, six days later from the small scratch on the nose incident, stated that the injury occurred while she was playing on the playground three days ago. So there are inconsistent versions of the events.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And, Misty, as you sit here, do you believe in your heart that they see you as a suspect?
MISTY CROSLIN, RONALD CUMMING`S WIFE, LAST SEEN HALEIGH: No, I don`t.
CUMMINGS: I don`t either. I talked to the lead detective. His name`s John (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And he said?
CUMMINGS: Told me he doesn`t think that she`s a suspect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That was Misty Croslin and Ronald Cummings on the "Today" show. We are taking your calls live. Out to Brenda in Georgia, hi, Brenda.
BRENDA, CALLER FROM GEORGIA: Hi, Nancy.
GRACE: Hi, what`s your question?
BRENDA: I watch you every night, dear. My questions is, what is.
GRACE: Thank you.
BRENDA: . the father doing now to help find his daughter? And does he suspect maybe one of his friends or her friends might have done this?
GRACE: Good question. T.J. Hart, joining us there in Gainesville, Florida. First of all, are Ronald Cummings and Misty Croslin still together? I know they married.
T.J. HART, PROGRAM & NEWS DIR., WSKY 97.3FM, COVERING STORY (via phone): Yes. In fact, they`re living with Miss Sykes at (INAUDIBLE) at this point. And to answer the other question about searchers, there`s a search probably going to take place in about six weeks. Tim Miller with Texas EquuSearch has been invited to come in and participate in the search at the request of Ronald`s family.
And they`re going to wait until some of the summer vegetation is down and out before they start trying to tackle that mess. One of the things that is going on right now is that the police aren`t told that Misty was even home at the time of the abduction. In fact, in their press release, they mentioned that any citizen with any direct knowledge of Misty`s activities during that evening or into the early morning is encouraged to report that information to the Putnam County Sheriff`s Office.
GRACE: Well, T.J., they might as well take out an ad on 3rd Avenue that says Misty Croslin was not at home at the time of the kidnapping. Because if they, the police, are asking the public.
HART: That`s right.
GRACE: Hey, did any of you see the stepmother the night she went missing, the night she says she`s at home washing the blankets and putting them to bed at 8:00? I mean.
HART: That would explain making up some of these stories on the fly, allegedly, in the way of putting together a time line.
GRACE: And let`s go back to the lawyers. Anna-Sigga Nicolazzi in New York, Raymond Giudice, Atlanta, Hugo Rodriguez, Miami.
Raymond, this means that if we`re interpreting what the police are saying correctly, this just puts it out there. Here`s a theory. And again, Misty Croslin is not a suspect. That if they are asking, "where is she?"
RAY GIUDICE, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Right.
GRACE: That night. That suggests that everything she said was false. She was not at home. She did not put them to bed at 8:00. She did not put a blanket on them. She didn`t wake up to go to the bathroom and notice the child was missing.
And if you believe that somebody else took the child, you would have to believe in the window, the hours that she`s gone, somebody detected she was gone and knew how to get into the back door and not make a mark on the door and take the child.
Now how likely is it, Raymond Giudice, that all those factors fit together?
GIUDICE: Right. I really believe law enforcement is trying to smoke her out. There`s been no action on this case in six months. And they`re trying to get a reaction from her one way or another. Either a defensive statement or does she go hire counsel and clam up and they interpret that as an indication that as law enforcement would believe she has something to hide.
GRACE: Rodriguez?
HUGO RODRIGUEZ, DEFENSE ATTORNEY, FMR. FBI AGENT: Hey, every cop that`s ever got a problem, they come to me when they want a lawyer. She needs a lawyer. We don`t give away the Fifth Amendment.
GRACE: You said that last time.
RODRIGUEZ: We don`t give.
GRACE: Second verse.
RODRIGUEZ: We don`t give the Fifth Amendment.
GRACE: Same as the first on that broken record.
RODRIGUEZ: We don`t give away the Fifth Amendment just because we`re on television.
GRACE: Ouch.
RODRIGUEZ: And you want answers.
GRACE: You know, I`m wearing an earpiece.
RODRIGUEZ: She`s got the Fifth Amendment.
GRACE: And when you scream it hurts.
RODRIGUEZ: I apologize.
GRACE: Look, didn`t ask you anything about the Fifth Amendment. But thank you.
RODRIGUEZ: I`m telling you.
GRACE: . Professor Rodriguez.
RODRIGUEZ: You`re welcome.
GRACE: Let`s get a try to get a straight answer out of Nicolazzi. What about it Anna-Sigga? Do you believe -- I mean does it make sense in your practice of law that all of these factors would fall together and the stars would align, that she happens to be gone and during those hours that she`s gone this unknown phantom person was watching the home and sneaks in with no forcible entry and takes a child?
ANNA-SIGGA NICOLAZZI, PROSECUTOR: Nancy, your incredulous way that you just went through that is my answer. This would be a miraculous coincidence. That makes no sense. The same woman who is telling different stories, who is evasive, who is not answering the police questions about the time line.
At the same time a stranger comes in and abducts not both children but one with no trace? And a door that we saw she said was open but we know shuts? There`s just too many coincidences that point to her lying. And I think that the police are now trying a different tact to get to the bottom, to get some real answers from her.
GRACE: To Dr. Marty Makary, physician and professor of public health at Johns Hopkins. Can`t get any better than that. Dr. Makary, she has Turner syndrome, as I recall. That was the name of the syndrome. I know a little bit about it. She`s been gone now for many months. Would she have required some type of medication to survive?
DR. MARTY MAKARY, PHYSICIAN, PROF. OF PUBLIC HEALTH, JOHNS HOPKINS: Well, what we know about Turner syndrome is that they frequently get infections. Like a cold or upper respiratory infection. So they may frequently need antibiotics.
They also have a lot of special needs. We know that these people are generally short-statured. They have a webbed neck. They can have high blood pressure and kidney problems. And they`re already going to be at risk for asthma from second hand smoke at the home. So there are definitely special needs involved.
GRACE: To Melody in Ohio, hi, Melody.
MELODY, CALLER FROM OHIO: Yes, Nancy, I`m like you. You know, let`s quit dancing around the pole with this. Let the authorities get on this, take care of that, and get that girl in question arrested. Thank you.
GRACE: Melody in Ohio, how I wish, how I have wished it was that easy. Let me go back to Detective Lieutenant Steven Rogers, Nutley, New Jersey Police Department. Former fed with the FBI.
Detective, what can they do?
DET. LT. STEVE ROGERS, NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY, POLICE DEPARTMENT: Nancy, you hit the nail on the head. It`s not that easy. But I`ve got to tell you, I believe -- and I`m sure, on your show in the past, from day one, the police had some indication, some belief, that she had something to do with this. That`s ground zero. It started there. It`s going to end there.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Krisinda in Georgia. Hi, Krisinda.
KRISINDA, CALLER FROM GEORGIA: Hi. You know, I just don`t get the same feeling when I see her and listen to her as I do -- like when looking at someone like Casey Anthony. There are definitely inconsistencies. But I think, you know, we`re dealing with someone with low intelligence. Definitely not the same parenting skills as you or I have. And maybe even possibly engages in marijuana.
But I just think that more needs to be looked into as far as a possibility of a pedophile, you know, having something to do with this. I mean, I think possibly a child molester got away with this. And that`s why.
GRACE: Krisinda.
KRISINDA: Yes.
GRACE: The police have made a stunning announcement that it is no stranger that took the child. It is not a stranger. It`s someone that knows the child. It`s someone in that circle. That`s what that means. You start with the family. Then you move out to the neighbors. Then you move out to who do you go to church or synagogue with. To the delivery boy.
Then you move out and out and out. They`ve made a statement tonight loud and clear. That no stranger snuck in and took little Haleigh. No stranger. And repeat, Misty Croslin is not a suspect in this case.
Everyone, we`re taking your calls live. But tonight, the verdict is in. Tonight`s winner of the show`s number one fan contest is your Pennsylvania friend Jerri Zimmerman. Jerri`s run a youth program for inner city children at risk for 19 years, all out of her own pocket.
A crime victim herself, she now fights drug dealers and gangs. Never misses a show even watches at 3:00 a.m. Do you ever get to sleep, Jerri? Congratulations. You get that signed copy of the new thriller in book stores now, "Eleventh Victim." And I personally want to thank you, friend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nearly 100 people from more than a dozen different law enforcement agencies combed through every inch of brush and hillside in the same he area where Kristi Cornwell`s cell phone was found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are continuing their -- continuing to throw all their assets that they can at the search. I know they have used canine units in the vicinity of the abduction site. They`ve used canine units close to the cell phone location. They`re using canine units throughout the search.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Investigators are now turning to neighbors, looking for any information.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether you saw anything or not, if you`re on the road in these two areas, between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m. in the Jones Creek Road area, or 9:00 or 12:00 a.m. in the Nutley Dam Road area, we`d ask that you give us a call.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Authorities are now stopping all cars on or around Jones Creek Road, asking drivers if they saw anything Tuesday night. Detectives are tracking down and interviewing registered sex offenders across county. As they wait for that one tip that turns into a viable lead.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Straight out to Eric Philips with WSB-TV joining us outside the command center there in Blairsville, Georgia. Eric, what`s latest? Why has the search expanded into three states?
ERIC PHILLIPS, REPORTER, CNN AFFILIATE WSB-TV, ON LOCATION FROM POLICE COMMAND CENTER: Well, Nancy, the FBI has gotten involved because of the fact they believe whoever abducted Kristi Cornwell possibly took her from that location on Jones Creek Road here in Blairsville.
Possibly, possibly, across state lines, maybe into Tennessee, perhaps into North Carolina, because the road that`s right behind me, actually, if you continue on it leads into Tennessee. That`s why the FBI`s gotten involved. And what they have done is send a couple of agents, probably three to five agents, down here to join the army of those who have been out looking for Kristi Cornwell for last several days.
And in fact, tonight, starting at 8:00 Eastern, there`s more road block situations that are forming all around this area. Really crossing a three-mile radius. And what they`re doing is stopping and asking people, have you seen anything? I know you probably heard about the situation.
Did you see anything on Tuesday night between 8:00 and 10:00 p.m.? Just trying to jog people`s memories and get something on this case that they have not gotten before. So far, they really don`t have a lot of lead, Nancy.
GRACE: Joining me there at the command center, Blairsville, Georgia, Eric Philips with WSB-TV.
Everybody, especially you, ladies, how many millions of us across the country go for a run or a jog, talking away on our cell phones? That`s the last time her voice was heard. According to her boy friend, he was on the phone with her, and suddenly hears screaming, saying, don`t take me, don`t take me.
Then she is never heard from again. This young mom needs our help. The tip line, everyone, 800-5978-477.
Now a lot of you are calling in about the boyfriend. The boyfriend that says he was on the phone with her at the time she goes missing.
Out to Natisha Lance, our producer there at the command center. Also, haven`t police confirmed that they -- their two lines were in fact engaged at the time she allegedly goes missing?
NATISHA LANCE, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: They have been able to confirm that, Nancy. They`ve also been able to confirm that the boy friend was in the Atlanta area, which is about two hours` drive away from the Blairsville area here. They have been able to confirm that he was in that area. They have not been able to tell us who initiated that phone call.
GRACE: Wait a minute.
LANCE: If it was Kristi who called him.
GRACE: Natisha, hold on. Put Natisha Lance back up. Isn`t it true that earlier law enforcement made the statement that they knew who called who? Then they went back, carefully retracted, said no, we don`t know, we can`t confirm if boyfriend called her or she called boyfriend. Isn`t that true, Natisha Lance?
LANCE: Yes, there was an interview earlier where law enforcement did say that the boyfriend initiated that phone call. Then I spoke to law enforcement directly and they said they don`t know who initiated that phone call, but the boyfriend did initiate the phone call to the mother of Kristi Cornwell.
GRACE: OK.
LANCE: . to let her know what he heard on the phone.
GRACE: OK, got. To Ben Levitan, telecommunications expert joining us out of Raleigh, North Carolina.
Ben, as always, it`s wonderful to speak to you again. Ben, if they can confirm who called who to the mother, from the boy friend to the mother, why can`t they tell us who called who in that crucial phone call when she goes missing? She`s abducted right there on the cell phone.
BEN LEVITAN, TELECOMMUNICATIONS EXPERT: Well, that`s a very routine matter to tell you which way -- we call that direction, who called who. That`s a no-brainer. And if anyone`s ever in a situation like this, what you do is a three-party call and dial 911.
That way you automatically get the victim`s location. And that`s exactly what he should have done.
GRACE: But what I`m saying, Ben Levitan.
LEVITAN: He would never hang up on call like this.
GRACE: . is what -- what`s the holdup? What`s the problem? Why can`t cops identify whether boyfriend called her or she called boyfriend? Why can`t they tell us that?
LEVITAN: It`s absolutely no technical reason for that. Now, we don`t -- you know, I wonder, was it him? Was he there? He may have had an Atlanta cell phone number, and he could have been -- he could have been in the truck behind her. Have they confirmed that?
GRACE: They are saying they can confirm at the time of that phone call he was in Atlanta. But here`s my next question. Let me go to Eric Jens, WRGA News Radio. Repeat, the boyfriend is not a suspect. We are merely answering your e-mails and phone questions.
Eric Jens, the boyfriend is in Atlanta when that call takes place to her cell phone. Number one, do we know that her cell phone was, in fact, in Blairsville at the time of the phone call? And, two, who saw her last? Who can tell me that they saw her go out for a walk?
How do I know she wasn`t dead already? At the time that phone call was made to that cell phone? Who can tell me where she was just before that phone call? Visually.
ERIC JENS, REPORTER, WRGA NEWS RADIO, COVERING STORY: Well, your first part of the question first, we do know that from cell towers, I believe, is where we`ve been able to locate, or this is what authorities have told us, that the boyfriend was in the Atlanta area while she was in Blairsville.
GRACE: Got it.
JENS: And that was the.
GRACE: Not my question. Not my question.
JENS: OK.
GRACE: My question is who saw her last?
JENS: It would probably would have been perhaps her mother. But she was staying with her mother at the time. We don`t know that she was actually home and saw her.
GRACE: Wait. Put him back up.
JENS: OK.
GRACE: Eric Jens, are you telling me we don`t know who saw her last? We don`t have a visual I.D. of her being on that rural route.
JENS: They didn`t know she was going to be missing in the next few minutes. How many times have you perhaps been at home and said, hey, I`m going out for an exercise walk or run? There were people in the house. But who actually was the last person to see her before she left? I don`t know if that`s been established.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRACE: There you see missing mom talking on her cell phone at the time she is abducted, Kristi Cornwell.
Out to Sean Henady, founder of 3 View Search Services. Sean, thank you for being with us. We understand that a lake is being searched by divers. How do you go about doing that? What would it entail?
SEAN HENADY, FOUNDER 3 VIEW SEARCH SERVICES (via phone): Listen to this, Nancy, they`re concentrating over a bridge -- or underneath a bridgeway. They`re doing a qualified grid pattern in the waterway, trying to look for anything such as an object utilized in the abduction. Especially at night. A gun we`re looking for. Kristi herself.
A grid sweep in the waterway -- as you know, you being a veteran diver, it`s very difficult in this murky water. They`re trying to be very systematic. Very close to where the roadway passes over the water.
GRACE: Out to the lines, Martha, Canada, hi, Martha. I think I`ve got Martha. Are you there?
MARTHA, CALLER FROM CANADA: I know that they`ve determined that the cell phones were where the people say they were. But I`m sure there`s no way of them knowing who actually was on the cell phone.
GRACE: Yes, what about that? To our expert in telecommunication, Ben Levitan. What about it?
LEVITAN: That`s correct. There`s no way to tell who was actually on the phone. But I would assume when they recovered the phone, one of the first things you do is dust it for prints.
GRACE: Absolutely.
LEVITAN: So that you can associate the person with the phone.
GRACE: Good point. Ben Levitan joining us from Raleigh, North Carolina, telecommunications expert.
Everyone, let`s stop and remember Army First Class Christopher Brevard, 31, Wasilla, Alaska, killed Iraq. Dreamed of enlisting since he was 9. Been modeling warplanes and camouflage net hung from his bedroom ceiling. Awarded the Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Airborne and Ranger taps.
Loved outdoor, sky diving, snowmobiling, motorcycles, baseball, and restoring VW Beatles. Leaves behind parents, Michelle and Chris, sister Kelly, widow Amber, two little girls Emily and Jessica.
Christopher Brevard, American hero.
Thanks to our guests but especially to you for being with us. And thank you to Glenn Beck at FOX Network and Mike Galanos here at my home, HEADLINE NEWS, for having me on about not only the twins but my first novel in bookstores, "Eleventh Victim."
And good night from Netherlands, friend of the show, Turner intern, Marisol. Isn`t she beautiful?
Everyone, I`ll see you tomorrow night, 8:00 sharp Eastern. And until then good night, friend.
END
