http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1209/13/ng.01.htmlNANCY GRACE
Police Convinced Missing South Carolina Cheerleader AliveAired September 13, 2012 - 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. To South Carolina. A 15- year-old high school cheerleader, Ridge View High, asleep in her own bedroom when Mom happens to check on her 3:00 AM, 7:30 AM she`s gone, Gabbiee never seen again.
Stunning new leads emerge. And in the last hours, investigators now reaffirm they have evidence, rock solid, Gabbiee did not leave her home willingly.
Bombshell tonight. In the last hours, new details. Why do investigators believe Gabbiee is still alive? Tonight, we chase the leads. Where`s the cheerleader, 15-year-old Gabrielle?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s the worst situation that a parent could be in!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are still looking for Gabbiee. (INAUDIBLE) found her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Fifty-two-year-old Freddie Grant.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He`s a monster.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A monster.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Been charged with kidnapping 15-year-old Gabbiee Swainson.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Snuck into her bedroom, snatched her up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He holds the key to finding Gabbiee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Blood in her bedroom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We found her blood on her bed.
GRACE: Blood, her DNA, and her hair found on duct tape.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What happened after that is still a mystery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s really a nightmare.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He holds the key.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: WIS reports Richland County sheriff Leon Lott would be willing to consider a plea deal for Freddie Grant in exchange for her location.
GRACE: Where is the cheerleader, 15-year-old Gabrielle?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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GRACE: Good evening. I`m Nancy Grace. I want to thank you for being with us.
Bombshell tonight. Live, South Carolina. A 15-year-old girl, high school cheerleader, Ridge View High, asleep in her own bedroom. Mom checks on her 3:00 AM, 7:30 Gabbiee`s gone.
Stunning new leads emerge in the last hours. Where is 15-year-old Gabrielle? Cops are telling us tonight they are sure she was taken by force. And now many with inside (SIC) the police department say Gabbiee is somewhere alive.
We are taking your calls. Straight out to Dave Mack, morning talk show host, Clear Channel WAAX. Dave, where are they getting the theory that Gabbiee is still alive? That is contrary to overwhelming child kidnap statistics.
DAVE MACK, CLEAR CHANNEL WAAX: Well, they`re getting the evidence because even though they`re trying to negotiate some type of a statement or -- from the suspect right now in the kidnapping, he`s not talking. And the defense attorneys are standing firm that they want to talk with him, but they`re going to have to negotiate a deal first. That`s why they think that maybe she`s still alive.
GRACE: Now, I don`t quite get the thinking because for all I know, the defense lawyers, such that they are, are claiming, yes, we got to have a deal in place before we talk to you. For all I know, that could mean, Before I tell you where her body is, Dave Mack.
MACK: You know, the police have long held that they -- they don`t believe that Gabbiee is gone. They believe she`s still with us. And obviously, they haven`t shared every piece of evidence that they have with everyone. So they`re just trying to figure out the best way they can to find that girl.
GRACE: So you`re using euphemisms. Are you trying to say that they don`t believe Gabbiee is dead? They think she is alive? Is that what you`re saying?
MACK: The police have specifically stated they don`t believe Gabbiee`s dead. They have said they believe -- they`re trying to find Gabbiee, and they`re doing everything they can 24/7 to find that girl. They`re not talking about finding a body, they`re talking about finding a girl.
GRACE: With me, joining us exclusively tonight, Gabbiee`s father joining me from Portsmouth, Alvin Thompson. Mr. Thompson, thank you for being with us. As you must know, there are millions of people thinking of and praying for your daughter. What are police saying that leads you to believe they believe she is alive?
ALVIN THOMPSON, GABRIELLE`S FATHER (via telephone): Well, the way I`ve been seeing it is the amount of blood found at the scene and all that stuff, they say it really don`t -- is not consistent with death, or whatever. So it`s a possibility that she is alive, and I hope she is.
GRACE: Well, it seems to me, then, Mr. Thompson -- with me is Gabbiee`s father -- if this guy, Freddie Grant, age 52 years old -- let`s see his picture, please, Liz. Freddie Grant was the guy that did yard work for the mom. He helped remodel her home. They had a brief relationship. He apparently lied about still having the family key to the home.
He had just cut their grass that Friday when Gabbiee goes missing in the middle of the night, sometime between 3:00 and 7:00 AM. He had the family key.
Have you ever hired this guy? Do you know this guy? Take a look at Freddie Grant, age 52.
So Alvin Thompson, under this scenario that police are saying they still think your little girl`s alive, if he took her, then where is she? And is she being held somewhere? The longer they keep him, she could be starving to death, for all I know.
THOMPSON: (INAUDIBLE) you`ve got to think about it another way, too. If he has her somewhere, he may have someone helping him and they -- someone may be feeding her. And I hope that is the case.
But still, you know, it`s still (INAUDIBLE) how he know she was there by herself at that time in the morning still yet. But I hope they do find Gabbiee alive and bring her on back home to us. But you know, it`s a possibility she still is alive. I don`t feel like she`s dead (INAUDIBLE) from my senses, I don`t feel like she`s gone myself.
GRACE: Why do you say that? What do you mean, Mr. Thompson, your senses tell you she`s still alive?
THOMPSON: I keep dreaming about her (INAUDIBLE) don`t normally dream about Gabbiee, but I keep dreaming about her and I keep seeing her. And it`s like she`s just calling me or something. So I don`t see her dead or anything, as far as that kind of calling. Seems like she`s just calling me, you know, when I be sleeping. It`s kind of getting like way (ph) to be too much.
GRACE: When you dream of her, Mr. Thompson, when you dream of your daughter and she`s calling you, what does she say?
THOMPSON: It`s like she`s looking at me and reaching out. She`s not really talking, but she`s, like, she`s reaching out for -- you know, reaching her hands for me to grab. The only one time I dreamed that she was in the water, and I saw her face in the water. But you know, the other dreams are like she`s just reaching out for me or whatever.
GRACE: Everyone, we are taking your calls. And with us, Gabbiee`s father. Out to Alisha in Kentucky. Hi, Alisha. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. My question is -- they said that they traced her call back to his house, but do they have her cell phone in their possession?
GRACE: I do not believe so. Let`s go to our chief editorial producer, Ellie Jostad joining us. Ellie, what do we know?
ELLIE JOSTAD, NANCY GRACE PRODUCER: Nancy, they don`t physically have that iPhone. That phone -- the caller`s right, they did trace the phone going from Gabbiee`s house early that morning to the suspect`s home. But from there, as far as we know, the trail is cold.
GRACE: And Greg Kading joining us, former LAPD detective, author of "Murder Rap." Greg, tell me about the iPhone. You know, on the iPhones, you have that special feature where you can look at it and it shows you where you are on a map and basically lead you -- it`s like a GPS locator. So what would that reveal?
GREG KADING, FORMER LAPD DETECTIVE: Well, it depends, Nancy, on whether or not the phone is active. The phone has to be on in order for that technology to take place. If the phone is not on or if the battery is dead, it`s not really going to be very helpful under those circumstances.
GRACE: And tell me again, Ellie, did they get pings? Is it just pings? And I don`t mean to minimize just pings because pings show you where the phone has been. If the phone is turned on, you can get a ping. Now, Ellie, what do we have exactly?
JOSTAD: Nancy, we don`t know that exactly. We just know there are cell phone records. Police haven`t said specifically whether that -- they`ve been able to triangulate where the phone was based on pings, or whether they were able to use that GPS feature on the iPhone.
GRACE: Everybody, we`re taking your calls. Dawn, South Carolina. Hi, Dawn. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Nancy. I`ve been following this since this baby`s gone missing, and my question is, why hasn`t the mom done a press conference and made a public plea for any information?
GRACE: Now, let me think about that just a moment. Ellie, I`ve seen the mom on camera, all right? And I believe we have talked to the mom. Did the mom make a public plea? Why am I seeing her on camera if that was not a public plea?
JOSTAD: Right, Nancy. She has gone on camera and asked for help. She`s been keeping a low profile. We understand from talking to people that know the family that she is, you know, obviously having a very hard time. She`s asked that interview requests go through the police department, and they`re sort of, you know, being the gatekeepers right now for Gabbiee`s mom.
GRACE: To Mr. Thompson, Alvin Thompson. This is Gabbiee`s father. I was told by relatives and close confidantes of Gabbiee`s mom that she hasn`t been able to eat a bite. She can`t bring herself to eat, she can`t sleep ever since Gabbiee went missing.
THOMPSON: Yes, I spoke to her a couple of times. She -- you know, she said she hasn`t really been able to eat or sleep. She`s been getting a little sleep and she`s been eating a little bit of (INAUDIBLE) because your body will not sustain if you don`t eat anything, but they`ve been getting her to eat a few things, or whatever. And I know she`s going through a hard time because this is her only child.
At the same time, you know, it`s going to be tough on her. Even if she knew where Gabbiee was (INAUDIBLE) it`s still tough on her because Gabbiee`s not there with her. So I don`t know what (INAUDIBLE)
GRACE: Well, what do you think, Alvin Thompson, of this Freddie Grant guy? He cut the grass. He did remodeling. He had a key to the home at one time. She must have gotten concerned about him having that key. She asked for it back. He wouldn`t give it to her. In fact, he lied about it, Alvin Thompson.
THOMPSON: I don`t know much about that key except what -- about what you know about it and stuff. (INAUDIBLE) hanging on (INAUDIBLE) he had it for six months and all of that stuff but -- because he was doing work in the house. I seen the work that he was doing in the house, but (INAUDIBLE) like it just got started to me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Deputies and other law enforcement tracked around with dogs throughout various locations, still searching for anything that could bring Gabbiee home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: God knows I pray that baby`s OK.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grant`s a career criminal, very, very, very lengthy record.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re finding her DNA.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Duct tape with Gabbiee`s blood found in the junkyard across the railroad tracks from his house.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A monster and that he holds the key to finding Gabbiee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I didn`t see her in her bed, and I -- I panicked. I froze.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The community searches, the vigils, the fliers, the visitors.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Freddie Grant, seen here in this video assisting in the search just days after she was reported missing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have not found her. We are actively looking for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: That is a nerve! Let me see that video again, Liz. Here he is, 52-year-old Freddie Grant, family acquaintance, he`s helping in the search. He`s there at the very front of the search, when back at his home, there is duct tape with her hair and blood on it.
He lied about having the family key. He had done remodeling in the home. Mom asked for the key back, he wouldn`t give it back. He lied about that he had lost it. He cut the grass for the family that Friday she goes missing.
He had a brief relationship with the mother. That was over, by all accounts. Had he been spying on the little girl all this time? Had he been in the home without Mom`s knowledge?
We are taking your calls. Stunning new details emerging tonight. Number one, cops are now saying they believe Gabbiee is still alive. Where`s she being held captive? And how is she being held? Behind bars, that 52-year-old handyman who refuses to tell cops anything.
Also at this hour, Sheriff Lott, who has tried relentlessly to find Gabbiee, putting his men and women out on the street, beating the bushes to find this girl, literally working day and night -- now the defense is demanding a gag order, not letting the sheriff speak. How is he supposed to find the girl if he can`t speak?
Not only that, is there some sort of a plea deal in the works? All right, I got a problem with that! Ellie Jostad, what are we talking about a plea deal?
JOSTAD: Right, Nancy. One of our affiliates did a sit-down interview with Sheriff Leon Lott, and they asked him, after the interview was over off camera, Would you consider a plea offer for Freddie Grant if it meant that it would lead you to Gabbiee? And he said, at this point, they are willing to consider anything that could help them find her.
GRACE: Now, wait a minute, Ellie. Did they say, Help you find Gabbiee, or, Help you find Gabbiee`s body?
JOSTAD: Yes, it wasn`t specific to the body. And as you know, they still think he`s (SIC) alive. Right now, he`s facing kidnapping and federal weapons charges. So it`s not clear whether there`s enough incentive for him to speak at this point.
GRACE: Unleash the lawyers. Burke Strunsky, senior deputy district attorney, author of "Humanity of Justice," joining me out of LA -- he`s no slouch -- Kirby Clements, former prosecutor, now defense attorney, Greg McKeithen, defense attorney, Atlanta.
Burke Strunsky, here`s the problem. If she`s alive and she`s being held captive, she could be starving right now, number one. That would be incentive for me to cut a deal to try to find the girl. If I think she`s dead, I`m not cutting a deal. I`ll try that case without a body. Forget that.
BURKE STRUNSKY, SR. DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY: I think that`s exactly right, Nancy. And the reality is, it`s hard to think of a scenario in which this young girl is still alive, given the fact that she`s been missing for the better part of a month and the main suspect has been in custody for weeks.
With that being said, Sheriff Lott is doing exactly the right thing, keeping the focus on this investigation, saying what he needs to say to the media so that Gabbiee`s name stays out there and people continue to look.
GRACE: But you know, Burke, let me narrow you down a little bit. Get back to the middle of the road, friend. Why cut a deal if you think she`s alive? And especially why cut a deal if you think Gabbiee`s dead? We don`t need a body to try a case. Why let this guy off free if they believe Gabbiee could be dead?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We`re operating under the belief that she`s alive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If anybody does see her, or know her whereabouts, I am pleading to come forward.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The duct tape was found at Mr. Grant`s house, and it has Gabbiee`s blood. Her DNA has been matched.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I didn`t see her in her bed, and I panicked. I froze.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every minute Gabbiee is missing matters.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRACE: Let`s go to the lines in search for Gabbiee. Jill, California. Hi, Jill. What`s your question?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nancy, I want to know if the parents have any say in whether a plea is offered because if it was my child, and God forbid she were found deceased, I would want maximum punishment.
GRACE: And Jill, just bear with me. Would you agree to a lesser amount of time in exchange to find the body of your child?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would probably consider a lesser amount of time just for the closure, but we would definitely have to agree on the terms. I would not...
GRACE: All right...
(CROSSTALK)
GRACE: I`m going to weigh in on that. If I was convinced my child was dead, I would know my child was with God in heaven, and there would be no mercy on whoever touched my child, all right? The needle would be too good.
Alvin Thompson, have police approached you in any way regarding a plea deal for Freddie Grant in exchange for telling where is Gabbiee?
THOMPSON: No, they haven`t. And about what you were talking about, the no body -- no body trial or whatever, that doesn`t really bring closure to me, Elvia, or the rest of our family without a body. I mean, I need more closure than that and stuff. And Freddie Grant would get his anyway. I mean, that doesn`t bring closure to me.
GRACE: Good point. Ellie Jostad, where are we getting this information? We have Sheriff Lott mentioning it offhandedly that he would consider a plea. But is it really happening, Ellie, or is it just talk?
JOSTAD: It sounds like it`s just talk at this point, Nancy, no indication that the prosecutors in that jurisdiction are even considering any sort of plea deal at this point.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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